10 week old rott draws blood and growls

[goodboysergent]

I have a 10 week old rottie male puppy...I have had a rottie before so I am familiar with the breed...however, my boy sergent bites ALOT...i know its normal but he does it alot and also talks back if I try and correct a behavior...for instance if he is biting on a rug or cabinet corner and I tell him NO BITE in a stern voice he sometimes will bark i guess he is showing that he is unhappy about the situation....but thats not the biggest problem...in my yard there is a huge garden area that is covered with mulch....every chance he gets he is running to the mulch and eating it, I know he is eating it because it comes out in his poop....will this hurt him?? also if I try and get the mulch out of his mouth or even come close to his mouth while he has the mulch he growls ferouciously and has drawn blood on me twice while trying to keep the mulch away from me....I have recently started trying to offer a toy when he has the mulch but nothing seems to get him away from it, not even treats...I dont know what else to do...also he bites at my 3 year old constantly...I want them to interact and I am constantly having to redirect my three old to play with him appropriately, I know its not the puppy's fault because my 3 year old is just too hyper and excites the puppy...really I want help with the mulch problem...this is the only issue I have with him, please give suggestions...Thanks...also this is my first post and this website is awesome!!!

[brunie's mom]

Please read all of the "stickies" in the Puppy Development forum. Your questions will all be answered.
You need to redirect puppy...shove a stuffed toy or rope toy into his mouth when he starts biting. Instead of saying "NO"...say "Ahhhhkkkk" or some such noise when biting...redirect with a toy into his mouth and then praise and say"good bites".

As far as the mulch...keep puppy on a leash...do not let it get near the mulch.
If puppy get's something into it's mouth that it should not have...teach "out" or "drop it" using a very good treat to trade with instead. Use a piece of hot dog or chicken or cheese....most puppies will drop what they have in their mouth for a goodie. Then praise.
Trying to teach a 3 year old and a puppy...is difficult...but again...leash the puppy to you...or crate the puppy when your child is too active.

Please get signed up for Puppy Kindergarten, even if you have had dogs before, they all learn differently and training is much more kinder and gentle now...and more fun.

Gina

[meg8777]

Ours was big into mulch at that age and tried the growling thing a few times when we first started taking it away from her too. We did the exact corrections that Gina talks about in her above post. The "drop it", and trade works great.

But we never, ever let her growl without there being an "ahhhahhhht" correction and we definitely didn't give in to it! After a few trades, she started dropping it before we got the words out because she wanted the treat and it all went away. She also lost interest in the mulch within a week of corrections and other toy substitutions.

[Xena Rio's Mum]

I too am having the same problem with Kya who is now 15 weeks old. She too has drawn blood on both myself and my husband when so called mouthing. If she gets too hyper I just take her up the road for a walk and she is usually calmer when I bring her back. Like you I have 2 nieces who visit regularly and at the moment I keep her leashed so if she does get too nippy I can pull her away from them. She only seems to do it when she is on our own property. If I take her out for a walk or to puppy classes she behaves like an angel, I'm sure people don't believe me when I tell them she is a little shark at home. I've had 2 other rotts who have mouthed but not half as bad as what Kya is like. I'm just persevering with her correcting her when she needs to be corrected and hopefully it is something she will grow out of.

I don't know if mine has anything to do with her being born in rescue because up to me picking her up at 8 weeks old the only thing she will have done is play with her sisters and brothers, so perhaps she had to fight to get food etc and that is where the biting comes from. Whereas the 2 I bought from a breeder were interacted into the family at a very young age.

Like me keep persevering, I know it is hard at times but just look forward to the day when she will calm down a little.

[goodboysergent]

thanks guys, i actually read through the stickies before my post was posted lol...and i tried the trade game and it worked perfectly and very quickly...i traded with small pieces of yummy hotdog which of course he has never had before...he started walking over to the mulch just to see if I was to give him a treat...he would quickly pick up a piece and look at me to say hey look what i have it was so cute...but now I can just say leave it and he understands what it means for all things he puts into his mouth...thanks a bunch!!