# New Puppy Very Moody



## Sevric (Apr 5, 2010)

Me and my wife purchased a 10 week old puppy on thursday and up until today everything seemed to be going good. He is an interesting mix, shar-pei,beagle,mastiff, which from my experiences are generally well behaved dogs, though I have known a few rowdy beagles. We have been working on some of the basic commands with him a little every day and he seemed to be catching on pretty quick. He followed right by us on walks, usually came when we called to him, and had no difficulties being handled.

We took him to a friends house today to try to work on socializing him and this evening he has been acting different. He seems more stubborn on his leash, isn't listening to our commands very well (especially my wifes), and has taken to growling and snapping sometimes when he's picked up.

The last part really unsettles me. Is he just becoming more comfortable with us and trying to establish his place in our little pack or might this be a sign of something more severe?

Any advice would help,
-John


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## skelaki (Nov 9, 2006)

The first thing to do is take him to the vet. Perhaps he injured himself at your friend's house in some way and is having some pain.

THe second thing is to realize that, at 10 weeks of age, he's still a baby and will be going through the same basic stages as a human child but quicker. If the vet doesn't find any physical/medical reason for his growling and snapping it just might be that he's going through the canine version of the terrible twos. If that's the case it's time to start setting rules and enforcing them with praise (possibly treats at times) when his behavior is what you want and age appropriate corrections when his behavior warrants corrections. Just make sure he knows, truly knows what's expected, not just you assuming he does before any corrections are issued. He does not automatically and he does not speak English so your third step is to put him on a very simple, basic and positive puppy training program. Find a puppy class if at all possible. Puppy classes are primarily for socialization but your puppy and you should also learn some simple commands and get a foundation for the later, more formal, obedience training.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Yes, and also, I noticed you said you got him Thursday! Maybe he is feeling more secure and is testing the waters, now that he's getting used to you and his new home.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Did the friends have a dog? Was he kept awake a lot more than usual so he's tired and grumpy?

My adult dog who is generally very well behaved always seems to revert when my friends come with their younger, more hyper dog. He just quits listening and follows her bad habits  Just like a kid does when around other kids who are misbehaving.

The stubborness and not listening wouldn't worry me much, the growling and snapping does-- that can be a pain reaction.


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## Sevric (Apr 5, 2010)

The friends did have two dogs, and they played rather well together. One of the two sort of followed him around and was acting sort of motherly. The other dog (alpha of the house) just sort of ignored him and made a low soft growl if he stepped out of line too close to her.

However, he has been keeping it up. We are going to look into some behavior classes and get him into a vet this weekend.

When he chews on something he shouldn't I've been telling him "no", and moving him away from it, or moving it away from him depending on the size of the object. then try to replace it with a toy that he is allowed to chew on. When I see him chewing on a toy I give him some praise.

When he bites one of us, we say no, pull him off and walk away, only problem is as soon as we come back he starts jumping around and biting again, it seems to be the only way he wants to play most of the time. When we're sitting down, he'll come up and just stat biting at our clothes or at exposed skin, its never really a hard bite it just seems to happen way too frequently.

Sometimes if I pull him off after he starts getting really bitey, he start growling and snapping around. He's kept this up for the past couple days. I know it's something we need to work with him on... has anyone else had similar problems with a puppy?


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## MacGruber (Feb 23, 2010)

Sevric said:


> The friends did have two dogs, and they played rather well together. One of the two sort of followed him around and was acting sort of motherly. The other dog (alpha of the house) just sort of ignored him and made a low soft growl if he stepped out of line too close to her.
> 
> However, he has been keeping it up. We are going to look into some behavior classes and get him into a vet this weekend.
> 
> ...



sounds like he's just getting overly excited. It's funny that I read this thread, because I took my adult dog over to a friends house today that has a 10 week old bulldog puppy. At first, their dog kind of tested the waters, and slowly started jumping, nipping, biting, etc. at my dog until it got progressively worse to the point where *I* wouldn't let it continue. It just sounds like he's testing the waters with you.


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

That's a big day for a 10 week old puppy -- he could well just be very tired.

Behavior classes sound like a great idea -- be sure to check out the trainer/class before joining if at all possible...there are a lot of great threads here regarding what to look for in a puppy class.

I wouldn't worry too much about the nippy...just something to be aware of and not encourage. Actually, that he's using his mouth so much on you gives you a great opportunity to work on bite inhibition with him while he's still a baby

Personally, when a puppy that young chews an inappropriate item, I would distract him with the new, appropriate item and, when he goes for it, praise profusely while quietly "disappearing" the forbidden object.


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## Dog_Shrink (Sep 29, 2009)

Always correct and redirect your pup. If you give him the right thing to chew on when he's teething thenwhy not do it when he's bniting you as well. Always make sure you have a toy with in arms reach to let him make the RIGHT choice. Pulling him away and telling him No (which translates to blah to him) is ueless if you don't tell him what yuo DO want. 

Second all day with 2 dogs he doesn't know getting all excited and basically on system overload has put him in a less than tolerable mood. He is way to young for more than 2 hours of awaketime before he needs a nap. YOU have to make sure you balance play time with rest time or you're going to teach your dog to be hyper. It's like a child that needs a nap and is being a lil bastard. You are mentally over stimulating him and physically over taxing him. Not to mentio n riskinghis health by taking him out to interact with other dogs before his shots are complete. The dogs he is interacting might have their shots but whos to say the last dogs they played with did and when was that and what has parused thru their yard when they were asleep like coyoties and racoons. You never really want to demand that kind of say out of a dog that is less than at least 16 weeks old IMO. He is not mentally ready to cope with all those stimulis at one time. You could make a bad impression on him during his fear periods (13 weeks-ish is his next big one) that will affect him his entire life.


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## Sevric (Apr 5, 2010)

Thanks for the advice, It should help, even if it does just take alot of time. I guess it does seem like the biting just increases as he gets more excited, and it's usually when he gets "really excited" that he gets all growly and crazy. So I'll keep working at it, and hopefully we'll get through his little phase. 

I guess my primary concern was just that I bought a dog that was going to be out of control and need a muzzle the rest of his life.


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## Dog_Shrink (Sep 29, 2009)

Sevric said:


> Thanks for the advice, It should help, even if it does just take alot of time. I guess it does seem like the biting just increases as he gets more excited, and it's usually when he gets "really excited" that he gets all growly and crazy. So I'll keep working at it, and hopefully we'll get through his little phase.
> 
> I guess my primary concern was just that I bought a dog that was going to be out of control and need a muzzle the rest of his life.


Well yeah  the more excited he gets the more assertive and vocal he will become. Dogs amp up just like people do. Your job is to limit play just to the point before he gets to that level of amping it up a notch and make him take a break, then wait about 10 minutes and invite him to play again. This will teach him self control and inhibition as well as what is acceptable forms of play to you, and how to calm down after a stimulis. if your dog doesn't do it themselves then YOU need to manage their time and set a schedule of when is play time and whenis relax time or you can actually teach your dog to be hyper by constantly allowing them to play 24/7. balance is the key. Naturally if your dog has a time of day he is more "up" (in my house for some reason everyone seems to get the zoomies around 9:30 pm about a half hour after their dinner) you want to try to work with that and exhaust them mentally and physically during those times rather than fight them to try and maintain a calm state.


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