very concerned about puppy behavior

[Nelsonm64]

Originally Posted by Maxxx

The puppy k class we took Max to allowed puppies as young as 10 weeks to start the classes. Just needed proof of vaccination on the first day of class.

Definitely redirection. Our floors were covered with toys when Max was younger. Stick a toy in his mouth and praise like crazy when he's chewing on the toy.

what do you do when he takes the toy for 2 seconds and then spits it out and locks on to my armor whatever he can? i try to be calm and remove myself, but then he just runs at me and latches on to whatever body part he can get at! i just dont know what to do! he gets his second set of shots on friday, and then he goes to puppy class. Maximus is so smart, and going to be a great dog IF i can only get through this stage ... my last male Baron wasn't half this bad at this age.

[Maxxx]

When he launches himself at you, do you acknowledge him in any way? Look at him, speak to him, yell at him? Puppies don't know the difference between positive attention and negative attention. If you are paying any attention to him when he's biting you, he'll keep doing it. Only give him attention and praise when he's got the toy in his mouth. He's biting you, you say "uh uh" in a neutral voice and stick the toy in his mouth, praise as soon as he's got it in his mouth, "good boy, what a smart boy" and keep repeating it over and over until he gets it. And he will.

I know it seems like it will never get better, but it will. Just stick with it. All puppies are different. Some are sharks, some aren't. You just happened to get Jaws

[AngelBunny]

Originally Posted by Maxxx

The puppy k class we took Max to allowed puppies as young as 10 weeks to start the classes. Just needed proof of vaccination on the first day of class.

My kennel club has puppy K classes for puppies 8-16 weeks old.

[Nelsonm64]

Originally Posted by Maxxx

When he launches himself at you, do you acknowledge him in any way? Look at him, speak to him, yell at him? Puppies don't know the difference between positive attention and negative attention. If you are paying any attention to him when he's biting you, he'll keep doing it. Only give him attention and praise when he's got the toy in his mouth. He's biting you, you say "uh uh" in a neutral voice and stick the toy in his mouth, praise as soon as he's got it in his mouth, "good boy, what a smart boy" and keep repeating it over and over until he gets it. And he will.

I know it seems like it will never get better, but it will. Just stick with it. All puppies are different. Some are sharks, some aren't. You just happened to get Jaws

i do look at him and as calmly and sternly as i can, say "no bite" and plug a toy in his mouth. however its sounds like i should just ignore the pain ;) and keep redirecting.

oh its going to be a long 18 months.

[Diva Satanica]

Originally Posted by Nelsonm64

oh its going to be a long 18 months.

LMAO, I actually did laugh out loud at that one. I feel your pain.......

[lblax]

Originally Posted by marley08

I have been reading about the puppy nipping and biting and how that is pretty normal in puppies. But my puppy seems to take it a bit further. When I attempt to correct the nipping he seems to get "mad" and begins growling and snarling and biting, very hard. I try and use the correction methods I read about -- dog whisperer type - and the methods a trainer taught me along the same lines but he just doesn't stop.

tonight we had an episode that lasted 15 minutes!! then after a few mintues he started again. I couldn't go through it again so I just put him in his crate.

He has bitten me several times during these episodes. They had stopped for a while but the past 2 days have been awful again.

I really want to hear that this will work itself out but needless to say I am very concerned. He's not yet 4 months old and I can hold him down...

We haven't started obedience classes yet -- the first one is June 2.

Do I have a freak dog? Please tell me there's hope....

yes there is hope . people have problems with this kind of behaviour because they try to correct it. it will all go away between 5 and 9 months and after the baby teeth are gone it wont be so bad anyway. in the mean time play alot with your puppy tug games and such /chasing a ball and make sure he has plenty of toys to redirect to and when it gets too much just put him in a crate.i personally would stay away from puppy kindergarten classes because the majoriaty of them push trainingn and not just manners and the socialization you get at one is usually worthless. teach your puppy to walk on a loose leash/sit when petted/taking food gently / take him and expose him to all types of people and places and situations then at about 6 months enroll him in a nice competetant training facilitie that does group training

[Maxxx]

Originally Posted by AngelBunny

My kennel club has puppy K classes for puppies 8-16 weeks old.

I'm sure there are a lot of classes that do start off at 8 weeks of age, I am by no means suggesting they wait until 10 weeks to get their pups enrolled in classes. I'm just stating the classes I brought Max too start them at 10 weeks.

Obviously, the sooner you can get your puppy enrolled in classes, the better.

Originally Posted by Nelsonm64

i do look at him and as calmly and sternly as i can, say "no bite" and plug a toy in his mouth. however its sounds like i should just ignore the pain ;) and keep redirecting.

oh its going to be a long 18 months.

That's about all you can do Some have suggested using a Chilly Bone to help with the redirection since it can be frozen and some pups like the cold in their mouths, so are more apt to chew on it. Max never did take to the cold chews, but it could be worth a try.

[chevy boy]

i'm no expert but we had some of the same issues and with constant redirection things have gotten so much better. chevy is 6 months old now and its like somebody flipped a switch. the days of being a land shark seem to be coming to an end. by the way where in PA are you from?