[bracino]

Hi all,

I'm a new puppy owner (mastiff) who is about 3 and a half months old. She's responded well to click training, and can sit, come, stay, go to her crate and find her toy when told. The only problem is she is extremely aggressive and does not respond to being told no or any type of physical reprimands — being held down, closing her mouth, bopping on the nose... I don't like smacking my dog, and never have, but she bites (hard) and it's getting dangerous.

I always try to put a toy in her mouth when she does it, but she just drops it and goes back for the hands, pants, shoes, anything. And it especially drives her nuts when i'm sitting at a desk on the computer. She tries to jump up, bite hands, etc. It's getting really annoying and I'm worried about how big she's going to get soon and how dangerous her bites are going to become.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[3doglady]

She is young and teething, not being aggressive. Stop with the reprimands and get yourself and her enrolled in a good, positive-reward training class. There are lots of threads you can read on this forum about the negative affects of physical reprimands. There are also lots of positive techniques you can learn through a good trainer, especially in a class environment. Be patient and consistent, but most of all, be positive.

I'm sure others here will have a more constructive way of explaining the detrimental affects of physical reprimands and perhaps provide you with some good techniques to try. A good training class is a great start though.

 

[Amaryllis]

She's not being aggressive, she's being a puppy. There is a sticky on this forum called the Bite Stops Here. Read it and do what it suggests. It can take a while to work, so stick with it. Make sure she has lots of toys, rotate them to keep them fresh and get toys she likes. Some dogs like stuffies, some like hard rubber, etc.

Please, please, please do not roll, smack, bop or hold down your puppy. She's a baby. You are teaching her that you are dangerous and cannot be trusted. You are teaching her fear and violence. You are creating the dangerous dog you don't want. Positive methods are safe and they work.

Please go to YouTube and watch kikopup. Read books by Ian Dunbar. And hang out here. We can give you alternatives to creating a dangerous mastiff who has to be put down.

 

[Glasgow Dog Trainer]

Good advice in the previous two posts. If you continue to treat her like this, you'll teach her to be frightened of you. I've owned mastiff breeds myself and the last thing you want is a 60kg dog who is frightened of you or the environment and acts fearfully.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EuY98sRPb8&list=LLmC96B2D6EgRDbxtryMqY7Q&feature=mh_lolz

Watch this video and teach her to chew a Kong. Ian Dunbar called it the most important training video he has ever seen. If she's chewing a Kong, she's not chewing your hand. If she's ignoring the toy and prefers your trouser leg or cuff it might be because she get more interaction (however negative) with you than with the toy.

A good rule of thumb I always try to apply is don't do anything to any dog, especially puppies, which I reasonable person wouldn't do to a 12 month old child. If you apply this you won't go far wrong.

Ask plenty questions here, we'll try to help.

John

 

[bgmacaw]

Watch Kikopup's Default Leave It video to get started. I recently tried this technique with our new Chi puppy and it's worked quite well to cut down on her puppy hand "mugging". She'll still do it sometimes when she's excited but she quickly figures out that it's not rewarding behavior and she'll calm do.

You'll find Kikopup's other videos are also quite helpful as well, both for training your dog and training you to handle your dog.