Having really bad puppy agression problems?

Question

My pup (peke-a-tzu) is being really agressive, he is seven months. We had problems with him trying to eat everything in site when outside. At first he would let us take it out of his mouth, but then he started getting to the point where he would bite, growl, etc. if we tried to remove it. He had one thing that made him sick, luckily he was able to pass it. But no matter how much we watched, he always seemed to find something.

So we started letting him carry a toy outside that he only got when we were out there. He was very proud and wouldn't put it down. Problem solved. Well, then we got a new problem, he got to the point where he didn't want to give the toy back. My vet said to try to trade him for treats. So we started that, he did really good, for a while.

Now, if we give him the treat, he tried to, literally, attack us if we go to pick him up. So, then they recommended having him walk in on his own. We started that and he is doing really well with it.

So we went "bye bye" today and stopped to let him take a restroom break before going to the pet store. I was scanning the yard up and down and couldn't find anything. Well, he did, I have no clue where he found it. I was able to get some of it out of his mouth, but then he tried to bite. So I grabbed a treat to try and exchange and he got really mean and started jumping up trying to bite me, etc. Before I was able to grab him to pull it out of his mouth, he swallowed it. I think it was paper. But it not only upsets me about him trying to bite, but it really worries me that he is eating everything.

My vet says it is partly because of his breed (the peke) but I just don't know what to do with him. I love him to death and he is really great with everything else. But, I am just not able to use forceful actions to try and correct him, i.e. grabbing him by the scruff.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I am desperate.

Thanks so much!

Answer 1

Right now your puppy thinks he is YOUR boss. You need to make it clear to him you are HIS boss.

First - when you feed him in the morning make him work for his food, tell him to sit, once he sits, give him his food, praise and pet him if he growls or snaps at you, grab him by the scruff of the neck ( the flappy skin on top of his neck in between the back of his head and his begining of his shoulders) shake it firmly and tell him NO in a very firm assertive voice. Make him sit again, once he sits give him the food prais and pet. If he continues to growl and snap at you, take away the food. 15 minutes later, start again. I know this is alot of work and its time consuming, but its a way of communicating in a language they understand.

See in a pack, the pack leader says who gets to eat and when, and if the pack leader wants to get in there, the pack will submit to him, if not the pack leader usually goes for the scruff and reprimands them for being insubordinate.

Second - play fecth with your dog (indoors at first) with a lead (leash)on. Toss the toy and allow him to get it. Tell him to "bring it", and gently guide him back to you. Praise him. Once he brings it, tell him " drop it" and have him release the toy. Gently place your hand on the toy and tell him agian to "drop it". Don't get into a tug of war contest - because thats all about climbing up the pecking order. If he growls at you, Scruff him and tell him NO, in a firm assertive voice.... he should drop it. As soon as the toy hits the floor you grab it, bring it to yourself, and leave it on the floor. Make him sit. Once he sits praise him and start again. If at any time he drops the toy when you say the command praise him generousely and even give him a little nibblett.

I would highly recomend daily walks and increasing his obiedence training. You see many dogs with aggression issues only because they have a ton of excess energy, and no proper release so it easily turns into aggression. Make sure you provide your dog plenty of walk time, him being a little dog, a good half hour or hour walk three to five times a weeks should do it. Ideally 20 to 30 minutes every day would be wonderful.

Another good exercise is to roll your pup on to his back, and make him stay there, by staying on his back with his belly and underside exposed to you, means he's sumbitting to you as the dominant one, the boss. I recomend, sitting on the floor with both legs out infront of you, and put him in the cradle of your legs, that way you have more control of keeping him there if he puts up a fight. Have his head towards your belly and his feet pointing towards yours. If he gets nasty with you, any form of aggression (not to be confused with fear aggression) scruff him and again in a very firm and assertive voice tell him "NO" and "STAY". Once he submits to you and is calm, gently roll him to his side, tell him "SIT" and praise him.

Make sure your vet has properly screened him to make sure nothing medically is contributing to his aggression.

Also neutering the little guy might help curb the aggression.

Just remember, you are the boss, with you giving him the direction and guideness, with plenty of praise when he does well, and firm and assertive correction (nothing harder than a scruff or pinning on their back) when he is naughty and of course structure (obiedence and exercise) - all this done and his aggression issues with you will dwindle away.

I wish you the best of luck, be patient because its so worth it in the end.

Please realize though, that if the aggression get too out of control, seek professional help with an expierenced obiendence/behavioralist trainer. They can give you the hands on training and visual guiedence to really help you see a variety of effective methods.

Its really not worth getting bit all the time, or having a dog rule your life, thats not enjoying your pet, and thats what you got the pet for, enjoying each other.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Put a choke chain on him and learn to walk him with the dog at your side, not in front of you. This is the first step to you being the alpha instead of the follower. You do this by giving the choke a quick jerk every time he gets ahead of you.

Next leave the choke on the dog and when you feed him or give him something if he growls at you give that chain a quick snap.

Watch the "dog whisper" on animal planet, He is great with aggressive dogs and you will see better whet I am trying to tell you.

You sound like you need help with a trainer.

.

Answer 3

It is very obvious who is in charge in your house. The dog.
He knows it and is taking advantage of it. If you think things are bad now just keep doing what you are doing and wait and see how much more he will do later in life.
Get help one on one from a trainer.
You are going to have to take charge and get after him or your small problems are going to get worse. If you are not willing to show him who is in charge he will rule forever.
You need to get some help from a trainer to show you how to correct him for inapproiate behavior and how to stop it before it escalates into something worse.
Look for someone at your local shelter or humane society or someone who will work one on one with you are the dog. This is a problem best solved one on one and not is calss situation.
Classes are better for basic obedience and not problem solving.
Good luck.

Answer 4

Boy, that's a new one to me. If your vet doesn't have an answer, I sure don't. I can only suggest keeping him on a leash and really praise him when he's a good boy. Hopefully, he'll change as he gets a little older. Does he get fed several times a day and do you let him eat at will. I guess you can patrol the yard and make sure there's nothing there to temp him. Good luck.

Answer 5

Neuter him if you haven't already.....you are goind to have to be more assertive. You might even wear some gloves and let him bite you, see that it doesn't matter to you...don't be afraid of him...I have a poodle who has always been aggressive similar to this, but he's my boy and I accept him. I have slapped him with the paper a few times though :)

Answer 6

We once had a dog like that. You wont hurt him, if he tries to eat something smack him on the snout (not too hard though) and then say in a clear voice, no. He will listen after a while, if he tries to bite bite back, bite him on the ear, not hard though, soon he'll be afraid to do anything and will be fine.

Answer 7

Your problem is your dog thinks that HE is the alpha. Sounds mean but you need to establish that peke-a-tzu is the dog and that goober is the ALPHA. Then your dog will listen to you.

Answer 8

i had some similar problems with my dog with nipping and going to the bathroom. In order to stop this bad behavior try just taking two fingers and taping him not hard but hard enough for him to feel it on the end of his nose and tell him no. It worked for my dog.

Answer 9

Dog obedience class

Answer 10

take your dog to training