Hello

I have a 17 week old weimaraner puppy, he is generally very good, but has lately developed two antisocial behaviours - he has started nipping really hard and barking at us, this usually happens when he is really over-excited. He tends to go hyper (like most pups I guess) for 10 minutes or so twice a day, and if you interrupt this - say to get him off the sofa which he keeps leaping upon - he goes to nip when we try and get his collar, or yaps at us. He never growls or bares his teeth. I think he wants to play and doesnt want to do what we say, but obviously we want to nip this behavior in the bud. When it happens I insist he gets off the sofa or whatever, and tell him NO if he bites, and walk away if he barks. I guess I am looking for either reassurance that this strategy will be successful eventually, or suggestions on what else to try. I wasnt sure whether I should tap him on the nose or anything? I have never used physical punishment / correction on my other two dogs, a CKCS and a Cocker X. Incidentally, he also behaves like this with them, they get pretty fed up and don't like him very much. They cannot correct him as he is bigger than them, so I tell him off and stop him if he does it to them too.

The other recent development is mounting behaviour, he does this a lot now (to my other two dogs), I tell him NO and pull him off, any other suggestions? I tried a water spray in his face, but he just got excited and wanted to play.

One last thing - what would weimaraner and other large dog experts suggest in terms of exercise? My vet has prescribed 10 minutes a day maximum, which doesnt tire him out at all - could I get away with a bit more? Obviously I don't want to damage him. My friend has a dalmatian 2 weeks older than him and she walked him for 40 minutes at a time from a very young age - is this because he is a smaller breed.

Sorry for the long post! Thanks for any help anyone can give.

Cheers
Alex

Hi louise
At the risk of starting a fight again, If you have explored all other avenues, I would say that scruffing may be the answer for a dog that just wont listen. As john pointed out care must be taken when doing this so as not to hurt the dog. Get the dog by the scruff of the neck and give it a shake. Then while still holding the dog by the scruff pull it to the floor on its back and growl no at it sharply while staring directly at its eyes. Maintain the stare until it averts its gaze then put it to bed for 20 minutes or so. Dont exclude it too long or it will forget why it was punished.

Good luck Mick

Also see "Staffy pup(bitch) nipping or biting" Under visitors questions page two.

Hi

Thanks for your help, I will certainly try this if he doesnt improve soon. I am very aware how dominant a breed weims are and am prepared to use this method if necessary.

Cheers
Alex

Hello Mr.Murphy

For my clarity, would you scruff dogs and role them on their backs the first time they did something seriously wrong (eg biting) or just when the dog ignores you and doesn't respond to your commands?

Thank you,
Ali

Hi Ali
Only as a last resort if the dog will not take a telling any other way.

I would not use extreme force. The dog has to know that as the pack leader you mean no when you say no.

I have used this method with extremely wound up bull terriers and it works. I may be wrong about other breeds though.
I was going to refrain from posting on this subject, however nobody else had and advice was asked for.

Hi Alex,

My Weimaraner is 22 weeks old and on the subject of exercise I am walking him two or three times per day. I started out walking him only for about 10 minutes at a time but built this up and now he's getting up to 40 minutes on each walk but I always balance the length of walk with how strenuous the exercise is; if it's free-running off the lead we only go for 15 minutes (some of which is spent getting there and back!). If its more sedate trotting along either doing heelwork or on his flexi lead, then we go for longer. It's also easy for me as I live in a flat area but I don't do any up and down hills or stairs with him yet.

The 10 minute 'mad-dog' you describe is a classic isn't it?! I had a 13 year old Weimaraner before this one and all I can say is 'Don't wait for him to grow out of this one - mine never did!!!' :D What we do with Kaiser is, when you know its coming, direct his energy into something you want him to do rather than wait for him to start doing something you don't want him to do. Training is great as most Weimaraners are clever and greedy so the combination of making him think and offering him tit-bits in exchange is pretty much a dream come true for him! We are also teaching Kaiser the names of all his toys. Asking him to fetch the one we name and calmly taking any off him that are the wrong ones. He is so puzzled by this, not having cottoned on to what we're doing yet, that his brain is working overtime because - seemingly at random - we get all excited when he brings a toy over to play, but he never knows which one! So far he has only learned the name of two toys - Skate and Chop - with about another 12 to go, so maybe I'm wrong and Weimaraners aren't as bright as we are lead to believe! ;) :D

Good luck, and keep posting! You'll get lots of advice on here - all you have to do then is decide which bits to follow! Some can be very contradictory ;)

Linda & Kaiser

Hi Linda

Thanks for your reply, I was so pleased to hear that Zak is normal! He always seems to have his hyperactive sessions when friends / family are visiting and they think he is a tearaway, they never see him sleeping like a baby cuddled up to my feet! I won'ttell my husband that Zak will always have the mad five minutes, he'll go mad!

I will start upping his exercise a bit, gradually, I think - the vet said 10 mins a day on the lead but I don't think that is enough, especially for socialisation.

I love your idea of teaching him the names of his toys, I will definitely try that, will get him thinking! He seems quite easy to train at this stage, he is very willing to learn and very quick to pick things up. I guess that could change when he becomes a teenager!

How much does Kaiser weigh at 22 weeks? Just curious to know how fast Zak will grow, he is about 17 kg now I think. Has he got all his adult teeth? Zak only has two but they are coming through fast.

Cheers
Alex

Hi Alex, I think you need to understand that your pup has his "hyperactive sessions" when friends and family are visiting, becuse he is pleased to see them and has got himself excited at the prospect of visitors. Be grateful that he is that way, and not scared and spooked, or nasty, when you have company.Why would your husband " go mad" when Zak goes a bit silly? Hes a baby pup, what else would a pup be expected to do? Do please give him the opportunity of being a normal platful puppy, he will grow up soon enough.

Hi

Yes you're right, we are glad he likes people rather than being frightened :-) My comment about hubby was a bit tongue in cheek, I just don't think he will relish the prospect of a 30kg weim bombing around the house! :-D It's a madhouse anyway so I am sure he will get used to it! And yes we certainly do accept that he is a playful puppy and would not want to prevent him playing, in fact we love playing with him (until he starts mounting and nipping hard :-( )

Cheers
Alex

Hi Alex,

Kaiser is 22 kilos and has gained weight at a steady 1 kilo per week since we got him, although that has slowed down slightly in the last two weeks. I think he is going to be a big boy though as his paws are still huge and his brother is maximum height for the breed (Kaiser is from a repeat mating and his breeder had kept a dog puppy from the first litter so we had the advantage of seeing mum, granny and big brother before we picked this litter to have a pup from. And we'd met dad too at a show so Kaiser was well planned!)

The challenge for anyone with a puppy from an intelligent breed which is still too young for long walks is to keep them busy enough to wear them out mentally, without over exercising. I use the simple trick of taking Kaiser everywhere with me! Be warned though, that can bring its own stresses because those 'mad dog' sessions are guaranteed to occur round the least doggy person's house, usually while they are trying to serve elegant nibbles on dainty side plates LOL!!! Luckily very few of our friends and family fit into this category ;).

Kaiser has all his adult teeth now, although some have only just cleared the gum line. We have had a very entertaining few weeks because whenever he played with another dog (rough-and-tumble type games) the other dog always looked like their throat had been cut because Kaiser's gums bled all over them! It was quite a shock the first time I can tell you! I have managed to find three of his teeth too, one little front one and two canines. The first was stuck to a colleague's arm when he was mouthing her, the second and third fell out when I was cleaning his teeth. Nice little keepsakes, if a bit bloody!

Keep us posted on your progress, it’s always interesting to hear about others who are owned by Weimaraners!

Linda & Kaiser

Hiya

It sounds like Zak is fairly typical then as he seems to gain about 1kg a week. He's starting to look quite gangly and leggy rather than like a plump pup now. I have only met Zak's half-sisters and brothers, although I met his parents and his Dad was not particularly huge - but Zak's feet are massive, we are wondering how big he will get!

I have been taking Zak with me to a lot of places too, it gets him used to the car which is good - and just looking out of the window of the car seems to stimulate him (he travels behind a dog guard), as well as meeting people in friends / family's houses and in Pets at Home shop. He's been to a few puppy socialisation parties too which totally tired him out!

It was good to hear about Kaiser's teeth - Zak did the same sort of thing, he fetched a toy and it had blood on it and I panicked then realised his tooth was about to come out!

BTW what do you feed Kaiser, is it special large breed puppy food?

Have you got any pictures of him on the web?

Cheers
Alex

Hello
If you want advice on Weimaraners you should try the
Weimaraner Club of Great Britain web site and join
the forum. Its brilliant for helping new owners and
old owners, plus we talk about all the daft things Weimaraners
get up to. Plus we make friends with other Weimy owners
and can chat also through the chat group. It really can
be a benefit as everyone on the site owns a Weimaraner.
If you want any advice how to join then click on my
name and see my e-mail.

Good advice nutkin
The best advice on your breed is from breed owners.
Like i said I only posted as nobody else had.
Regards Mick

Hi Nutkin,

I thought Alex was getting advice from weimaraner owners ;) Both you and I own them, and whilst I'm no expert, I have had over 10 years experience of having weims as pets and am currently just a few weeks ahead of Alex in the weimapup process :D. Having said that, I agree with you that Alex will get lots of specialist advice via WCGB.

btw Alex, yes, Kaiser is on a specialist large breed puppy food. Why don't you email me, my email address is on my details page, as this chat could get a little dull for those who don't currently have a weimapup under 6 months old ;).

Linda & Kaiser

Hey Linda
I know you are giving good advice I have read it. But
I think its very beneficial to talk to other Weimaraner
owners as well. Why dont you join the forum too.
We have been chatting this week about dogs that
get up to all wicked things. Its just really great
to have contact with lots of people. Sometimes we can
think we own the only dog in the world that is doing
something daft. If you want me to send you an invite
e-mail me.
Nutkin- Rachel.

Hi Nutkin!

I'm already a member myself but don't post very often. I'm a bit of a techno-pygmy and I find the format less easy to use than Champdogs! The information does seem very good though.

Linda & Kaiser

Hi
I'm in the same boat as you exactly,i've got a Ridgeback pup doing the same thing.You say your pup does it for 10 mins,i must be the lucky one,mine does it for about 20 secs to 1min.I've just started to correct him over the last couple of days,i'll let you know how i get on.
I was told to grab him straight away by the collor and put him on all fours and say NO strongly and firmly every time he jumps and nips me.

Hi

I have been trying not to tolerate his nipping, and there has been a huge improvement in his behavior already. I have been concentrating on training him a lot more and he is getting really good. He still likes to chase the cats though :-(

Good luck with your ridgeback puppy - they are a lovely breed. Quite a handful too I expect!