My 6mth (on Sunday) weimaraner bitch has since day one been a very mouthy pup. This has improved steadily using a calm 'no' and walking out of the room for 2 minutes, returning and instructing her to sit/give paw. As a breed they are dominant and knowing this from the beginning she has never been allowed onto furniture/never allowed upstairs/sits before entering,exiting doors and never in front of me to help her know her place in the family. There is only my partner and I and we both stick to these rules.
99% of the time she is wonderful, a handful and intelligent but that is why I wanted her however she has now begun to for no apparent reason lunge at myself or partner. This happens once a day but when she does it is scary to be on the receiving end and scary to watch. She attaches herself with her mouth to an arm and begins to growl and pull and I then become a rag doll. Yesterday, her bites were that forceful that she grazed my arm. If I can stand the pain I calmly as possible say 'no, off' firmly and make my way to where I can put a barrier between us needless to say as I am making my way to safety she continues to jump, bite, growl and pull at clothing.If I shout and push her off (which I have to sometimes because she has hurt me) she gets more excited .She has never shown agression towards any other people or dogs or our cat! Please help

I think you might be confusing her by you leaving the room. The idea is that you put her out of the room and then invite her back in after a couple of minutes.

It is very very hard but try not to shout and push her off. Try and watch for the signs when this is likely to happen and get in there first - put her out of the room and away from you. I think she knows you are going to leave and is trying to make you stay - that's why you should put her out. Shows that you are the boss not her.

hth

Pam n the boys

I totally appreciate your suggestion of putting her out of the room rather than me leaving. However, this is proving the only way to deal with her as when she is in this mood she does not immediately respond to any command let alone 'out' and to put her out would mean physically putting her out which is no mean feat ! - And then would this not mean she is getting a big reaction out of me and then she has won?
When she began to jump on the sofa we initially physically ushered her off but this quickly turned into a huge game for her and she invariably got very excited - we then tried just a calm 'no,off' and left the room, she would follow, obviously this was repeated several times. Now (it did take a while, but our sanity and limbs are intact!) she very rarely even attempts to jump on the sofa as she knows she is not allowed to. As for reading the signals and pre-empting her behaviour, that's just it, there are no signals. Do you think she is just testing us and that this is a dominance behaviour issue and worse now because she is an adolescent but it will gradually fade? Are there any other ways I can assert my dominance,presently she has to wait and be given the command 'ok' before eating from her bowl,she has to sit before going through a door and always enters/exits after me.

hi vodka
we have a young dobe ( male ) and although he was never 'mouthy ' i found from six months on to be quite a testing time -I dont know if bitches are the same
I agree with Pammy that you leaving the room may confuse her ,do you come back to her or call her to you ??- i would think calling her to you would be the better option .
There are many different ways of showing dominance and not every one will agree with what i will say but it worked for us
when she grabs you and you get her off you can roll her over and stand over her for 30 seconds or so -she should turn her head and look away and then leave her to think about it for a few minutes and call her to you
before loads jump on me this is not a great slamming of the dog to the floor and neither is it a daily occurence -we only had to do it once or twice and as we have small children we had to re-inforce our pack ranking
any way this worked for us and we have a happy dobe who has a great relationship with our children
HTH
liz :)

Making her leave the room may help. You can get a handle with a clip on the end which you can leave attached to her collar. When she starts then you can grab the handle which is like a very short lead to drag her out by.
Lara x

Hi, Sorry but I dont agree with man handling a weimaraner.... it doesnt work! They can quickly turn on you... believe me I have been on the receiving end. With a weimaraner it is a battle of wills. When she lunges at you are you standing, sitting, walking?? It is during the day or evening?? If you want to speak to me I am more than happy to try and help. E mail me your phone number and I will ring you.

Lynn

kidmal.weimaraners@ntlworld.com

I thought the purpose of a public forum was so that everyone could read and perhaps learn about different
breeds and their problems especially from the people who own the breed.
Why should posters seeking help be asked to email privately depriving the rest of us to solutions that may be of help to us in the future?
Just a thought nothing meant by it but I do think it defeats the object of the forum

If someone specifically experienced with a particular breed wishes to offer their services taking an individual case on its own merit then why knock them? Each dog is different and responses vary greatly - even among the same breed and the same age.
I can spend hours talking to someone about their dogs (and mine!) and the written word can often be misconstrued. Far better to be able to talk about it! Well done that person for offering :)
Lara x

How right you are Lara! The written word can be miscontrude,your posting is a prime example.I just asked that the knowledge be shared by people with experience,I wasn`t saying that people shouldn`t be offered individual help by someone kind enough to offer,just that it is shared for everyones benefit.

:D

Wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent!!!!!

Hi digger
I have a 15 month old, male weimaraner he is my first we have allways had labradors in the past, so I don't know a great deal about them. I just wanted to ask do they all have probelms with being left or is it just mine, he dosn't damage anything he just crys and dosn't stop intill i'm home or back with him, do you know of anything that can help stop this.

Oh and also are they mostly aggressive to there owners. I have had Murphy from a pup and he is very soft and loving he has never turned on me, he does push the boundrys abit e.g stealing food from the bin, sleeping on the bed and pulling on the lead.
Is it lightly that at some point he would turn on me or my children.
At the moment I trust him fully with my children.

Never ever ever trust any dog 100% with your children!!!!

Weims are 'people' dogs - like a lot of gundogs, so it's probably not just yours who can't cope with being alone - you need to teach him that being alone and settled is a *good thing* and a behaviour you like - do a search on seperation anxiety on Champdogs and you'll find lots of suggestions - personally I train in small steps that staying on the bed when I'm not in the room is the thing that gets the reward, and slowly increase the time I'm out of the room....

HTH

Hi Lynn
Thanks for your response, it would be great to talk to an experienced weimy owner, I've tried to email you but it has been returned due to a 'fatal error' - so my number is 01787 319 889 you can try anytime as I work from home.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards

Suzanne

Vodka,

I am not an advocate of extremes in raising dogs, I think some behaviorists and trainers take the idea of preventing any sign of dominant behaviour in a dog goes way too far. Every dog needs to be taught its limits and its place in the pack, whether it is a Yorkshire Terrier or a Great Dane. With rare exceptions, any dog will try to become the dominant member. To me, combined with all the necessary household rules and behaviour that a puppy has to learn, adding to that never ever allowing a puppy to leave a room without sitting or requiring the human to enter or exit the room at all times is extreme. The latter is the type of corrective training that generally should be done only if and when a dog displays inappropriate dominant behavior.

Depending on the breed and individual maturity, when the hormones start to flow most youngsters will test authority and household rules. Teenagers of all species are very similar it seems. My opinion is that your teenager's testing is extreme because the rules that have been set up for her are equally extreme. I would not suggest you change them now, as it certainly would send the wrong message at the worst possible time. I certainly would not recommend that you add any more training designed to force your dog into submission.

You are sending off signals when she lunges, whether or not you realise it. I expect now that you are afraid of her behavior these signals are even stronger, whatever they might be from your dog's viewpoint. Your dog is also sending off signals too before she lunges, even if it is only a look in her eye or a turn of her head. If you can figure out what they are, great, you can interrupt her behavior before it starts with some sort of distraction.

My advice would be to let her know that you are not afraid. Tell her no. Do not make a big deal of this behaviour. You do not want to let her know that she is having any effect on you whatsoever. The only effect of her behaviour should be how it effects her. Don't pull your arm or her, but very deliberately remove her mouth from your arm. Again, if she trys it again. If you react to this by anything more overt, such as trying to roll her over in the dominant position, she will have won. She might eventually submit, but should would eventually also find some other means to assert her authority. The best way to respond is to convince her that her negative behaviour results in effectively no response from you. In other words, convince her that it is not working. If she learned not to jump on the sofa, for which you effectively learned to use this same method, she will learn not to lunge in exactly the same way.

I would also suggest that you spend more time with her in play. Obviously far apart from any display of lunging. Throwing a ball or a kong if that's what she enjoys. Basically just interacting with her, letting her dispense with some energy, and have some fun with you. Even teaching her some silly tricks, like "shake hands", exclusively by praise and food rewards. If she lunges because she is excited, no big deal, but the play stops immediately.

Best of luck with her. I bet she is a lovely, smart dog.

Stacey

We have never had this with one of our own dogs,but we do see it at ringcraft ocassionally usually with the dog that is proving hard work to the owner through lack of teaching it from day one who is the `boss`,
when a dog goes to bite in this situation and yours never ever back off this is seen by the dog as the beginning of your submission.In the ringcraft situation,hard though it sound when the grab for the hand is made it is better to push your hand towards the dog,they are not expecting this at all because up to this point previously everyone has backed off and tried to withdraw the hand/arm making the dog want to grab even more.it is quite a shock to it for the opposite to happen.
After one of these episodes when the dog is allowed back inthe room you should avoid any eye or physical contact for about 10 minutes and at all other times during the day no petting should be done at the dogs command you should inisiate this on every ocassion.
Up to now from the sound of your post the dogs life seems to have been very regimental but it is possible from a very young age to enforce the hierarchy at play ,this way the dog isn`t even aware it is being
moulded.
Don`t make it a battle of wills as this only stresses you more and dogs are very good at picking this up.
Another thing that comes to mind is because there is only you and your partner this dog will get a lot of attention, it will be a good thing if you give the dog time out and do not always allow it to be in your company 24/7 or if you work all the time you are at home, this will also reinforce your position.

From what you have said, your 6 month Weim is just doing mad (and slightly testing)adolescent stuff to basically get as much reaction out of you as possible - she is basically being "naughty" but in a dog playful way, not in a way that is acceptable to humans, so it does of course have to be stopped. I think many of the posts previouslly have given very good advice IMHO, I especially agree that although you have done lots of hard work with your girl, it is just possible she may need more playful interraction from you, initiated and controlled by you.

It might be a good idea to get tuggy toys and play gently,but to teach her "Drop" or "Off" so that you have control. Needless to say this command doesnlt always work on an excitable young teenager in the throes of grabbing at your sleeve, but it may satisfy her desire to play in this way.Ensure the actual play is under your control, if you are at all concerned it is maknig her worse then of course stop.

Maybe too try a taste aversive on your sleeve, on old clothes try Bitter Apple or someone used chilli oil once with success I believe.

The less reaction you can show, almost certainly the dog will improve :) I've had similar problems in the past but in the garden, being "mugged", and total boredom on my part slowly but surely solved the problem. So if you can pretend she is just THE most boring thing ever, when she grabs at you, she may sense your attitude. Of course she is making sure she gets the acknowledgemnt, but in time I am sure her behaviour will simmer down and evaporate ;).

Lindsay

Just an addition - maybe wear a few sweaters so that you can stand the pain better and ignore better.

Thanks for your tips and I have now begun a new strategy. The one good thing at the minute is now that after receiving so much advice I know that my pup is not aggressive but wanting to play with me. I've sat down and thought about her daily activities and the one thing missing was 'tug games', I only played these a little with her in the beginning and then stopped as I had read so many articles saying it was bad for her teeth etc. Anyway, I figure she desperately needs this kind of play/stimulation and if I can channel this need into a toy then I am on the right track. She isn't left alone for long as I work from home and every day she has a walk on/off lead during which we will play search/find, we also play frisbee. As regarding when she does lunge if my partner is in the room then we are now resolved to immediately distract her and I am also wearing double thickness clothes so that if I get caught out I can stand still and ignore her as any reprimand just excites her more and she thinks I am playing. Also up til now reprimanding her hasn't been working. What do you think?Is this a sensible approach?I've spoken to a behaviourist and have an appt. (2wks time) but am unsure of her initial strategies suggested - muzzle and training lead!

Vodka

I can see why you are thinking along the lines of tug of war games, however IMO the worst thing you can do with any dog, but in my experience a weimaraner, is play any kind of tug of war games, no matter how gentle they start out. It's all very well being able to take the toy from her now that she is only 6mths old but try taking it off her when she is a fully grown mature adult. Weimaraners are very enthusiastic and a tug of war game is only likely to wind her up further. :-(

Really the trick is for your weimar to associate mouthing you with a not so pleasant experience because right now she seems to think it is some fab game. For example squirting water in her face or your arm/hand tasting awful by spraying bitter bite onto yourself. I'm guessing the reason reprimanding her hasn't worked is because she doesn't think you really mean it. And the biggest mistake of all is if you are not consistent. If you decide to do something then you must do it ALL of the time, otherwise your weimar will basically be laughing at you. Believe me, I've been there and done it. :-) So if you decide to squirt her with water for example when she lunges then you must do it every time and this may mean that you have water pistols all over the house. But if you are consistent then it really doesn't take long for your dog to learn that when she lunges she gets squirted with water. Of course if she likes being squirted with water then you have to think of something else. For example my boy doesn't mind being squirted in the face, infact he tries to drink it :rolleyes: but squirt him up the bum and he ain't happy ;-)

Have you not spoken to your breeder ? I'm sure they would be happy to chat to you about any problems or queries you may have and it may well be easier for them to give you advice than to chat via a forum. Sometimes you might think you only have one main problem but after chatting further, an experienced person can suggest you changing a number of things to help with that one problem and to stop any future ones.

The breeder or an experienced weimaraner person would be my first point of contact before a behaviourist. I'm not against behaviourists at all, I think they have their place and some behaviourists do come up with some pretty good ideas, however I have also had a bad experience with a behaviourist who supposedly had a good reputation so I tend to think of them as a last option. However, I am lucky in that my breeder is excellent and is always happy to help.

Best Wishes.
Claire. :-)

Firstly Vodka you are not alone. This has been seen with before.
I dont mean they are all bad, just the odd ones that mouth and hang on arms.
Weims is very experienced and helps with W.C.G.B rescue so e-mail her.
I understand also why the other comment was made, that they too would like to know the answer. So if you try something new and it works. Perhaps post back on here what happened so everyone knows the outcome.
If you click on my name then you can get my e-mail and web address.
There is a Weimaraner forum and this subject has been talked about a while ago, if you want to join it contact me and I will send you an invite.
I had to go and visit a dog two years back at 9 months old and it was doing exactly what you said yours was doing. When I got to the house, I found that the dog was not exercised off the lead, and it was bored. It was also left on its own and it did not like it so when anyone came through the door it would lunge at the owner. It mouthed the arm and was bruised. He needed stimulation on his walks. Not just kept on a lead. You may have to look at the whole picture here not just the mouthing. Sometimes its the little things we do that create a monster. I wish you the best with your pup.

Nutkin