# Puppy Crazies - biting, growling, attacking.. What do you do?



## readmeli (Jan 15, 2013)

Hey everyone. What do experienced puppy owners do...

When our 9 week old pup comes in from outside, normally she is pretty wound up, and starts going into attack mode. Growling, biting... she goes for arms, legs, feet, hands. We do our best to use a toy in place but she is determined. Is this something we need to let play out by using toys so she learns to use toys instead, or is something we need to curb entirely? I have occasionally picked her up and held her on her back so she cant do anything until she calms down, then put down and try to distract with some treats/training. But I wasnt sure if we should work with it or what....

What do you guys do? I know its just puppy play... not bad evil puppy or anything, but am wondering. THanks!


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Check out The Bite Stops Here: http://www.dogforums.com/first-time-dog-owner/8377-bite-stops-here.html

Generally, you want to give a cue that she is to stop barking - many people use a yelping noise. If she continues to bite (which she will) walk away to some place she can't follow (the other side of a baby gate, another room, etc). She will eventually learn that biting you ends playtime and fun. You can also use toys and put them in her mouth when you see her coming for you, but as you've found that doesn't work when they're determined.

It will gradually get better, then probably worse again during teething around 4-5 months, then better again.


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## readmeli (Jan 15, 2013)

We've read up on the bite stops here... It is good stuff! We have tried the "yelp" thing, and it has no effect on her. If anything, she gets more excited! Some biting I'm OK with - we can deal with that, but the crazy coming at you growling snarling trying to get anything she can is not really covered in the bite stops here! LOL... I guess its all the same thing though, is that what you mean? We'll try just standing and walking away (dragging puppy growling and snarling at our slippers...).


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Yes, all of the crazy biting stuff is the same so you can deal with it the same way. If giving her a toy is enough to stop her one time, then good - play with the toy. If the next time she's growling and won't take the toy, just walk away. Many people focus on the very hard biting at first, and eventually get to no biting ever. Personally, I'm ok with mouthing if I've initiated wrestling, but I'm not ok with random biting. My pup is 5.5 months old and still goes through a biting thing once or twice a day - it's something that can take a long time to train, especially with mouthy breeds like sporting dogs.

Also, the yelp is a cue to her so she will eventually learn to stop when you yelp - she won't stop when you yelp until you've taught her what it means. The sound itself doesn't actually stop the majority of puppies. Personally, I use an "oops" and also use it for jumping up. You could use "no bite" or whatever else you want.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

*: have occasionally picked her up and held her on her back : * This is really aggravating to a pup to fight back at you.. The more they fight you the less opportunity you have to get a hold of them to turn them over. I would drop this approach and continue to work with the other approaches letting the effects of the turning over fade off. Stay consistant in what the pup learns is the norm of interaction so they will anticipate your behavior in a positive.


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## readmeli (Jan 15, 2013)

Thanks guys.  I feel better now about not engaging in the activity. I thought maybe we were supposed to. I am new to all this! 

Patricia - I appreciate the advice. Generally Emme doesnt struggle much when I do pick her up and hold her stomach-up. She wiggles a little, and I generally tell her to settle.. and she relaxes pretty quick. It does not seem traumatic to her in particular. Thank you again though, we are going to do our best to just curb the crazy puppy with the ignore thing now!


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

What you described seemed like an Alpha roll, which is an old, harsh method of restraining a puppy. It was proven to be wrong, but people still use it as a form of punishment, and it can backfire. 

On the other hand, if you rub her belly, and she doesn't struggle at all, you may be doing something a bit different, rather than making her panic or struggle.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

I think practicing holding a puppy down can be a good thing - they need to be ok with handling of all kinds and restraint is part of that. It absolutely shouldn't be a punishment though, or traumatic, and I wouldn't use it to curb biting.


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## readmeli (Jan 15, 2013)

hanksimon said:


> What you described seemed like an Alpha roll, which is an old, harsh method of restraining a puppy. It was proven to be wrong, but people still use it as a form of punishment, and it can backfire.
> 
> On the other hand, if you rub her belly, and she doesn't struggle at all, you may be doing something a bit different, rather than making her panic or struggle.


Oh yeah, it is all good. She's getting belly rubs and soothing voice and good stuff. She's never struggled much. I pick her up and hold her like a baby kinda. This obviously wont work for long but it seems like a good thing for her to get used to. I am not being aggressive with her at all. In fact she gets lots of kisses!

When I was home for lunch to check on her, I was more adamant about "doing nothing" when she started to get riled up and it was already working I think.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

I ignore this behavior completely. If the dog won't stop tugging on pants, it will get a firm AH to see if it stops. If it persists, it goes into the crate to reset it's behavior and come back out in a few moments when I have treats and can ask for a sit right away and get a different frame of mind going.

You could try just offering a treat for a "recall" when she first runs inside from the yard, then asking for a sit right away, a down, a few other commands, and then play with a toy if she's still "ready to go".


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## hikeon3 (Oct 17, 2012)

Hardest thing in the world is waiting for these behaviors to go away. I was there a few months ago.

They DO improve. You ignore, redirect, separate, and a firm "AH!" or "OFF!" when appropriate to startle or interrupt the behavior. Reward the good stuff. It's a slow process kind of like a river smoothing a stone. But here we are with a 5 month old puppy - slowly improving day by day. He doesn't nip anymore, doesn't bite hair or clothes, and generally behaves much more agreeably than before. Just make your reactions a habit and right about the time you have settled into your shaping/molding tactics, you'll notice they are working. It just takes more time than you want or expect when you are IN the situation.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

instead of looking at behaviors going away, I like to think of them passing through them because they are apart of the dog/pup, they are products/abilities of the best in the dogs, you can take the same intensity,prey drive, focus, attention, that is pointed in the wrong direction and teach them to use it for more positive interactions.. Always say the craziest obsessive dogs have the best focused intensity if you can reach them to harness it for good  so I never want to take away from a dog, I think of how can I add to them..


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## readmeli (Jan 15, 2013)

Thanks for the great tips guys. Very helpful! Last night was pretty good with very little of the crazy-biting-wants-to-kill-you-puppy! And when it did seem to start winding up, we stood still, arms away and ignored. And after a moment or two she left us alone. Of course every day seems to be a little different so we will see how tonight goes.


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## blenderpie (Oct 5, 2012)

Our puppy is 15 weeks old and biting has been a continuous struggle. He's greatly diminished in his biting, though. We tried the bite stops Heer consistently for a month. However, stepping over a gate and being ignored was too extreme of a punishment for him and his frustration would cause him to bite us more instead of calming down.

We stopped all tug games and all "excited" petting because that riled him up to the point of biting.

We worked heavily on training, so, when he starts biting, we can direct him to sit, etc and then give him a toy that's appropriate to chew

We tired him out. We talked with our breeder and vet and made the choice to walk our dog on rarely used roads before ge had all of his shots. I don't know the parvo risk near you, si walking might not be an
option.

We initiated a "three strikes rule" by allowing him two times of "too rough" biting and redirect him to toys. At this point in his training, he rarely needs the third strike. We would just command him to "go to bed" in his crate for about ten minutes until he calms down. We're still training with the crate so we do it several times a day anyway, and he always gets a treat, so he doesn't associate it with punishment. It's just a break to calm down.

Good luck with your puppy! I know how hard this is, but all this work goes into making a good adult dog.


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## Kobismom (Dec 17, 2012)

blenderpie said:


> OuWe initiated a "three strikes rule" by allowing him two times of "too rough" biting and redirect him to toys. At this point in his training, he rarely needs the third strike. We would just command him to "go to bed" in his crate for about ten minutes until he calms down. We're still training with the crate so we do it several times a day anyway, and he always gets a treat, so he doesn't associate it with punishment. It's just a break to calm down.


We do something similar.. if Kobi gets too crazed with the biting, and the toy distractions, or ignoring doesn't work, then we'll put him in the crate for a bit. The moment he goes into the crate, he lays down and goes to sleep. When he gets out, we'll praise him and give him treats. It does help when he is "over the top" mouthy. 

I know he's teething something awful right now, so I'm guessing this is attributing to his craziness.


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## DianeMaeA (Jan 24, 2021)

readmeli said:


> Hey everyone. What do experienced puppy owners do...
> 
> When our 9 week old pup comes in from outside, normally she is pretty wound up, and starts going into attack mode. Growling, biting... she goes for arms, legs, feet, hands. We do our best to use a toy in place but she is determined. Is this something we need to let play out by using toys so she learns to use toys instead, or is something we need to curb entirely? I have occasionally picked her up and held her on her back so she cant do anything until she calms down, then put down and try to distract with some treats/training. But I wasnt sure if we should work with it or what....
> 
> What do you guys do? I know its just puppy play... not bad evil puppy or anything, but am wondering. THanks!


Hi i know it's been several years since this post, but i'm curious if you can tell me how this problem panned out for you. Did something finally click with the puppy at a certain age? Or did one intervention finally work? Thanks!


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

The original poster hasn't been here for eight years. Please consider starting a new thread with any questions or concerns.


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