# Frenzied chewing & tugging



## rellek (Jun 12, 2013)

Hi all! Ludo is doing quite well, last night he was quiet for the first time - finally, sleep!

I do have a question though about the way he plays - I am not sure if it's normal, or something we need to deter right away.

He will play normally for awhile, running around and playing with his rope toy or sticks and plant-life outside. But after a little while of that, he becomes too excited and gets sort of frenzied. When that happens, he starts constantly trying to get your hand in his mouth to chew, or will grab your pants or shirt and just start tugging and growling. Typing it out it sounds normal, but he gets so worked up doing this that it's almost impossible to stop him - that's why I call it a frenzy, because he starts moving so quickly without thinking about anything and starts growling whenever he is able to latch onto something, he reminds me of a shark during feeding time!

Usually I either stop walking until he gets bored, or I leave the room to let him know that sort of behavior will not be getting attention.

Please help me though, is this normal and is there something I need to be doing to stop it? I don't want him to think it's okay to chew on clothes, attack hands, or constantly growl while playing. I also don't want him to latch onto something worse, like a child or one of my cats! I do play tug with a rope toy with him, should I stop doing that? Not sure if that's reinforcing the behavior.

Thanks


----------



## dio.ren (Jan 18, 2013)

It's normal puppy behaviour! Molly was like that when she was small. If she hooked on pants etc... I would deter her attention to a toy or go to another room where she wouldn't be able to get to me. Most of the time when she acted like this it's because she was over tired so I would crate her for a while for a time out nap.


----------



## JasperBlack (Sep 1, 2012)

Have you got a crate or a room you can put him in for time out. I know how hard it is to ignore that sort of puppy behaviour....it hurts! We used to just scoop jasper or wrestle him into our arms and pop him in his crate for a couple of minutes, not long. If he did it again when he came out he went straight back in. He is one now and still has crazy moments but is much more easily calmed now, hang in there x


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## SamRinde (Jun 10, 2013)

*So annoying*

Yea, it seems to be normal, I guess. We think Frankie is schizophrenic because he will be normal one second and chewing on his toys, but then the next second he looks at my fiancee and just lunges at her. For some reason, he "attacks" her way more than he "attacks" me. She has gotten some blood drawn from his teeth on her arms and legs. It is pretty painful for her. But like I said, other times, he is an angel. It's only when he gets in his "moods". 

People have told me it's normal, but I don't quite believe them, to be honest. It's not normal play biting. When he gets in those moods, even if I pick him up to give him a little rest and take him away from her - the second I put him down, he goes right back to it. It's odd and we can't figure out a reason for it.


----------



## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

It is normal. if they start getting hyper either distract with a squeaky interesting toy to divert the attention, or keep one specially that they really like and bring it out when you need it, don't have access to all toys at once they'll get bored.Or while they're tiny and you see an out burst coming lift you legs onto settee, remove your input I know it's painful etc but don't escalate the situation by squealing, running, moving quickly .... Aren't you just soooo much fun when we play this game and your just reinforcing in the puppies mind how great the game is, stay calm and chilled, it's no fun playing if there's no reaction. Often you'll get pups acting like this with little children cos theyre the squeeliest, squeekiest, quickest ones in the house. It will pass just try not to reinforce it xxx


----------



## Sherry Weaston (Jul 23, 2013)

My 12 week old puppy seems so aggressive. I am starting to wonder if he is going to be one of those little mean dogs. I thought this breed was suppose to be so loving. I have read and tried everything. He is always biting growling barking. He never let's you love on him. I am getting really discouraged. I want the little guy to be sweet and happy.


----------



## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

Please don't panic you guys, it does seem like no one else has a puppy quite as bad as yours, when Dudley was young everyone else on here seemed to be talking about their sweet cuddly pups and sad as it is I didn't enjoy those early days that much, seemed to be worrying the whole time about getting it right so that my 'gremlin pup' didn't turn out to be a nasty adult. We even paid a silly amount to get a trainer in as I was so worried. Ok he did say our boy was particularly cocky and confident, but he changed so much over the following months that I think he would have done even without any help. I think my expectations were different to what they should have been but I had been around a friend for years with dogs and her pups always seemed so easy - now I know its because she always had about 4 dogs and the older ones always got the play bites and knew how to put the pup in their place. The best way is to use time out, it gives you and the pup a break. My boy still has his moments and is not as laid back as some but he is great fun (just look at my Dudley on his hols post for pictures) and we wouldn't change him for the world. Good luck.


----------



## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

Your right Dawn about more dogs, I too worried that Wilf was going yo be a dominant dog, but he was just playing with us, although distraction and chewing toys really helped....Mable chewed and swung off Wilf .... Fergus...I"ll let you know xx


----------



## Sherry Weaston (Jul 23, 2013)

Thank you for the encouragement. I love the little guy so much, but he is a handful.


----------



## RuthMill (Jun 30, 2012)

I agree with Dawn as well! I was so uptight with Lola about whether we were creating a monster. I posted some threads of despair! This time (only on day 2) I already know I'm more relaxed, partly due to a perfectly bred and raised pup so far and partly due to us being relaxed and wanting to enjoy every second because we know how fast it goes! Time out is great.. Having a routine that allows good quality nap time is so important. They have a lot of growing to do!


----------



## Mummy Pavey (Mar 29, 2013)

Stanley is 11 weeks old and has been living with us for 3 weeks. His housetraining is coming on brilliantly but our only worry is the biting. He seems to be quite a dominant dog and is either very laid back or running around like something possessed biting everything in his way. He also growls at my 12 year old son more than I am comfortable with and if he is told no he always snaps back at you like he needs to have the last word! I am using his crate at the moment for time out when he gets totally out of control but I am worried that he will start to resent going into it - he generally sleeps really well in there and can go 8 hours throughout the night. As I say overall he is coming on brilliantly but the biting situation is worrying me - I think I am a bit paranoid as when I was a teenager living at home we had a really nasty dog and I have two children 12 and 8 .


----------



## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

Like I said earlier I felt like this with Wilf and my son used to run and pull his legs up...probably making a bit of a din as he went ....how exciting for a little puppy. Maybe try and take note if these incidents happen at a similar time.. If so try and get him to take a nap prior, I can remember patting Mable to sleep when she was little as she'd cry if she was tired. Like you said I wouldn't use the crate for time out he needs to see it as a positive place, I'd just put him out of the room that you're all in, if his biting makes it difficult to get hold of him you could put a short puppy lead on him. Also I don't think I'd reprimand him, your tone sounds to be heightening the situation, remove him quietly without any stimulus and just ooober praise when he does something positive. Things will get easier when he can go out for a walk, which won't be long. IT DOES get easier, this stage will pass, honestly stick with it xxx


----------



## loopyloo (Aug 18, 2012)

We used to call this Raffy's 'crocodile' moments because he used to come at us snapping like one  We found the best thing was a time out in the kitchen for a couple of moments. Strangely he never made contact with our skin or drew blood, it was just a mad few moments, then into the kitchen to calm down and he was usually ok after that and would fall asleep.
He still belts up and down the sofa occasionally, whether we're sitting on it or not , but will stop when told to 'chill'.
I think the only time he's ever drawn blood is when he's grabbed a finger by mistake when playing with a toy and that hasn't happened for a long time now.
These poos are usually friendly dogs towards people and dogs but as puppies can be prone to these very excited bouts when they become crockapoos. Usually it means that they're a bit overtired - just like whingey children really- and a nap will sort it out. They do need stimulating playtimes but also loads of rest. I'm sure that Ludo will soon settle down and these spells will become less frequent, be aware that sometimes one particular person in the household can become the focus for these outbursts, in our case it was me!!


----------



## psfalcon (Jul 25, 2013)

I got my puppy at 7 weeks old. For the first couple of months she was a terror with the chewing, biting, etc. I knew she would, due to cutting teeth so I had plenty of chew toys around. It helped alot most of the time, but she was attacking my feet and biting my hands relentlessly. I read about using crate time-outs but she slept in the crate and I didn't want her to associate it with punishment. After throwing out several pairs of slacks with teeth holes and hands that looked like pin cushions, I talked to my vet (of many years through several dogs and has been a great help). She said I got her too young (should have been 12 weeks when I got her-who knew?) so she missed all the good 'mama dog' training and I would have to substitute. She said when she went after my feet, stop immediately, hold her down on the floor (not hard but gently), bare my teeth and growl at her until she stopped squirming and relented. This sounds crazy and feels silly doing, but, after a few times doing this, the behavior stopped and she started paying more attention to me. For the hand-bitiing, I used the 'no bite' and just a growl, and substituted a chew toy. Hooves worked the best. I still use the growl (without the pin-down) as a reminder if she gets too aggressive to remind her I am 'mama dog', but that is a rare occasion these days. She has calmed down tremendously in the last few months and may have grown out of these behaviors anyway, but it was great to have some ideas and options in order to get some relief and put a stop to these particularly unacceptable behaviors. Hope this helps.


----------



## Mazzapoo (Jul 28, 2013)

This is such a reassuring forum to visit! Poppy is like a whirlwind one minute, rushing around uncontrollably with a mad glint in her eye, driving me nutty and prematurely grey by preferring to rip wallpaper and chew the rug rather than her toys, making me laugh by chasing butterflies and then making me love her madly all over again for curling up by my feet in a furry lump. These early days (only 14 days in) are such a mixed bag of emotions and full of panic that I'm doing things right. My 80 yr old father in law met her yesterday and I thought she was quite good (not too hyper!) but he said she's not normal being so energetic (he also spooked her by pointing at her menacingly with his walking stick and shouting 'no' when she chewed the rug, I couldn't believe he did it and told him never to do it again, she avoided him for ages afterwards). But today some dog fostering friends came to meet her and said she was a normal puppy. I think I'll choose to accept their opinion! The most useful advice I've found on here so far is crating her after a manic phase and recognising the signs of her becoming overtired because she definitely needs more sleep and doesn't regulate that herself. Thank you all for being here!!!


----------

