# Hyperactive, destructive and biting



## WoofWoof (Apr 21, 2008)

Our puppy is 6 months old and seriously trying our patience!
He jumps up and bites all the time - and it hurts! We've tried saying ouch, no, ignoring him, substuting a toy but nothing works. He just keeps on lunging and biting - he'll growl and bark at us too. We don't have a crate so he goes in the kitchen behind a stair gate for a "time out". If we want to put him there or even to put him outside he'll throw himself on the floor and bite our hands.
He also won't play with toys. We do try - we throw a ball or play tug but within about a minute he'll leave the toy and start jumping up and biting.
The other thing he does is stealing - he'll grab anything he can of tables or surfaces. He managed to get hold of a knife today - I've no idea how he reached it! He only does it if we're in the house though - if he's left home alone he dosen't touch a thing.

He's just becoming such hard work - owning a dog is supposed to be a pleasure and he's making it so hard.

He's good out walking - it's just issues at home!

HELP!!!!


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## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

WoofWoof said:


> He's just becoming such hard work - owning a dog is supposed to be a pleasure and he's making it so hard.


I think you may have had some unrealistic expectations about puppy behavior! Puppies ARE hard work. They are a lot of fun too, but man can they be exhausting sometimes.

Have you gone through puppy kindergarten? If not, I'd definitely suggest you sign up for a class. A trainer can help you work through some of these issues. If you've already done puppy kindergarten, sign up for the next level of class. You need to spend a lot of time working with your puppy in order to end up with a well trained dog. Rookie is 18 months old and I still work with him at least 4 or 5 times a week on his training. It's definitely an ongoing process.

How much exercise does your puppy get? Rookie needs a lot of exercise in order to be calm in the house. Make sure he gets lots of time running around in the yard and walking on leash. At least twice a day. If you wear him out, he's likely to be better behaved. Rookie is obnoxious when he doesn't get enough exercise.

I had to seriously control the environment for Rookie until he was a year old. In my case that meant absolutely NOTHING on the table or counter that he could grab. Even now at 18 months, I am still very careful that there is nothing that could possibly tempt him within his reach. If he does take something, he does drop it when I tell him to. But only because I spent a LOT of time working on the "drop it" command with him.

I really think exercise and training will make life with a puppy much more pleasant. But don't kid yourself... as much fun as puppies are, they are also a lot of work.


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## nixietink (Apr 3, 2008)

WoofWoof said:


> Our puppy is 6 months old and seriously trying our patience!
> He jumps up and bites all the time - and it hurts! We've tried saying ouch, no, ignoring him, substuting a toy but nothing works. He just keeps on lunging and biting - he'll growl and bark at us too. We don't have a crate so he goes in the kitchen behind a stair gate for a "time out". If we want to put him there or even to put him outside he'll throw himself on the floor and bite our hands.
> He also won't play with toys. We do try - we throw a ball or play tug but within about a minute he'll leave the toy and start jumping up and biting.
> The other thing he does is stealing - he'll grab anything he can of tables or surfaces. He managed to get hold of a knife today - I've no idea how he reached it! He only does it if we're in the house though - if he's left home alone he dosen't touch a thing.
> ...


He's seeking your attention it seems and getting it too. 

My Vito is the same way. He is 7 months, and he doesn't steal things on the counter but he'll bite. If we turn away he barks and will growl and grab my clothes. The second I turn around he runs away. He WANTS me to chase him. I've resorted to a spray bottle and then redirection when he stops. That water bottle is NEVER far from sight because if it is? I have to walk over to get it and lord knows Vito is biting my clothes the whole way, LOL.

Honestly, I just tell myself it will get better. He's in his PITA stage. Exercise is a BIG help though. If he hasn't had enough all night he is shoving his toys in your face and aggravating our other dog. Running around the yard, walking, all good stuff.


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## Brady's mom (Dec 20, 2007)

6 months is a terrible age! We hired a private trainer to help us with the jumping and biting and we saw a significant improvement. At 11 months, Brady is by no means perfect, but he's a much more tolerable dog than he was at 6-7 months. Hang in there!!


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## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

Try keeping a lead on him in the house. You can then do corrections for the jumping and counter surfing and keep those shark teeth off of your body parts. Exercise, exercise and more exercise will help him focus on training, which you have to do a lot of with an adolescent puppy. You'll look back on these days and laugh, but they certainly are trying while you're living through them.


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

As far as the biting goes he needs to learn a soft and sensitive mouth. This link is helpful in teaching bite inhibition http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm

Though at 4, 5 and 6 months Lucky would sometimes go through a puppy frenzy of hard nipping, he was beginning to learn control and starting to obey our command of no-bite and "gentle".

Puppies are not fun (in my eyes). They are alotta work. The benefit is that after allotta of work you have a fantastic companion. By a year Lucky had truely gained significant control...but each dog is different.

Give your puppy about three times more exercise and you will probably see a huge difference. It is true that a tired puppy is a good puppy.

hang in there and keep working with him.


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## MycrazyGoldengang (Jan 15, 2008)

Sorry but the crate was a god send for us, every time Elle was having one of her moments we put her in her crate but not as punishment but chill out time.

It took 10/15 minutes for her to calm down and often she would end up having a nap. (heaven)

In the end we would leave the door open and she treated it as her den and we would often find her in there watching the world go by.

It was never her punishment area and we used to say chill out time and put her in there to give her and us a break.

Worked for us.


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## WoofWoof (Apr 21, 2008)

Thanks for the advice! We are going to increase his exercise - see if he can get rid of some of his excess energy!


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

I second the idea of obedience classes. They work wonders for the owner and the dog!
Nothing equals it as far as I'm concerned. Bonding /training for you and your pup!


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## arcane (Sep 18, 2007)

perhaps the temperament of this pup is also not suited to you ...unfortunetly this can happen when people "choose" their own pup...was he the most dominant pup in the litter? 
I agree increase his activity and get him to classes and start working on obedience...puppies are a ton of work, and frustrating as well...good luck and keep us posted. A crate imo is a godsend ...I would not have a puppy without one.


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

Sound like Our Penny at that age...and even past 2 years old. I threatened her with rescue (she knew I would never do it) almost everyday. She was quiet most of the day and then BAM would go off at 3 pm every afternoon until 8:30 when she turned 'off' and went to sleep for the night. She also bit, jumped, chomped onto pants legs/shoes/sock/feet and didn't mind being dragged through the house...growling all the way. She was a MONSTER!

But: very bright!

You should start puppy obedience classes asap and continue through a few levels of obedience. A good, positive trainer will help you deal with these issues as well as help you develop a bond between you. Obedience helps to establish your dog's respect for you and your authority.

We also got Penny an invisible fence at 5 months. She required intense physical activity with 2 very large balls EVERY SINGLE NIGHT for at least 1 hour. She'd put her shoulder to the ball and 'steer' it all over the yard. When it went 'out of bounds' we'd get it, throw it back into the yard and she'd bonk it off her nose. Her ultimate record was bonk-chase 4 times in a row without letting it touch the grass.

She's 6 1/2 now and still wants to play everyday only now it's for about 1/2 hour at 7:30. In fact we had a chilly night a week ago so I got out my slippers. Regular, plain slippers, soft. She STILL thinks I've put chew toys on my feet. She went nuts yesterday when I got out my 'kitty head and paws' slippers.

Get some professional classes, at least until pup is 2 years old, be patient and enjoy. Our Penny is so much fun, I wouldn't have changed a thing!


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