# 10 week old showing aggression. Help!



## stupidfast (May 3, 2009)

We bought him when he was 6 weeks. Other than being very "nippy" he is a good dog. We take him to alot of places trying to get him socialized. He does very well around everyone. 
We have one big problem. Every two days, my wife trys to put him in his cage or put the leash on him he growls and tries to bite. He does not do this with me at all. We took him to a trainer and she said to grab his collar and pull up hard, choking him and forcefully say No. She has tried this and it seemed to work for a couple of days. Now when he growls and she tries to grab his collar he starts to growl and bite worse. She also has tried to do the alpha roll. 
Please help. I want to fix this before he gets bigger and hurts my wife. The nipping is annoying but I can live with it. The bitting is not tolerable.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Hello and welcome to the board!

Everyone will say uh oh 6 weeks old?!?!







BUT there is nothing that you can do right now-other than trying to find a couple of older, stable, good with other dogs for your puppy to play with. They will teach him more in an hour than you can teach in a day, I swear! If you can find someone with dogs like that who will let your puppy play with them, do it. It will do a lot for him!

There is also a post in puppy behavior called Bite Inhibition-check out the links-but don't do anything involving physical punishment. 

Then, your trainer-wow, I really do not agree with that kind of thing with a puppy (or in general for most dogs). Especially the alpha roll. Stop doing all negative/punishment type things now and start looking at ways to change his behavior with positives. You are getting into an area with a puppy that age where he is being defensive-he feels threatened and like he has no one protecting him, which is you and your wife's job-so there is a real problem with that-he has no pack! EEK for puppy and reaction is I will have to defend myself! So not true aggression. 

What I do when training any dog-adult or puppy-to go in their bed is to get little treats or kibble and toss it in the bed first and say ooh, go in your bed! They go in, get their treat, I close the door and offer another treat saying good bed! 

Then, I am hoping someone comes along and posts about Clicker Training. Because I like it, just don't know much about it. They use it on Killer Whales-no scruffing or rolling them, right! And very few trainers are eaten...
















So these are the very basics-
1. See if you can find some stable, well mannered and puppy loving adult dogs to work with your dog
2. Find a positive based trainer for classes-look for someone who doesn't do yank and crank (with the leash) and instead uses something like the Volhard motivational method, clickers, etc. 
3. You can try to start a version of NILIF with your puppy which is peaceful and not stressful (google NILIF k9deb)
4. Start making the crate a happy thing with treats and praise

Good luck!


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## Phay1018 (Nov 4, 2006)

Being taken home at 6 weeks, he never learned bite inhibiton from his mom and littermates which is SO important in puppies. He doesn't know any better. Pups bite and growl with each other when learning this and teach each other "oh that hurts" and so on. Mom teaches them when enough is enough. I would NOT follow the trainers advice- much to rough of punishment for such a young puppy. 

Have you tried positive reforcement? Teaching him that his crate is GOOD, leashes are GOOD, any handling is GOOD?? Praise the heck out of him when he is showing behaviors you want and ignore him when he isn't. Make sure you have lots of toys available that you want him to play with and when he starts nipping, give him the toy, praise him when he chews on the toy and not you. He has to learn these things, they are not born knowing them. 

Have your wife feed him, walk him, take him out to do his business and just about everything so he sees that she is providing him everything, that to get what he needs, he has to respect her. But understand he's a baby, it will take time. 

Do you have another dog at home? Just thinking it would be good for him to learn some manners from older well trained and socialized dogs- if you don't perhaps daycare. Also obedience classes and have your wife do the handling. Practice nothing in life is free. 

There are so many resources out there and especially on this board. Many others may have more/better advice/tips for you too.


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## Phay1018 (Nov 4, 2006)

LOL Jean we post at the same time and think alike


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

I know-I read it and thought...okay, well, at the very least we have each other to agree with!


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

My still-favorite book is Sheila Booth's Purely Positive Training: Companion to Competition. It will provide you with a lot of ideas for positive training and creating a great relationship between your pup and your family. 

The theme in this thread is "keep it happy" for everyone but especially the pup. I get a lot better results that way - or at least results I like a lot better.

Try to have your wife get the pup in the crate more often than every other day, too. And always with a big reward and always happy. (Dont care that he just ate the steak - to the crate means happy - ahold of the collar means happy (for now anyway.))


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## aubie (Dec 22, 2008)

Wow! Your "trainers" methods will acheive the opposite of what you want...a negative association whenever it's crate or collar/leash time. 

GSDs generally do best with positive reinforcement....negative training methods, IMHO, don't do well with thisi breed (or any breed really, but GSDs seem to really fight harder when these methods are used). 

They like everything to be fun fun fun and love to see their people having fun fun fun making them want to please even more. I would say a 10 week old pup isn't aggressive, he's just not liking the methods being used. There are some great suggestions above and of course, we need to see pics of the little angel!!!


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## JerzeyGSD (Jun 26, 2008)

In my opinion, your dog is testing your wife. Your puppy sees you as pack leader but is trying to place itself in the beta position, rather than allowing your wife to take it. I went through something very similar with Jerzey (who we ironically got at 6 weeks, too.) It would mostly manifest itself when we would go on walks, she would basically attack me in order to control the walk. It was EXTREMELY frustrating. 

I definitely think positive reinforcement is a good thing to keep in mind (no choking with the collar or anything) but maybe you can oversee your wife as she's working with the dog. If the puppy respects you and your wife is having trouble getting the puppy to listen give the dog a stern "No" when it tries to bite her might show the puppy that "hey, your alpha thinks that's unacceptable to treat her this way." 

Make sure your wife keeps working with the puppy and doesn't give up. I am sure she's feeling extremely angry and upset that the puppy doesn't question you. I swear, you guys have some kind of scent or something that we women are lacking that just makes puppies submit! So unfair!









I think with everyone else's advice you all we definitely get there but make sure your wife continues to participate with the dog. Maybe give her some more responsibilities (like feeding the dog or letting it out of its crate in the morning) so the puppy sees that your wife can give him access to good things too!

Good luck!


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## Skye'sMom (Jul 11, 2004)

You already have great advise, so I'll only add one thing.

You need to repair the damage already done by grabbing the collar and using it to choke the pup.


Everything associated with the collar has to be positive. Your wife should start a few daily sessions of 'touch and treat.'

Call you pup and just touch the collar, give a treat and lots of verbal praise. After a couple of days, gently hold the collar, treat. Then begin to mix it up - touch an dtreat, hold and treat, pet the pup all round the necxk and collar, treat. Hold the coallr and lead the dog forward, treat.

Praise, praise, praise.

By associating someone holding the collar with good things you may be able to prevent a future bite.


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## RacerX (Jan 26, 2009)

Are you saying no "corrections" ever with a leash? I'm not talking about the extremes in the case mentioned.


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## Amaruq (Aug 29, 2001)

No dog should EVER be corrected if they do not understand a command. I think that little <dripping with sarcasm> point is too often overlooked. Corrections do have a place in dog training but redirection, praise and play work SO much better, especially with puppies. 

A 10 week old puppy is NOT showing aggression. He is simply stating in doggy terms that he doesn't want to go to his crate etc. No different than a child not wanting to eat their veggies or go to bed. Remember a tired puppy is a happy puppy. Physical and mental stimulation are MUSTS for GSD puppies AND adults!


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## RacerX (Jan 26, 2009)

Ok, just making sure I wasn't crazy and agree with puppies. I use corrections with leash training along with redirection, praise, and play work.


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## Mandalay (Apr 21, 2008)

> Quote:grab his collar and pull up hard, choking him and forcefully say No


A 10 week old puppy is roughly the equivalent of a one year old child (more or less)...would you do this to a 1 yo child? I know, its a dog, not a child....but still. The puppy needs to be told what you want him to do. This is more important than telling him what you DON'T want him to do right now. 

Let's say he tried to pee on the floor - are you going to choke him with the collar or take him to where you DO want him to pee? You're going to take him outside - and quick!

So, try putting treats in the cage: he goes in to get a treat! YaY! Everytime he goes in to get the treat, say the command "cage", "crate", "bed" whatever you want to call it. Especially have you wife do this. Then start asking him to go in without a treat inside the crate, but give him one once he is in there. Eventually, he should be going in without the promise of a treat. 

We transitioned Mandi by asking her "What do you do for a cookie cage" and then dropped the word "cage" off the end and now when we ask her what she'll do for a cookie or tell her to go to her room, she will run to the cage. Most of the time we dont have the words out yet, she sees a treat and hightails it to the crate making a lot of noise stomping once she is there so we know she made it and should be treated for it. lol


Same thing with the leash....give him a treat and SHOW him the leash. Give him a treat and TOUCH the leash to his collar. Work up to actually attaching the leash to his collar. It is baby steps, but it should work.
Good luck


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## bmass01 (Apr 7, 2005)

I still keep treats on top of the crates and my dogs gets treats EVERY time they go in when they are told.


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## Jason L (Mar 20, 2009)

Get away from that trainer. She is telling you to choke, bully, intimidate, alpha roll a 6 week old puppy? Does that make any sense?


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

> Originally Posted By: stupidfastEvery two days, my wife trys to put him in his cage or put the leash on him he growls and tries to bite. He does not do this with me at all. We took him to a trainer and she said to grab his collar and pull up hard, choking him and forcefully say No.


Lots of good advice already, I just wanted to reiterate this - your "trainer" has caused your puppy to be hand shy, he has learned that people reaching for his collar are going to attack him by yanking on the collar and causing him pain and fear, and that he needs to defend himself. Look at it from his perspective. Stop it immediately! And stop the alpha rolling immediately! 

One of the very first exercises we did in puppy class is as Skye'sMom and Mandalay describe - the collar touch, and then grab, plus a treat. We did this many times in class, each time releasing the puppy to go back to play. It teaches the puppy that coming to you and having his collar touched are good things, and do not necessarily mean the end of fun. You don't want to be chasing a full grown 70 # GSD around the house to get a leash on him or to put him in his crate at night or when you're gone, and you sure don't want him growling at you or attempting to bite when you reach for him, so start right now creating a positive association with touching his collar.

Forcing your dog to do things he doesn't want to do, even as a young puppy, is never a good idea. He will get big, he will get strong, his jaw power will increase and his teeth will become potentially dangerous when he matures. In a battle of wills and brute force, you will be no match for him. The leader does not force the subordinate to submit, submission is voluntarily offered up in deference to the leader. My dogs may be half my weight, but they are easily twice as strong, so I started when they were young puppies teaching them that it was in their best interest to obey me, because that's how they earned access to the things they wanted - attention, affection, playtime, meals, etc. 

NILIF is an excellent technique, and easily adaptable to any dog, at any age: http://www.petpeoplesplace.com/resources...pack-leader.htm

It's the difference between your dog obeying because he fears the "or else" consequences, or obeying because he WANTS to, because that's how he gets what HE wants, between him being forced and choosing to comply. The leader controls the resources. With a 10 week old puppy you and your wife should always have a supply of tiny treats on your person (pea sized or smaller), or you can use his kibble, so he's working for all his meals. Reward him for good behavior, anything you want to encourage - looking at you, coming to you, sitting politely, laying calmly on the floor, whatever you can think of. The more you reward these things (rather than punishing him for doing things you don't want him doing), the more he's going to do them, and the less often he's going to do the bad stuff because it's no longer working to get him what he wants. And as others have pointed out, make going in his crate a good thing by tossing a treat in there. If you really want to create a positive association with his crate, feed him his meals in there. He'll be charging into his crate in no time, no force necessary! 

See how not MAKING him do something, but rather making him WANT to do something is so much better in the long run?


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

> Originally Posted By: RacerXAre you saying no "corrections" ever with a leash? I'm not talking about the extremes in the case mentioned.


Think the 'no corrections' with the leash has alot more to do with the exteme young age of this puppy. 

Not so much the fact many of us DO use collar/leash corrections when appropriate on older dogs. When really teaching and training PROPERLY (and most of us go to dog classes so the 'properly' is done correctly) the leash and collar are a great tool to help the dog learn. But if WE haven't learned what/when/how to do our part at the other end of the leash, there is little learning and alot of confusion (from man and beast







)

Puppies need to think they are BRILLIANT and we are the beloved center of their world. In almost 100% of the situations that come up we can either manage their world to obtain this, or use positive methods with food/praise/toys. Coming on too hard too fast can make a fearful, reactive, submissive dog that won't learn well and shuts down easily.


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## RacerX (Jan 26, 2009)

All great info, Maggie and others. We have a trainer that comes to our house and has been for 8 weeks. Just wanted to clarify that leash corrections are used under the correct situations. Treats, praise, and positive reinforcement are paramount.

I agree that over-correcting or not making learning fun will shut a puppy down quick. I like a great day of training where he has no idea it was work.

This is an example of why I visit this board so often. I have so much to learn and generous folks with plenty to teach. Thanks.


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## stupidfast (May 3, 2009)

Thanks for all the replies. I will start putting treats in my pockets and be more positive. Still trying to figure the puppy out. It is hard to pick out what to do when you are told several different things. I want to start off on a good foot.


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