Can anyone give me some advice, my 15 week old bullmastiff bitch has gone back in time a few weeks i think ! When we had her she did all the usual play biting, answering back, trying to be the boss etc, etc. It took us a few weeks but we did manage to calm her down on the play biting by yelping like a hurt pup and ignoring her. She still tried to have a go at the back of our legs but would stop if we yelped.
If she answered me back by barking at me when i told her" no "for any reason, we would put her outside into the back yard and ignore her for 5 mins. This trick also worked, she stopped trying to be bossy, if she barked at me i would say " you'll go outside" and she would sit down and take notice.
Walks were fine we go round the block into the next few streets and onto a field but always on the lead.
We attend puppy classes once a week but her attention span is low !
Now all of a sudden she has become a nightmare ! Biting anyone if they walk past her ! Ripping at clothes and not letting go ! Barking at me when i tell her to stop biting and snapping at my face with all teeth showing !!
She wont walk on her lead i practically have to drag her, and we go to same place everyday.
She has turned into a stroppy madam, and all our hard training has gone out of the window for no apparent reason. She is begining to worry me. What could i be doing wrong ? Is she going to turn out to be an agressive dog ?
Any advice will be welcomed Angie

Hi,
My golden retriever was also doing really well until she got to that age too. She was such a quiet sensible puppy and now she is a 5 month old nightmare. I read somewhere that it is something to do with teething that starts at 14 weeks. Perhaps somewhere along the line something you did made her think that she could challenge you and become boss herself. Sometimes it can be little things like stepping over your dog when she is in the way. Dogs take these things in and i would imagine that if they had a slightly dominant nature they may try to challenge your authority. I don't think it means that she will be aggressive, i think she is just being a mad pup. I would persevere with the training, especially isolating her for a few minutes when she goes over the top. Perhaps you could tell your instructor some of your concerns and see what he/she thinks about the dog's nature and how to deal with the problems.
Sorry i couldn't be more of a help.

Hi Angie
I have a 10 month old Doberman (and they do like to try to be BOSS).

I did loads of research on this when Holly went through difficult phases and Lucy [$ Meg are right - you have to assert your position as boss by demoting the dog. Examples] always make sure you go through doors/gates, etc first. Make sure the dog moves out of your way and you don't work/walk round her. Very important - make sure you eat first and that she notices this, even if you just sit down and have a biscuit before feeding her (apparently in pack animals the boss eats first and the underlings eat their left overs - makes sense).

Another thought - I notice that she's 15 weeks old (coming up 4 months). Have you had her spayed yet? I don't know at what age she is expected to come into season but my Doby was a complete nightmare for two weeks before her first season and a week into it. Perhaps her hormones are playing a big part in this.

Hope this helps
Kate

Hi Kate,
Hope you don't mind me butting in, but the "eating first" theory has been shown not to be true - wild dogs generally let the puppies eat first! (Makes sense - they are carrying the genes for the future).

Also 15 weeks is far too young to spay a large breed bitch. She won't be due to come into season for at least another 2 months (like all breeds) and will be far too immature physically until she has had a season.
:)

Eating first is a Jan Fennell thing lol because thats how it happens in a pack ??????????? One of the many reasons I do not rate her

Dogs rarely want to be 'boss' - however they will take advantage of situations if they can......... However - wild dogs don't have many issues over doorways - there aren't any in the wild, and the Alpha rarely has a problem with another dog who goes on ahead, so long as they've shown suitable deference to the Alpha. An Alpha won't waste energy on making a lower ranking dog move out of his way, it's not worth the effort, and as Jeangenie says - wild dogs allow the pups to eat first (even if it means bringing the food back to them), the one dog who will always eat last is the Omega - but though they eat last, a portion of the most nutritious part of the carcase will be saved for them, as they perform a most important part of the dogs social life - they deflect tension and agression onto them selves..........