HELP! Aggressive behavior!

[Amy Johnson]

Hello,

I just bought my goldendoodle puppy (9 weeks) a week ago and he is biting hard and lunging at us! I have tried everything the websites and youtube say to do and it seems to just make him worse. I tried yelping like a dog, strongly and consistently saying no bite, turning away and offering a toy. He just bites harder and if I turn around to walk away he just jumps on the back of me and bites! He only does this a couple times a day. I also make sure that he gets a lot of exercise. Is this normal puppy behavior because it seems way too aggressive! Does it just take longer than a week for him to pick up on this? How long until it stops? I would love to hear from others that have had this problem! Any dog trainers here or people that have gone through a training program with their dog? Also, we met the parents of my puppy and met the family that raised him before we bought him and they were all great. Thanks!

[Sue & Lily Grace]

Oh, I feel your pain.  Lily Grace is 15 weeks old today and 3 weeks ago I was sure I was doing something to cause the aggression in my dog.  I too did everything the books said and finally called a trainer because I was thinking I made a horrible expensive mistake.  I am not sure that Cheryl did anything to change Lily but she told me some dogs just had more energy and Lily needed avenues to get out her frustration.  I had to accept that my new pup was not like my former dog.  We played ball but it is my ball and when she comes after me I have a toy to put in her mouth.  Cheryl said to keep her on a leash and if she went into her puppy crazies to hold her off from me and let her have the crazies, and sooner or later she would see it would not get her anywhere.  Lily is very food motivated so we trained a lot and that helped her refocus.  

I wish I could tell you at 15 weeks all is well but it is not - it is 90% better but she still becomes a crazy dog.  She is no longer trying to hurt me and is learning to have a softer mouth.  I am hanging in there and it will get better for you also.  Good Luck and wishing you lots of patience.  

[Jen and Annie]

Yes, the young puppy blues. Annie used to do this A LOT when she was about that age, and although it seems aggressive, I believe that he is playing. My guess is that the first few days he was home, he was very quiet and calm, and then it seems out of nowhere - he is biting and nipping and acting crazy. What worked for us, was 'time out'. It does take a lot of consistency, and it is not something that will go away overnight - they have to learn that biting and nipping is not appropriate in your home. With their mom and littermates, biting was how they did things, so your pup just needs to learn that it's not OK in his new home. When Annie got too crazy and started going for our arm or hands, we either immediately left the room, or picked her up and went and stood in the corner staring at the wall. What this meant for her was 'biting means playtime is over'. You could also teach him how to 'give kisses'. You can put something 'smell good' on your hands, and while he's licking your hands tell him "give kisses" - do this several times until he knows the command, and once he understands that "give kisses" means to lick your hand - you could try to redirect the biting into 'give kisses'. It will get better, but he definitely needs to learn from you what the rules are. I use clicker training with Annie, and I'm a huge fan of it. there are lots of youtube 'trainers' that I follow... tab289, kikopup and zakgeorge are good ones, in my opinion. Good luck to you, the first few months are the hardest, but are the most important for training...

[F, Calla & Luca]

It sounds perfectly normal to me. What worked best for me was time out. I think pups are most likely to do this when they are tired or overexcited. I would put the pup in his crate or tether him , with a bite proof leash or cord to the doorknob or something like that. I bought a metal leash for Luca at that time of puppy hood because if I tethered him he'd bite through his leash. After a small nap he'd be fine again. It almost seems impossible that this adult dog who wouldn't dream of biting did it so regularly when he was a pup.

[GBK]

Exactly what F said, I had the same experiences with my Buddy.  Don't show anger or yell at the pup either, just calmly put him in a time out.  Your distress only adds fuel to the fire of the puppies energy. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Some other tips:

Never allow anyone to play games with the puppy in which they hold something (toy, treat, ball, whatever) above him and encourage him to jump and grab it. The dog never gets anything unless all 4 feet are on the ground.

Never allow anyone to play wrestling games with the puppy. This includes tug-of-war games where you allow the puppy to pull at something in your hand. He does not ever take anything from you, you give it to him.  Never wrestle a toy or ball out of his mouth; if he wants you to throw it for him or play with him, he must drop it first.

The instant the dog's teeth touch anyone's clothing or skin, the game or interaction ends. Stand up, walk away, ignore.

This is going to be difficult with young children in the home, but it is essential. Everyone in the family must be on the same page with this, as well as visitors.

 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

I found locking ourselves in the bathroom or another room for ~30 seconds after Luna got over-excited worked well.  We only came back out to "play" if she showed us she was calm (no whining, didn't immediately jump towards us when we came back out).  

[Becka]

J, did you actually have to lock the door? Somehow, as smart as she is, I can't see puppy Luna unlocking the bathroom door to bite you! ;)

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Well no, we just closed the door ;)

That would be pretty funny though!  Her nickname when she was little was "land shark" for a reason!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I agree with all this great advice.  I think at this stage the crate is your best friend.  I wouldn't give him too much freedom  and I'd try to keep the play as calm as possible.

[Adina P]

Hey you have a clone of my Rosco! He was JAWS incarnate, a pirahna, a crazy wild nipper...a Jekyl and Hyde. I wasn't married and had no kids then so he only bit me. But he was JUST like that. I don't have time to go over ideas but suffice to say nothing will put an automatic 'END' to it at this age. If you have kids you KNOW how many times they need reminders when they are little. Same here. But Rosco got his CGC and therapy dog registration at 19 months so there is hope :)

[Adina P]

Oh and I didn't play roughly with him or 'encourage' him...he'd start up during a mellow moment I was even ignoring him.

[Bonnie and Kona]

I just want to add a quick comment. You've gotten excellent advice already. I had to put Owen in his crate to make him take a nap. He would get more and more overly excited and wouldn't just naturally take a nap. The minute I would crate him when he was in a wild state he would fall asleep. I have one child who would settle down easily for naps and the other was a perpetual motion machine. Both needed naps. It is the same with dogs. Some get hyper when they are tired. I hope you see some progress with your little lunging, biting pup soon. (It will get better with patience and training... promise.)