Hi,
I hope there is someone there who can give me some advice.  I have a 10 week old GSD bitch (my second in 20 years but the last one I had at 6 months old).  Suki started off as per the books 3 weeks ago, however, her biting has gone from pubby biting to very aggressive attack biting.  It only happens in the last hour before she goes to bed, and only when I have let her through to the main part of the house to watch telly with me (I usually give up after 5 mins).  I have a playpen which her bed is in, I have tried taking time out by putting her in that for 15 minutes at a shot, but the biting continues, she goes for my arms and hands, and if I walk, the back of my legs.  She will not house train in the main part of the house where there are carpets, I was wondering if there are smells that make her crazy, or if it is too much freedom for her.

She is not house broken at nights, though she does use the puppy mats.

Where am I going wrong, and what can I do?  I have four boys who stay with me every two weeks, I am scared she is going to take a chunk out of one of them, the youngest is 6.

p.s. My old dog Sadie, never did any of this.

Just out of interest, what food does she eat? Perhaps it is making her hyperactive and she needs to let off steam? WHen my BC was little she was on pedigree puppy and then later on bakers puppy, both of which are full of colourings and high protein. Her concentration span was nil, but as soon as i put her on a better food she calmed down alot. I wish i could help a bit more, but i'm not sure what to suggest. Someone with a bit more experience is bound to come along soon.

This is not aggressive biting it is puppy behaviour. If yu haven't had such a young puppy before you will not have experienced it(your previous bitch was 6 months old when you got her so would be past this stage)

You need to teach her bite inhibition so that she learns that biting/nipping is not acceptable & the key word is consistency

How are you toilet training her ? Using paper or puppy training mats simply reinforces toileting inside. Time consuming as it is you must tajke her out everytime she wakes up & after eating & if she looks as if she wants to go(circling, starting to squat etc) This might mean taking her out hourly & I even set a dual alarm clock for my puppy so I could take him out during the night. If she goes inside do not make a fuss simply clean it up & say nothing. When she goes outside you should make a huge fuss & tell her how good she is. I teach my puppies to go on command(lol mine starts off as who wants a wee wee & ends with "be quick"when we get outside) If you tell her off indoors it can make her inhibited at going when you are around

I wouldn't expect a 10 week old puppy to be house trained I've only had one puppy who never went indoors ever in 40+ years

Hi, what do you do when she does this biting?

Pups often have a mad half hour or so when they can appear aggressive - it isn't aggression but as MM says, normal behaviour although not one that humans like.
My sister's JRT would do mad wall of deaths and figure of eights, others "attack" and get growly. Basically it's a lot of fun for them, my sister actually encouraged her dog but the wall of death wasn't a problem at the end of the day :P

I agree food may play a part, if you go to a good puppy class (try www.apdt.co.uk or www.puppyschoo.co.uk) you will find help on hand from the instructor hopefully, and can share stories with other puppy owners in the same boat :)

Lindsay
x

Thanks all you guys.

Yes, I had wondered about the pedigree puppy, (it was what the breeder recommended).  It is a daft half hour only happens in the last hour before settling her down.  I am using puppy mats at night, during the day I have been doing exactly as suggested, in fact the door to outside is always ajar and she has been taking herself outside  (on the times when I havent jumped out of the chair because I have heard her move.  I have been loathed to crate her at night, because I don't believe she has bladder control and I think it could be cruel to have her sitting in a wet bed.  The toilet problem only happen on the carpet in the rest of the house (where she is normally not allowed to go).

I have been trying bite inhibition for 3 weeks, I say a firm no, when she goes for my hand, arm, trousers etc.  I have tried puppy yelp, I have fained crying and on one time actually did because I was extremely tired and she tool a chunk out of my hand.  It just makes her do it more she seems to think it is a game.  I was interested to read somewhere else that tug-of-war games may be encouraging this behaviour???

Sorry about going to bed early last night, I am shattered, I am up before it gets light every morning to make sure she goes out

Hi Jeano

Welcome to the boards.

Just to add to what has already been said. 

I found with mine that I can play tuggy with the girls but my boy even as a pup got very carried away with the game almost instantly and would aim for my hands.  In the end I gave up this game in favour of the retrieve with a ball.  I found I had to bribe him with a treat to get him to give the ball to me but it did improve and we enjoy the game now but I still have to reinforce the give with a treat sometimes as he doesn't want to give up the ball for another throw.  Just a note, I feel it is important to take the toy and put it away at the end of the game, giving her a chew to keep not the toy.  I thought his biting puppy stage would never end but thankfully once his adult teeth where through it almost disappeared over night.

Also your pup needs to have a good rest between playing or she will get overtired and stroppy.

Good luck with him, this stage doesnt last forever.

Definitely cut down on the protein content with this pup. All wet foods have too much protein in them. Also a lot of dried foods have a lot of colourants. You could try James Well beloved at 21% protein it is a fish one. All the nutrients etc that he will need is in this food and should help with the biting. If you would like a puppy leaflet that we do about biting let me know and I will send one to you by email. I will have to wait until my daughter is home to do this as I am not very good at sending things by email.:-)

>It is a daft half hour only happens in the last hour before settling her down.

My JRT is now 16 and a half weeks old and he has always had a late night bout of Mad Puppy which, to a casual observer might have looked like I was giving houseroom to the Hound of the Baskervilles. Certainly, if not diverted into rushing around with his squeaky pussy grasped firmly in his jaws, he'd had been quite happy to rush about taking a crafty nip out of your ankles in the middle of the loony tunes circuit he set for himself. But as each week has gone by the Mad Puppy Interlude has become shorter and shorter and is now mainly a lively 5 minutes before going zonko upstairs and shortly afterwards being put to bed. 

As well as diverting him away from human targets I also found it useful to take him out in the garden for a run around late evening too which used up some of the extra energy. Mainly, however, at this age pups are like very small and very over-tired children and although it's very wearying on you at the height of it, they do learn how to channel "overtired" into "best I fall asleep then".

Do consider what you are feeding though since again like children, the more highly coloured and full of additives their food, the more likely it seems you are to get hyperactivity.

>I am using puppy mats at night, during the day I have been doing exactly as suggested, in fact the door to outside is always ajar and she has been taking herself outside<

Even when she takes herself outside you should go with her & praise her for going outside. All the pads do is teach her to "go"on mats including your carpet

TBH I don't think protein content has much to do with behaviour of this kind. I did a trial with a "hyper"active BC I had & even with a month on very low protein(& no addictives)he was just the same He was simply a very active dog. You may wish to change gradually over to a more natural diet

I'm not one for the crying or yelping as if you watch puppies inacting this is what they do when playing. If you watch an adult dog with a puppy when the adult has had enough They grump & walk away They don't yelp or cry My GSD bitch is a patient dog with puppies & they quickly learn what behaviour is not acceptable. The key ord as I have said is being consistent with the reaction.

GSD are a very physical dog when they play together &you did to set boundaries & get every one to be consistent in their reactions

It is the quality of the protein not the quantity that is important in a dog's diet; dogs have no "protein requirement" as such,  what they do have is a requirement for essential amino acids which may be absent or unavailable to the dog in some diet formulations. Only animal based proteins will give the full array of amino acids that is needed for canine good health and longevity.

The %age of protein on a label is basically meaningless unless you have a) removed the moisture content to find the ACTUAL protein content, b) know exactly what proportion of that protein is complete/incomplete (ie animal v grain) and c) what the quality of the protein is ie if animal is it beaks, feet etc which means the protein is unavailable to the dog (a bit like us eating leather) and d) the synergistic/inhibiting effects that other ingredients have on the uptake of that protein ie soya is not only a thyroid inhibitor but also binds with other ingredients making them essentially unavailable to a dog.

Therefore if you ARE thinking of changing foods I would recommend that you choose one that has as few ingredients as possible, certainly the miminum of additives of any kind.  I would also suggest that you avoid foods containing maize/corn as this is devoid of tryptophan, lysine and glycine, essential amino acids for the dog and the first is a precursor of serotonin the "feel good" factor in foods and a natural "calmer" so to speak.

If you are looking at a commercial diet I would choose one with rice over oats, wheat or corn as the digestibility/availibility of protein is in that order.

If you like wet foods Naturediet is an excellent food which contains only meat, rice, carrots and bonemeal.  Burns would be my first choice of dry food followed by JWB (some formulations).

Protein content per se ie in isolation has NOT been found to be a factor in behaviour as the studies done in this area have had to many mediating variables to make any scientific conclusion impossible. ;)

My Gsd will still have a mad 5 mins and she is 2 years old. This now only consists of tearing around the house, stand still for a few seconds and then tearing around again. THis is no problem and quite funny to watch. When she was a puppy however this would be accompanied by diving at us and mouthing. We would just say NO BITING and distracted her by playing a game. Fetch with a squeaky ball that was not played with any other time, seemed to work the best as it still involved chasing around. This made it a high value toy and if she continued to mouth the high value toy was taken off her and put away. Its amazing how quick they catch on.

>Its amazing how quick they catch on

True, gaby. Also it's important not to take the biting personally and start interpreting the Mad Puppy Moments as evidence you have an aggressive dog. I know this sounds daft, especially when the pup appears to be targetting YOU but it's normal puppy behaviour.  When they are off on one, getting sense out of them is harder but most pups are quite happy to be diverted into tearing around with a more acceptable substitute toy of higher value than your legs and feet. If they get completely OTT then away it goes. But as gaby says, they catch on quickly.

Having read your comments about children, it is important that you tell them how to deal with the pup in mad moments and that everyone is consistent. Only adding to the general lunacy by rushing around squealing (an automatic reaction I know if nipped!) just makes an over-excited pup ten times worse.

Hi Jeano, my GSD is 16 months old and still has his moments of play biting my hand but they are getting less and less. One thing we did for a short while when he was quite persistant at this was wipe some tea tree essential oil over our hands , he didn't like the taste or smell one bit. It did mean that we had bottles of the stuff all over the house! As regards diet , have you looked at Arden Grange dog food, they can be found on the net, they  are expensive but use good quality chicken ,rice etc. With all the good advice you've been given I'm sure your pup will soon be fine, regards , Dippydog.

Hi Jeano

First, don't worry about this - I agree that it sounds like normal puppy behaviour and is not "aggression".

There are some things you can do to help.  Firstly, read this link: http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm

As that link suggests, you need your puppy to bite so that it acquires bite inhibition. 

So, most of the day, when your puppy mouths you usually, do as that link suggests.  During her "mad" time in the evening, I would just yell "OW" and put her in the crate as soon as she showed that mad behaviour, wait for her to calm down and be quiet, then let her out.  If it happens again - straight back in the crate.  Make sure that it is only the really hard bites that you are putting her in the crate for, and make sure that she is allowed to mouth you whenever she doesn't do it that hard, because she needs to learn bite inhibition.

Tug of war games to not cause this behaviour, so don't worry about that.

Another thing which might help is for her to play with some other puppies her age.  Make sure the play stays equal and that she is not bullying them, and they are not bullying her - they should take turns.  This will help her to develop bite inhibition too - because another puppy will tell her in a language she will understand ("Dog"!), that it hurts when she bites that hard.  A human can never communicate to a dog as effectively as another dog on this one.

You can crate her at night if you can get up and take her out in the middle of the night.  This might sound like a pain, but actually dogs are trained much quicker that way, so it's short term pain for long term gain, if you like.

Hi jeano,
The previous advise given is absolutley correct. Being consistant all the time.
YOU are to your puppy, in his eyes, leader and 'Top Dog'.
It is a case of teaching them accepted and unaccepted behaviour.
Praising them well at good habits is the key. It is very easy to get annoyed with them when they do wrong and the 'GOOD BOY' reaction is often thought, but not shown by owners.
I found in some cases, using a tightly rolled up newspaper slapped on a floor, surface, or across your hand, along with a firm 'NO' whenever the bad behaviour was present, would instantly shock the puppy/adult dog into knowing this is unacceptable behaviour.
In the case of biting, try pushing his head away in a downward direction followed by a firm 'NO'. Then give him his own toy. Praise him.
If this has little or no affect, use the newspaper shock treatment.
After the 'SHOCK' immediately give the puppy/dog a toy of their own. When he takes the toy from you, the positive praising should be immediate towards him. This will encourage safe playing and deter harmful play. It may take a few goes but, it has worked for me.
If it does continue, he has to be ignored by you, i.e turn away from him and do not have eye contact.
Obviously, if he continues to bite at your heels/legs etc, use the rolled paper shock treatment.
He will eventually get the message and turn to something else to amuse him.
This is then the time to call him back to you and when he does respond, praise him well.
It really is conforming his attitude towards you and that YOU are 'TOP DOG'.

I wish you good luck and lots of determination.

Caly

Hi Caly,
You make a good point that often owners forget to praise when the puppy or older dog behaves in the wanted manner - some folks get too fixated on the undesirable behaviour ;)

>YOU are to your puppy, in his eyes, leader and 'Top Dog'

Can't say that I agree with the above statement however.  Why would any animal regard a different species as it's "leader" - prey, predator yes but not "leader".   We can co-exist with our domesticated pets and, being their sole providers of food, water, warmth and affection they - through respect, loyalty and physical need - are anxious to please us.

Can't agree with your "shock tactics" either I'm afraid :(  With a puppy it is not only unnecessary but could potentially frighten the pup - the use of a rolled up newspaper is archaic!

>In the case of biting, try pushing his head away in a downward direction followed by a firm 'NO'

This is a 10 week old puppy :rolleyes:  So added to mentally traumatising it you're now advocating a physical reprimand which could damage it's neck!

>It really is conforming his attitude towards you and that YOU are 'TOP DOG'

I would be horrified if any owner who had one of my pups followed this ethos :(

This poster has already been given excellent advice and a very informative link to an article about bite inhibition which if followed correctly represents no confrontational, aggressive or frightening tactics and furthers still the bond which should be developed between us and our four legged friends.

Regards, Teri

Could not agree more with you Teri.

I would also suggest that pushing a dog away is often an invitation to play and would aggravate the situation especially with some pushy GSDs etc

And as for the rolled up newspaper, I suggest the poster does use it, on herself! :rolleyes:

We have two GSDs at home,one is 5yrs old and the other is 14mnths.I was lucky with my older dog in the fact that he never did nip or bite,not that i can remember anyway.When we bought the younger pup home,at 9weeks old,our older dog taught her not to nip and bite.If she played a bit too rough with him he would grumble at her,if she still continued the bad behaviour he did nip her back.Eventually she would get the message and leave him alone.I didnt have to do any of the training really.I remember,on the odd occasion having to tell her no but i never shouted at her.It was more for the benifit of her learning a word that she knew meant that she was doing something naughty.
Ten weeks is still awfull young though to judge a dogs temprement in my opinion.The dog is just a little exsightable and doesnt seem to know when to stop.The diet thing is certainly worth looking into before you just judge the dog as being naughty,there can be many medical reasons why it is behaving the way it does,so get that checked first.
Good luck with the pup,im sure it will grow out of it in time and with consistant training.

Any observation of an effective 'alpha' will tell you that they only need a 'look' to reprimand an out of place contact, they certainly don't need to resort to violence, so why, as the more 'intelligent' species, should we?

Caly was this the advise you were given when you were faced with one of your own dogs agressive behaviour?