[Cass1512]

I have a 10 week old German Shepard mix. The lady we got her from said she knows the mom is German Shepard and the dad was a mostly Rottweiler mix. She's been learning really fast and she's been really good but lately (the past few days) she's started to get very aggressive when anyone tries to pick her up.
I think it's because I rubbed her nose in pee a few times (I know, I know. Don't do that, spare the lectures please. We won't be doing that anymore). We went to a training session to help address the aggression and they taught us a submission to use whenever she starts getting aggressive.
We've found the submission hold is increasing her aggression, not reducing it like the trainer said! She got so mean today and she bit me really, really hard. I'm wondering if anyone has had this experience as well, and if anyone has any suggestions for reducing or eliminating the aggression whenever someone picks her up! Thanks guys!


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[KZoppa]

wait a minute.... a "trainer" told you to use a submission technique on a puppy?! What exactly is the submission technique?!

 

[Midnight12]

A puppy that age is not being aggressive. I think you need a new trainer, that uses lots of rewards at this age. A puppy wants to play and they are land sharks at this age. Make training fun, so puppy will bond with you. Don't do holds

 

[Cass1512]

this is pretty much exactly what the trainer said to do. We did a 1 hour private training session at PetSmart. My friend did an 8 week training course with her whippet with the trainer we saw, so she came recommended.

I'm supposed to hold her neck in a claw like fashion and put one hand on her hind quarters, and hold that position until Fifa's breathing relaxes and she isn't whining or fighting for at least 30 seconds then ignore her for a solid 10 minutes. After she relaxes and while I'm ignoring her Fifa is really great, but that's not the problem. The issue is whenever anyone touches her neck or picks her up she snarles and growls and just tries to attack.

 

[KZoppa]

Correcting Aggressive Puppy Biting - YouTube

this is pretty much exactly what the trainer said to do. We did a 1 hour private training session at PetSmart. My friend did an 8 week training course with her whippet with the trainer we saw, so she came recommended.

I'm supposed to hold her neck in a claw like fashion and put one hand on her hind quarters, and hold that position until Fifa's breathing relaxes and she isn't whining or fighting for at least 30 seconds then ignore her for a solid 10 minutes. After she relaxes and while I'm ignoring her Fifa is really great, but that's not the problem. The issue is whenever anyone touches her neck or picks her up she snarles and growls and just tries to attack.

NEW TRAINER!!!!! This method is NOT acceptable. If anything, this can make things worse. Your puppy will start to view YOU as a threat and the behavior gets worse. Find a new trainer. Find one who uses positive association to correct undesired behavior. You have a landshark on your hands. Some pups are crazier than others. Some are more mellow.

Also, unless YOU have done your research on the trainer, don't assume they're all great. The majority of Petsmart trainers have only gone through the companies 2 week class to even teach. Same with Petco. Not the best.... I learned more in my certification course for dog training than I could have come close to learning in a petsmart/petco class.

 

[Muneraven]

Oh dear! Puppies bite. . .it is what puppies do, like babies who put everything in their mouths. You teach them to stop it gently over time, you don't punish them in any way. Redirect the puppy to a toy that is acceptable for gnawing on and stick with that routine. Eventually he will grow out of wanting to put YOU in his mouth . . .once teething is past and all. If I had a nickle for everytime I've said to Paynter "No bite! Here, bite this" (hand a toy)..."GOOD boy," I'd be rich.

I don't agree with forcing a puppy into a submissive hold. That's like grounding a 2 year old human baby: Not age-appropriate. Right now you need to be all about building love and trust with this pup. Praise praise praise and reward him when he gets something right. Ignore briefly when he is being too rowdy. Enforce time outs for naps in the kennel because puppies don't always know when they are too tired to keep going. This is bonding time. Right now you just reinforce the good behavior and very gently discourage the bad. Don't scare the puppy and don't think he is being spiteful. He's a baby.

 

[boomer11]

sounds to me this puppy is being abused or is being trained with force. hitting, pushing, pinning the dogs with your hands isnt the way to get your dog to listen. if the dog growls and tries to bite your hand the moment you touch its neck then it clearly associates your hands as bad horrible things instead of fun exciting things.

 

[Cass1512]

it's not her general biting I'm concerned with, we've been working on "no bite" and redirecting her normal bites and it's been working awesome. It's the mean bites, the growling, snarling, Cujo like biting that worries me. If you pick her up or touch her neck she gets vicious, it's not normal puppy biting. She's also started to get snarly when she's playing with her toys.

 

[KZoppa]

it's not her general biting I'm concerned with, we've been working on "no bite" and redirecting her normal bites and it's been working awesome. It's the mean bites, the growling, snarling, Cujo like biting that worries me. If you pick her up or touch her neck she gets vicious, it's not normal puppy biting. She's also started to get snarly when she's playing with her toys.

If I could get solid video of my pup, you'd think he was an aggressive little monster too. Work with a different trainer. One who knows and likes the breed(s). Picking her up and touching her neck, it might be likely the people you got her from were abusing her in such a way she learned to get aggressive about it.

 

[Cass1512]

Ok, we'll definitely stop the submission hold and I'll start shopping around for a trainer that loves my puppy as much as I do. When she's not biting she's an angel. And cute as can be!


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[KZoppa]

She IS adorable!

My guy is 14 weeks old on Monday and he is vocal about something he doesn't want to do. When he gets into playing he's a snapper. You can hear his teeth clicking together. He's not a fan of being picked up either but he's learning to suck it up. He's horrible about when I have to cut his nails. It takes two people. His nickname is Banshee Devil Dog for good reason. He's a challenge but he's fun.

 

[KZoppa]

Yeah I'd dremel if I had one. Dax HATES being retrained in any way. We're working on it but my gosh.

 

[csandvik]

I agree with everybody else, new trainer! I'm not going to talk bad about other trainers, but you couldn't pay me to take my dogs to a trainer at the big pet stores. As a trainer myself, I would say stop the submission techniques and get that little puppy out and playing. It's a ball full of energy! If you need help just contact me.

 

[CAR83]

My pup, too, likes to growl and bite and be "mean"! But! Really she is either tired or needs exercise! It's wearing me out to find that happy medium but she is a real sweetheart when she is worn out and well rested. If she goes overboard with the biting and bites too hard, she goes straight to the crate for a time out. Sometimes, if it continues, I realize she needs a nap- so I will put her in the crate and walk away. That's when she knows its nap time. She always plops down and closes her eyes immediately! So cute! But lots of mental stimulation throughout the day helps, frequent naps, and toys, toys, toys, are getting us through! Just nurture her and earn her trust and she will follow your lead, I'm sure!

 

[ugavet2012]

When one of my mals was 7-10 weeks old, he also HATED being picked up. I had never seen a young puppy get so aggressive like that until then. He also acted ambivalent towards me in general, I always joke that he didn't really like me the first month I had him. My way of getting him back inside after potty breaks in the early morning when he was tugging and chewing my pants leg and feet and I was in no mood to play (horrible morning person) was to just carry him in.
Oh, the tantrums he would throw. My way of dealing with this was to actually totally ignore him. I would wear jackets so he couldn't hurt me or I would maneuver him around a little. When I didn't react to his tantrums he eventually quit having them. Dogs do what works, that wasn't working for him to get his way so the behavior eventually became extinct. I can pick him up now as an adult with no problems (other than the fact he's 70 lbs....).