New Member w/ a Puppy Problem

[LadyWho]

Hello,

I have Chester a 9 year old large terrier mix, Luna a 2 year old australian/ dutch shepherd mix and just adopted Newton a now 3 month old dutch shepherd mix.

Recently I decided to adopt Newt because I wanted Luna to have a younger pup to play with, because Chester is an old grumpy boy. Luna is also surprising lazy for being a dutch/ aussie and I wanted a dog that could do agility and dock diving or even some aspects of schutzhund.

I found this forum while looking to answers for a problem I've been having with Newt. Newt has a very high drive and is mouthy which was just like Luna when I first adopted her. But Newt takes it to a whole other level where he doesn't just play bite, he also lashes out when you try and stop him from doing what he wants to do. He's been like this since I got him at 8 weeks.

I originally tried the method of yelping whenever he'd bite but he didn't think twice about it. I've tried completely ignoring him but he doesn't get to a point where hes bored of biting you, he just bites harder. I've tried leaving him but once you return he's back to biting. I can deal with a mouthy rambunctious puppy but where its really worrying me is if he's doing something I don't want him to do, like digging a hole in the back yard and I tell him no and attempt to move him he lunges at me biting. I've tried redirecting him to a toy but he'd rather bite a person. He definitely responds to treats but a lot of the time once you're done with the treats he goes back to getting into stuff or biting.

I am setting up a training session with a schutzhund trainer near me just because he has the experience with the breed but he doesn't have any openings until the middle of August so its going to be a little while. My manager is also a dog trainer but we've kind of run out of ideas to deal with his lashing out.

Trust me I understand the playfulness and mouthiness of dutch shepherds, I'm just worried that he seems to be lashing out aggressively. They best thing I've been able to do so far is avoid those situation where he throws his tantrum. I also take him to work with me so he can go to daycare and I'm ready to start signing him up for all kinds of classes. This kid needs to work because he's very smart.

Has anyone else ever experienced aggression in their puppy?

[oddbird]

I don’t think what you are experiencing is aggression. Your newest pack member just doesn’t understand the rules yet and has quite a bit of independence. The best thing I ever did with Henry was teach him “place.” As soon as he was doing something I didn’t want him to be doing, including mouthing me, I would give the place command. It takes A LOT of consistency and you’ll have moments where you think it’s not working, but he will eventually connect that it’s not fun to mouth (for example) because then everything “fun” stops.

A word of caution: it’s really important to associate the “place” (which is an elevated dog bed) with positivity. So lots of treats! Even if he is getting sent to place because you are trying to get him to stop a bad behavior, as soon as he is on place, mark it and give a treat! Eventually, you’ll give less treats, but it’s soooo important in the beginning.

My dutchie now puts himself in place if he is getting too worked up and harassing his older brother (who happens to be a 9 yr old Pekingnese/Maltese mix).

[LadyWho]

Thank you so much! I'm gonna try that! I do have a play pen that I put him in if he starts to get too worked up but he definitely doesn't go willingly. Thanks for the help

[centrop67]

I wouldn't give up on the redirection. It's by far the most effective and best long term way to solve this problem.

You may have to try different toys until you find the right one.

[oddbird]

Thank you so much! I'm gonna try that! I do have a play pen that I put him in if he starts to get too worked up but he definitely doesn't go willingly. Thanks for the help

Just be careful that you don’t use your “place” solely as a time out. Then it becomes not very positive for the pup. I use place for sooooo many things and my pup loves his place. In my mind, it’s really another form of redirection, but a mental one. I almost always will do some training after I have put him on place, even if it’s just a couple commands. Henry almost literally flies to his place when I give the command, he loves it so much. I also really do recommend an elevated dog bed instead of using a pen or crate for the command. I have a different command for the crate (“go home”). It also keeps the boundaries of “place” really clear because no paw should be touching the floor.