aggessively biting

[Carmen F]

Problem: 9 week old female aggressively biting. I am her primary caregiver and her biting has become increasingly difficult to deal with. She will haul off and latch onto my pant leg and not let go. When I remove her teeth she has begun to growl. I have tried many methods to stop this behavior including 1) saying "Jessy NO!" in a stern tone; 2) picking her up in my right arm, supporting her body with her head facing away from me and walk around in this manner to establish my dominance; 3) redirecting her to a chew toy; and 4) flicking her on the nose with a "Jessy NO!". When she does stop, I praise her but only to relive this activity hundreds of times a day.

This is not a puppy with an unknown history. Her pedigree is outstanding and I do know that puppies will be puppies and we must be patient, but I am extremely concerned that I react to this behavior problem appropriately and immediately. This is not my first puppy Rottie but I have not experienced this behavior to this extent before.

I have browsed this web site many times prior to this new little one coming into our home (husband only, no kids, no other animals) and found the experience and advice to be a great insight.

Thanks for your time.

[WorkinDogz]

Carmen,

I've found that a puppy that grabs the pantleg when you're walking is a puppy with great prey/play drive and it's not meant as an insult to you; but as a really great game.

The growling when you remove her mouth (remember; she was just playing a super game of tug-o-war :) ) usually isn't "aggressive" type of growling; but the puppy play vocals.

Understand however; praising it wouldn't be something I'd do; but realizing it might not be a challenge to you.

Try getting the pups attention with another object while she is still connected to your pantleg.....then roll the object away from you after you've gotten her attention with it...

Biting on the hands when petting...biting the arms for no good reason.....is a little different in my mind than a pup who has the drive an excellent pedigree SHOULD provide :)

[Carmen F]

Thanks for the reassurance that this is just serious "puppy play". We have had two better days due to patience, patience and more patience. I understand that pedigree is not everything that your dog is, it's only a good base to start from. Then it's up to me to work with her very consistently on becoming an obedient dog and a great buddy! She's doing better and we start some classes very soon with the trainer I have used for my other dogs.

Again, Thank you!! Happy New Year!!!

[nontocchi]

My 13 week old puppy does this too. She was very animate about it when we first got her - chasing every child's pants, expecially dedicated to those children with flares that swished when they walk. She also chased socks - still on the feet of children. We got that "Bitter-end" spray stuff and would spray it on our pants or socks if she went after them. Now we tell her to drop-it and she'll let go, but that Bitter-end stuff was great. She caught on pretty quick too - we only used about 1/4 of the bottle. (We also used it on the furniture, wall, etc... all her favorite forbidden chewing things)

[German Vanegas]

Carmen F,
While I agree with what WorkingDogz stated (we both are on the "same page" most of the times), I want to add up a few things:

Yes, the biting you described appears to be motivated by a high driven puppy. Prey drive is expected on a well-bred Rottweiler. Properly channelized, prey drive can be used for obedience and sports training, and also for personal protection training.

However, I don't want to leave people under the impression that a puppy biting you is acceptable. I just can imagine some people misreading what WorkingDogz replied, and say to themselves: "Oooooh! So all that aggressive biting from my puppy is actually good!". Well, not really.

As WorkingDogz already suggested, a puppy charged with prey drive has to be refocused on other things, such as:

-Throwing the ball to chase it.

-Playing "tug-of-war" with a towel. This is done under the leader of the pack rules, i.e. you decide when to play and you decide when to end the game (Caution: use maximum care not to mess up the puppy's teeth when playing "tug-of-war").

-Throwing stuffed animals for the puppy to chase, grab, and shake it (Get quality stuffed animals at pet stores).

-Giving the pup plenty of safe chewing toys.

However, you cannot, and should not, allow your puppy to bite you, or anybody else for that matter. That is simply unacceptable.

If your puppy insists in biting you, instead of accepting to refocus on other allowed object(s), then you grab your puppy by the scruff of the neck and shake it hard (until he releases the bite) while you say NO!!! with a firm tone of voice. As soon as your puppy let go biting, then you leave him alone and ignore him for at least 15 minutes. You come back and try playing again the right way. If your puppy does the unacceptable biting again, you apply the suggested correction method, as many times as necessary. Eventually, with fairness and consistency, the shaking of the scruff of the neck will correct his biting behavior, and so your puppy will focus on the allowed play biting.

Last, a puppy biting people is not a sign of normal behavior. In this case though, it appears to be motivated by prey drive, which is a good thing when is properly channelized. However, in other cases it may well be due to poor temperaments and/or weak nerves. So be aware, puppy biting has to be correctly interpreted ;)

[WorkinDogz]

Same book, same chapter, same page this time for sure German!

[Simba]

How long does it take for a puppy to get the No Bite through its head. Our puppy is still having trouble with this, he is now 14 weeks old. He is pretty good with not trying to nip me while playing, usually going to a chew toy right after I correct him, but he still tries to nip my fiance and brother while playing. Even after shaking him by the scruff of the neck he still comes back for more.
He is starting puppy kindergarten next week.
I know my parents dog was also a play nipper while a puppy, but I don't remember how long until she stopped. She is now a complete angel all of the time.
Thanks.

[Carmen F]

Simba,

I started my 11 week old yesterday in formal obedience training. The method I am using and have used in the past is a quick snap on the leash and the word NO when the puppy is in the improper act. If she does it again, I react with the same correction. It helps to set up scenarios to correct the problem...for example, my pup has an obsession with my shoes and feet. I put my empty shoes on the family room floor (important: do not entice the puppy to the shoes simply let her/him go to them). When she puts her teeth on them, she gets a correction with a firm snap of the leash and a NO. My puppy learned this yesterday in a span of 3 approaches to the shoes and the fourth time she sniffed them and got her favorite chew toy instead. This morning she did it once, received a correction and has left them alone since.

I tried the scruff of the neck shake but find my puppy reacts and learns more quickly with the firm leash correction. They grow every day and this method allows you to have consistency with training even when you can no longer easily pick them up. Your intent is to get the puppies attention to stop whatever it may be she/he should not be doing, be it biting pant legs, hands or jumping. The correction is not to yank on the leash continuosly while yelling at the puppy but to get her/his attention with only one firm snap and they will sometimes yip because they are taken by surprise not because you have hurt them.

I think it was German V. in this thread who one good correction (shake) is worth a hundred nagging ones and believe me, it makes the puppy and you feel better to have good behavior. Everyone has training methods that they prefer and the one I use you may not feel comfortable with but I have used this with my other Rottie and she turned into an obedient and good family dog.

Good luck and most importantly, have fun in your puppy kindergarten class!!

[nontocchi]

So do you leave her on her leash all day long then?

My pup started classes this week and the trainer was so against yelling or raising the voice at all. She had some good suggestions for some of the common problems (ours was the only rottie pup) that I've heard on here before, and some new ones that I am finding helpful for others. Confused about her wearing the leash in the house though.

[frau]

Many people leave new pupson the leash in the house, until they have good house manners.

Just a note to add:

We went through the biting with Gypsy when we first brought her home almost 2 years ago. We did get it stopped through consistant persistence. But, it WILL show back up spontaneously if one (anyone playing with the dog) reinforces the behavior again inadvertently or on purpose.

I am guilty of this. Like to horse around with her on the floor. First thing I know, her mouth is open and I put my arm in. Can I blame the dog for this? Absolutely not. I forget.

So, watch yourself and all who play with the dog. Reinforcing the biting behavior will cause it to appear again. I remember somone posting on the Forum about a family member who would insist on playing roughly with his pup, encouraging biting. The response was unanimous--he was responsible for what others did with his dog.--Just Say N0, to them and insist folks treat your pup as you ask.

Now I digress--

Good luck,

Frau

[Carmen F]

Nontocchi,

Yes, I leave the leash on all day in the house and outside. The puppy must always be supervised when the leash is on. It only takes a second for a disastrous accident to happen so you need to be there. She is crated when she can not be supervised and the collar and leash are removed. It may seem a bit harsh to those who have not tried this method, I know it seemed cruel to me my first time around but if you understand what it means to the puppy's mind and what we are accomplishing here is to help them learn It works well for this puppy who is very prey-driven, dominant and just a curious puppy to help her learn what is not acceptable behavior.

About the trainer being so against yelling or raising the voice....IMO you need to reinforce the correction with a firm NO but you certainly don't need to yell (just like children, if the parents are always yelling at them they will quickly turn a deaf ear to anything that is said) but I do raise my voice to let my puppy know I mean business.

After giving her the correction, I redirect her to an acceptable toy and give her lots of praise and she gives me lots of kisses!!