My pup is really testing me..?

Question

I correct him if he nips at me or my daughter, and when I do..sometimes he'll bark and show his teeth at me!! Obviously I dont show any fear to him, because Im not. But, what am I suppose to do when he does this? I know he is showing he doesnt agree with my being Alpha, isnt this him protesting when he barks and shows teeth at me?

I go outside first, up the stairs first. we all eat first, he doesnt get fed our food. I have rolled him onto his side and stared at him, and he doesnt seem to want to back down from that.

Why is he making this so tough?
Am I doing something wrong? He'll be in puppy obedience classes starting Feb. What can I do now, to help with his behavior before these classes?

Answer 1

It sounds like you need to set up a one-on-one appointment with a professional dog trainer ASAP, preferably a certified behaviorist http://www.animalbehavior.org/ABSAppliedBehavior/caab-directory
to assess your dog and teach you the best ways to work with him, depending on his individual personality and issues. If there isn't a certified behaviorist in your area, ask your vet for a recommendation for a good trainer.

Please STOP the Alpha rollovers, those are a very bad idea, and can worsen problems and cause serious behavior issues - even the people who originally came up with the idea now repudiate its use. If your trainer recommends rollovers, get up and LEAVE the class and find someone better before your dog is ruined.

http://dogs.about.com/cs/basictraining/a/alpha_roll.htm
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=984&S=1
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1666&S=1&SourceID=47

Answer 2

Well he sounds rambunctious and that's part of being a puppy.IThis is what makes it so difficult to train a puppy, they don't have a good attention span so it takes much patience. You can at least look forward to the obedience classes that are starting soon, however, what you need to do is be consistent and show him that nipping is wrong. You can put him in "time out" where he is left alone in the bedroom as punishment. I did that with my dog and she didn't like to be alone so after a couple of weeks she understood very well what was unacceptable. Be patient and in no time he will realize that he has to be good if he wants to be with his friends. Also remember to reward him when he obeys. Good Luck!

Answer 3

when you say you correct him if he nips at your daughter what exactly does that mean ????my sister had a beagle who had zero manners , the reason was she failed to recognize the most important fact of the dog world ...they are not human and will not respond to any verbal command without learning in a demonstrative way . if your dog is showing the alpha spirit it is because he is . and you will never talk your way out of it .you must demonstrate physically. ie; the top dog roll over ...you grab the dog firmly by the sides of it's face so it cannot bite you and flip it onto it' back.sit of it and let it know by the way you look at it and a couple of good shakes you are not happy .if you do this correctly the problem will be solved. think about the way dogs interact with each other . they growl or bark loudly and forcefully to show they are angry the lesser dogs will acquiesce every time.. dogs do not speak human language but if trained properly can learn many words and what to do about it when they are spoken.. much like small children.( however i do not recommend sitting on or shaking a child )

Answer 4

Your puppy is testing you, and when he barks and shows his teeth he is protesting!!! You just have to remain consistent and continue to show him your the pack leader, when you discipline him do the same action, don't tell him NO and then change it to STOP, if you have always said NO or whatever stick with that. And obedience classes will help a lot. Until then just remain consistent, he sounds like a lil knucklehead right now, just don't give up!!! Good Luck..

Answer 5

definitely don't give him ANY attention when he does those things. He seems like he is definitely asking for attention, in which if he doesn't get, he'll eventually stop messing around the way that he is. My dog did some similar things once before, and when I talked to my vet, he suggested, if all else fails, getting a spray bottle and every time my dog acted up, spraying (misting, not shooting a stream of water) him in the face and saying "no". My puppy didn't like the water in his face, and eventually, he learned that if he does something bad, he'll get sprayed, so he finally quit acting up so much.

Answer 6

Ive had the same trouble with my last dog when he was a puppy,the best thing i can suggest is to do what i did in your situation, when you see him do it, stick to one word that he will recognize and say it in a firm voice, we used to say no, confront the puppy and go down to the puppy's level and say sharply ''NO''
Use a word he will recognize, something simple, then the puppy will hopefully start to realize hes doing wrong, one other thing we did was to make him stay sat down and then shout him when he's had time out , then he will of realized why he's being punished, make sure you stick to the same procedure so when every time he does it then he will know why, hope this helped

Answer 7

He's demanding attention-turn your back when he back talks or nips you. Give him NO attention. If you keeping talking to him he'll be getting the attention he's demanding. The obedience classes will be of great help too.

Answer 8

Try ignoring him for a bit. Since you are giving him attention by touch, he is learning that by doing this behavior he will get your attention.
Hope this helps.

Answer 9

chihuahua and pbeari are right. Sounds like she is trying to show her dominance over you. Since you and your daughter are the pack leaders you have to show him he is the follower. Watch the dog whisperer on discovery chanel, you'll learn alot! and follow pbeari's advice on correcting him. it works.

Answer 10

oh my god im not laughing my *** off somone will though im sorry if he nips you though!!