# Bad attacking



## jkeyzer (May 31, 2012)

Hi everyone i posted about this a couple of days ago but it is getting worse.

My puppy is biting vigorously throughout the day. When we are on walks now he will just lunge straight to your legs or jump attacking and biting you. When he does this i make him sit and wait and we carry on walking but he starts it all over again, through out the walk. He does this at home as well in the garden running round and barking at you. 
Please if you have any advice i would really appreciate it. 

Thank you

Jenny.


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## crazy lady (Jan 19, 2012)

how old is he? when he does it at home, are you playing with him? throwing balls//tug of war with a rope toy? the barking at you may be he is asking for you to play with him, but it is difficult to say without actuallyseeing him do it, murphy our cockapoo is 5 mths old, and still play bites, i distract him with a toy, take him for a walk, and let him off lead in safe areas, so he can really run off his pent up energy hope this helps x


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## jkeyzer (May 31, 2012)

Hi, he is about 4 month and 2week, and no he does not do it when playing he just does it normally and starts getting very aggressive. We take him for about 2/3 walks a day on the lead, and he gets played with outside through out the day so he burns his energy off.

Thanks x


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## emmelg (Mar 4, 2012)

Do you give him lots of bones/chews they need something to chew on at all times during their teething stage 

A tea towel soaked in water then frozen is also great for teething(tie a knot in the middle )

I know it's frustrating but it does pass honestly, just keep telling him no and putting him in timeout, or get him to play a game of fetch with a ball/toy to take his mind off it x


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## jkeyzer (May 31, 2012)

Yes we do give him bones and ice cubes etc.. but this is not teething its more of an attack. 

Thank you.


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## emmelg (Mar 4, 2012)

Have you tried spraying him with a little water, this may frighten him away or you can buy a can of compressed air and use this as it's another of their dislikes

Or you could blow a loud whistle 

Whatever you use to distract him make sure your consistent with it 

Good luck x


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## Janev1000 (Oct 4, 2011)

Do you think there is a chance he could be in pain? Dogs will bite for this reason, especially something is causing more pain when exercising? It might be worth taking him to the vet for a general check over.


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## crazy lady (Jan 19, 2012)

if you are sure it is an attack, which i would say would be very unusual in a pup of this age, you should take him to the vet for a thorough check up, they may suggest a behaviourist comes and watches him.


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## jkeyzer (May 31, 2012)

I will try the water spray as he hates water, and thank you for the rest of the comments i will take him to the vets soon.

Jenny x


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

Jenny, try to get it out of your head that he is agressive, I can see by your posts that you are sure in yourself that he is, and if you are projecting that emotion, then it can cause him to get that way. be firm and consistent with him, give him time outs in a crate as well. dont reprimand but if he starts to bit, pick him up, and put him in his crate untill he is calm. then over and over again.


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Please don't use a water spray - he is a baby who needs to learn how to behave and punishment will damage your relationship and is really not the way to go.

Distract with toys, remove yourself from the area when he starts, use a houseline on him and remove him from the area - but please don't punish.

Are you taking him to training classes? They can be invaluable for teaching both pups and news owners. Try to find your nearest APDT trainer and get booked in for some training.


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## Tressa (Aug 31, 2010)

We went through a phase like that with Teddy at about the same age. There were times we had to bring him home from a walk with him on the lead and arm at full stretch to prevent him from leaping and biting (what you term as attacking, and it does feel like an attack). A consistent and calm NO! and 'Time out' for a few minutes (usually in another room) worked well for him - he hated being apart from the rest of us and eventually calmed down and, although you might not believe it at the moment, this will pass. I know there are other techniques other people have used, but in my opinion, whetever you use, it has to be done calmly. Easier said than done, I know, but really important. Good luck with your little holy terror and I am sure he will soon be a joyful addition to your family.


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## Lins61 (Mar 4, 2012)

Hi Jenny.. we have moments during the day (usually evening I have to say) when Pickle looks like a demented creature.. he jumps like a kangeroo and attacks.. this has gone off a bit I have to say but we have consistently stopped him by stopping the game and walking away and if he's still doing it, putting him into time-out which he HATES because he has separation issues from us all. It has taken a lot of time though.. I thought he'd never get out of it at one point. He still does it a bit but not as much.

The other thing I'm wondering. Now I have no idea if this is right or not but I met a dog pschotherapist (I think she is) the other day. She told me that I was probably walking Pickle too much at this age and that he should only be having half an hour a day... 
and we've been doing nearer 1.5 hours!! So maybe he's getting overtired from his walks? Just a thought and I'm sure more experienced people will be able to say yes/no to this x


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## wellerfeller (Jul 12, 2011)

I agree with Amanda. Lots of young dogs do this the trick is to be consistent with discipline and definitely not let his behaviour gain him ANY advantage at all, otherwise he will learn this type of behaviour pays dividends.
As you are struggling with how to cope with his behaviour and the fact that none of us can actually see just what he is doing or reacting to, I would recommend getting in touch with a trainer in you local area. A good trainer will be able to tell just what is setting these episodes off and will give you the tools and confidence in how to deal with him.
Ask your vet to recommend a trainer to you.
Best of luck and please keep us posted on how you get on.


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## wellerfeller (Jul 12, 2011)

Yes Lins, it is also very possible the puppy is over tired. It's like my 3 year old daughter, after a long day she will start, hair pulling, pinching and slapping her older sister!!! Time out time


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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

It is hard I know, our boy is similar, i'm sure he is just thinking 'come on lets play' and he still needs to learn you don't want to play that way - have pm'd you as well.


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## janee (Mar 25, 2012)

If your out on a walk you can stand on the lead to stop him jumping up, with a firm NO. 
Do not become frightened of your pup at this stage they will grow out of it and its what pups do, they push the boundarys they are like kids. Get the tone right in your voice and the NO will work, be calm, confident and authoritative. You are in charge and he's going to behave himself.


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## Tressa (Aug 31, 2010)

Absolutely


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## crazy lady (Jan 19, 2012)

hello, just wondered how things were going with this puppy?


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## mum2bobs (Jun 23, 2010)

jkeyzer said:


> Hi everyone i posted about this a couple of days ago but it is getting worse.
> 
> My puppy is biting vigorously throughout the day. When we are on walks now he will just lunge straight to your legs or jump attacking and biting you. When he does this i make him sit and wait and we carry on walking but he starts it all over again, through out the walk. He does this at home as well in the garden running round and barking at you.
> Please if you have any advice i would really appreciate it.
> ...


He is only a baby and biting is unfortunately part of a pups growing up - they teeth just as human babies do and while that is happening they look for things to bite on, whether it is a toy or a human!

Going by how my own 'poo was when he was young, he did the lunging, biting etc when he got excited - or over excited, and also when he got tired. Even now he is 2 he has a tendency to do this but we have learned how to control it and stop it happening.

For the teething there are a few things to help. If he bites you, say 'ouch' (really as though you mean it and it has hurt you even if it hasn't. He has to learn bite inhibition (learning that applying pressure with his teeth hurts!), so say 'ouch' put him down and ignore him. make sure he has toys to chew on and if he starts to try and eat you give him a toy instead.

Be consistent with this and make sure all the family do the same, he will soon learn.

This article may help - http://pawsitivedawgs.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/puppy-biting-101.pdf

The lunging etc can also be managed. I found with Bobs that this behaviour was worse with kids who would run round with him and play excitedly, and once he got excited he would just lose control.

He would charge and nip, bark and bite and be a royal pain.

We started to keep a close eye out for warning signs that he was getting too excited and stop play as soon as that happened. Got him to sit, gave a treat (cooked chicken was/is his favourite) and turned the play session into an obedience session. Sit, stay, come etc so he was still having fun and getting loads of attention, rewards and treats but not going crazy.

Also, as soon as he started going wild when running round with kids (chasing them round the garden etc) then change the focus from a person to a toy, got him centred on an object, not lurching at a person.

This took the whole family to do all the time so there is consistency.

Hope that helps

EDIT - JUST SEEN THE DATE OF THE OP lol. HOPE IT'S ALL SORTED NOW


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## francesjl (Mar 24, 2011)

Just wondered what he would be like if you let him off lead when you go out, maybe take a ball so he can run off some energy


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## Pollypiglet (Oct 22, 2011)

Hattie often gets over excited and runs around with an open mouth. I ignore it and refuse to interact until she is calm then she gets praise. Sometimes they just get so worked up they don't know what to do with themselves! Calm assretive energy is the key once you have mastered this approach but it takes some doing. Good luck remember the dog is a dog and you are a human you should be in control!


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## doreen (Sep 17, 2011)

buddy is nearly 11mths and he still tries to bite you,its usually when he vwants something,he sort of got better after losing his baby teeth,then started this lunging and biting anywere he can catch you,lve noticed he does it when he needs to let off some energy so a good run around with his ball off the lead usually does it ,do you not let him off the lead it could be just hes full of energy buddy never seems not to be, they are very full on little chaps but still very lovable if he doesnt stop hes put in the kitchen for 5mins that works,l wouldnt worry about it being aggresive thats what l used to think but reading on here l realised its just being a cockapoo,


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## jkeyzer (May 31, 2012)

crazy lady said:


> hello, just wondered how things were going with this puppy?


Hi!, He has been alot better this past week so far so good!, We are going to take him to training classes, the woman from the centre is contacting us asap. Also we have started to make the days more fun by playing with him and teaching him agility and he really enjoys it!


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## crazy lady (Jan 19, 2012)

i am very pleased to hear that, i am sure the training classes will really help too x


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