# Does my 5/6 week old puppy has aggressive tendicies or he is playing/part of growing?



## 3mma123 (Oct 5, 2011)

We bought little Alfie this Saturday just gone. We were told he was 8 weeks and has no reason to disbeleive. We found out later he is actually only a little over 5 weeks! Anyway sometimes he gets very rough and bites you on the arm/leg or wherever and the more you tell him 'no!' the harder he bites and begins to growl! Alfie is a French Mastiff x Shar Pei so is going to be a huge dog when fully grown, hence why I will need to nip this problem in the bud straight away. As he is so young I am hoping this will easily be fixed. Anyone have aby ideas of training him to stop this behaviour. I have bought him lots of toys and when he bites me I tell him 'no!' and replace my arm with one of his toys and tell him 'good boy' if he then plays with that instead. I need something quite loud to divert his attention so I have tried clapping ym hands but this he has now got used to and ignores it. What about a bottle filled with gravel I could shake? Please any ideas are greatly appreciated!

P.s Have attached some photos of little Alfie.

Emma


----------



## Darkmoon (Mar 12, 2007)

He's an infant, there are NO (I shouldn't say no, but extremely rarely) aggressive tenancies at this age. He just has NO CLUE how strong his bite is. That's why you normally allow puppies to stay with their siblings until they are 8 to 10 weeks old. They learn that stuff from their litter mates and mom. My 6 month old puppy growls, snarls and sometimes bites so bad that people who do not know dog behavior think she's aggressive but she's just trying to get me to play with her.

See if you can find a older dog that is good with puppies that can help you out. Dogs can take a LOT more pain then we can and can also punish correctly when it comes to biting.

I'm unable to do so right now, but someone please post the link to "The bite stops here"

Remember you have an INFANT right now, who while is the cutest puppy ever, I mean just look at those wrinkles... But he's an infant. You have about 5 + months of those damn puppy teeth that hurt like hell and then they still like to bite even after that.


----------



## 3mma123 (Oct 5, 2011)

Thank you for this advice. I am glad its just part of his growing up. Yes we have a German Shep x Collie who is great with pups. I just haven't let them play yet as Alfie hasn't had his jabs and can't until 19th. Once he has I shall let him play and learn. Thanks again!


----------



## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

If your adult dog is fully vaccinated, I don't see any reason to keep him separated from the puppy. Playing with the older dog is great socialization and will help make up a little bit for being removed too young from mama and siblings. They're still sharing a house right? And you are tracking in germs from the outside on your feet. Maybe some breeders will chime in here or you could always give a quick call to the vet, but as long as its "okay'd" then I'd be making good use of the next two weeks before his vaccines. The first puppy shots aren't enough anyway to consider the dog fully protected.


----------



## 3mma123 (Oct 5, 2011)

I asked the vet on Monday about letting them socialise and she has told me to wait until the pup is fully jabbed up. This won't be until the 16th Nov in total. She said this because even though our other dog is vaccinated he can still pick up Parvo from the park and pass it on. So that has worried me! German Shep is kept downstairs and Alfie has full run of my bedroom during the day and front garden when I am home to do his business.


----------



## upfromtheashes (Mar 10, 2008)

3mma123 said:


> I asked the vet on Monday about letting them socialise and she has told me to wait until the pup is fully jabbed up. This won't be until the 16th Nov in total. She said this because even though our other dog is vaccinated he can still pick up Parvo from the park and pass it on. So that has worried me! German Shep is kept downstairs and Alfie has full run of my bedroom during the day and front garden when I am home to do his business.


The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior disagrees with your vet. Read this:
http://www.avsabonline.org/avsabonline/images/stories/Position_Statements/puppy socialization.pdf

More dogs are put down because of behavior problems than die from infectious disease. Waiting to socialize your dog can be a fatal mistake. 

Regarding your puppy's biting, you find yourself in the position of having to teach him ALL of his bite inhibition, much of which he should have learned from his littermates. Read "The Bite Stops Here" and implement it:
http://www.dogforums.com/first-time-dog-owner/8377-bite-stops-here.html

Also, you need to have some urgency and diligence regarding this. Do not take it lightly or assume that he'll "grow out of it". He won't. A coworker of my wife's just had to have her 1 year old mastiff put down because she got caught in the middle of a resource scuffle between the mastiff and their other dog and received a nasty bite on her leg. If bite inhibition isn't taught as a puppy, it's nigh impossible to teach as an adult. An adult dog with no bite inhibition and resource guarding issues is a time bomb waiting to go off.


----------



## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Well if your adult dog could "pick up" parvo at the park, so can your shoes. I'm not saying that to scare you, but to point out that I don't think it's necessary or probably even all that useful to separate a healthy adult dog from a puppy in the same home if you are going outside to the same places your adult dog goes to (which presumably you are). I can't even imagine trying to keep them separate, nor do I know anyone who has done so.


----------



## Bordermom (Apr 28, 2010)

I wouldn't worry about it. Unless your dog goes to the dog park, rolls in poop and walks in and the puppy gets into it, the risk is fairly low. If you are worried, don't take your older dog to the dog park. Or spray everything that comes into the house with bleach and hope the toxic fumes don't hurt anything (KIDDING!!!!!! DON'T do that!!!). 

If your older dog is good with puppies, let him do some of the training for you, dogs are much better at speaking dog than humans are. You may find the pup gets away with a lot for a while, then suddenly your older dog will start to correct him for being too rough.

Most breeders allow the other dogs in the household in with the litter as soon as the pups are about 4 weeks old. My new pup is being exposed to the other dogs in the household. I'm picking up a puppy for socializing tonight and she's going to be exposed to my dogs etc....

Lana


----------



## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

One thinkg I would say - it's going to be very important that you are consistent about teaching bite inhibition (here's that article, btw) http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/teaching-bite-inhibition because that is something puppies generally learn from mom and littermates in the socialization period that usually is allowed to continue until the pup is around 8 weeks or so. Your little guy has missed that, so it is important you provide it. And when he is old enough, I'd get him in a socialization group with really appropriate puppies so he gets the interaction that he missed by being removed from the litter so early. If your older dog is a thoughtful and appropriate disciplinarian, that's a good thing too. Do not get onto him for grumping at the pup as long as he's not hurting the pup.


----------



## 3mma123 (Oct 5, 2011)

Thank you all for your responses. Last night we let Alfie play with Tricks and it was great fun to watch! Tricks did correct him when he kept trying to bite his face and he seemed to respond well. Definitely shall be letting them play every morning and evening. Alfie slept all the night through which is a bonus too! Must have really tired him out. Thanks again guys.


----------



## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

Many states/cities have laws that make selling/giving puppies away before they are 8 weeks old illegal. Check your state and city laws, and if you are one of them, I'd file a complaint with AC or the police dept. People that sell pups that young are usually backyard breeders in it for the money. They do a great disservice to the dogs. The can have lower immune systems, and because they haven't learned bite inhibition, they tend to get dumped by their new owners, and many end up in shelters as "biters" because they never learned bite inhibition.
There is a good book out called "The bite stops here".

Be aware that when your puppy is around 5 months old, he'll lose his "puppy license" (the 'pass" that older dogs give puppies when they are being rude/obnoxious), and your adult dog may have a "Come to Jesus meeting" with him (correct him very harshly). That's normal. Do not interfere. Your puppy will go "Oh Crap...I guess I better show him some respect", and things will smooth out.


----------

