Is my dood getting aggressive?

[Sharae & Winston]

He's always had a jumping problem- jumping on us, strangers, during greetings, basically anytime he's sees anything of interest to him. But now when he jumps on us there is biting accompanying it. If we are out walking and we tell him no about something or do something he doesn't like he jumps on us and bites down on either our forearm or now even upper arm- and hard! If we try to calm him down or direct him into a sit he completely ignores us and does it even more. I'm getting scared that something is wrong... He's never been aggressive other than normal puppy nipping.

[Kyoko]

How old is he? May be he is entering the teen age phase...?

[Sharae & Winston]

He is about 7 and a half months and just got neutered a week ago. Is this even normal for the teenage phase?

[Kyoko]

Have he had any training? Jane below suggested the obedience training for him, and I totally agree.

She has wealth of knowledge in training, and have a group. http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/trainingmindsets

You may find that to be helpful to join!! :-)

[Sharae & Winston]

He has had training... a lot actually, which is why I'm worried. He's been through puppy class, CGC prep puppy class, and is now in an advanced on leash class which we haven't started yet. His personality seems like it is changing and he is becoming completely out of control, I wonder if its because he got neutered? I just got a call from my mother who is watching him today and he broke away from her and bolted off causing her to bust both knees and hit her cheekbone.. I am going to make an appt with our behaviorist who is always backed up at least 2 weeks so hopefully we can handle him until then :(

[Kyoko]

I dont think that is because he got neutered. I am not an expart, but I think in tact male would bolt out more than neutered male would. One of the benefit of neutering the male is to curb their aggressive and other unwanted behaviors.... I almost want to say that because of his age, he is testing his limits... My 8 months old male standard poodle would get a bit rowdy when excited or had lack of exercise that day. He may pull leash, bite leash, etc...( He was just neutered as well and has CGC ) That is when the training comes in handy. When he gets like that, I send him to his matt ( Just a plain old rug ) and give him some thing to chew on, keep him there ( tell him to stay there ) until he is somewhat settled. When my 4 year old Charlie had mouthing issue, I used the technique that was given by her trainer at that time. It worked like a miracle. 1) Everyone in the family wore the gym class type small cheap whistle. 2) Every time the dog mouthed, just simply blow the whistle, say nothing, and leash him up to somewhere. Leash should be long enough to sit but not long enough to lay down. I has short leash to the door knob. 3) Once the dog is calm, let him off the leash and say nothing. It sounds like a bogus, but it really worked and we only blew the whistle handful of times, and she completely stopped.... I would consult the trainer you have now and see what he/she would suggest...

[Stephanie Brown]

Could it be that he's still a little sore from the procedure and acting out because he hurts or that he's got a surge of testosterone in his system from the surgery?  Just a thought. 

[Sharae & Winston]

I wonder... that's what I was thinking, something chemical/hormonal going on in his body.. but it could just be his "adolescent stage", in which case the next few months are going to be horrible. He doesn't seem sore, at least he isn't acting like it.

[DJ & Chance]

If I were in your shoes, I would consult a knowledgeable trainer.  Good luck!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I absolutely agree.  This is the age when lots of problem behaviors escalate...you need some sessions with a good trainer.

[Joyce (Casey & Cody's mom)]

Great advice from all. This is the time to stop this behavior before it escalates. 

[Ginny Nightingale]

You have gotten good info and YES it is definitely the teen years--he is probably going to calm down a lot over the next 6 months--but I have to add something that has not been said--it takes 6-8 weeks for the testosterone to leave the system after a neutering--so the fact that he is neutered does not immediately stop any male behaviors right away. And really, only training will work--neutering alone only makes them sterile, but they can still be a bit aggressive. I would say that this is mouthing, not biting and he is not seeing you as someone "above" him. If he wants in on the action, he just comes right up and grabs you--because he sees you as an equal--that is where the training comes in.

[Sharae & Winston]

I agree. I think there was a brief period of time when he saw me as the "alpha", but that is long gone. It definitely doesn't help that I babied him for a week after his procedure... we will work more on the training and I have made an appointment with a behaviorist for next weekend. About the biting- yea it doesn't seem like its vicious biting, so maybe it isn't aggressive, but its just gotten a lot worse instead of better. The bites are also getting much harder instead of softer which you would think they learn through bite inhibition and as they get older.