# Aggressive bahaviour



## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)




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## CRS250 (Dec 31, 2012)

The videos linked give you the concept, but the dogs they are working with are not in the landshark phase.

My wife had a similar problem with our pup when our pup was at this age. She was yelling NO! at the top of her lungs when he'd do these things, or OFF! I was yelling like that when he jumped up, but not for play biting. So I think I may have some insight into what is happening here. It wasnt until we were in puppy class(17 weeks old) and our trainer pointed out what we were doing to us, that it really clicked in my head.

If the dog does something you don't want him to do, the positive training suggestion is not to yell at him, but rather to redirect. There is no time where you are yelling NO! or OFF! to instigate the confrontation. If you want to say or do something more than just replace your hand with a toy, it would be to whine that he is hurting you, not to "correct" him. If he fails to respond to the sound you make that you are being hurt, then you stop play and remove yourself from the situation. Stand up, turn your back, etc. If the bad behavior persists, then you do something more significant, like a 30 second time out in a dark room(not his crate), or remove yourself from his play space. He learns that biting and poor behavior means the loss of his playmates. Not that these things mean fun aggressive sounds and escalating the level of play.

It's a difficult concept to actually apply correctly, it is definitely not something that came naturally to me, those puppy teeth hurt, and I'm terrible embarrassed if my dog, regardless of age, jumps on someone. Even if you are doing it correctly, it takes weeks and *hundreds* of repeated consistent responses to work correctly.

The good news is that it does get better, usually around 18 - 20 weeks. The more socialization and playing with other vaccinated, safe puppies that your puppy gets the quicker and less painful this phase will be for you. They learn best and most quickly from other dogs, not our fumbling attempts at teaching them manners.


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## Gwen_Dandridge (Jul 14, 2012)

Josh's nose finally healed after Maddie lunged at him at 7 weeks. She would never dream of doing anything like that now. Mostly it was just age for her, not training.


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

I have read a variety of methods forum members have tried with their animals. The options run from yelping, to curling their lip under their teeth so they inadvertently bite themselves. 

The barking and the snapping is a puppy who doesn't have manners and/or control yet, which is to be expected @ 13 weeks old. IMO, it has to do with impulse control. When something flashes across their vision they just have to GET it! My Bear is 16 months old and he STILL has trouble keeping that in check. I recommend you start working on some impulse control games, in addition to yelping and redircting them to a toy. When they have tantrums, stick them in the crate or x-pen for 5-10 minutes so they can cool off.


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

Sorry I did not have time to elaborate a little more this morning. I was in a hurry and did not have time. The reason I always post the two videos when a question like this arises is because while both effective, the first video gives you the tone. Soft but controlling/commanding. The second video would only encourage a puppy to jump more at you as the guy is using a hyper voice. 
The video should be used when the puppy is not in the zoomie phases. I personally never encouraged zoomies - if you want to teach a puppy impulse control allowing zoomies is a no no in my book. I have always used time outs for the zoomies and have changed the time out space, hallway, a different room etc as I did not want the puppy to associate any space with a "bad" space.


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## steviesmom (Jan 6, 2014)

Thanks for all the tips we are trying to apply them as best and consistent as possible.

She's a great pup and just learning but its breaking our hearts to see he frustration with it too.

She bit last night and drew blood and nothing seemed to work to calm her down last night, chalking it off to a bad day and continuing the process today


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## coffenut (Jan 3, 2012)

When Káva was a puppy she was an incredible landshark ..... one of the things that seemed to really help was when I was given a toy very similar to this oneAmazon.com: Squishy Face Studio Flirt Pole with Braided Fleece Toss Lure - 36 inch Pole, 52 inch Cord - Durable Dog Toy for Fun Obedience Training & Exercise: Pet Supplies. This is great for redirecting and she still loves playing with it.


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## steviesmom (Jan 6, 2014)

Thanks coffeenut will definitely pick up one.

Her kong with treats usually can work too but don't want her to think we are rewarding the bad behavior either.

But that toy really looks like a good redirecter!


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

CRS250 said:


> If the dog does something you don't want him to do, the positive training suggestion is not to yell at him, but rather to redirect. There is no time where you are yelling NO! or OFF! to instigate the confrontation.


Thanks for this. I so agree with you. I've noticed that scolding, with lots of pups, just adds a lot of confusion and bad energy to a situation, so you get a confused dog who does bratty or anxious things like barking or nipping harder. And if you yell "no" or grab the muzzle and then the puppy bites you and you jerk your hand back, guess what? You just taught him that you're untrustworthy and that biting works. That's a disaster.

However, if you show the pup that biting, which is his attempt to explore the world and play with you, backfires by making you less exciting, he'll learn pretty quickly how to continue playtime and how to avoid making you boring.


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