NationStates Jolt Archive

I am about to go crazy. I got a little puppy German Shepard/ Chow mix breed mut at a shelter almost 6 weeks ago. Since then I have received 43 cuts on my ass, 143 (at different times) cuts on both of my arms, 79 cuts on my legs, holes in every single pair of pants I own, same with all of my shirts, the foot on a figure to a trophy I own has been chewed off, the molding almost completely gone, HOLY SHIT, NOW HE CAN COME UP STAIRS!

Ok now after he has attacked me while I was typing and pissing and pooping on the rug, and eating my pillow I am back, make the cuts on my to 50 now. I locked him in my for now, so any advice? I am wasting $400 to get him trained but he just won't listen. Also if you want put up stories of your phsycodic animals.

Ok now after he has attacked me while I was typing and pissing and pooping on the rug

You were pissing and pooping on the rug while you were typing?


Wow!


That's teach the dog anyway!

Serioudly though if he's that much of a bother you could sell him.

Only you know how much you want the dog so it's up to you to weigh up the costs and benefits of him.

I love my little phsyco path when he isn't attacking me. The trainer has helped a little bit, he bites less but is still a pain in the ass, literally.

I love my little phsyco path when he isn't attacking me. The trainer has helped a little bit, he bites less but is still a pain in the ass, literally.

Ahhh he is only young, keep on with the training and take him for loooooooooong runs.

You need to take this seriously. The law doesn't distinguish between a nip and a serious injury.

I applaud you for sticking with your commitment and getting your puppy trained instead of just returning him like a broken toy. A lot of people don't realize animals have personalities, and yea, some of them are going to be a huge hassle.. especially when they're young. But when you take a young creature into your home, you have to be prepared to stick with it, for good or ill, and I'm glad to see you doing that.

As he grows, he'll likely calm down, particularly if you have him fixed (which is a good idea anyway), and even if not.. A rambunctious dog can be a lot of fun to play with, so long as you get used to the idea of dog-proofing your house. Just be sure to be careful when there's kids around. There's way too many idiotic sue-happy parents out there that want everyone else to take responsibility for their little brats except themselves.

I applaud you for sticking with your commitment and getting your puppy trained instead of just returning him like a broken toy. A lot of people don't realize animals have personalities, and yea, some of them are going to be a huge hassle.. especially when they're young. But when you take a young creature into your home, you have to be prepared to stick with it, for good or ill, and I'm glad to see you doing that.

As he grows, he'll likely calm down, particularly if you have him fixed (which is a good idea anyway), and even if not.. A rambunctious dog can be a lot of fun to play with, so long as you get used to the idea of dog-proofing your house. Just be sure to be careful when there's kids around. There's way too many idiotic sue-happy parents out there that want everyone else to take responsibility for their little brats except themselves.

He was fixed when I got, but his favorite passtime is humping my blanket, he thinks they are still there. I dog proofed the lower level where he usually stays but left all of the rooms that were off limits blocked off, but now he can jump over it. i plan on keeping him and training him, there is alot of kids were I live and all of the parents are rich families with teams of lawyers working for them to sue me!

He was fixed when I got, but his favorite passtime is humping my blanket, he thinks they are still there. I dog proofed the lower level where he usually stays but left all of the rooms that were off limits blocked off, but now he can jump over it. i plan on keeping him and training him, there is alot of kids were I live and all of the parents are rich families with teams of lawyers working for them to sue me!

Put up a "beware of dog" sign. :D

Put up a "beware of dog" sign. :D

Not a good idea...
If his dog does hurt someone, and they sue they can use the 'beware of dog' sign as proof that he knew his dog was dangerous.

I've found that this works wonders. Take a light section of the newspaper, roll it up, and when he starts acting up, give him a rapid, albeit light, slap underneath the tail. It's exactly like spanking a naughty child, only the dog isn't harmed by it as much. Not at all, in fact, since it's similar to the nipping that dogs do to each other as they learn to leave each other alone.

Also, and this is real important, don't lock your dog in its pen as punishment. Unlike the child that understands why it might be going to its room, the puppy will quickly associate the pen with punishment, and that makes going out or going to bed hell. That is, do that if you're not a true dog lover like me that lets your K-9 friend sleep at the foot of your bed. I've never owned chows or German Shepards, or mixes involving the two, but once my dogs could hold it for the night, they soon learned that the alarm clock was the signal to drag me out of bed to let them out.

The thing that really worked for me and my dog (a Malamute/Akita/Chow) was: every time she would do something "bad", or disobey my commands, I would put her on her back and keep her there until she calmed down. If she was being especially difficult I would bite her very lightly on the chest. It worked very well. All dogs need is structure, and firm borders, and exercise, that's all

He was fixed when I got, but his favorite passtime is humping my blanket, he thinks they are still there.

Our kitty does that, too. We adopted him pretty much off the street, and he's fixed, but he sometimes tries to hump my feet. I think it means that he was fixed too late, once they know they've got the apparatus, they try to use it, even if it's... not as functional as it used to be.

A side note: Not only is Stranger fixed, he's declawed. And we found him on the street, begging us for food. He's a neurotic little drama queen, but that's no reason to toss an innocent kitty out onto the street. Grrrr.

That's actually him trying to assert dominance over the territory. He's trying to take ownership of the house. And, the biting you is him trying to own you as well. He's trying to assert himself as the alpha of your "pack" as it were. Just be firm with him, and he'll straighten out.

Mother dogs discipline their pups by biting them on the nose (ever wonder why so many kids who annoy dogs get bit on the face?). Bopping him (lightly) on the nose when he's being bad might help. Seems to be effective with our cats, but they're teeny and can't do much damage with their bite.

He was fixed when I got, but his favorite passtime is humping my blanket, he thinks they are still there.

That's actually him trying to assert dominance over the territory. He's trying to take ownership of the house. And, the biting you is him trying to own you as well. He's trying to assert himself as the alpha of your "pack" as it were. Just be firm with him, and he'll straighten out.

I've found that this works wonders. Take a light section of the newspaper, roll it up, and when he starts acting up, give him a rapid, albeit light, slap underneath the tail. It's exactly like spanking a naughty child, only the dog isn't harmed by it as much. Not at all, in fact, since it's similar to the nipping that dogs do to each other as they learn to leave each other alone.

Also, and this is real important, don't lock your dog in its pen as punishment. Unlike the child that understands why it might be going to its room, the puppy will quickly associate the pen with punishment, and that makes going out or going to bed hell. That is, do that if you're not a true dog lover like me that lets your K-9 friend sleep at the foot of your bed. I've never owned chows or German Shepards, or mixes involving the two, but once my dogs could hold it for the night, they soon learned that the alarm clock was the signal to drag me out of bed to let them out.

I learned the not to lock him in his cage thing from my trainer he says that then the dog thinks his "room" is a bad place.

That's actually him trying to assert dominance over the territory. He's trying to take ownership of the house. And, the biting you is him trying to own you as well. He's trying to assert himself as the alpha of your "pack" as it were. Just be firm with him, and he'll straighten out.

One way I also learned is to put them to the floor and take your hand and squeeze the back of their neck. In the escence you are biting and it it what a female dog does if you start to hump when she doesn't want to or you get into a fight with another dog.

You were pissing and pooping on the rug while you were typing?


Wow!


That's teach the dog anyway!

LOL!

COver yourself with hot sauce. The hotter the better. That way when he tries to bite you. he burns his mouth. Unless he likes spicy food. :eek:

If he is biting, scratching, jumping, you might want to consider that puppies need a lot of rolicky exercise and things to chew on.

Do you have a back yard that's fenced that he and you can go out and run in?

take him to the groomer and get his nails clipped.

Training will do a lot, it just takes time. I had a German Shepard/Wolf mix for 5 years, he would jump up when I first got him I would grab his front paws (gently) and hang on for a few seconds, when he tried to get back down I would put his feet on the ground and say "off!" after a few weeks, he would jump up and I would say "off" and he would put his feet back on the ground, a few weeks after that he didn't jump on anyone anymore.

He never bit, but my old terrier would, I would say "ouch! no bite!" and sternly look at him, after a while he quit biting too (might have grown out of it though)

I had a doberman pup... i learned that honestly, if you have a big dog, very little hurts them, and its more the action than the pain that they dislike. if he bit me, i would grab his mouth, shut it, hold it, and smack him on the nose, making him look me square in the eye and say loudly "no bite". it was very direct, and it broke him of the habit immediately. Also, i gave him a nip on the ear whenever he was misbehaving, to let him know whos boss. Combined, they were very effective. He should grow out of that behavior in a few years.

The proven most effective way to train a dog is to use a clicker. You don't have to pinch it.

Thanks, alot of these are really helpful but Gigantic Leprechauns how will screaming LOL help?

Thanks, alot of these are really helpful but Gigantic Leprechauns how will screaming LOL help?

It's all about the right timing and tone of voice.

A handy tip I've found...when he opens his mouth to bite you, grab his lower jaw from under his chin and underneath his tongue, and pinch lightly. It won't really hurt him, but it will startle the crap out of him.

This helped me train our dachshund out of his biting habit.

My brother and his wife had a full blood Chow named Charlie. He bit them both on the forearm and took out chunks both times. When I use to go over to their house that dog would pin me up against a wall. I've always gotten along well with animals.. had many attempt to protect me in certain situations. But that dog had some problems.. I'm so thankful Charlie didn't attack me.

I can't really judge what the deal is with your pup.. I'd have to see it. But I do feel that domesticated animals have a high chance of getting mental/ psychological fuck ups from inbreeding. I doubt it's the case though. It's probably just a ruff pup and you are a wuss .. letting him gnaw on you. J/K. :p

Has he had his rabies shot? lol

You should take some pics of the puppy attacking you.

Clicker training. My sister in law works as a trainer, and she swears by it. You can look on line (I am told) and find out more about it. Apparently you can even clicker train cats.

Also, a dog trainer is not really training your dog. Ideally, he or she is training you. Once you know how to behave towards your dog, your dog will learn how to behave from you. Make sure that your trainer involves you in the training process, is what I am getting at here.

If the pup is seriously breaking your skin and drawing blood there is a problem.

Given his age, most of his behavior problems are probably because he's just a puppy. The only thing you'll need is patience, diligence and consistancy. Training is a good start, don't give up on it, even if results seem to be slow.

You'll probably want to asert your 'alpha' status as already mentioned to get him to take you seriously, and it's best to do it now, when he's young and got little teeth, rather than when he's got a bigger bite.

First of all, don't ever encourage nipping or pouncing on people, even in play. It'll confuse the dog when you punish him for misbehaving out of play. Instead, use ropes or other interactive dog toys/chews when playing, and the instant your puppy crosses your boundry, give him a firm 'NO' and stop playing immediately.

For the times when he just wont take no for an answer and insists on nipping or pouncing, you can do the following:

Firmly, but gently, and mindful that he doesn't bite his tongue, hold his mouth shut, and tell him 'no'. Keep your hold for a few seconds before letting him go.

If you catch him in mid bite, you can hold his bottom jaw, gently pressing down on his tongue. If you do it gently, it's not painful, but uncomfortable. Tell him firmly 'No biting'. and then let him go slowly.

To prevent a potential injury in struggle, gently pin your puppy. Hold him down so he can't kick and claw, and tell him no, firmly and calmly until he gets the message. You can do this most easilly by holding him down at the collar, and pressing your abdoment against his body. In play, this is the equivilant to a time out. Release him slowly, and go about your own business again. Do not resume play immediately, or you'll encorporate 'pinning' as part of the game. If done correctly, this will show your puppy that you are the one in charge, not him.

As for chewing things up, and making messes on the carpet, when you notice the distruction or accidents, calmly bring him to the site and show him what he's done. Tell him firmly 'no' repeatedly. You may want to accompany this with a tap on the nose, or the base of the tail, but I wouldn't recomend it for every time, or your puppy might start associating coming with you as a source of pain. My parents trained their dogs by putting their noses in the mess, but that might be pushing it.

After you've shown him his mistake, either take him to where you want him to crap, or give him a toy he's allowed to chew on, depending on the situation. Many dogs will give you signals when they are ready to go, so keep a look out for whining, restless behavior, sudden disappearances in the house and 'the crouch'. When you see these, take your dog out immediately, and whenever he goes where he's supposed to, give him a treat and lots of praise.

Praise always works better than punishment. When you play, stop before he gets rough and give him a treat for being good. When you see him playing with a toy, rather than the furnature, give him a treat and praise and join in the play.

You'll definately want to walk/run him frequently. Big dogs especially need the excersise or they'll turn to mischief in the house.

Good luck! I wish I could have a nice big dog, but my house is just too small ;_;

Clicker training. My sister in law works as a trainer, and she swears by it. You can look on line (I am told) and find out more about it. Apparently you can even clicker train cats.

Also, a dog trainer is not really training your dog. Ideally, he or she is training you. Once you know how to behave towards your dog, your dog will learn how to behave from you. Make sure that your trainer involves you in the training process, is what I am getting at here.

Yeah like that dude on Animal Planet. I like him. He doesn't take shit off the pets or the owners. He respects the pets .. but knows their place.. I've seen him even have to tell parents that their pet _is a dog_ .. and that it shouldn't take precedence over their children. Haven't watched it in a couple years tho. Hell it might not even be on now.