Hyper/Very Aggressive Puppy

[Angie]

Very long…but hopefully won't require much more explanation.
We have a 3 ½ month old Rott (our first) who has a tendency to get very “hyper” at times. I’ve looked throughout this site and couldn’t find anything that seemed to match our problem exactly. If there is some information, please point us to it. We have been reading the discussions and using some of the advice given. Because we are first time owners, we know there’s a good chance we might be doing some things wrong, but we are open to suggestions (please don’t just tell us we’re doing something wrong). The problem is that almost on a daily basis, Ollie gets riled up and gets to the point of being out of control. She is excellent 90 percent of the time. She has been to puppy school (I know some might not agree with this method, but it helped a lot) and we go with her to training once a week. She knows her basic commandssit, down, stay, come and heel so far. She also knows to chew on toys and not our hands, legs, etc. Before puppy school, we couldn’t walk in the same room with her without her play biting our legs multiple times. Now, she lets us love on her, scratch and rub her belly, and a simple “no” keeps her from biting most of the time.

The problem is that she gets too hyper and starts trying to bite/jump up in a more serious way at times. We are trying different methods, but wanted some advice regarding what has worked for others. Our trainer uses the word “stubborn” to describe her, and the vet said she is very strong willed. He said that we need to make sure that what we are learning from our trainer is most appropriate for her because some methods can cause more harm than good. Our trainer is a general dog trainer, not specifically for Rotts. (If we had to do it over, we’d definitely find one trained specifically for Rotts). So, we are looking at all the options out there to make sure we raise our puppy to be a great dog. Things we do now that work MOST of the time are: bitter apple, saying no firmly, correction collar, and when her “mood” seems to be starting, we go for a walk or into the backyard. However, sometimes her “moods” hit while she’s in the backyard, and she starts running around, grabbing anything that she can grab and she runs away or when inside she’ll put her leash in her mouth and run. When you try to get it out, she gets very testy (growling/biting).

Also, we’ve seen several people mention “bad temperament” and hope that isn’t the problem, but thought it might not be a bad idea to have someone who is specifically trained regarding Rottie behavior to look at/evaluate her. We live in the Dallas, TX area. Does anyone know of anyone we could take her to?

[Don]

Angie, There are many people out there more experienced than me, however, what you are describing sounds sort of normal to me. She is only 3 1/2 months old? She is obviously a confident, eager, maybe dominant dog. But I don't think that's bad.
Some of what she is doing you can just ignore. Walk away, don't give her any attention for being a nit-wit. Some of it, when she gets too annoying, I would grab her by the sides of her cheeks, look her in the eye, and say "NO!" and repeat that as many times as you have to. Leave her out by herself for a few minutes or put her in her crate. The idea of what works for me is positive attention for the good behavior, ignore the negative when appropriate. Don't let her get too carried away though. You're right to try to stop her before she can't stop herself. They get silly sometimes. But your dog is just a baby, don't forget that. She's supposed to act like a puppy.

[MelissaHanson]

Are you sure you didn't steal my dog?!

My 5 month old puppy Quinn, does the same. Especially the leash thing. He likes to bite and chew the leash and run around. I think he is trying to walk himself!!

He is great 90% of the time - but then he can gear up and go ballistic with the jumping and nipping. It use to take us a few minutes to calm him down - but now that he knows OFF (remove yourself and your paws from me, the couch, the counter now), then DOWN (lay down) then STAY, this is how we calm him down. He do try and ignore the pupy bursts if harmless, but if he gets annoying or is involving our body parts in his play - then OFF DOWN AND STAY gets him laying, panting on the floor then we can baby talk and pet him soothingly until hes calm.

Be careful though that your pup doesnt start to associate her tantrums with getting a walk - which she could see as the ultimate reward. We started to make this mistake with Quinn because when we got him in DOWN STAY we would rub his belly to calm him - but we realized in a few days that he would do the DOWN STAY and then roll to his belly giving us the happy ROttie grin as if to say " c'mon already rub my belly". We wised up though, and save belly rubs for ONLY good behavior!

I think shes fine and will outgrow this in a few months.

[Gryphon]

Gryphon was exactly like that at that age also. He will be 9 months old in three days and as I can't say he has outgrown it, he has been trained enough to be almost totally controlable. We do the same thing Mellisa mentioned "OFF/DOWN/STAY" Since he is about 95 lbs. and not afraid of running right through things at full speed, those three little words have undoubtably save us a great deal in repairs and broken stuff.

[German Vanegas]

A 3 and a half month puppy can be roughly compare to a 2 year old kid... get the picture?

Lots of patience, devotion, and understanding of the breed, will guide you through the slow maturing process of the majestic Rottweiler. That it's exactly why I never advise anyone with small kids to get a puppy Rottie... it is like adding one more, literally! I can understand the dog owner how he/she can get so fustrated at times. It takes lots of time and "T.L.C." to bring out the best out of a pup...

When your pup is about 12 months old it will mellow out quite a bit... at 18 months you will start to notice a more mature conduct... but only until about 24 to 36 months you will see real noticeable maturity...

Therefore, BE PATIENT, and keep working on its obedience training to attain full control of your pet! Best wishes,

[Nancy Estes]

I, too, had a puppy like that & agree with the advice you've been given. With my girl I simply used to get up and leave her in the yard alone when she went wild. She's now in an obedience home and they love her. She has tremendous drive and needs to be kept busy. Part of her problem with me was that, because I work & live alone, she had to be left alone during the day. She now has a family of 4, 2 other dogs & a horse to occupy her time http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/smile.gif.

Nancy

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[Ms. Pam]

Our rotten boy, Kain loves to put on a show for us! when we go into the fenced back yard, he knows he is safe and love to run circles around the yard--jumping over the benches and planters on the patio--all the while we are LOL and applauding him!!! He used to try this in the house, but I would always take him into the back yard and let him go. He never trys it inside anymore--he just goes to the door now and lets me know he wants out. It's funny though, he only does this now if he has an enthusiastic audience! After he has worked off that energy, he is ready to get down to business(training)or just lounge in his pool for awhile.
Hang in there--as everyone else has already said, sounds like pretty normal puppy behavior--we just have to gently shape it.
Pam

[CarolineS]

I have heard this activity humorously referred to as "puppy fits". It seems to occur in all breeds, not just Rotts. Actually, I've seen the same thing occur in kittens, baby rats, guinea pigs and my own daughter. http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/smile.gif I think it's just youth.

My dog is quite a mature almost 5 years old now, but she still has one or two "fits" a year. Thankfully, they usually take place outside on a cold day in winter and now I just love to see her running around like an idiot pup again. http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/smile.gif

[Angie]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'd like to describe the latest incident that just happened and see if you think this is still puppy behavior. I took her outside to potty and we always make her sit before she's allowed back in the house. She decided tonight that she didn't want to. So, I went inside and left her outside for about 15 seconds. Then, as I was going back out, she jumped up and tried to bite me. I have two whelps on my forearm where her teeth got me and one on my leg. At this point, telling her sit did no good. I tried to grab her collar, to no avail. She ran away. I went back inside, got the bitter apple, and was finally able to use that. She calmed down then (but still didn't want to sit/down). After a little more persistance, I finally got her to sit/down. When she gets like this, she won't listen to any commands, and she's too quick to grab her scruff or collar. It's almost as if she gets "wild" when she doesn't get her way. As I've said before, she's so good most of the time, but these outbursts kind of scare me. She got so riled up last night that she actually tore two holes in my shirt. She also acts like this for my husband at times, but it doesn't seem to be as often.

[German Vanegas]

Angie,
You can't expect rigorous obedience positive response on a puppy that age... it takes time to achieve full control and unhesitant obedience responses... if you push him too hard, the stubborn typical Rottweiler may challenge you just to show his own will too... if you really get into making him obey you, no matter what, you may end up killing the pup's spirit (making him an insecure slave). Don't get me wrong, I recommend firm discipline and firm handling as absolutely necessary to properly raise a Rottie... but please realize how young your pup is. Be consistent and patient with your dog training method, and it will pay-off soon... do not loose your "cool" to the point that you may feel compel to resort to "drill sgt" tactics, it would only make it worse. Just keep enforcing you leader of the pack role (you are the boss), by setting the right motivation and positive renforcement. You'll do fine http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/smile.gif



[This message has been edited by German Vanegas (edited July 02, 1999).]

[tbmckee]

Missy did this kind of stuff at 3 1/2 months old too. I would scruff her and take her down to the floor. Once was usually enough. She used to get really nuts and run around and get so hyper that she didn't know what she was doing. It still happens once in a great while now but usually outside in the yard chasing the kids. They egg her on. She isn't allowed to bite though.

I think this is just normal puppy stuff. Although I am not an expert just a Rottie mommy. You do need to stop it if the behavior gets out of hand or your pup bites, etc. Like I said grab your pup by the scruff of the neck, shake and take it to the floor/ground. Missy immediately gives her belly as a sign of submission. We only do this is cases when she is out of control or not listening to commands.

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[Angie]

Well, it's good to hear that it seems we have a typical young puppy. We absolutely adore her and just want to raise a puppy to be a wonderful adult dog. That's what we love about this web site...being able to get such great input/advice from veteran Rott owners. German, can you give suggestions as to at what point we may be pushing her too hard and how to "back off" without letting her think she's winning or in control. I think it's become very obvious to everyone who has interacted with her that she is very strong willed, which I think is a great quality. The last thing we want to do is kill her spirit, but at the same time I'd prefer not to have these "battles of the will" we seem to have a lot.

[German Vanegas]

Angie,
Get a book titled ""101 Essential Tips - Training Your Dog" by Bruce Fogle DVM, published by DK Inc. and/or "Dog Training in 10 Minutes (a day that is)" by Carol Lea Benjamin, Howell House Books.