8 week old puppy growling and biting - only me

[jazzie23]

Jazzie, is an 8 weeks old female, she was flown in from Wyoming at 51/2 weeks, I understand that is very difficult for a puppy to be taken away from her litter so early. She was fine until this past week, she started growling and biting - and it is definitely not playful kinda of biting. She is also barking at me from time to time, she seems to be only doing this to me - her owner. I live with my mom, I have been socializing her with dogs and humans. She seems to be fine with both. It seems as if her aggressive behavior is directed just at me. Other than this problem, she listen when I tell her to come, she knows sit and is almost house broken. I do crate her, overnight and throughout the day when nobody is around. I tried placing her on her back and holding her paws until she looks away from me, it works for a very short while, tried placing her on her side and holding her down when she barks and also from time to time to acquire dominance. She seems to be doing this to me when she wants to bite while playing or when something's not going her way. Please help, any advice? Will she grow out of this? Is she an Alpha female?

[kywildcat581]

Sounds like one to me, cocky little b**** is'nt she?

Now with her being this young this can be a critical point in her life for learning. being pulled from the litter this early keeps her from learning lifes little lessons from mom and siblings. (I don't think they get put into thier place)

As people have suggested to me, and I haven't been able to yet, but puppy classes. The trainer should show you ways to sucessfully and humanely get your role as alpha, and hers as the lesser.

Rotts are dominant dogs and they require a ot of attention and discipline in order to minimise this dominance. The classes will probably be the best road to take in this case.

What about the parents? Did you see them? Medical records? Reputable breeder? AKC?

These questions may not seem too important but all of these can play a small role in the behavior of the puppy!

[jazzie23]

I started puppy kindergarden classes last week, I will be taking her to a professional dog show trainer for one-on-one classes in a couple weeks.

The advices from the puppy classes haven't been working, that's what worries me - I don't understand why she's aggressive towards me, if I'm the one caring for her, grooming her, feeding her, playing with her and training her...

Like I said she obeys me 75% of the time and then she just snaps!

Her parents are supposedly very calm and behaved, unfortunately no medical records or AKC. My 18-year old brother surprised me with her, so all of the above was out of my control.

[kywildcat581]

I will tell you what then, I don't think I would be comfortable personally addressing this issue any further for I dont have adequate experience with pups this young. Who I would really like to see on this topic is the great Judi W. I am hoping she finds this situation for I think she would be one of the best people to post to this topic.

I would LOVE to help more but I only know what I have learned and I would hate to complicate things by correcting a puppy of that age like you would one a little older. help when I can, but I wont tell you something I don't know. :-)

I dont think this puppy knows her right from wrongs. I am going to keep an eye on this forum though and see what comes down.

There are ALOT of people here that help sp much, and are VERY good with this breed. I am going to sit back and learn as well. WELCOME!

[jazzie23]

Thanks a bunch for your advice, hopefully Judi W. will see this post and come to my rescue.

Again thank you!

[JeanT]

While awaiting the reappearance of Judi W from stealth mode, you may find this of interest:

http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/showthread.php?t=44486

[Judi W]

Well, I'm almost out to door and will be gone for a few days. She's objecting to you because you are the one most likely stop her activity and fun. Simple enough.

Unfortunately, too often the KPT classes just want you to do rollovers and pins. You are right, they are not particularly effective. When pup is on a tear, snap on a lead and go do something interesting and that includes teaching something and do it with fun. There has been a lot said about pesky pup stuff on the puppy development forum. Can't always tell by the title (some are quite vague) but check out those that reference bahavior in the same/similar age pups. There are a couple of threads that are fairly recent.

Stop the pinning to the floor. That only stimulates a physical fight and does not affect mental deferance. Always make every effort to work with the pup instead of against it. Only really huge sins should warrant such a harsh punishment. If pup is really getting carried away, I prefer to stop all movement, mine and the pups. Hold pup in a sit position by the collar and simply wait and wait and wait until you see the body change. No verbalizing on your part, no shaking, nothing. You might see some serious thrashing around for a few minutes however if you have the collar correctly held (hand through the collar and forearm on the whithers), things will stop and settle. Do not release immediately. Wait and wait and when you do release the collar, do so without any excitement or talking. Simply release calmly.

That's a quickie because I have to pack up.

[kywildcat581]

woohoo, and Judi W comes out of this stealth mode, (thanks for CMA Judi lol)

and BTW, you are welcome - I do try to help to the best of my knowledge... BTW at 6 weeks... can you get a picture?

[jazzie23]

What does BTW stand for? And if you are asking for Jazzie's pics at 6 weeks, as soon as I get them downloaded I'll let you know.

Again, thank you!

[kywildcat581]

BTW - By the way - no problem at all, will be awaiting pictures