HELP! FOZZY BEAR HAS TURNED INTO TAZMANIAN DEVIL!!!

[Chris & Boys]

Fozzy Bear ( 9 weeks old) has started growling at my 8 & 10 year old boys. He has also been nipping at them. This started about two days ago and I want to put an end to it as quickly as possible. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[MBKANE]

I was taught that when the puppy nips and bites you should do a high pitched "yelp or yip" sound. I did that with Kensi when she would nip, it startles the pup and they don't like the high pitched scare. It seemed to work quite well.

[Renee]

You can keep Fozzy on a long loose leash and when he is biting and you can't get his collar you can grab the leash and put them in a time out.

[Claire]

I have a similar problem with my 13 week old. She growls and snaps when she has something she doesn't want to share, like a pig's ear. It makes me very nervous because my last dog was a german shepherd that I had to give up because he was so aggressive. Does FB growl more over objects?

[Adina P]

When pups won't share, it is best to AVOID giving such valuable treats until you've had a lot of time to practice giving and taking (well not so much taking as teaching her to "DROP" the item) from puppy. So I would say NO pigs ears until you work up to it...teach her with less valuable things and work up (over time) to more valuable things to "drop" or "give" items on command. And reward her with delicious treats. Once she starts getting good at it, then just practice asking for the item, praise her, and then give it back to her.

Have you started puppy classes with her? If you start soon this is a good thing to ask your trainer about.

[Chris & Boys]

99% of the time FB does not growl over treats. The only time he has was with a Bullystick. But almost always when I take his Bullystick or other treat/toy/food I get absolutely no reaction. He has maybe growled at me 2 times in the two weeks I have had him. And I do take his stuff away from him a couple of different times a day.

What has been a problem has been when we have gone to pick him up. That is when he has shown aggression.

[Chris & Boys]

Great, thanks for the tips. We will start there. We don't start puppy classes for about a month, so getting this info now should really help gets us up until that point....I hope! :-)

[5a54ofb5qk1d]

Chris, a tip for your kids when they're training with treats ~ have them hold the treat tightly in their fist. Your pup won't be coming after it with those "sharky" teeth then. He should be nosing and licking the fist, and then you open the hand and release the treat. Much nicer for the trainer!

[hobokenmom]

Hi Chris. I have an 8 week old puppy (Otto) who has started doing the exact same thing to my kids (ages 11, 9 and 4). I'm trying to do all the stuff I've read to do, and what everyone has suggested here. Just wanted to let you know that you're not alone. I think this is pretty normal puppy stuff, and we just have to figure out what works best for our dog.

Otto was nipping at my pajama pants this morning, but I was able to quickly stop him and get him to move on. My kids aren't so effective, and I think THEY are the ones that have to get the puppy to stop. It doesn't work so well if I'm doing it. I think the kids have to show him who the "boss" is.

Good luck. I'll let you know if I figure out what works for our dog. I"m so new to all this -- I have no clue.

Amy

[Chris & Boys]

LOL - morning is a nightmare!! Everytime I walk Fozzy is nipping at my legs! He will stop, momentarily sometimes, when I give him a sharp "no". He doesn't seem to react to the "yip" unless it is really loud and high pitched. And the kids - well forget it, half the time they are jumping up on the barstools to get away from him (and of course laughing, so he thinks its a game), and the other half they are saying "no" in their pre-adolescent voices, which doesn't sound too far off from a yelp. Yes, most of our pj pants have the "shredded look", which is the latest fad with new puppy owners.

I also told the kids they have to spend time everyday teaching him commands so he will know who is boss. Hopefully that will work since we don't start puppy classes for a month.

[Chris & Boys]

Hi Jane,

Fozzy has a real soft mouth. So he takes his treats quite nicely.

Adina told us to do the tree thing when Fozzy does the nipping thing. But, it is hard! because sometimes he is like a little shark and it feels like he is taking little chunks out of your leg along with the pj leg! I have had pretty good success with getting him to stop, but the boys are another story!

BTW - I love that picture. What kind of camera do you have? He would look like one little blur with my camera!

[Kyoko]

Chris, Charlie is now 9 weeks and she turned into a Taznanian Devil, too!!! LOL

[Chris & Boys]

Hey Kyoko -
Welcome to the club. Luckily for me, it didn't last very long! About two weeks, then using the advice I received above, it seemed to subside. I don't know what I would have done without this group!