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My husband and I have been having problems with my 14 week old puppy. He is a German shepherd/Rotti mix and is so playful and energetic, which my husband and I both love! He's a wonderful dog with a great personality, but we're having a lot of problems with him biting when he's in trouble and pawing at us all the time leaving scratches all over our arms. When he's bad we give him 3 quick swats on the butt and then put him in "time-out" for a little bit. When he gets in trouble (mainly by my husband) he will bite and of course we can't put up with it so we will spank his nose and tell him not to bite. But it isn't working. We're both so tired of the biting, it's just getting ridiculous. How do we get him to stop biting and pawing at us? We've just run out of ideas, nothing is working! HELP!! -Stephanie and Curtis
It's kind of hard to answer without knowing what's going on before the biting starts. I'm not one to be horrified by a swat on the butt but I think it's counterproductive. If he's already in the habit of biting he'll instinctively go after that hand. Try grabbing the scruff of his neck on both sides, up high right under his ears and back a little bit. He can't bite then. Stay very calm, no real yelling, just a very firm NO. Look in his eyes. Slowly put him in a sitting position and hold him there till you see him submit and relax. Maybe tell him "relax". When he does say good boy and let go.
The pawing, I'd turn and walk away from him and ignore him for awhile till he started acting better.
You should probably start a new thread for this with a different title. You'd get more responses with different ideas and I don't believe any one thing will work for every dog. If you can afford a trainer that would really be a good idea. He's just going to get bigger and harder to handle if you don't figure something out. Good luck to all of you!
Keep in mind that puppies like to bite. Also, shepherds can be a mouthy breed. I would not use negative punishment like hitting, I would redirect him to something that he can put his teeth into, like a toy or a bone. When he goes to bite tell him no, give him a toy and praise. As for the pawing, turn your back on him and ignore. Most dogs don't like to be ignored so once he realizes that he won't get your attention by pawing he should stop.
Hmmm First I am of the opinion that one should never hit their dog. Just my opinion.
The biting thing is a puppy thing. As others have said when he does it using a sharp tone say no. Then time out the pup. He will figure it out. Both breeds are known for their intellegnece.
When he gets in trouble (mainly by my husband) he will bite and of course we can't put up with it so we will spank his nose and tell him not to bite. But it isn't working.
make sure you are monitoring what is happening right before the dog starts the biting. If your playing with him and getting him excited, or engaged in some rough housing, right before the puppy starts the biting, give yourself 3 swacks on your own butt and a pip on each others snoot. If you are the one rilling the pup up and the pup is doing what is natural for it, why are you disciplining the dog? You can;t teach bad behavior and punish the pup for following what your doing. Its only 4 months old, it hasn;t learned yet. Stop the over playful playing and teach basic obedience. once it learns what is right and wrong, you get as wild as you want since now it knows good and bad. But if the puppy doesn't know anything but its natural instinct and your encouraging the bitting pawing instincts by your own actions, its you that needs to be sent to the closet for a time out.
When he's bad we give him 3 quick swats on the butt and then put him in "time-out" for a little bit. When he gets in trouble (mainly by my husband) he will bite and of course we can't put up with it so we will spank his nose and tell him not to bite. But it isn't working.
Stephanie and Curtis;
I know you've meant well, but do not strike your dog. It will only cause him to become aggressive. If he bites at you, take the same stance as his mother would have, grab his muzzle in your hand, look him straight in the eye, and in a deep, growly voice (NOT yelling), tell him firmly: "NO BITE." Hold the muzzle until he squirms, or whines, and then let him go and IMMEDIATELY praise him with "Good Dog, no bite."
As for the pawing, when he paws you, cry out in a sharp squeal, jump away from him, and turn your back. No matter how often he comes around to face you, turn your back to him for at least three full minutes. If this doesn't work, then leave the room and leave him alone.
If the behavior has been happening for a time, it may take time to change it, but be consistent, and don't let him get away with either behavior just because you are tired, or frustrated.
Rotties are very playful dogs, and GSDs are very smart. You want to keep his sense of humor, but don't want him to be out of control.
As for the pawing, when he paws you, cry out in a sharp squeal, jump away from him, and turn your back. No matter how often he comes around to face you, turn your back to him for at least three full minutes. If this doesn't work, then leave the room and leave him alone.
I think the bolded part is significant. That's how they learn bite inhibition when playing with their littermates. Squeal loud, squeal sharp.
At 14 weeks old, what your puppy is doing is normal.
You need to learn positive, productive ways of teaching your puppy.
My suggestion is to go to a ''positive dog trainer'' located closest to your area. You'll learn so much that you need to learn.
But it's up to you!
Also, do you have many, many things for your dog to chew on? Even tho' a puppy has teeth they are still teething in addition to, if I can call it, the oral phase. Add hitting them for it and they're really the underdog in terms of being in a 'can't win' situation. Not a good set of triggers to set up.
Give a search on - ''positive dog training'' - and see what you find out. Hopefully life will begin to improve for your puppy dog, and you too.
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