Overly Aggressive Puppy??? Help please...

MrSilver1286 · 07-04-2007, 11:20 AM

I recently got a puppy a couple days ago. He's a 7 week old Chihuahua/Terrier mix [I think the terrier part of his is either a Silky or a Glen of Imaal]. He's been great the first couple days but it seems that he is becoming aggressive. He's fine when you just play with him a little he just mouths on my finger but once he starts playing with his toys he becomes really hyper and at this point he starts barking at me when i try to touch him and he bites me when i try 2 play with him or pick him up. He tried to attack me yesterday when i was playing with him and he almost drew blood. He also bit my girlfriend in the neck yesterday while she was trying to hold him when he was in this state. I don't know if Its just me thinking hes being aggressive or if it is common among puppies but my last dog never had any of these problems. I was hesistant to get a Chihuahua because of the aggression problems I've heard about them but I don't want to overgeneralize the breed.

I really like this puppy but I dont know what I'm going to do if he continues this behavior. Help?

briteday · 07-04-2007, 11:47 AM

Most good breeders will keep a pup until 10-12 weeks because playing with the rest of the litter teaches bite rules. Other pups will yelp when the other becomes too nippy. That teaches the biter to stop before getting too aggressive. There is a good sticky post, I believe in the training section, about biting.

Also, do not let your pup become overstimulated with toys. If he starts to get really aggressive with a toy, take it away after a few minutes. Be sure he has plenty of chew toys during this time as well. Sometimes a bit of quiet time in the crate helps to settle them down. If you've only had him a couple of days I would be keeping him in a quiet room with limited visitors and rough stimulation. He needs to get comfortable in his surroundings or he may become overly aggressive about his territory.

This pup doesn't sound overly aggressive to me. He is just being a normal puppy who should still be with his littermates. Also, have the pup checked soon by a vet, take a stool sample along so they can check for parasites, and get started on shots.

Durbkat · 07-04-2007, 05:42 PM

brite is right, just let out a loud ouch and stop playing with him when he starts biting to hard.

Jen D · 07-04-2007, 07:13 PM

I have to agree with briteday when it comes to to many toys. I would also ignore when the pup wants to play you need to pick the time when he is calm. Are you playing tug with the pup? If so not a good thing right now because that will teach a dog to be aggressive.
The pup is young at seven weeks and doesn't know that he is biting hard that is why it is good for them to stay with the bitch a little longer and when a pup hurts another pup in the litter they walk away and won't play with that pup. That is how they learn where to draw the line, i also don't think it is the right way for your friend to of handled the situation when a pup is that young. He doesn't understand being held down like the way you described. Good luck and I would use all positive reinforcement at the age he is at.

MrSilver1286 · 07-04-2007, 09:29 PM

Maybe I did take the puppy away from the mom a little early and he didnt have time to learn the rules of biting from the litter. I think im just going to limit his toys to just a small rubber bone because he trashes around with his rope bone and his stuffed animals. I was playing tug of war with the puppy and maybe that made the behavior a little worse.

My girlfriend bought a puppy from the same litter as mine so i hope that since they grew up together the other one can teach him how to play right and not bite so much. The puppy she got is a total sweetheart and he's alot nicer than mine. But mine was also the same way when i got him. Hopefully it doesnt turn out to be the same problem with his brother.

Curbside Prophet · 07-04-2007, 10:28 PM

Do not take his toys away, he'll need something to chew on. Unless it's okay for him to chew on your valuables. A high energy dog, a teething dog, needs an outlet, and chewing is an important one. He should have toys that he loves to chew on. Do not limit these toys, he should always have access to them. You very well may need to occupy him later with a chew toy when he's older. So start early on making him a chewaholic.

If he's getting too excited over games, limit the games to training opportunities. Teach him sit right away. Then ask for sit to break up games every 30 seconds. The continuation of the game is the reward, the sitting is the training, and the break prevents him from drifting into a hyper mode.

You should really consider a puppy school. It sounds like he can use a few lessons from other pups on how to bite. In the mean time, please read the sticky titled "The Bite Stops Here".

MrSilver1286 · 07-04-2007, 11:56 PM

All of the treats ive bought him at too big for him and he doesnt have the attention span to learn to sit (I've tried). He just bites me now whenever i try to pet him or play wit him. It is very annoying. He and his brother get into it all the time and my dog always gets his butt kicked. But he still isn't learning not to bite hard

Curbside Prophet · 07-05-2007, 12:38 AM

I really don't care how annoyed you are, or how little your dog's attention span is, or how hard he bites, or who's butt gets kicked, or how big his treats are (use his kibble!), you still need to teach him sit, you still need to yelp when he nips you, and you're probably better off seeking the help of a professional, now! Otherwise, you could very well be leading him down a path to a pound and a euthanasia table. I'm sorry to be so frank, but your negative attitude doesn't exactly breed confidence in my mind.

MrSilver1286 · 07-05-2007, 01:10 AM

Wow you are really reassuring me about what I want to hear about how to raise MY dog. I am TRYING to teach and raise my dog. Im new at it. Sorry im a newbie. Im trying to learn. I dont have years of experience training and raising dogs. How do u expect dogs to learn what you want them to if you dont teach them? thats what im trying to do.

Jen D · 07-05-2007, 08:32 AM

Just do short sits, lure a treat over his head till he is in the sit position then give it to him. Don't give him any treats till he does that he can learn sit in less then five minutes easy. When he uses your hand for a chew toy don't scream at him just give a stern no or off and replace it with something he can bite.
CP gave you great advise also puppy classes are the best and you would see a big change in him. They also can give you the lessons you need on getting the pup to do what you want.

Curbside Prophet · 07-05-2007, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrSilver1286

Im new at it. Sorry im a newbie. Im trying to learn.

Again, I'm sorry, call it tough love. I understand your situation, and by pointing out my concerns, it was in no way to discredit your effort. My father use to quote a person who would say, If you believe it is so, it is so. And I couldn't think of any way how your negativity in that one post would lead you to believing in anything better. So, out of respect for your dog, believe in him and focus on the positives. If if nipped you 100 times yesterday, but only 99 times today, chalk that up as an improvement. Every dog is different, and they all start from different places. My concern is in how urgent I think you need to be on focusing on the positives, not the negatives. Probably the best advice for you is, if you start feeling annoyed, walk away from the dog and try again later. Because if your dog starts to feed of how annoyed you are, there ain't a snow balls chance in the devil's paradise your relationship with your dog will improve. So please, if you're a newbie and having difficulties, seek the help of a certified professional. What you pay for it can pay out a million times more later.

MrSilver1286 · 07-06-2007, 01:50 AM

Thanks for all the advice guys. I really appreciate it. There has been a little improvement today.

Since he has been playing around with his brother he has been biting a little less and not as hard as he use to. I took away all the toys he got really overstimulated to and just left him with the rubber bone that he loves. I give it to him whenever he starting mouthing me and it works every now and then.

As far as training goes i got him to enjoy his crate [but he also sleeps about 70% of the time]. My GF an I were using their kibble as training treats when we were giving them their lunch today and it was a little heartbreaking for me in regards to my puppy. His brother caught on to the sit motion very quickly and continued to respond to it how we wanted him to [he is also much calmer than his brother and loves attention from people]. I began teaching my puppy, Razor, the marker but when I tried to teach him the sit motion he didnt respond to it at all. He either jumped at my hand to get the kibble or completely ignored it. He has the attention span of a goldfish lol. He is much more concerned with sniffing around the room than whoever is trying to get his attention.

I've read different articles about dog training techniques and theories and i've read through a puppy training book prior to getting the puppy so i could anticipate what i would need to do to properly begin training the puppy. I've read the basics for training cues and how to handle problem behavior but none of it seems to work on him. I say "ouch" when he applies pressure to his bite and i ignore him, i try to pet him so i could teach him im a place of comfort but he just either snaps at me or continues to bite my pants or shoes as i ignore him.

I love this puppy despite his problematic behavior at the moment and i just want his behavior to improve so i can at least pet him for more than 5 seconds. I find it surprising how even though they are brothers they have such opposite personalities.

I planned to enroll him in a training class before i even got him. so i hope that at least has some positive effect on him.

Do you think his biting could be because he is still teething?

Curbside Prophet · 07-06-2007, 09:40 AM

He bites because that's what puppies do. From the first day they are born, life starts with their mouths. Just think of ever bite as if it were a baby monkey wanting to cling to it's mama. Chewing is definitely a symptom of teething. The biting is more a symptom (as if were a disease, lol) of play.

Have you heard of an extinction burst? Basically when a dog hasn't been shown what the boundaries are, he will keep doing it until he's told otherwise (your yelps). Dogs do what works for them. So, if you take it away (in this case the it is attention), they will try harder and harder to get it back, so it appears to get worse. My hope is you've passed that hump and with your consistancy he'll give up on the niping to realize that he can keep your attention with good manners. But the point where it goes from worse to better is where the extinction burst occurs. So if you believe you're doing the right thing, and it doesn't seem to be working and gettin worse, just keep in mind that what you could be witnessing is an extinction burst. That being said, keep saying ouch, keep redirecting him, and keep ostracizing him if you need to, it will get worse before it gets better.

MrSilver1286 · 07-07-2007, 01:51 PM

He has been showing alot of improvement the past couple days. He's a lot less aggressive with his toys but he still manages to get overstimulated once in a while. I have been teaching him the sit cue and he has been responding to it!!! Big breakthrough for me =-)

We took my gf's puppy {my puppy's brother} to the vet yesterday for his shots and deworming and he has been behaving like my puppy was a couple days ago. A relatively calm loving puppy was being very snappy since we brought him back from the vet. Do you think that maybe the visit to the vet and/or the vaccinations had anything to do with a change in behavior???