First post - jumping biting issue

[Rusty Shackleford]

Hi all.  First post here.  Sorry if it's long!

Maya just turned 10 weeks and is an F2 and our plan is to train her to be a Therapy Dog.  We have a trainer lined up, but she's on vacation and won't be here for a few weeks.

In the meantime, I figured I could ask you fine folks a question w/ the main issue we're dealing with...

Maya's overall a great dog.  She's learning commands, is very affectionate, doing well with kids (I've been bringing her to the school where I work so she's met a TON of people), and is crate trained.  We're having the usual teething/biting issues, but something more is happening and we're at a loss...

Maya will get really excited and attack our legs/pants.  We've notice it happen a lot when she's been up for about an hour (which is the end of her wake time) so being overtired could be a cause.  But sometimes, after going potty, she flips a switch and just goes bonkers.  We think she's trying to engage us so we bring toys outside to redirect her and she'll run after them, but will then turn around and "attack" us.  

We can't ignore the behavior because her motivation is to tear the pants apart.  I've tried blocking her and saying "OFF!" firmly, but she keeps coming back as if it's a game.  When she's revved up like this, commands like Sit, Down, and the Off don't work.  We don't have a fenced-in yard yet so I am worried that maybe she's not getting enough exercise.  We try to engage her in fetch, and she'll get into it for a few rounds, but then gets distracted by sticks or digging... Or she flips that switch and just wants to jump and bite at us.

I ordered a 20' lead so my plan is to stake that to the ground and when she begins this undesirable behavior, we'll say something like, "ok, I'm done," and leave the perimeter and ignore her until she's calm and then praise her for calming down.  Hopefully that will work.  She likes treats and for the most part responds well to them.  We're not restraining her and rarely bop her on the nose (I know, not good and I'm working on it.. Just a reaction from the old way of thinking).

Any insights and/or suggestions are appreciated.  Like I said, we have a trainer lined up who I'm sure will be able to help us, but anything offered presently is appreciated!!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Hi Rusty, Oh my...I remember this stage with Fudge. We thought she was part Shark. This is normal and it will pass. I had two crates for Fudge. One in our bedroom and one in our living room. It she got all crazy and I could not distract her with a toy, etc. many times I put her in her crate for a time out until we all calmed down. This behavior happened a lot when she was tired and needed to take a nap. I used bully sticks in the beginning. They now do not agree with her tummy now, but back then when she came at me, I would stick one out and hoped she chewed it instead of me. This is a normal puppy stage and some dogs are just worse than others. I also would start taking her for some walks. I didn't have a fenced in yard either and sometimes took her up to the local tennis courts where I could close all the doors and let her run or chase a ball. I also made sure to walk her every day at least twice. Training can also tire them out. Work on her commands and praise, praise, praise. Bopping her on the nose may also make her think you are playing with her and rev her up. Consistency and calmness is the key and I know it can be hard. Good luck.

[Ginny Nightingale]

Good advice from Laurie--and 10 weeks old is really young to expect her to calm down on command--she has a long way to go before she can control the "zoomies"--Yelling does little good--redirecting is the key....Something that often works if she is food motivated is the "track it" game---you throw treats around your feet one at time and say Track it in a sing song voice. She will be distracted by sniffing out the treats (always keep some small treats, like Charlie Bears, in a bag in  your pocket. That will distract her from the "target" of your pants and ankles.  Hold the treat up near your eyes once she has calmed down a bit, stand tall and say Watch--once she has looked at you, give her a treat immediately. This way, she will learn to focus on you when you talk.

This is just the tip of the iceberg for training--she is a baby and will learn but it takes time. 

[Adina P]

My Rosco is 11 y.o. and was very similar as a pup.  Mellow as can be but at 9 weeks he started showing off his Jekyll & Hyde side.  He was a SHARK.  And he only did this to me.  And he was HUGE and left a mark on my belly when he decided that was a good place to bite in his frenzies.  I have no advice except to say it is NOT a sign that she can't be a good therapy dog.  At about the year mark, Rosco quit with a lot of hard work in training.  I wasn't training "no bite", I was focused on just getting solid obedience and I think it was a combo of him learning to respect me through training and maturity.  At 19 months he passed his therapy dog test :-)  So there is hope.  But it may take a while and a little maturity.  Best of luck!

[Rusty Shackleford]

Thanks for the replies everyone!  It's good to know that this is normal behavior and that it will get better.  Good tips that I will be sure to use.  I'll definitely work on finding new ways to get the exercise in. Our tennis courts don't allow pets so that's out, but there's a huge field down the street where we can get some running in - she loves to chase after a basketball, jump on it, and roll herself over it.

I figured out the other day that, if in the very first moment she goes into SHARK mode I freeze and ignore her, she will stop.  It's only when I start saying no and try to get her off that she thinks it's game on.  So as long as I'm wearing clothes I don't care about I can do this easily and consistently; she will pretty much stop after about 3-5 seconds of being ignored so long as I do it immediately when the behavior starts.

I just have to keep my focus on the concept of redirection rather than teaching at this point...  The learning will happen via the redirection,  so thanks for that reminder!  Sometimes you get caught up in all the work you're putting in and start feeling like, "why aren't you getting it!!" when really, she's learned so much in the short time we've had her.

Thanks again everyone!

[Dolly Dykhouse]

Henry just turned 16 weeks yesterday and I can relate to the similar issues with Maya. Henry is a total land shark and does the biting at our hands and pant legs/ankles trying to engage in play as if we were puppies as well. I have tried redirecting in the same way that you have with balls/toys and playing fetch but he is far more interested in wrestling/play fighting like he would with his litter mates. We have a 9 year old puggle that Henry uses the same tactics on and throws in continuous barking at him for attention, once they engage in play he backs off on the barking but loves to bite on the fat rolls around Jo's neck which was the clue to me that his nipping/jumping at me and my clothes were his way of engaging play as he would another puppy. It has gotten better over the last couple of weeks, the barking frenzy always happens at 5pm which is dinner time and he's overwhelmed with hunger/stimulation/tired/spazzy you can almost set your watch to it. I found that when I put HIM on the other side of the gate we have blocking off the downstairs living room and all of us are on the other side he calms down faster; crating him just induced further barking frenzy. But boy howdy these doodles do have a mind of their own and can be stubborn as all get out! I swear it reminds me of dealing with my kids when they were toddlers and you would tell them no or not to do something, you can see it in their eyes "I don't want to, I want to play my way!" I can see positive changes with his maturity every week and especially since we passed our post puppy shots period and are able to take him to the park and let him run like a maniac and play with other dogs. The controlled walks in the morning combined with the evenings at the park after dinner have helped so much!