# Puppy getting very aggressive when trying to make him submit



## Eagle

I have a male GSD puppy, he is 9 weeks old now. Generally he is a good energetic dog, he learnt to do his needs outside the house (since he is sleeping inside the house next to my bedroom). My only issue so far is that when he wants to play he is biting my socks-ankles-shoes..and is a bit painful for me. I don't know if it has any relation but he likes to play and chew my shoes,he also puts his face in my sleepers and sleeps like that. The vet gave me a suggestion to try out,,every time he tried to bite my socks-shoes or legs etc. i have to make him submit so that the puppy understands that this is wrong,.The exercise that the vet suggested me to do is to put my fingers around his mouth and close his mouth while pressing his body to the floor (the puppy being sideways to the floor and with out too much power ofcourse) and the puppy will learn slowly that what he is doing is wrong and that he is not the leader. 

However every time i try this submition technique-exercise my puppy gets even more angry,,,he becomes very aggressive and fights for release..when i release him he is barking and he attacks me..He even bite my hand and i was bleeding..He is engaging in this aggression and anger only when i try this submition exercise

AM i doing something wrong? on the otherhand i don;t want even to think about it how he will behave when he is 8-10 months old and he will be a strong GSD, he will be very aggressive and maybe he will be thread to humans?

Your help will be greatly appreciated


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## Lucy Dog

Stop taking training advice from your vet. Making a 9 week old puppy submit?!... come on.... stupid stupid stupid advice. Forget that idea and never remember it again.

When your puppy tries to bite or nip, you need to redirect his attention to something else. Look up "redirection training". It's a pretty common practice with puppies.

Here's a good thread to start with: http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/puppy-behavior/85888-teaching-bite-inhibition.html


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## Jax08

Eagle said:


> However every time i try this submition technique-exercise my puppy gets even more angry,,,he becomes very aggressive and fights for release..when i release him he is barking and he attacks me..He even bite my hand and i was bleeding..He is engaging in this aggression and anger only when i try this submition exercise


If I held your mouth shut and pinned you to the ground, you'd be pissed too.

First, remember that he is just a baby. You are responding to his natural instinct in a violent manner so of course he is going to fight back. Second, there are many threads on GSD puppies biting. They don't call them Landsharks for nothing.  Third, vets are NOT trainers! 

Find a good trainer. Work on redirecting him when he's chewing on him (look up bite inhibition) and stop worrying that he'll turn into a man eater.


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## Freestep

A 9 week old puppy is all mouth. Think about when a baby goes through the grabby phase where he wants to grab everything, including your nose and your hair, and it HURTS! Puppies are doing the same thing, only they don't have hands, so they must use their mouths.

Yes, it hurts. Arm yourself with a toy, and whenever he starts biting you, plug the toy into his mouth and play tug-of-war with it. Make biting the toy a fun game.

There are methods to teach bite inhibition. Saying "Ouch!" In a high-pitched voice, like a puppy's yelp, to let the pup know he's hurting you might help. It works for some pups and not for others, so don't be too surprised if it makes him MORE excited. You could try pressing your fingers onto the puppy's tongue, which will cause him to spit out your fingers. Or not. You can try spraying your hands with Bitter Apple, which may teach your pup that hands taste terrible. Or, it may teach them a taste for Bitter Apple.  In short, the bitey phase is something we all must suffer through as best we can, and some puppies mouths are well nigh unstoppable. We all have the scars to prove it. Don't worry, they DO grow out of the mouthiness eventually!

In the meantime, as soon as he's had the required vaccinations, look into a puppy socialization class. Puppies of similar age can play together and they can help teach each other bite inhibition and canine social skills, as well as running off some puppy energy.


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## lrodptl

I'm thinking it's the famed Alpha roll. Everyone believed in it at one time unless they're 12 years old,now it's taboo.


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## Emoore

Eagle said:


> AM i doing something wrong? on the otherhand i don;t want even to think about it how he will behave when he is 8-10 months old and he will be a strong GSD, he will be very aggressive and maybe he will be thread to humans?


Your puppy isn't biting because he thinks he's the leader and he wants to dominate you. Your puppy is biting because puppies don't have hands, so they explore the world by biting it, and biting is the only way puppies that age know how to play. They don't come from the factory knowing how to play ball, or tug, or chase, or anything else. Pretty much the only thing they know how to do is bite.

The best thing to do is keep a stuffed toy in your hands AT ALL TIMES and whenever he bites you, stuff the toy in his mouth instead. After a while (like months) he'll learn to bite toys and not bite you. 

*The fact that he likes to bite now at 9 weeks old does NOT mean he's going to be an aggressive, mean, or dangerous dog. It means he's a very normal puppy. *


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## Tbarrios333

My vet told me to alpha roll my puppy as well. I switched vets and never looked back.
Never take training or nutritional advice from your vet without researching it on your own first.


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## Verivus

Your puppy is very normal and I would not take any training advice from any vet seriously. Most puppies want to bite, bite, bite and chew, chew, chew until you want to pull your hair out. He is just a baby and wants you to play with him. 

Like others have said ALWAYS keep a toy in hand/nearby no matter what you're doing so when he starts getting bitey just redirect him to the toy. Make the toy more interesting then your legs, arms, face, etc. If you feel overwhelmed by the bitey-ness then take him outside for some exercise like running around a park with low doggy traffic or sitting in front of walmart and letting him meet a ton of new people for a couple hours. Think about enrolling in a puppy class with a knowledgeable trainer. He'd conk out afterwards, giving you a nice break.


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## BGSD

As others have said, your puppy's behavior is normal. Puppies are very mouthy and like to chew on everything. The idea of making him "submit", especially at this young age, is rather silly and counter-productive.

Have some toys around and stick them in his mouth when he's chewing on things he shouldn't be. If at times the biting and chewing gets a bit out of hand, you can get a spray bottle full of water and spray a mist into his face.


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## MaggieRoseLee

Only ONE more day to cram these free puppy videos into your brain! 

Old Dog, New Tricks

Also, instead of wasting time on WRONG info like alpha rolling a 9 week old puppy.... you'd do much better to spend time engaging like this:


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