Puppy Forum and Dog Forums banner

I Need Help!

2K views 19 replies 9 participants last post by  PatriciafromCO 
#1 ·
Hi, everyone

I desperately need some training help with my puppy.

My husband and I adopted a German Shepherd/Lab/Husky/We-don't-know-what in December when he was about two months old. He is now five months-old and neutered. He is our first puppy, but not our first dog. We live in the Canadian Arctic and adopted him here. He was born and kept outside, but now lives inside with us. We know the litter was attacked more than once by stray dogs. When we first met him, his brother was quite aggressive and our dog was very timid. He seemed comfortable with me, though, and "laid back". I now realise he is not laid-back, and is, actually, fearful aggressive, showing behaviors like submissive peeing and .

In late February, I fell and had a concussion. I have been mostly off work since then. I feel that is important info :)

I have noticed in the past month that he has hit a "terrible twos" phase. He has become more pushy and demanding, sometimes barking and "growling" to get what he wants. I am using quotation marks for "growling", because it is a growling sound, but no pursed lips or other aggressive signs, so it's more like vocalising. I am using time-outs in the bathroom for this behavior, as well as having him "work" for everything: food, treats, opening a door, etc.

He has always been quite mouthy, and for a while this behavior was managed well using "Bitter Apple." This leads me to my asking for help:

About a week ago, I ordered a 30 foot leash so he could run around more freely on walks and I could start working on "come". I was struggling to control him on walks due to my injury, so I thought this was a way to maintain some control and continue training, as well as have him burn off some energy.

Everything was going great, until I squatted down to tie my boot near him. Suddenly, he started jumping on me and mouthing my arms, hands, legs, anything he could. It feels more like a bite than mouthing, and he is usually baring his teeth while he clamps down. I now have several scratches and bruises, which he has done through my thick jacket. In trying to work on the behavior, I have squatted down at random while outside, and most of the time, the behavior continues. I have tried ignoring him, which doesn't work and today, he clamped down on my hand very hard. I have tried distracting him with a command like "sit" and rewarding that. Sometimes that works, mostly it doesn't. Today, he sat, but then bared his teeth. I have tried making a loud noise to startle him out of it, and this worked once. I have tried "pinning" him on his side, which works until I think he's calm and then when I let go, he's on me again.

He has "bitten" someone once. My husband hauled him out of his crate after he vomitted, and when he reached for him after hauling him out, the puppy bit him. This was early this week. However, I feel we handled the dog incorrectly and he reacted out of fear and/or discomfort.

There are no dog trainers up here and a vet only comes to the area once a year, unless I fly him out, which is very costly. I feel I am doing everything I can to be the dominant one.

I would appreciate any help. I am not OK with criticism, as I am reaching out for help and acknowledging I am struggling.

Thank you!
 
See less See more
#2 ·
I've got a German Shepherd / Husky mix, and I can tell you this forum is a Godsend for help with training.

The number one thing most people here will tell you is to forget about being the dominant one. The alpha theory, which is what Cesar Millan and others use has been debunked and actually shows to do more harm than good.

You might want to check out kikopup, on youtube, and http://dogmantics.com
Positive reinforcement training. I tried the alpha method on Lakoda, and it was a band-aid. He only behaved while in sight and only for me... not my Husband. Positive training has him behaving for everyone!

Lakoda, my dog, also tries to pounce on me while I was knelt down, during his free time. He's getting better, but there's still work to do. What I'm doing is training him that the word "yes" is good, by waiting till he makes eye contact with me, and saying "yes" right as I give him a treat. I do this for about 2 minutes each day.

Now that he's understood "yes" means good things, I have been practicing being on the ground and it not being a big deal, while indoors. I get down and ignore him, like you're doing, but I keep practicing inside. The instant he tries to run up to me, or if he tries jumping on me, I get up and leave the room, even going into a room where I can shut the door and separate myself from him. I do this for about 10 minutes, then I walk back out and try again.

If he leaves me alone, I say "yes" as a praise and will occasionally give him a reward. Now I can be on the ground and generally be ignored by him indoors, so we're working on outdoors now. You might want to start by practicing with yourself and your husband to help. Go out walking and have your husband hold the dog, and do as you have been, by occasionally kneeling down. If he pounces, bites, or gets over-energetic, get up and walk away from him, ignoring him all the while. Wait a few minutes, then try again.

Others will be around shortly with more advice, I am sure! This is just what seems to be working for me, right now.
 
#3 ·
You don't need to worry about being 'dominant'. It's not a thing. You control that dog's breeding, attention, food, education, sleeping area, exercise, etc. That makes you leader in any way you look at it.

The growling thing you hear is yes most likely just vocalizing. Those breeds tend to run their mouths, especially huskies. Mine has been giving me the business since I walked through the door 5 hours ago.

5 months is about the age when everything begins to sink in.
and drip right out the other side.
Just be patient with him, be consistent with him.

With the teeth baring... was it silent? Dogs can do something called 'submissive grinning'. My dad had a lab that did it enough to earn him the name Smiley. It's showing of the teeth without a growl or anything else, it's not a threat.
 
#6 ·
themrsb, the Alpha Theory was once very popular, but has since been proven to be completely wrong. Even the original theorist has retracted it. Basically, it's the idea that you have to be the alpha, or that you have to force your dog to be submissive, or even that you have to be dominant over your dog.

Crantastic may be around to give more info, but here's the reading on it:
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/14_12/features/Alpha-Dogs_20416-1.html
http://avsabonline.org/uploads/position_statements/dominance_statement.pdf
http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/misconceptions-mythical-alpha-dog
http://www.davemech.org/news.html - He helped the alpha theory become popular, but has changed his viewpoint upon further research and investigations.

The 'Alpha Theory' was started by watching a pack of wolves that were not related... they fought for dominance because they were... a bunch of unrelated wolves.

Dogs have been so domesticated that they just don't behave like wolves. And even if they did, wolves don't act like this. Wolves in a proper, healthy pack... you can go and watch them in a few conservation spots, they don't fight, they play, and they don't battle for dominance or authority, they know who is the boss.

Your dog knows whose boss, it's you! ... But even in a work environment, how many people do what they're told because they HAVE to? Most people...

Dogs want to love. They want to love you, they want a reason to love you. That's why positive reinforcement training works best. The main alpha training I tried with Lakoda, was to keep him off the couch. Now, I have to shout "DOWN" all the time to get him off the couch, because all he knows is that he needs to get down if I see him...

Where as he sits nicely whenever we go to open the door, because he knows it pleases us if he does so, the same as how we're happiest when he ignores the cat.

And yes, Lakoda did bite at me! I think it's a husky thing... to be vocal and a little mouthy, and YES, you gotta stop it!! They want to play, so if you get up and stop playing when they get bitey, it teaches them quick that this isn't the way to go.

Rather than having him on a long leash, you might want to try with a short one, and stop part way through the walk, make him sit, and sloooowly lower yourself to the ground. The instant his butt leaves the ground, or he gets mouthy, stand up again. Don't continue the walk until he lets you sit by him for a few seconds peacefully. If he does, get up and praise like crazy, treat him, all that jazz.

Then continue the walk. After a bit, especially if he is pulling, stop again, get him to sit, and try to sit down once again. This may take a time, but the dog wants to go, and move, it's not going to like having to stop the walk. He'll learn that if he lets you sit down (for longer periods of time), the walk continues. Once he's got that do the point where you can sit down and he'll sit, or even lay down beside you, start with a longer distance between you before you sit down, but always try and make him sit first, if you can. Or have your husband lead him away, have you sit, and have him slowly bring the dog over, but only moving forward while he remains calm. The moment he pulls on the leash, jumps, or anything like that, have your husband stop, and take the dog away from you. Keep practicing like that!
 
#7 ·
Thank you for the articles! When you say Lakoda jumped at you, did he make contact and if so, how did you get him to release? I literally have a bruised, swollen hand right now. When I have stood up in the past, Bear continued to jump and grab at my jacket or the leash. I appreciate your help!
 
#8 ·
The behaviour you're describing sounds pretty consistent with teenaged puppy behaviour to me. I volunteer at a shelter so I know alllll about how teenaged dogs can be butt faces.

Just keep being consistent with the rules, teach him the behaviour you like, and you'll come out the other side alright.

On youtube; kikopup and zakgeorge are good places to start for training resources. They use clickers, but you can substitute it with any other consistent noise or word. I know things up North are eeeexpensive, so getting a hold of a clicker might not be the easiest.

Good luck!
 
#9 ·
Hey, that sounds like me last year! I had hematomas, scratches, etc. from my shelter dog; one bite broke the skin - all because I was handling her too strictly and that was CAUSING her to escalate. Follow those links you were given, positive handling methods really work. My dog turns out to be a very soft dog, kind of emotional, and tends to worry now. When I speak kindly to her and give her lots of encouragement she complies with following cues and being mannerly with little to no problem.

And OMG, clicker training! Once you load a marker, just a word if not a clicker, the sky is the limit! You can be positive with manners training. Use of a positive interrupter by kikopup - changes things from being confrontational to cooperative. My dog thinks clicker training is the best game in the world! Well, next to flirt pole and tug. Impulse control games - helpful. Teaching a strong recall - vital. The "demand" barking you can just ignore and it will at least lessen just with that. Before leash walks if you can drain some energy first it might help. With off leash time in a safe place, practice recall. Flirt pole (not too rough since he's still growing and can injure himself) and tug; practice impulse control. If he loves his toys you can carry a tug toy and use that instead of him using the leash to play tug.

You can hold back half of his meals to use as "treats" for training. That's a ton of lost training opportunities if you just feed it all in a bowl. Train when he's hungry. Mental exercise will help drain excess energy too, you can trick train, very fun!

Yet more links, each covers quite a bit:
http://drsophiayin.com/
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior
 
#10 ·
sounds like the result of force and fear used in your approaches..(people don't intentionally realize the long term out come) the pouncing and mauling I've been there when I took a 6 month old Saint mix in. It's a slow transition to un-learn the need for the behaviors so your working with frustration and defensive response. Find very clear behaviors for all interactions, rules for everything. that will help with the frustration, no longer relying on force and fear from your end to handle situations will help with the defensive behavior responses.
 
#12 ·
Part of the solution is to give your dog an appropriate outlet for his desire to latch on. For example, allow him to grip a commercially available rubber tug toy, rope toy, or a homemade braided cloth 'snake'. Teach him to grip only 'on cue', and a bomb-proof release on cue as well. Doggie Zen exercises will help to lay the foundation for this, but it will take patience, repetition, and ongoing training to perfect it.

If he already has your forearm in his mouth, I'd say you've gone too far too fast. You could always try a HIGH value distraction, hopefully, to get him to 'out' for those odd moments in the meantime. I'd just be careful not to inadvertently make it part of the routine, long term.
 
#13 ·
Try to make it impossible for the dog to do this. Dont kneel in front of him at all until he has learned to keep all feet on the ground.

If my dog is jumping on me, I will 'Be a Tree' until she has all of her feet on the ground then as soon as she does I give her a treat. Most times she will just jump on me again right after so I have to do this over and over. It has been about a week of me trying this and she barley jumps on me now. She is easily picking up that she gets no treats or praise until all paws are on the ground. After a while, this will just become routine.
 
#17 ·
I have a muttley mutt that I think has some husky in her because she is very vocal and does the "husky yodel" sometimes lol.

As far as being dominant you don't have to worry about that, him biting your husband was most likely fear related from being hauled out (likely roughly even if it wasn't meant to be rough). He is a tough mix of breeds, all of which are mouthy.

The "terrible teens" don't usually start until around 6 months or so ... And that's when it gets interesting, they lose their minds for a bit, become spastic sometimes terrified wishy washy weirdos lol
 
#18 ·
I think you need to really start watching him for any signs that he's going to "go there" to where he's biting you or your clothes, or the leash. With my dog (who is 60 lbs BTW), was 32-40 lbs when she was biting me; I learned she got a certain look in her right eye. The other eye could be calm until she really got amped up - no kidding! Maybe he will get jumpier first, maybe you start to feel like he's just starting to push your buttons. There will probably be some kind of early warning sign of stress or frustration in him.

It helps if you ALWAYS have high value treats on you when you're handling him, especially when you're outdoors. Also have a tug toy tucked in your coat pocket. Always. When you start to notice the EARLIEST sign of agitation, distract him. Ask for a "touch," "sit," or any cue he knows. Just as a kind of test to see if he's with you or about to start his shenanigans. If he won't follow a well known cue for a high value treat, he's about to start. Then it's time to go back indoors, or send him outside, whatever you can do to prevent him from practicing that behavior. I hope this makes sense...

Another mistake I was making with my dog was actually over exercising her. 3-4 mile daily walks. Plus play, excited running chasing play. Plus trick training. Every dog has his individual exercise needs regardless of breed, and it helps if you can find your dog's balance (mine is a collie mix). Now that she's almost 2 years old we can take a 3 mile walk about 3 times a week, with plenty of off leash time in the pasture and exciting play on other days; or she just gets too excited and stressed out. It does get better when they're adults! Bottom line is to decrease his (and your!) stress. You can actually help him learn to relax, there are exercises you can do.

Always keep a collar on him so you can take hold of it. If he latches on it's best to say nothing and disengage yourself as best you can CALMLY. That's a good time for a brief time-out.
 
#20 ·
you can google doggie zen exercises ... to give yourself a break and keep the house hold calm, you can work on positive crate training and baby gate training. Not let the pup have free roam all the time in the house.. but do set them up where they are central to activity .. As another had mentioned not put yourself in a position that you know the pup will pounce. Finding a chew toy that they will take and keep their mouth occupied instead of chewing on you.. (have it handy and when you see the pup getting worked up get the toy or chew show it and say sit and give it to them :) ) . Set a schedule for daily activity and stay on that time consistently, keep it simple and keep it learning base... sit to get leashed, wait/pause before they go through the door, sit outside the door while you shut the door and lock it..... sit to get food, any interaction should have learning working skills attached to them,, even playing should have rules of how to play like sit and wait before you throw a toy, not get them too riled up during play with your own actions , but let them have fun exerting themselves.. Walking can be a combination of working on individual skills and free time,, doesn't have to be perfect in the beginning always focus on small parts then reward,,, heel sit for stops, and staying in heel position for the step off and then release, and then loose lead free time. "frustration behavior is just not knowing what to do, so teaching them the tiny step by step skills and being on a daily routine that allows yall to work on those skills daily if very calming for everyone :) And if he jumps on you mauling you, you do what you need to do to lift him off of you and put space between you (you can be firm and exertive without being unnecessary physical or verbally) ,, using the favorite toy or chewy to redirect his attention and teaching him how to win the toy with a skill.. I takes time,
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top