[SweetJeannie]

Aiko started last night and then today with this new behavior... he didn't have it before.

When he is picked up by the kids (he used to be really good about it) and then my brother... and now me.

He will growl and wiggle like crazy and snap at fingers near his head or anything within biting range.

He hasn't drawn blood but he doesn't bite lightly.

The first time I said No very sternly and held him anyway.

The second time I said No and put him in the bathroom for 5 minutes

The third time I said No and put him in the bathroom for 10 minutes....

I'm worrying. I dont want him to do this. Am I doing this right? It's like he's angry that I pick him up while he is playing. He gets overly excited when he plays with his toys. We're still working on the no biting fingers thing. We're giving him toys when he tries to do that instead.

Anything else someone could suggest. I'm reading the "After You get your puppy" by Dr. Ian, however I wont be able to finish it for a couple of days since I'm working overtime tomorrow.

Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!!

EDIT: After searching the forums I found a recent post about growling.

http://www.dogforums.com/3-dog-training-forum/55390-growling-2.html

Next question is. When they've actually bitten is anything different? Or still offer the reward...?

 

[FourIsCompany]

You can offer a reward, but there's a chance you'll be rewarding the growling and biting. Read through that whole thread and you'll see a few different viewpoints. What you decide to do about it is up to you, of course.

One of the best pieces of advice in that thread is near the end, IMO. And that is to move slowly when picking up the dog.

If you do go the isolation route, I would leave him instead of picking him up and putting him in the bathroom. When you pick him up yet again to put him in the bathroom, he's likely to dislike it even more and not understand the purpose of the exercise, which is, When I growl and bite, my fun GOES AWAY. The message he's likely getting is When I growl and bite, these huge beings pick me up again and I'm really mad about it and want to bite them even more.

The bottom line is, he shouldn't be growling at you and biting you, but your dog can walk just fine. It's not healthy to be picking him up and moving him everywhere. And with 14 people picking him up, he's bound to be frustrated. Treat him with respect for making his own choices. Treat him like he weighs 50 lbs and I'm sure you'll see a big difference. Instead of having everyone pick him up to relocate him, teach him to "come" and tell your kids to call him instead of taking his will completely away from him.

I wouldn't allow the behavior he's displaying, but with everyone and their brother picking him up all the time, I can sympathize with the little guy. I still think you should work on the growling and biting thing, but keep in mind that he has a will of his own and it's being completely usurped.

I would stop picking him up, finish your book, get a good idea of a plan, and then start fresh with a measured "attack" on the problem, by moving slowly and associating being picked up with good things. .

 

[SweetJeannie]

We're working on the "come" command. So far however he only goes a few feet.. lol He's got sit and laydown really well tho.