# Very angry puppy.



## notilloc (Jan 14, 2010)

Hey guys, I haven't been on this forum for quite a while but I ended up getting a new puppy finally and he is adorable. He is a boxer australian cattle dog mix and he is a lot of fun. He has one issue and it's probably my fault for not doing all of the research I should have but what can I do.I'm very familiar with boxer puppies because I've had two. This puppy acts very similar to a boxer at least in the way he plays but the difference is he is very aggressive towards people. I realize he is only 11 weeks old but he bites us for no reason at all. We will be holding him and he will be just fine and then all of a sudden he growls and bites you in the face or wherever he can. I've never experienced this kind of behavior in a puppy before and it's very unsettlingand I'm really worried he is going to bite the wrong person one day. What can I do to break this habit? I forgot to add that he is great with other dogs and is very social with other dogs but when it comes to people even me he bites all the time. Thanks


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## monkeys23 (Dec 8, 2010)

Redirect to proper toys, like a tug. And its never to early to start teaching to out on the tug... rewarded of course with another hit on the tug.

Otherwise, removing all attention when being mouthy or yiping like an ouchy dog works well.

Herding breeds can be really hellacious as puppies.... I would not expect perfection. My aunt's aussie/BC mix was seriously a little tasmanian devil when she was a puppy and she turned out to be a perfect dog without anyone getting overly worried about correcting her when she was a puppy.


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## notilloc (Jan 14, 2010)

Ok it's something I have been very worried about. I adopted him at 8 weeks and have had him a few weeks now and he just isnt making a connection with me or any other people. He likes dogs but just doesn't like being around people.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Do you think its really aggression, or more like extreme puppy mouthiness? Maybe a puppy class one on one, away from the other dogs might help you bond more. Is he getting enough exercise and training to keep his brain tired? 
I know ACD's are very independent thinkers, constantly pushing you, but given the right owner who fulfills their needs, they are very loyal dogs, well worth it in the end. 
I'd love to see some photo's if you have any, he must be rather cute. What's his name? It's good to see you back btw!


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## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

I tend to think behavior like this is hard wired into puppies. Wolf puppies will punch the corners of the adults mouth to have the adult regurgitate food after a successful hunt. I don't think this behavior was ever taken from them. Puppies are set to mouth because they need to learn something called bite inhibition. They wake up every morning and their little brains tell them they need to get their mouthing fix, they need to bite bite bite to learn that inhibition. I would get your puppy into classes if he isn't already so he can learn how to properly play and that not every dog on earth is going to put up with puppy nonsense. Mothers will correct puppies when they play too rough with ignoring the puppy or VERY fast corrections with their mouth that no human could properly repeat. My suggestion to you would be to redirect your dog onto a toy, ignore if the biting becomes too much: just stand up and walk away, or scream bloody murder when the dog mouths your hand or punches you with it's muzzle. This isn't aggression your pup is displaying. :] Don't fret, most dogs will either learn to control themselves or be taught, thus growing out of it.


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## notilloc (Jan 14, 2010)

I've been telling my gf this but she is really tired of it. I'm not a dog expert but I really do think that this biting issue is a little beyond mouthing it happens when you try to pick him up it happens when your trying to pet him it happens a lot actually and it always comes with a really nasty growl. He definitely mouths a lot and that is different. Sometimes he is ok with being around humans and other times he will bite every person he sees it's very unpredictable and every time it happens I roll him over on his back and give him a loud yip or sometimes no and he stays on his back until he calms down. A lot of times I have to hold him on his back for up to a minute until he calms down and stops trying to bite my hand off. I have also been giving him 5 minute time outs afterwards as well. If it is teething then that's fine but it really seems like aggression to me. O yea his name is ringo and I don't have internet at my current place so I've been using my phone so I don't know how to put up a picture. He also gets lots and lots of exercise


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## eternalstudent (Jul 22, 2010)

First thing I will say is "I know how you feel" my becka did this at about the same age and it went on for a couple of weeks.

The second thing I will say is (others may disagree) stop the holding down and loud yips and stuff, personally I think it is making things worse why? This is my take on it.

My pup did not like to be handled, i think quite simply she did not trust being picked up or petted, this then escalated to any human coming near her.

At the start I tried like you pinning down, clenching the muzzle human growls etc etc etc and it did nothing.

I then went the other way, the only way that my pup got food was lying upside-down in my lap and had feeding.










Excuse the kibble and the facial expression (I hate photos)

After a week I had a pup that I can pick up and cuddle, I still do.

I hope this is the case with you and that it can be sorted as easily (I seriously thought I had a miss-wired pup)


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## notilloc (Jan 14, 2010)

Thank you I really like that idea. I will try it tonight


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Couple of things that come from dealing with an ACD cross. Firstly, when Mol was a pup she played hard, really hard, growling, snarling, always extremely vocal. Even now she growls, snarls, raises her lip and shows her teeth, barks, it sounds really quite viscous. And this is when she is playing or meeting people. I can tell by her body language and, by the sound of her various growls etc, that its ony her way of communicating, but people think she's going to tear your throat out.
Most people when they first meet her back off hard, and then once she's allowed to go to them and sit, still growling and snarlbarking, she'll lick them. I can literally see the terror in their faces as they trust me telling them she is fine, and they always end up laughing when once she gets to them, licks them and then rolls on her back demanding a pat.
One other thing. When Mol was a pup, I was playing with her once, playing hard like she enjoyed. I forcefully rolled her on her back, just playing with her, and she absolutely freaked out, instantly still, stiffened up and went goggle eyed. I don't know what it was that she perceived as happening to her, but I never did it again. Maybe Ringo (cool name) is like her and sees it as really threatening behaviour, I'd maybe try cutting that out and when he gets mouthy with other people, don't get upset or anything, just get his attention with some treats and make him work for them by sitting or other tricks. Maybe even give treats to the other people and ask them to make him sit before he gets any. 
I'm not a trainer by any streatch of the imagination, but its just little observations that I've picked up during my time with Mol, things I want to remember for when I can get another ACD pup.


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

In short it will improve if you redirect properly, we bled for months with Tobi working on redirecting ignoring the behavior leaving when he would bite too hard etc, it can be challenging but that's why you bought another puppy right? :biggrin:

He's FAR better than he was now, we simply pulled attention away when he had undisirable behaviors. be consistent that is the absolute most important thing, some dogs if theycan get away with it once, they will continue to do it.


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

I'm not a dog trainer either but have fostered more puppies and dogs than I can recall. I found that a lot of adopters were asking for simple advice on training (I guess assuming I must know something since I deal with so many dogs.) So several years ago I put together a basic guideline to help my adopters work with their new babies on how to be good members of society. I see some of the same advice has been given by several of the others on here and I hope that all of it together will be helpful. Whenever I do an adoption I give the info written below along with their adoption paperwork. Best of luck with your new family member!

Tips on Working with Your New Puppy 

It's always great to start with a little basic obedience. Basic obedience is more than just about learning to sit or stay. It's a stepping stone to teach a dog self control, patience, and to help them keep their focus on you. Teach your dog to sit and wait before being given ANYTHING. Whether it's time for food, before you give him a toy or a treat, before putting his leash on, before getting in the car, even before picking him up for attention, MAKE HIM SIT. This teaches impulse control. He'll learn very quickly jumping on you for a treat or for attention will get him nowhere but sitting nicely and waiting will get him what he's after. Bad behavior (jumping or mouthing) gets nothing, good behavior gets rewarded. Be consistent. 

Learning to walk nicely on a leash, not dragging you should be taught early on. That way when they’re adults and much stronger that skill is already mastered. Tons of healthy exercise should be included in your everyday life with a puppy. There are also interactive toys that can be bought online. Do a search for Nina Ottoson interactive toys and you'll find several that allow the dog to figure out how to get a treat by moving the pieces of the toy around. Great for making a dog's mind work! A mentally and physically satisfied dog is generally a well behaved dog.

If he's doing a behavior you don't like, stop him immediately. If you're playing and he begins to bite too hard, or shows inappropriate aggression, give him a quick "NO" and play time stops. If you're in the floor with him, get up. If he's on your lap, put him down. Give him a minute to calm down, ask him to sit, and then play again. If he repeats his bad behavior, stop again. Most pups learn incredibly fast so you'll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it will be for him to understand what you want and don't want. Always have something appropriate for your puppy to chew on that they enjoy also to satisfy the need to teethe without destroying your house.

Nail cutting is another necessary evil that many puppies hate and some learn quickly to bite when their paws are being held. Desensitizing is a good practice for things like this. If you will touch his paws on a regular basis he'll be much better at nail cutting time. Just use the time that you're sitting with him to hold his paws and rub his toes. Make it a pleasant experience like it's just all part of getting affection. Take time to examine his paw pads and if he resists gently tell him "no" and when he stops resisting give him a calm "good boy.” 

If your puppy needs work on his social skills the BEST way to teach him new people are good (so he'll become a friendly adult) is to get him out there meeting them. A great place for that is somewhere like Petsmart or Petco on the weekends when it's busiest. I've done this several times with fosters and it works great. 
You don't want to fill him up with unhealthy treats so put his breakfast or dinner in a container, (depending on what time of the day you plan to go) so he'll be hungry and take it with you. (If you’re feeding raw this may be a problem but there’s likely a healthy natural snack you can put together to bring along.) Every single person that approaches you to admire him needs to be told, "My puppy's in training. Would you like to give him a treat?" And hand them, especially children, a piece of food. Have them ask him to sit, and then give him the treat. In no time he'll view people approaching you in all different scenarios as friendly, and will learn to become a well adjusted, social dog. He'll be getting rewarded with something healthy and it'll make his normal meal something fun. This may take a little effort but you'll have accomplished several things at the same time. You've fed him, spent quality time with him, allowed him to socialize with strangers, and had THEM help with his obedience training!


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## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

The worst thing you could do in a situation like this is to roll your puppy onto it's back as a punishment for mouthing you when you pick it up. You will teach him to be even more shy of hands and this is going to seriously back fire and may very well turn into aggression if you continue to try to "alpha roll" your puppy. Like I said, no human is fast enough to properly mimic the corrections a mother dog or even other dog gives to another. It's not possible for us. EternalStudent posted a really awesome picture of how to properly teach your puppy handling and restraint!


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

I would definitely stop any physical punishment. My puppy was similar in that he LOVED to bite, we'd bleed on a daily basis. Some of it was the usual "I want to use you as a toy!" biting but some was "I don't want you to do that so I'm going to bite you". The second part was him simply trying to see what worked and was also a display of poor self control. For example he was about to go to bed upstairs with my mom. I held him on the bottom of the stairs so my mom could go up without being tripped. When she was about 4 steps from the top he through a temper tantrum and started biting me like crazy. Did a similar thing when he wanted to keep playing with a dog, I was walking him away and he laid down so I picked him up and he bit me really hard. He was also the type who would bite while you were petting him (I believe this was play). I was really worried about it. With the playful biting we simply got up and left when he did it. Sometimes he'd go for our pants but if we froze he'd only yank a few times before deciding it was no fun. I also practiced some self control exercises, rewarding him with treats when he tolerated restraint. Basic training is also helpful in self control, especially training "leave it". This should all be done without yelling or physical punishment. We also practiced handling daily, petting his tail and paws and checking ears. We'd rub his belly and gently roll him onto his back. If he didn't like something we would never make him do it but would take note of it and use treats next time when we tried to do that. Now being massaged while lying on his back is his favorite thing in the entire world. He is still a very oral dog, I think some breeds/individuals just are. But his bite inhibition is WONDERFUL. He can be leaping all over us and grabbing at our hands (when we come in the front door) and he NEVER leaves a scratch. I think if we worked on that we could get rid of the mouthing all together, but that would require people to put in some effort and my family doesn't really want to *sigh*. I have been working on getting him to grab a toy, he needs a reminder (he'll jump and mouth, I'll snatch my hands away and stare at him, he'll sit, I'll try petting him, he'll mouth, I'll snatch my hand away again, he'll run and grab a toy, then I can pet him without being mouthed). We do the same thing for rough play, I make sure he gets a toy in his mouth so he can resist the urge to use it.



Between 4 and 5 months he made the biggest change in his biting. I think a lot of self control comes with age and so practicing handling and that sort of thing became a LOT easier around this time. So if I were you I'd find out what makes him bite and then practice teaching him that tolerating those things is beneficial to him (TREATS). I carried treats in my pocket at all times so that I could reward him for making good choices. 

In any self control games you play don't push him to the point of a tantrum. For example hold his collar and give a treat. Then toss a treat a few feet away. Reward him for not biting you (and make sure you don't reward barking or other inappropriate reactions). After he is good for a few seconds release him to go get the tossed treat (use a release word like "free"). Now if as soon as you toss the treat he throws a fit you should not keep holding him but you should not let him have the treat either. Pick the treat up, then let him go. Next time do the exercise but reward him more before you put the treat in front of him, and instead of tossing it, place it gently down. Give lots of rewards for staying and slowly build up the amount of time you hold him before release. Then move back up to tossing the treat. Then move up to tossing a handful of treats, then maybe a toy. Then start giving fewer treats while he is being held back. Make sure if at any time he tries to bite that you go back a step to where he can handle the stress level.

Do similar things in any situation where he'd normally try and bite you. Break it down into easy steps and give lots of rewards for staying in control. Teach commands like off, come, sit, down and others that you can use to control his movement. At the same time make being pulled off the couch positive by giving treats when you add tension on his collar and giving treats once he's off. Then invite him back up. Practice restraining him like a vet would (head lock) but give tons of treats and start with it being VERY short.

For now only pet him a few strokes here and there so he does not want to bite you. If he bites playfully redirect him to a toy and try again, but only a few strokes.


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## notilloc (Jan 14, 2010)

Thank you very much to everyone who is helping me out. I am no longer rolling him on his back and I feel that our relationship is already getting better.


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## Steve Mark (Jul 15, 2011)

Behavior problem by a owner ;

The most common reasons given for turning in a dog is that 
the owner is moving or divorcing and can't take Fido with him.
That may be true but begs the question of why didn't the 
owner try to place the dog himself? If you paid $1000 for a 
purebred or loved your dog, it's likely you'd try to find 
a good home for him (if not resell him).
The dogs that wind up at shelters may be dogs that aren't 
socialized or trained, and owners are too embarrassed 
to admit their dog is out-of-control.
Some shelters claim they don't take puppy mill dogs, but 
how could they possibly know the dog's background.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

Steve, what does that have to do with what the OP is asking about? Absolutely nothing.

Anyhow, I think a one on one puppy class would help as well. It sounds like he is having a hard time bonding with anyone. It can be frustrating, but with a face like that, there is no way you will be giving up on him! He is going to be a looker when he hits his prime, THAT's for sure! I can already see the strong boxer body.


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## KlaMarie (Dec 30, 2010)

notilloc said:


> Thank you very much to everyone who is helping me out. I am no longer rolling him on his back and I feel that our relationship is already getting better.


:thumb:That's great! 

Rayne definately showed some of the behavior youre describing. She had the mouthy, nippy, playful biting happening all the time and it was easy to redirect. But a couple times it was different, it was when I took something from her, or tried to take her collar in my hand and lead her into her kennel--she would turn, snarl, bear her teeth, and really BITE me. It was not play at all, it was "I dont like what youre doing, you cant tell me what to do" attitude, at 10 weeks old!!! I asked a couple people who know GSD pedigrees, they told me that certain dogs in her lines did have a reputation for throwing dogs that were handler aggressive, and also dogs that started showing aggression at young ages. So I admit it, it scared me. She is going to eventually be at least 70lb German Shepherd.....I CANNOT have an aggression issue with that type of dog around my family. 

So I tried the alpha roll thing, it REALLY did not work, it just created more and more conflict. I tried pushing her away, with a "No!", didn't work either. What worked in the end was the treats, plus the 'Nothing In Life Is Free' attitude towards her. I would take her collar, and treat. Move a couple steps toward her kennel, when she stopped biting me and would sit calmly, treat. 
In addition, I made sure she realized that I had complete control over everything in her life, and that she would have to work for me to get what she wanted. She would sit in front of me and give eye contact for her food. She would have to sit before I opened the door to go out. She would sit in her kennel before I let her out. Little things like that, and I didn't give her commands, I just waited for her to figure it out. When she did, I gave her things she wanted. I also started OB training with a clicker, and not a lot of luring. Which also conditioned her to try and figure out ways to please me to get what she wanted.

It took a while (months), but it's worked. She's grown out of the land shark phase, and the "aggressive" moments have dissapeared. She has the absolute perfect attitude to me, and I know her constantly challenging and testing me would not be ideal for some, I absolutely love it :smile:


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