I've adopted a male French Bulldog x Australian Shepherd cross.
He's biting a lot despite having all the toys he needs.
When he bites, I give him a toy to redirect him to play, but he prefers grabbing my arm, clothes, blankets, etc. I give him a firm "no", but he just gets even more hyper and bites harder. So I tried the "ouch" technique; I was also told to try grabbing his muzzle or the scruff of his neck. These "physical" techniques really bother me as I'm not a violent person, but just saying "no" or "ouch" hasn't been enough so far.
Today, even though I take him out 4 or 5 times for about 10-15 mins each time to let off steam (he doesn't move much outside, even though I try to encourage him), he's been biting constantly. I was on the sofa and he bit my arm hard. I grabbed his muzzle, but once I let go, he tried to go for my face by jumping at me. After that, I tried scruffing him, but it was the same thing—he got even more aggressive and nearly bit my mouth.
The third time, he was super aggressive again. In between these episodes, I put him on the floor to let him do his own thing because I didn't want him near me while he was behaving like that.
I don't know what to do. I'm starting to panic because I'm a woman living alone, and he's a little male with a lot of character whose mother was apparently a bit aggressive too. I'm worried I won't be able to cope or that I'll fail at training him... I don't know if this behaviour is normal at his age (8 weeks and 1 day old). I'm dreading Christmas because he'll be around children... I'm scared for my nieces and nephews who are aged between 1 and 5. I don't want him to nip or hurt them, especially as he's already leaving quite bad tooth marks on me.
Sorry for the long post.
Tomorrow he'll be around an adult female dog. Maybe she'll keep him in line during play and he'll understand?
Thanks,
Mot22
Translated from French
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Evening, thanks for your replies. Regarding the toy I give him, I don't throw it; I just hold it near his mouth so he can grab it and play tug. With clothes, on the other hand, I don't pull back as I'm worried about ruining them ^^. However, since he won't take the toy or anything else, I just let him be. And the lady who sold him to me said the timing was fine... as for his brothers and sisters, apparently there aren't any issues; they're all very calm. I’m taking him to the vet tomorrow if they can fit him in because, on top of everything else, I’ve noticed he has a runny nose and runny eyes, and he also seems to be having trouble moving his back legs... and right as I’m typing this, he seems to be really struggling to breathe. I propped him up a bit and stroked him—I don’t know if that was the right thing to do, but he seems to have settled for now... The mum was aggressive in the sense that she tried to bite someone who came to see the litter. I don’t have any other dogs nearby... :/ Thanks everyone, and I’ll check with the vet tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.
If the puppy’s mother was showing bad behaviour, I think that could be an issue :/ Your best bet is to sign him up for some puppy classes, but make sure you choose a good one ^^ good luck with your pup :)
Evening @Mot22,
My latest puppy was just like your little one—a real 'Labrador Raptor'.
I’ll send you a PM with the 'Solar Energy' method that helped turn our aggressive pup into one with an almost 'soft mouth'... she’s starting to become a real sweetheart now.
Below is the story of our Lab, Oxane:
https://wamiz.com/chiens/labrador-retriever-221/forum/labrador-retriever-81258.html
Hang in there, it just takes a bit of time. But you’ll get there.
And like the others said, don’t get into a physical power struggle... you can assert yourself through play and by keeping them busy. The walks and time spent outdoors are a great idea :-)
See you soon
I agree with Docline, he’s still really young and needs to learn doggy social cues from other dogs. Otherwise, on the rare occasions my pups nipped me, I’d make a high-pitched noise and stop the game immediately by ignoring them. After that, they never did it again :/ Mind you, there are three of them, so Loup put Prince in his place, and then Prince did the same with Olympe... Also, grabbing him by the muzzle or the neck is a bad idea; at best he'll think it's a game, and at worst he'll think you're attacking him. You need to stay calm but firm. If he mouths an object, you have to tell him "no" or "leave it" firmly (no need to shout, he isn't deaf). When Olympe picks something up, I give her the "leave it" command and then a treat when she lets go. The odd time she didn't listen, I just ignored her and left her on her own; she hasn't done it since... Every pup is different, but generally, their personalities aren't set in stone yet, so things will get better with time :)
Good evening,
Thanks for your replies.
Regarding the toy I give him, I don't throw it; I just hold it near his mouth so he can grab it and tug on it. With clothes, on the other hand, I don't pull because I'm worried about ruining them ^^ but since he won't take the toy or anything else, I've been putting him down.
The lady I bought him from told me the timing was fine... and apparently, there are no issues with his siblings, they’re all calm.
I’m taking him to the vet tomorrow if they have an appointment available, because on top of that, I’ve noticed his nose and eyes are runny, and he also seems to be struggling to move his back end... and right as I'm writing this, he seems to be having a lot of trouble breathing. I propped him up a bit and stroked him; I’m not sure if I did the right thing, but he seems to have calmed down now...
The mum was aggressive in the sense that she tried to bite someone who came to see the puppies.
I don’t know anyone else with dogs.. :/
Thanks again, and I’ll see what the vet says tomorrow. I’ll keep you posted.
You took him home far too young; he didn't have the chance to learn bite inhibition or proper manners from his mum.
Your only way of turning him into a dog you can actually live with is to make sure he spends as much time as possible every day with adult dogs who will put him in his place when necessary.
How long have you had him? You really need to stop grabbing his muzzle and neck; he might misinterpret it and feel threatened, or he might just think it’s a roughhousing game. Wrestling with a puppy who hasn't quite mastered his bite inhibition yet is a losing battle. The fact that you’re a woman and he’s male has absolutely no bearing on his behaviour. Throwing a toy for him is all well and good, but if you just toss it and leave him to play by himself, he’ll get bored. It’s perfectly normal that he’d rather play with your clothes—if you try to pull them back, he thinks it’s a brilliant game! ^^ Try to let him socialise with some friendly dogs who will put him in his place if necessary. Don’t panic if there’s a bit of growling or yelping; he’s just learning. After all, his mother wasn't being aggressive, she was just being firm while raising her pups. You could always get some help from a dog behaviourist if you need to.
