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Originally Posted by VANCOUVERISLANDROT  I have a question about puppy dominance. Oscar's 14 weeks old now and he's STILL biting. He doesn't bite anyone (my dh, visitors etc)....ONLY me. It's always only in the a.m. or after his afternoon nap when he's totally hyped out before we go out on our morning walk. He gets totally worked up and nothing and I mean NOTHING works to stop him. I can do 100 dominance downs, scruff him, collar him, try and timeout, ignore him, re-direct with toys etc, etc, etc, always give him a firm NO BITING....he's right back at me as soon as he's released,. no matter what I do to this dog he doesn't care.
My dh has shown me how to control him with the dominance down and how to hold him etc (my dh raised a rotti before) but it just doesn't work for ME only. On the other spectrum, Oscar follows me everywhere and goes nuts if he can't find me. He's attached to my hip and given the choice to be with me or any other family member....there is no choice for him, he'll stay or leave with only me. He also listens to me really well (excluding the biting of course) as I'm the one who mostly works on his training. When it comes to commands etc he pretty much does anything I ask. But biting...ugh!!!!!!!!!
I believe his biting is a total dominance issue...am I correct? He will also try and hump me once in awhile..which is also dominance? It's getting beyond frustrating because I think I'm doing everything right. He just so stubborn and just won't stop biting me. My dh and I can both be on the ground playing with him, he'll go beserk biting/rough housing me. It's almost like he thinks I'm a playmate/sibling. He plays with me like I'm another dog?! Does that sound bizarre??
He does start obedience on Monday night. We've decided to take him to a one-on-one trainer in lieu of puppy kindergarden. He's got sit, down, paw, up (taps ur fingers with both paws. haha!) and he's got a "visual" stay down. So he does listen to me! haha! Just not as he's dining on my flesh. 
Does anyone have any other suggestions to explain this behavior and/or comments on something I should/could be doing?
Thanks!
Julie |
I'm in possession of a very high drive, sassy 20week old. At around 12 weeks of age, she learned two very valuable lessons.... Don't bite the hand that feeds you, and don't bite the hand that feeds you.
You don't need to be a total monster, but you do need to get your point across. A correction is an action that extinguishes an undesirable behavior.
That being said, I like to turn a negative experience into a positive one. By doing so, I can teach my pup control. As long as I'm consistant with MY supervision, a spunky pup learns the ropes fairly quickly. These are smart pups.
So, after a correction, I calm the pup down in a very neutral fashion (no words, just gentle restraint), or I ask for an obedience behavior that I know my pup can succeed at. Not only am I teaching the pup control, I'm working on simple obedience in a positive manner. Teaching the pup that it really does have a choice.... behave badly, and there's a negative response from the big cheese.... behave acceptably, and life is good. Be short and to the point, and honestly deal with your pup....that's very important.
Correction or reward needs to be given in a VERY timely fashion, and consistancy is paramount.
Good luck.