puppy attacking me
|
|
| Hi Katy do register for the forum it free.
Your puppy is hitting the teenage faze, all so overexcitement can cause them to go silly. Sounds like overexcitement and going into hyper drive. Plus OES do have a strong chase and nip drive it comes from a herding instinct they can have. Hoefully some people will chime in with some advice, you take him to obeidence which is great, keep that up, at the moment I would suggest as he gets silly, nippy and bouncey when off lead and now it is getting serious with you getting hurt, no off lead free running at the moment till he is more under controll. He sounds OK on the lead so stick to that till others can suggest how to tackle the free running frenzie for the time being.  |
Hi Katy! I apologize in advance for a long reply, but I like to be descriptive I guess 
Sunny did this to us too, at about that same age. You're pup is a teenager and is testing your limits, and most importantly, trying to figure out who is pack leader. (there's probably more going on too, but I'll comment on these two aspects). The only thing that worked for us while actually on the walk, was to esentially, "take her down", as in grabbing her by the scruff of the neck, pulling her down to the ground and being gruff with her. This is what was recommended to us by a trainer. I still feel uneasy talking about it, it was pretty intense and wish it didn't come to this. It's intimidating, as at 8 months, she was already big and couldn't taken me in a fight! But it worked, she no longer challenges us. However, this was combined with a lot of at home training about "pack order". Here are a few things we did at home to teach her that she's Omega, and that we're Alpha. -Ignore her when she comes to you for attention, then a few minutes later, if you choose, invite her to come over and give her attention- on your terms. She needs to earn affection (this is hard, but important). Be consistent. Don't engage in "pull" games when playing. If she starts to pull on a toy, win the pull, then put the toy away and walk away. She will get big enough later, that you won't be able to always win the pull, and that will diminish your status in the pack. Better yet, teach her to "drop it" with toys. -If she's lying in your path, don't ever step over her, make her move. (just shimmy your feet under her while saying "move".) Don't praise her when she moves, just keep walking. She'll eventually get it, and will move when she sees you coming. Be consistent, she can't get away with it ever. -Teach her "wait", and make her wait for her food when you give it to her. Give her 2-3 small meals, so she finishes it each time and doesn't have access to food all day long. This makes you in charge of her access to food. Make her wait for you to go through doors, hallways, stairs etc. first. -Don't allow her access to your entire house. Pick a few rooms, either your bedroom, the whole upstairs, whatever you choose, to be off limits to her. Teach her to not go in, you should be able to leave the door open, she should know where she isn't allowed to go. You can give her access later to these places, but only once she knows her place in the pack. Sunny did great with this, but we still didn't allow her access to our upstairs floor until she was over a year and a half old. Just to solidify it in her mind that she's not the leader. She still isn't allowed into the nursery though, and respects this. Again, be consistent, she's never allowed in that certain room, ever, until she gets it. On the flip side, you need to be going into HER territory a lot too, namely, the back yard. Dogs can get territorial of their backyard if their people are never in it. They view it as their "upstairs". -One more thing, put her on a lead, and tie her to your waist while at home going about your daily tasks. This way, she learns that she's unerneath you in pack order- she doesn't have say where she goes all the time, and must respond when you move about. Do this for about an hour a day. (I actually saw this on a tv show too, it seemed to work for most people there too). The biggest thing with dog training is establishing that you and all other humans are above your dog in pack order. This might seem harsh, but dogs crave an established pack order. If you don't provide leadership, they will take it on, just so that it exists. Even a shy, anxious dog will take over role of leader if you don't. Some dogs (ie our Sunny), will vie for the position of alpha off and on, and must always be taught and reminded that no matter what, they're not Alpha. We see this every now and then when I know Sunny is tired and I don't make her "move" for me- she starts to buck my authority in other areas. She's just a natural born leader I guess OES's on the whole are tricky to train because they were bred to be independent thinkers, not people pleasers, because they had to be in the field alone and problem solve on their own. So if they think they know a better way than what you're suggesting, they'll do it. It's a good trait, they're smart. We just need to train them with that in mind. Consistency (including consistent discipline) is the key, and NO TREAT TRAINING! If they don't feel like the treat, they won't do the command
Hope that helps a bit. I would recommend that you sign up for an account on the forum, it's a great community, very supportive and a wealth of knowledge of the breed. Keep us posted! |
| Awww, puppy stage...
Horrific at times! When you scruff him what do you do? Do you settle him or just grab his scruff? If you just scruff him you are really not teaching him much (In my opinion but, you are on the right track) If you gently scruff and settle him until he clams down.. you will get somehwere! MAYBE.... He really has to know you are alpha and he can not bite you! Of Course it is probably puppy stuff but, you don't want it to progress.. Good Luck!!! |
| When Toby was about the same age he also did about the same thing. I rolled him and held him down until he calmed down and after that we really never had any more problems as to who was boss. |
The brat stage 
You might try this... He jumps, you mark the negative behavior with a stern uh-uh or no. He does it again, you scruff and settle him... tell him to settle as Kathy describes. If he jumps yet again, you immediately escort him to a private room for 3 minutes and shut the door, isolating him. After 3 minutes, he's allowed back out. He does it again, repeat the process. If you're consistent, he'll hopefully learn it's not going to be a tolerated behavior. If you don't already, use a cardboard finger nail file to round up any rough nails... or use a dog nail grinder. It can help to save some skin. |
| I'm a bit relieved to hear that my dog wasn't the only one that needed to be"scruffed"! lol Not that I want others to go through it, but I thought she was insane for a while there! Either she's normal, or OES's are all crazy!
Filing down the claws is such a great idea, wish I had thought of that last summer when Sunny was at her wackiest! |
Ah, your post brought back memories...Mine used to jump at me and bite at my arm, head, whatever was in the way. I had black and blue marks all over. At one point I would wrap my arms up in towels uner my coat as a buffer 
We did what firm"No". A toy in the mouth. An "alpha roll" as they call it...the roll and hold down. That did not work well by the way and I think made him worse. He went through two winter coats on me, jumping and biting the hood and sleeves...a terror on four paws. We found what helped the most was EXERCISE. We ran him outside, threw fetch balls, long walks and more running in the yard. Also, strangely enough, we found when he was the MOST annoying, he had to poop! And he would do his "crazy dog" rountine running around like a mad man every night at about 7 pm... Obedience school helped tremendously. And easier, less harsh tactics at training also helped. No more "alpha rolls". Also what helped tremendously was the long down. with a treat, lure him into a down position. Treat. Then tell him to stay but you need to stay close if he doesn't know the exercise. Any time he attempts to get up and he will you need to hold him down. he may struggle but keep him in a down ( doesn't have to be on his back like the alpha roll idea). Tell him to "settle". he will but it may take time so do it when you have the patience to do it. After about ten or fifteen minutes of him quietly in the down, release him with a big OKAY and do this every night, five times a week until he can stay down for 30 minutes. The idea is for him to learn to "settle" and to not get up until you tell yhim to. So even if its for 5 minutes, make sure its you who tells him its okay tog et up and NOT him deciding he doesn't want to do it anymore. A great book is Dog Training for Dummies by Jack and Wendy Volhard. They are the experts on dog training, world renowned and recently admitted to the Dog Training Hall of Fame. Their books are great. By the way, my dog is now 2 and a half. No problems with the jumping, nipping and biting AND i have the same winter coat as last year with no bite holes  |
| Thank you for all the advice. It's nice to know Monty is normal (my mum told my all OES were crazy for 28 years to try and put me off getting him and i was beginning to think she was right!-he is crazy but good crazy!)
I think i do most of the pack leader stuff as he is not allowed upstairs, on sofas or in the lounge unless we are in. I make him move, sit before we go out and i always go in and out before him. I also make him work for his food (walks then sit). Good idea about giving him attention on my terms and getting him to go round the house with me. He does do the attacking even when he is on the lead. Am i still best not letting him off? Are walks are normally 30 mins of lead walking and 10 mins off off lead. Thanks for explaining the settle. I had tried to hold him down but as soon as i let go he would stat again and he was def angry/scared as his tail was down and would go at me even more. Am i right in thinking that i just need to get him to do stay for longer (he is good at that) or do i still need to hold him down to show him who is boss? Im going to order that book! |
| You have to hold him down until he is calm and show him you are the boss. Kind of what his mother did when he was a puppy. |
| Yes, you do have to hold him down until he settles. Once he settle, and he will...eventually...then stay right next to him. Take your hand off him but keep close by. If he attempts to get up...and he will...hold him down again and command, down, stay. Believe it or not, he will stay down after a while. He may even fall asleep. But even if he falls alseep while he is in his "down stay" after the time you decide, be sure to release him with your release word ( I use a very excited "OK) and release him, and give him lots of praise.
The book is great. I attend the Volhard's training camp every year. They are wonderful trainers and wonderful people. You will enjoy the book. Good luck with the puppy. You will survive, don't worry |
Oh my, you must have my Kody's evil twin...lol...I went through the same faze with Kody just a few short months ago and everyone on here was so helpful with the advise. Kody is now 14 months old and I no longer look like a domestic violence victim. Kody would go through that frenzy spell as well and would only get rougher the more I tried to make him stop. What worked for me was I would get him on his side, I would straddle him and softly talk to him until he would eventually go limp and stop fighting me. It did not work overnight but within about a week I started seeing improvement. I also had to get him to take naps as well since he was not sleeping and he was over tired. I thought that I had to make him sleep in the crate in order to train him, but he refused to sleep in it during the day. I tried putting a blanket over it thinking it was the daylight that was causing the problem, still he would not sleep. What did end up working is he now takes naps on the end of my bed every afternoon and then early evening. I think it's because he can smell my scent in the room and he can relax. Yes, it's on my bed but I never made my room off limits to him, nor will I because I like it when I walk past and see him flat on his back snoozing away because when he gets up from his nap he's a big lovebug! The funny thing is that he will sleep in his crate at night no problem. This is just what worked for me, you will need to try different suggestions from others as well until you find what works for you! Good Luck, and trust me I was just as frustrated as you are and thought I had made a mistake in getting Kody, but now I'm glad I did! He still has his moments but the snuggles and the laughter he has brought into my life far outweigh his momentary regressions!  |
| Thank you for this post! I have spent many a year with guilt over my feelings of frustration and having to take a hard line with my OES. No more!!! My first one was very meek and I didn't have any of this dominance challenging stuff with her. However, then came Gracie from the shelter... many of the exact same behaviors you all have described even though she was 1.5 years already. Wondering now if that was why her owners did not come to claim her from the shelter even though they were notified of her presence there...?
In addition a couple of things that worked with her. On walks I would carry a glass jar with coins in it and shake it when she'd start up to distract her, cause at least with her any commands or attempts to calm her seemed to be taken as a challenge and only escalate her behaviors. For inside behaviors, a great tip I got from a book "Think dog" (I think that was the name of it) was to go to a door, start opening it -- of course she would start to barge through -- simply close it on her, no commands, no sorry's if she got nipped by the door etc. do it as many times as needed until she would just wait when the door opens and you go throught first. It was like a miracle drug for her minding me indoors! Also paid attention to me going up/down stairs ahead of her etc. I'm horrified of what I'm about to say but I kinda miss those crazy days. I felt it was such a rich time of getting to know her and bonding with her since I did not have her in her sweet puppy days. In that book too they talked about holding gaze with her until she looks away. It said eventually you will get to experience those long love gazes that are not a challenge -- I used to have great doubts of the challenging ever going away at the time, but now many a lazy afternoon I get the love looks. It's all worth it!
Salla. |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|