AGGRESSIVE PUPPY!!!???? what to do.......

Punishment......I never hit my dogs ever. A firm no does it, unless they are biting or like what happened with stealing something, I tap lightly on the nose.(2 finger tap) NOT HARD AT ALL.
 
I have been calling training places and I found one a few miles from me. Its actually a pet store. There would be focus on socialization mainly. Others dogs in the class will help, plus it is in an environment with different people. More than one trainer working on different things. It may help him get used to different people too. Hopefully we can start this next week.

I know he is not aggressive. Jeez, sure made people look at this though.:eek: Sorry if I dont sound like a good dog person..
 
Tapping on the nose is a big no no in my book, tapping any of mine on the nose would not get a good response and that includes our Lancashire Heeler puppy. You are far likely to get a snap as a response far better to give a verbal cue such as ahah or growl at him.

Hector is a lovely name, now we just need to see photos of this bruiser.:D
 
Ok. Thanks for letting me know. I will stop doing that then. We put the thing back where it was that he grabbed. Upon investigating just now, he started to grab it........I said Hector nooo......and he looked at me and came running towards me lol.
 
He's a retriever. Retrieving will happen, whether you like it or not:D!

If you want him to retrieve things to you, be that a toy, a ball, or shot game, telling him off for picking things up is a no no. And I do think it's a shame for retrievers not to retrieve, it is what they are bred to do and generally they love it. So instead of telling him off, encourage him to bring the thing to you (even if it's your best bra!), praise him and let him savour the moment, then swap it for something nice - a toy or treat. Anything you don't want retrieved needs to be out of range, it's the only way.
 
Look Chrissy, if you put a post up called AGGRESSIVE PUPPY!!!???? and then use words like vicious and aggressive further in the post, when it has only been in the house a day, then yes, you are going to get people's backs up.

I am also not a big fan of nose-tapping. I like my fingers attached to my hand :o

As Spudlet says, swap things round for a ball, dummy or tug rather than reprimand totally natural behaviour.
 
You have a perfectly normal puppy. Not aggressive or vicious at all. NORMAL.
Biting happens especially if the puppy was removed from the mum and litter as you have said.

No tapping, no shouting, instead redirection.
Instead of punishing the bad instead show him what you want him to do.

I would just let him be for a little while.

Start some basic training even better if its clicker to build some confidence.

Every time he bites shove a toy in his mouth. If he gets a bit out of hand just leave him alone for a while.
 
He chases after the toys he has. A goose toy and a squeaky ball are his favorites. Honestly, im not going to say he didnt look vicious when it happened;) It was unexpected for the moment. I wont lie. Never had I seen a pup look like that. Ok, we know now that I mess up writing things so I will stop doing so. We encourage his retrieving of his toys for sure, just wanted him to know anything on the floor is up for grabs then because that would be our fault if he got to something that was on the ground that shouldnt be. Dont want him to have that type of behavior that grabbing things off the table is ok. That is our area, not his.. Does that make any sense I hope?? Maybe I am wrong about that..
 
If you can stop him from taking the thing off the table with an ah ah or a no, fine, but once he's got it, it becomes a retrieving exercise. At this point, not putting things on the table would be favourite for me. Why set the pup up to fail? Keep the table clear and teach a 'leave it', then you can use the table again.
 
So don't set him up to fail - watch him like a hawk (I mean keep your eyes on him, don't stand over pressuring him), if you see him even heading in the direction of something on the floor or table, call him in a really positive, fun way and give him something he IS allowed.

PMSL x-post with Spudlet in very similar language :p :D
 
Jeez, stop being so sensitive, it is common parlance in dog training 'don't set your dog up to fail', if you stick those words in the search bar of this forum or on Google you will see how often it has been used.

You asked for advice, you've been given it, things are going well now, be happy.
 
If you are stopping a puppy from messing up, as in the situation with the object on table, do they learn that it is bad if they never try and get the chance to get it and get told no or leave it.??
 
As for being sensitive, yes I suppose. I was told to get a stuffed toy. I suppose if anyone had been raised with puppies and dogs all their life and were told no, you should return the puppy because of a mistake you made and get a stuffed toy, yes it is upsetting to me. I just was not expecting some of the responses that I got. but thank you to a lot of people. I am done on here now.
 
It's a baby puppy. Worry about the negative stuff later. For now I would keep everything positive. I did not use any sort of negative/correction type commands with my dog until he was about 5/6 months old and that is only because I know his personality type can take it.

Even then, I would wait until he was on top of the object, not lifting it or already running with it, say his name or a recall command, and offered a different object, if he ignored me he was reeled in with the line with positive recall and given the alternative/high value object when he got back to me with lots of praise.

Check out the Culture Clash by Jane Donaldson, it is a very good read.

Stop thinking of your pup doing 'bad' stuff or 'messing up' - how is he supposed to know the difference between bra and ball? You have to teach him, preferably in a positive way at this age. Bear in mind he has the intelligence levels of a human baby.
 
So, you teach a 'leave' command:

You have two treats - one in the left hand. This is the LEAVE hand. One in the right hand. This is the REWARD hand. (See what I did there, didya, didya?)

The most important thing to remember is that 'leave' means leave forever and ever, until Hell freezes, always, for good and all. So do not use leave, for example, if you want the pup to wait to eat until you tell them to. 'Leave' is for dangerous or forbidden items - you want no doubt in the dogs mind about whether it is going to be allowed the thing later on.

You have the treat in your left hand closed away in your fist, and keep your right hand behind your back. Go to the dogs level, and hold out your left hand. The dog will investigate and try to get the food. Do not let it. Don't say anything. The dog will sniff, maybe paw at, nibble, or lick your hand. Ignore this. Eventually the dog will give up and withdraw its nose. At this point, you say 'GOOD leave!', take away your left hand, and reward from your right hand.

Once you have repeated this a few times and the dog is being less persistent about the left hand, understanding that treats come from the right hand, you can up the ante by having the treats in your left hand on the flat of your palm. If the dog tries to take them, close your hand.

You are aiming for this (actually, for better than this, if you read the rest of the blog you'll see Henry is no angel:o:o). That's my dog, leaving a chicken breast. Sorry the video is on one side... I'm better with dogs than technology...:o
http://diaryofatoerag.blogspot.com/2010/09/progress.html


Remember with puppies, short and sweet is the key to training. Keep it short, keep it fun, keep it stress-free.:)
 
Oh. Ah well, it's helpful for me to type out how I teach stuff sometimes, helps me to be sure I'm explaining it clearly. Um, anyone got any cc on my explanation please?

I tell the clients not to set their dogs up to fail all the time, I'm glad they don't all run out of the class!
 
Chrissy4221 said:
...... I dont know why people are telling me to give up.??
Click to expand...

Because you have painted a picture of a very very frightened puppy from the outset who has been put into a new enviroment, smacked on the nose as "punishment", then when trying to get away from the dominant human grabbed firstly by yourself then your boyfriend and you said the puppy was at this stage really in a flight mode.

We have sympathy and concern for the puppy not your feelings or ego.
 
I explained I did not grab. My boyfriend was on the ground sitting where he was running to and just put my hand on him. Didn't grab him. Then he layed down and that's when it happened. Yes he is afraid. But now things are okay and he's following me around. I meant leave the thread for now as I have things to get done today. I appreciate you explaining things. I guess I just had been taight different ways to handle things. I will take your advice into account with the leave it and not giving him the opportunities. I am learning with him a whole new way to train. And I did not smack the puppy. I lightly tapped his nose and said no and he dropped it.
 
I know the heading is that and I want to be done talking about this. I appreciate you taking the time all of the helpful people because I got a different understanding of things and will start to use some of the advice. Sorry you got bored, as did i. From getting in trouble in the dog world. I did wrong and I am going to correct myself for the future
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top