# 9 week old attacks me



## gsd0204 (Apr 11, 2016)

Hi Im a new gsd owner. Ive had my puppy for about 2 weeks now. He know started getting aggressive me and my family. He gets really aggressive with me sometimes and tries to attack me by biting. He continuously bit me about 3 days ago 2 times and his teeth went in deep. He also bit my little sister yesterday deep. I could tell from when he playfully tries to bite and when he does it aggressively . He also barks when he bites. Today I hit him for biting me then he went this hole he was digging and dug really fast like he was trying to get away from me. When i went to pet him he pulled his teeth back and growled. 
Any body suggest something I could do btw he's a purebred gsd if that matters


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## Twyla (Sep 18, 2011)

Heis being a typical GSP. This is why they are called land sharks. At this stage - no hitting!! - redirect; stuff a toy in his mouth when he is in shark mode. 

Look at this thread - LOTS of good ideas: http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/puppy-behavior/85888-puppy-biting-teaching-bite-inhibition.html

You will also see you aren't alone. Most GSD owners start out with the shark terror rather then the cute little puppy they thought they were getting


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## MyHans-someBoy (Feb 23, 2013)

First step-STOP hitting him.
He is not aggressive. He is just being a GSD puppy. Keep a couple of toys handy to redirect his biting to something appropriate. 
You might try typing 'puppy biting' into the search engine on this forum as there is a lot of threads on it and a lot of good advice to get you and the puppy through this stage. It will get better in time, but not if you get angry and hit him. It is going to take a lot of work on your part, but these puppies known by the nickname 'landsharks' can turn out to be the most awesome dog you'll ever have if you have patience and put in the time.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Share Post
http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1824092

I saw this last week on this forum and thought to be a great thread for new pup owners. I wished I had this to show my husband -as see our pup is normal. Loosing your patience and hitting equals to loosing your pups trust. It is time to put your pup in his crate when you are feeling frustrated.


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

gsd0204 said:


> Today I hit him for biting me then he went this hole he was digging and dug really fast like he was trying to get away from me. When i went to pet him he pulled his teeth back and growled.
> Any body suggest something I could do btw he's a purebred gsd if that matters


When you hit him you taught him something. Unfortunately you taught him something that did damage to your relationship with him. He learned nothing by your hitting him except you are one to fear. He did not associate your hitting him for his action. He's way to young to know anything except get away quick from you and I know you don't want that. 

Your puppy explores the big new world through his mouth. It's also how how he interacts with you until he gets older and has more than a couple of seconds of attention span so he can learn.

This is normal stuff, when he bites and nips your hands - give him something else to bite. Something as simple as a tennis ball pushed into an old sock and knotted at the end will bring him hours of fun playing a little tug, throwing it short distances for him and just letting him chew it. 

It's good to get a variety of chew toys for puppies because each pup will have a preference for shape and texture. You will be dealing with this for a while because it seems the minute they get old enough to learn about not biting everything that moves - they start teething and that makes them need to chew.

You might consider this (outside of potty training) your first training task. Show everyone else in your family how to redirect his energy to his chew toys. Sometimes - they truly get into the land shark phase and it's just best to confine them for a little while until that passes. Put them in a safe room where they can't chew everything up and make sure they have their toys to occupy them. Loud voices, lots of commotion, kids running and screaming can all trigger a young puppy to get crazy and start sharking. They get all this sound and sight stimulation and just want to join in the fun the only way they know how. 

Hang in there! You can do this and it will get better! Just don't strike out as then you are doing nothing to help the situation and in fact are doing damage. Leerburg makes some great online puppy training videos. They can be found at their site or on youtube.

Time flies - it's not to early to start looking for a basic training puppy class for your guy. Keep posting your questions here. You'll get lots of help and all sorts of suggestions. Enjoy your new puppy


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

It took me a long time to get my puppy to stop biting, and even now he is very oral and mouthy. Give him chew toys. Put treats into a fist and teach him to lick rather than bite. He will learn but it takes patience and time, please don't ever hit him again. Don't chase him either. If he won't calm down, let him run around outside for a while supervised in a fenced area, and then crate him for time outs.


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## HappyGoLucky (Apr 7, 2016)

Already many good advises in this thread. To join the many - please never hit your pup. I never ever even yell at mine, let alone hit or cause any physical discomfort. The worst thing I've done to him - just like his mom/dad would do - is bite his skin with my teeth and pin to the floor (when he was out of control running around like crazy when got a little too excited after a play session and wouldn't come down or respond to anything). Needless to say my mouth was full of hair, but it's a small price to pay for keeping the relationship and trust strong with your pup. 
We have to work very hard to earn pup's trust and him seeing you as a true leader. And often it takes a great deal of strength to hold that frustration when puppies misbehave - I know it very well being the first time dog owner period. But as many pointed out, please don't punish the pup for being who he is.

Mine was ok not biting be, but the second socks came off - he was all over my bare feet and the baby teeth are super sharp too - not a very pleasant experience. Redirection worked wonders! Just make sure you reward plenty for the good behavior. 
The second he starts biting, you can make some sound to attract his attention (don't use his name. use his name only for positive things so that he doesn't associate it with anything bad - it will help with recall in the long run, which is VERY important) and give him a chew toy. The second his attention is on the toy - praise a lot. 

Also make sure you implement some routine. They like routine and rules. If you don't set rules - they may feel confused and the need to take the lead. Start training (basics like sit, down, his name). Given that their attention span is too short as puppies, keep training sessions short but fun and rewarding. Mental activity just as tiring for a puppy as physical. If a puppy is tired, he'll just be sleeping and/or won't be as mischievous.
The more you spend quality time with him playing/training/interacting, the more you two will bond and your relationship as leader(you)/follower(the pup) will strengthen and improve.

But please remember that whenever you have the urge to hit the pup or yell at him - it's our fault as the owner's. It means we haven't found the way to communicate to the pup what we want them to do or not to do. Folks on this forum are great at sharing knowledge and there is a lot of it here - you did good by asking here for help.

Post his picture


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

gsd0204 said:


> When i went to pet him he pulled his teeth back and growled.


This is fear aggression when a dog feels there is nothing left to do but to defend itself. Dogs do not understand hitting; it not part of their language so he defended himself to his owner who just turned Cujo. You have been given great advice. I too went through this 'what the **** is this? None of my pups ever had done this. But you know what? These land sharks turn out to be the most awesome dogs you will ever have. But you have to use patience, calmness and educate yourself on this so please stick around because many of us went through this. Take a step back, regain his trust by following up the advice given and consider yourself lucky to have a GSD puppy. These pups are projects and payoff time comes around 1.5 - 2 years when you look back and you cannot believe that he was that devilish puppy when he lies at your feet.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

How old are you? 

How old is your little sister? 

What are the plans for the puppy:

Why did you get a German Shepherd?

What training is planned for the puppy?

What type of German Shepherd Puppy is it?

Who is going to do the majority of the work with the puppy -- feeding, training, exercise, cleaning up after?


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## volkeyn (Nov 25, 2015)

We have been suffering from biting when we got our 8 week old GSD. Now he is 12 weeks and getting wayy wayy better.
I don't believe in hitting either and never did it personally. but he was biting my gf very hard and 2-3 times he bit her while they were playing and she hit on his muzzle with pain and reflex...he got little offended initially, and a little whining  and stayed away from her for the night.... but now he never bites her and loves her so much and plays with her all the time...and he also stopped biting and mouthing me too, I mean he is still mouthy but not as hard as before...he is figuring out the pressure sensitivity now...sometimes I let him bite and he doesn't do it hard...but hitting on his muzzle a few times and letting him know that he is doing something wrong worked in our case....I am not saying that it will work on all the cases....to be honest I was amazed that it worked...
still I am wearing my socks and shoes in the house because he likes to bite bare foot but never attacked my gf's bare feet ever again...


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## stingeragent (Mar 23, 2016)

First off, never hit a puppy. You will make him way more fear aggressive and dangerous as an adult, if he grows up being hit. Yes puppies will try and bite you constantly, they will bark at you while doing it, growl at you, etc. Have you never seen an 8 week old litter of puppies together? They do this non stop. As for him pulling his teeth back and growling, that is a direct result of your hitting. As others have said redirect his biting. Also, since you are in a family setting make 100% sure everyone else in your house, friends that come over etc, do not tease him with their hands, feet, etc, any sort of action that will encourage him to nip at those things, because it will only make it worse. The whole family has to be on board. As the others have said, if the pup gets to be too much, put him in his crate, or outside before resorting to hitting. In a dire situation, you would be much better grabbing him by the scruff of his neck than hitting him. Either way, his behavior at this age is normal. Also consider you have many more months to come of this behavior. If the family can't handle it, you would be better off rehoming him now at a young age, instead of ending up with a fear aggressive dog later on. Tough criticism I know, but it is what it is.


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

Oh where Oh where has the OP gone?


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## MichaelE (Dec 15, 2012)

Probably changing a bandage.


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## stingeragent (Mar 23, 2016)

I'm relatively new to this forum but have seen this consistently in other forums that I have a lot of experience. New member posts something, and when the answers they want aren't posted, they are never to be seen from again.


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## TattooedOpinion (Oct 8, 2015)

I'm questioning why you got a GSD in the first place.... or a puppy for that matter. They bite. It's how puppies play with each other! The biting puppy sees you as another fun, awkwardly shaped puppy - which is a good thing. 

I taught mine to not bite when itell him not to, but he is 10 months old and biting is still part of our play. If he bites too hard, he gets a punch on the shoulder - but not a real punch - just the thunk sound of my hand stopping on the shoulder (same as I playfully hit my husband). Then I do what other dogs and puppies would do. I momentarily act hurt and ignore him for a second... then he gets loves and more play. 

He has learned to "out" very well and when we are outside we can play with him gripping my shoe and tugging (he is my yoga instructor as not falling whil playing tug with a foot or pant leg is a challenge). 

Never forget that your GSD is a dog. There are some areas that we as humans expect too much "human" from our dog, which can ruin the dogs quality of life... and even the dog.


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