my 12 week old anatolian shepherd won't stop nipping at us. I have tons of chew toys for him.?

Question

Yet he still nips, talks back, and tries humps us. I've tried everything form a firm "NO" to pinning him down on the floor until he calms down. But he's going to be a 130 lb dog and this problem needs to be handled ASAP. any advice?

Answer 1

You always try the most positive method first:
Some ideas for discouraging finger chewing: when your puppy clamps down, let out a very loud YELP in imitation of a hurt puppy. Then, fold your arms and ignore him for 10 minutes. With very young puppies, this sometimes works wonders - it's the same thing that happens when they get too rough with another puppy. The wounded puppy yelps and runs off, refusing to play for a bit. The yelp must be startling enough to stop the behavior. If nothing changes, you probably weren't a good enough actor.

However, for your dog, you are likely to need the firmer lessons..

To introduce an element of "natural discipline", grasp the recalcitrant pup by the scruff of the neck with one hand, place your other hand over the top of his muzzle, gently pressing his muzzle towards his chest as you say, in a low, growly tone of voice, "No BITE". If they begin to throw a tantrum and thrash around trying to bite, just hold the line until they "give in" and "say uncle" (quit resisting). You should not find it necessary to get aggressive with a young puppy. Simple restraint is usually enough to get the message across.

Anatolians are super smart..But you do need to get him under control quickly...Teach him to 'SIT'..then NEVER feed him or give ANY treats until he will SIT for at least a few seconds..
You may need help to get him to learn..Have another person firmly, but gently push his bum to the floor, while you are saying " SIT" and just as soon as his bum touches the floor, give a piece of kibble...Keep this u through the whole bowl...then, keep feeding in this way until he will obey the 'SIT"..and require obedience before very feeding...When he is actually doing it well, then he can have the whole bowl of food..
this is a bit time consuming, but will help you ALL of his life..

Answer 2

The toys are great, but what you've got is a (large) herding dog, and he's trying to herd you.

Have you started obedience training yet? If not, boy, is it time. I had an 85 pound Belgian Shepherd Dog mix (another herding breed), and she was great - because we went through beginning and intermediate obedience classes, and practiced. Otherwise, I'd never have had a chance to be the top dog - she could drag me like a kite, and did, until we trained her.

Positive reinforcement training works best. An Anatolian is, like the other herding dogs, smart and strong-willed. If you put your relationship on a physical dominance basis, he's going to win when he weighs 130 pounds. Lots of obedience training and practice will set you up as the (benevolent) leader. Right now, he obviously isn't buying your leadership act - you need to find out how to convince him, and force ain't gonna do it, hon. He's soon going to be much stronger than you are.

Do you make him "sit" before he gets his food? Little gestures mean a lot, and being as you outrank him, you control the food supply. If you can't make him "sit" and "stay," then as I say, it's class time. At 12 weeks, he's old enough to start.

Everyone in the family should participate, because you want everyone in the family to outrank him. He may resist, as he clearly thinks he's got a shot at being top dog now, but in time, if you're all consistent (no begging, no freebies - food and treats only if he earns them), he'll move comfortably into his proper place in the scheme of things.

You (and your family) have to control the toys, the food, all of the good stuff. He gets rewards when he behaves.

A Belgian Shepherd Dog trainer had to explain this to me. Once we made our pup sit and wait for her food, and work for treats, she became a great support to all of us, and didn't try to run the show. No hitting, please - that'll make things much, much worse. Positive reinforcement training will help you become a top dog, and your pup become a happy follower! Good luck!

Answer 3

You just have to be consistent in pushing him down and telling him NO in a firm voice, keep a rolled up paper handy and swat his front legs when he jumps up and nips, swat his nose or shoulders and yell NO, I have a 4 month old German Shepherd puppy that I didn't think would ever stop doing that, but in the last couple of weeks I can really see a change in his behavior from being as persistent and consistent as he is by disciplining him every single time he does it, follow it through with ignoring him as soon as he does it, and/or put him on an outside lead for a few minutes each time, he'll get the message soon enough if you persist in breaking him of it.

Answer 4

Puppies bite as they play. Your puppy just figures you are one of his pack and that he can play with you in this manner. Having chew toys will not usually discourage the human biting as it occurs cuz he wants to play with you, not his toy.

We have the same problem with our border collie and this is what our obedience trainer suggested we do...

When the puppy bites, gently grab the scruff of his neck and tell him firmly "no bite". This is the same way a mother dog disciplines her puppies. When he stops biting, praise him well for it. You will need to do this each time it occurs, as consistency is the key to unlearning the biting behavior.

Also, offer you pup a toy to bite, rather than you. Encourage him to bite that tug o war rope, rather than your hand and make sure your hand isn't close to his mouth during play. If the pup does make a bite contact with you, such as during play, even if accidental, give out a high pitch "ow" or "ouch" which will sound similar to what his litter mates did to tell him something he did hurt. It's a means to communicate to your puppy he is hurting you.

You should NEVER need to hit or hurt your dog physically, as this could make them fearful of you and even cause more issues down the line. Positive reinforcement is the best method for you and your dog. This will take some time, but be vigilent about it and I'm sure it will ease up a lot in the coming weeks and eventually he'll figure it out.

Answer 5

This dog is still a baby! He's nipping because he's teething - keep telling him no very firmly, replace your hands with his toys. You need to be very consistent, and he'll get that you are the pack leader. You could also withhold attention from him when he bites - don't talk to him, play with him or even make eye contact with him. You need to keep your voice very calm, if you're excited, he picks up on that and gets even more excited.

I would not be pinning this dog down on the floor - this is a highly intelligent and very trainable breed, but they are guard dogs and have the ability to be aggressive. If you're pinning him down, you are in fact, teaching him to be aggressive. You need to control him with voice commands and tons of praise, rather than negative responses. At this age you could be teaching him very simple obedience at home (he's too young for classes) - teach him sit, down, stay, start on heeling, and most importantly, teach him to come. Keep lessons very short and fun and use lots and lots of praise.

Answer 6

I've had anatolians for about twenty years and still raise them now and am very active in the breed, genetics, international issues and importation as well as keeping extensive records of the bloodlines.

What you are describing is littermate play. Littermates make nice chewing and roughhousing targets.

Please! And you probably already know this. Social littermate play is different than chew toy play. Dogs are not simple droids with little maws that need something in them! lol -- They absolutely love and want social contact and because your puppy hasn't yet learned that humans are not to be treated like littermates, that's what you get to be. :)

He is still quite young but if he was taken from his parents early (before eight weeks) he will not have learned quite enough from his mother and other dogs to respect social hierarchy in his dog pack/family. Some breeders do not keep them long enough to let them become gentle nor spend enough time working with their puppies. Happens in all breeds.

What you need to do is be firm and consistent with him - if a method isn't working of course, choose one that does work.

Rolling him and holding him, and making growly noises often works with young independent and leadership oriented puppies THAT HAVE learned the rules of pack leadership - however if it isn't working this is showing that something like the timing is off or the puppy left home too soon. So don't do it if it isn't working. You may end up with a huge dog that has learned to fight fire with fire.

1 - The "yelp then ignore" method works with Anatolian puppies that have softer or medium personalities that have learned to respect language in the pack hierarchy.

2- The Anatolians with status-seeking personalities may need firmer guidance. Firm but fair. Do nothing to hurt the dog's Trust and Respect for you and your family. Here's what you do. I've seen some of these "upwardly mobile" puppies and they are _not_ the most common, but a relatively gentle way of dealing with it is WHEN your puppy latches onto your hand -- GIVE your puppy your WHOLE hand, a 'knuckle sandwich' if you will or two fingers down his gullet, and give it to him for a second. The MOMENT he tries to spit it out and he will, don't force, but take your hand back immediately. Then give him some gentle pats and light praise. He will learn not to grab at your hand in very little time. :) Praise him for having a soft mouth. Since you will only have to do it at most (in my experience), three times, it will be a quick and gentle method that puts HIM in control of his own comfort. He will opt for comfort, believe me. :) simple choice.

I always advocate using NILIF with Anatolians. Teach them that nothing in life is free.

If he comes up to you for petting, he doesn't EARN it because he is cute! He earns it because he sits first. Don't be a vending machine because when he PUSHES for that attention when he gets older, he will wonder why his vending machine is mad.
http://www.greyhoundlist.org/nothing_is_free.htm

Above link shows the guidelines I have used and given to ASD owners for well over a decade. It works.

Enjoy your magnificent Anatolian! Post a pic somewhere! (see my user ID for pics of some other ASDs)

Answer 7

have a rott/doberman mix female and when she was a puppy she bit me on the hand and drew blood and with the same hand i pinned her down and sad in a firm voice "no" a dominent breed like an anatolian will try to take over and you need to be the dominent one dogs will no if you are affriad or have no confidence behind your words its not the words its the strength behind them!

Answer 8

sounds like a dumb dog-put it to sleep and buy a pot-bellied pig