Have I ruined my puppy?

[Smita, Ollie and Juno]

Did I do sometthing wrong? The breeder chose Ollie for his calm temperament and that is what we thought too. Until today.Today suddenly I saw a different side of him. He was being playful and energetic. When my 9 year old tried to pet him, he suddenly growled and snapped at her. She was very upset about it. I immediately said 'NO' and distracted him. He was fine for a while. Then while we were playing with him the next time, he kept nipping and chewing at my jacket. When I tried to remove him by saying a stern 'NO' again he started growling and nipping. He was also really wound up and tried to hump my leg. I am so upset! I would have burst into tears if it had not been for my daughters. I pretended to be clam and assertive and removed him from the situation and put him in his crate. He calmed down and had a nap. In my inexperience with raising a puppy, am I doing something horribly wrong? How do I deal with this? I've been trying to search the forums for the past hour but mostly found stuff about normal puppy nipping. Not the dominant behavior he is showing. Ollie is only 9 weeks old and I don't want to lose any time in correcting this behavior.

Oh and he has already been neutered.

[Candy & Hudson]

I had a similar situation with our puppy! Hudson was chosen for us and was the MOST calm submissive puppy in the litter, and this appealed to me being a first time dog owner and having two small boys (7 and 2). The very first day he was home, he was trying to hump (mostly me) and we have had a few incidents like yours where Hudson has nipped and growled at my youngest son. I was also very concerned, but have since learned that ALL puppies will nip and push boundaries, you just need to be consistent in the way you handle them. We have found that diluted lemon juice in a squirt bottle works well when he is nipping (just be careful you dont get the eyes) and when Hudson growls or bites one of the kids he goes for a time out in his kennel. I have hired an in home trainer who comes once a week for basic obedience and this also helps me alot, and I have someone to answer all of my questions as they come. Once Ollie is vaccinated and can go for walks, he will be able to get out some of that puppy energy!! Anyways, Hudson is now 4 months old and I already feel SO much better about the dog he will become. Its a process, and just think about those poor people with really dominant, high energy puppies :) It will get better, but I would start structured training of some kind as soon as you can.

[Smita, Ollie and Juno]

Thank you Candy!! Your reply makes me feel more hopeful. In-house trainer is an excellent idea since he can not be in a group class yet. I will try the lemon juice thing too. I tried plain water but he loves it and waits for more squirts.

[Lynn D.]

+1 on the in-home trainer.

I have a puppy as well, he is 5 months old. This thread and the last both sound like very much like typical puppy. No worries that you have ruined him. I would strongly suggest reading the book "The Art of Raising a Puppy" by the Monks of New Skete.

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Raising-Puppy-ebook/dp/B000FA5SPM/ref=sr_...

They go over the stages of puppy development. That was most helpful for understanding behaviors I saw when Echo first came home.

In my unprofessional opinion, it sounds like your puppy was tired. Just like when a toddler is acting out, running around, throwing a tantrum it usually means they need a nap.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

This is the book we read - we called it our bible (The Art of Raising a Puppy) !!!! Every time Daisy did something we thought she shouldn't we would look it up and sure enough there it was in black and white how it was normal puppy behavior. I remember that very same incident several times (growling and nipping), she is sweet and stopped doing it when she realized it didn't work after a few tries.

I might say this though I don't think you should use your crate as a time out place or a place to use as punishment.Her crate was a place to feel safe and secure for Daisy. If you want them to be happy to go there if you need to leave or a place for napping you don't want him to think he is doing something bad right before you put him in it. Puppies live in the moment, I think distraction from the bad behavior is the best way to go. To this day she will go to her crate when she is over tired, over whelmed or over stimulated....she goes there for peace. She is one year old today.

[Dori & Rua]

I agree on the crate issue. That should be a good place, not for punishment. Both my DH and I work so Rua sleeps in her crate all night and spends most of the day in it (DH comes home and lunch, and I take my lunch at 4 so I am home early). When we are getting ready to leave in the morning, she RUNS to her crate, because she knows she gets a peanut butter kong. Tonight, she ran into her crate looking up to the spot I put her kong prior to giving it to her for night-night without me having to put her to bed.

When I get frustrated or am not happy with her, I just remember that she is a puppy and she is picking up on my feelings, and try to calm myself down, redirect her to a toy or a good play (my DH will run around our hardwood floors in the kitchen to tire her out (will be most necessary once the cold and snow hits us). Right now I can't wait until she can no longer fit through the slats on the sides of baby gate I have in the laundry room!

[Dori & Rua]

Thanks for reminding me. I bought this book prior to Rua's arrival and stopped reading once she arrived (got to Chapter 15) and figured I would pick it up soon! I used to read 1 to 2 books per week (fiction), the paper EVERY morning, and was on-time to work every day. That was all BR (before Rua)! I got up at 5:24 this morning and I was 1 minute late this AM (start at 8AM). Guess I better pick it back up and start reading.

[Adina P]

Most puppies start off calm and mellow and then once they settle in and get comfy can become rambunctious. Nipping is very common and not a sign you're doing anything wrong...but it can be trying to deal with.

I had one of the worst nippers ever...he WAS calm but also a really bad nipper. JAWS. With maturity and training he turned into a wonderful dog. Don't despair. If you go to the main forum page and type in "nipping" into the search box above the list of discussions...you'll find LOTS of info on this there and in the Puppy Madness group.

[Kyoko]

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/puppymadness/forum/topics/concern...
http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/puppymadness/forum/topics/help-fo...

I found two old discussions from Puppy madness group. I hope these will be helpful to you...
What you are describing, seems like a pretty typical behavior of little puppy to me. Ollie is a little baby, so over stimulation can get him too excited and he won't know what to do with himself... Remember? when the kids were little, when they get overly tired, they get cranky and sometimes act out? It's just like that, I think....

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

When we got Tara she was also the "pick of the litter" for being people oriented and calm. She was supposed to be a "therapy quality" puppy because I have a family member who requires a very calm companion animal for health reasons. Well about a week or so after she came home I thought the breeder had done the old "bait and switch" on me and given me a coyote puppy instead of a doodle. She was like a wild animal! I talked with the breeder and she assured me that at 1 1/2 years Tara would become the "perfect dog". Of course that didn't help in the moment but we did what people have been suggesting here. Just kept working with her, being consistent and letting her know we were in charge. Well, at 1 1/2 years Tara DID become the "perfect dog" (at least the perfect dog for US :) She is EVERYTHING we had imagined our doodle would be. It CAN happen!!

There really is a REASON why the puppy group on DK is called Puppy Madness!! :)

Oh, and I agree with Lisa about not using the crate for time outs. We had a little exercise pen for Tara and her crate was inside the pen. When she got a time out it was in the pen only and not in the crate. She still loves her crate too!!

[Carol and Banjo]

"Coyote puppy" tooooo funny! That crazy puppy stuff is so true and trying! It sometimes feels like it will never end. But it does pass. Great advice here.

[Nicole]

Coyote puppy! That's perfect! Just this morning my feet hanging over the bed became a great toy to our 16 week old doodle. A firm "no" and she lunged at them again this time growling and nipping. I tried distracting her with two toys but it didn't work..she was focused on what she was told she couldn't have lol...just like a kid! She is definitely a "wild child" and the term coyote puppy is absolutely hilarious and so true :D

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Oh your story brings back memories!! Ha!!! It reminds me of one time when Tara was in the nipping and jumping stage and I took her outside to go potty. She wouldn't leave me alone and kept jumping and nipping and I did as "the manual" said to do-turned my back on her and crossed my arms. WELL, she just jumped up and bit down on the hem on the backside of my jacket. There I was with this tiny doodle hanging off the back of my coat!!! The only reason she fell off was because the coat tore!! It's funny NOW but at the time Arrgh!!!