Still nipping, biting and jumping at 8 months old

[Betsy Laban]

We have an 8 month old male who is a gem most of the time but sometimes he gets really worked up...starts nipping and jumping.

Oh but it didn't stop there...he now wants to bare his teeth and snap at me to the point where I am bruised from it.

It just seems to come out of nowhere.

I am ok with trying the time out every time he gets near me with his teeth but my biggest problem is that he starts sometimes on his walk.

I have tried getting him to do simple commands to distract him.

I have tried stepping on his leash so he can't jump on me.

But he gets completely out of control.

Suggestions?

We do have a private trainer coming in.  She helped us alot for the first frew months and I decided to take him to a group obedience class.  I think some of the more agressive dogs worried him and got him worked up...so time to take him back to one on one for a while until I can get a little more control.

By the way...the "OUCH" doesn't work, turning my back on him just makes him jump and nip at my back.  All I have is 'time out' that works for us...but not on a walk :(

[Adina P]

Sounds like my Rosco at that age. I thought he might eat me one day. What saved us was obedience training...serious devotion to obedience training. He's a GEM of a dog now.

[Phoebe's Mom]

I hate to admit it but sounds just like my Phoebe, too! She had a particular 'love' for my older son as well and some days he hated walking down the steps in the morning for fear of Phoebe's out of control attacks. We had a private trainer come to the house who suggested putting her in an ex-pen for a little while when she would get over-excited both to isolate her and to give us a much needed break. She slowly came around but when she turned one it was as if a switch was flicked and she turned into a kinder/gentler dog. Phoebe is an amazing pup these days. Hang in there!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Here's something my trainer taught me. During our walks I have taught them that they have to sit whenever I stop walking. It takes practice. You have to do it over and over again in the driveway or on a very short walk. I'm thinking it took about three weeks of practice before it became a total habit. I did use treats as reinforcements, heavily at the beginning and then tapering off. Once it becomes an expectation for them, if he starts to get "rambunctious" you can just stop walking and he should go into a sit. If he does...good treats. If he doesn't, you need to make him. Then stay in that position until you feel he's calmed down. I still do this several times during our walks, even when they're heeling well. I don't know if this will work for you, but it does help me keep control of my two guys throughout the walk.

[Anne & Mr. Haley]

Haley did the same thing at that age - scary. Nothing seemed to work until I discovered the squirt bottle. A stream of water in the face and a stern "off" would stop the action. I kept the bottle next to his leash and put it in my pocket every time I took him out. Eventually he stopped doing it.

[L.M.]

I responded to a post similar to this a while ago, and am going to say the same thing here....when I think of my puppy at 8 months, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It is just the age of terror lol. The "Ouch" thing totally doesn't work for me either. My dog was testing my husband and me at that age and it continued maybe till about 11 months...but it does go away...I promise. I had the same problem on walks...if my pup got distracted and I wanted to keep walking, he would wrap his front legs around mine (as if to hump) and wouldn't let go and would jump and just generally be obnoxious. It was awful and embarrassing, not to mention painful as he was about 50 pounds at the time. I don't know how you feel about training collars (choke collars...no prongs or anything, just a chain) but it was honestly the ONLY thing that worked. They don't hurt him...he doesn't cry or run away from them, but they allowed me to control a puppy that was almost half my weight. (I too had a private trainer and she was the one who suggested the training collar.) I still use it today (our pup is just over a year) and it still works wonderfully. He doesn't jump or do his obnoxious antics anymore and he walks beautifully at my side 100% of the time now. We also kept the leash/training collar on at his "obnoxious times" in the house too and corrected his bad behavior with it by lightly pulling the collar and telling him to sit. That also worked very well. He will calm down in a few months with training and just with growing out of this awful stage! Good luck!

[Beverly & Teddy]

Well I too am having this problem with Teddy who is 6 months. He started out being very mouthy and biting me as if I was a litter mate. We went through basic manner training but he still at times will demand attention from me. If I turn my back to him he bites the back of my leg or my back what ever he can reach. Many times when we are beginning our walk he jumps and bites at the leash and acts as if he does not want to go for a walk at all. Then the further we walk the better he behaves. It has helped to place him in time out but he still trys it again later. I saw improvement as he recognizes me as the pack leader and not a litter mate but it is still very frustrating.
Glad to read from others that it will get better with time and being more consistent. I must admit there have been times when I can not immediately respond to his nips and he may see my responses as slot machine worth the gamble. It is depressing though to hear it may take up to a year though before seeing consistent improvement!
Please keep the suggestions coming for both of us!

[Holly Doodle]

Holly also did this from 6-8 months or so. One of the things that really helped us was not to take it personally! I used to get so upset when she would have these episodes and it made them way worse. It was almost as if I built up anger towards her and she could sense it, don't let this happen. If you even see the slightest sign that she may have an episode, make her do something you can praise her for before she goes crazy. For example make her sit and immediately give her a treat and a lot of praise. Positive reinforcement really really helped us! You really have to watch for the signs and try to prevent it, until she outgrows this tough stage. Good luck, and remember, it will pass!

[Betsy Laban]

Thanks so much to all of you for your input...it really does help alot to know I am not alone.
I was curious too if perhaps his being neutered at 6 weeks old might have been part of the issue?
Sounds like, though, some of the girls also have a littl problem like this as well.
This helps more than you know...whew...it's not just me and he will outgrow it!

[Helen & Kirby]

You have to be in control --the more dog classes you can go to the better. Just when you think you got it, the pup will "test" you with some other behavior issue! But here is one thing I learned. A tired dog is a good dog. Take your dog to puppy play dates. If you don't know any friendly dogs he can play with, you will meet them in dog class. Do you have safe dog parks in your neighborhood? Exercise him, play fetch for hours. Make learning to sit everytime you stop a game with treats for a prize! BTW your dog looks a lot like mine! (sorry no picture yet)