Hello,

I am new to this forum, but I have been reading the articles on http://www.leerburg.com and the posts here for a while. I have found a lot of good information this way. Sorry if my English is not so good, I am from Finland.

I have a 2 year male old labrador retriever (my first dog), and a 3 month old male chesapeake bay retriever. My question is about the chessie:

I was playing outside with him (he is always on a long line), and he was getting very stubborn about eating grass, so I tried to distract him by running away (always works with the labrador). He ran after me right away and jumped up to grab my arm. He started growling and trying to shake my arm. He is not very strong yet, but has quite sharp little puppy teeth. I calmed him down by stopping, looking into his eyes and talking to him quietly. He has been taught "sit" with marker training, so I made him sit, gave him a treat, and he was happy and normal again.

Normally he is an active, mouthy but generally well behaved puppy. It is like a switch goes off in his head when he sees something to chase - he barks and growls and gets so fixed on whatever it is he is after. Is this something I should worry about? Or is he just being a puppy? I read that you should not correct puppies that are this young. Does this go away with age? If I should stop this behaviour, what is the best way? Of course the easiest way would be to not run away from him. I just do not want him to grow up into a problem adult dog.

Sorry if these are silly questions, but I still have a lot to learn, and my labrador has had no similar issues.

Sari

I would think of another way to get him to stop eating grass such as offering a treat. It sounds like he is a pup who gets his head into the chase.

I have a 1 year old male Dutch Shepherd who used to do this unprovoked all the time. Because it was unprovoked I considered it a form of handler aggression. He would not let go. I had to stim him with a ecollar to get him off me. Even treats didn't work. This went on for at least 6 months.

Your situation sounds different to me. You have been successful calming him down. Sounds like a pup who will gradually learn manners.

Sari, I forgot to include this in my original post. Your English is fine.

Hello Lee,

Thank you for the quick answer.

I have taught him "yuck" and he is good at dropping what is in his mouth for a treat. The problem is that after he gets the treat, he usually goes right back to what he was doing. This is why I thought I would try something "more interesting" to distract him.

There is so much grass, our whole backyard is covered with grass. So it is very difficult to get him to stop eating it, treats only distract him for a few seconds.

It is reassuring to hear that you do not think it is something serious, hopefully this will then go away with time. And thank you for being nice about my English!

My dogs eat grass once in a while, and alot when they were puppies. Then they throw up and eventually they stop. Puppies do stupid things like that.

For me, sometimes its better to look the other way, because puppies like to eat grass, bugs, ants, flies, and other odd things that to me are disgusting, but don't really cause them any harm. If I don't see it then it doesn't bother me

Running away from Lyka or Yasko is usually a bad idea and results in much pain on my part But I wouldn't say your dogs reaction is good or bad at this age. Some puppies are like this when young and it goes away on its own, other dogs have issues that need to be corrected when older. I don't believe in correcting puppies for problems that are going to disappear with age and maturity. Calming your dog down and peacefully coming to a resolution seems to work for your dog and is the way I would continue handling the situation for now.

Your English is better than the English of some of the forum members here that speak it natively.

Sari,
Oh boy, are you going to be having some fun for the next few months. I say fun because you'll find that the Chessie is going to be alot more driven then almost any Lab.
He sounds like he's just as he should be. Are you raising him as a companion/pet or as a gun dog? For the moment at least it doesn't matter much. You say you can redirect him verbaly and by moving away from him...........GOOD. Now when he turns to come after you say and repeat your recall command. Again and again and again and again, etc. Repeat excerise oh about 10,000 times for the next few weeks and months. Before you know it he'll be sitting pretty in front of you on a recall waiting for his marker, good come! (ya little brat, thanks for not biting my arm)lol.
The Chessies can be a hard headed breed. Meaning, a nice strong will.
Hang in there.

If my dog isn't learning, I'm doing something wrong.
Randy

OK, I understand better now. Games, light obedience, toys might help wear him out. Try to think of things more interesting than eating grass.

Many pups I've had go through different phases. Often what interests them this month changes to something else next month. Eating grass might just be this month's interest.

Others on the forum might have additional ideas.

Mike, perhaps you are right and I should try to relax a bit more about the grass eating. It is just very frustrating with these retrievers - they seem to want to eat absolutely everything when they are young! At least the puppy will spit on command. I did not teach "yuck" to the labrador, and has been much harder to correct as an adult compared to training a puppy from the start.

Randy, I have already noticed huge differences between the labrador and chessie. Even though I did research the breed, I have been surprised at how stubborn and driven he can be (his name is Pontus by the way). But yes, it certainly makes life with a dog more interesting.
So what you are saying is I should get him to "charge and attack" me, and give the recall command while he is charging? When should the mark (good come) be? In the short moment when he is close but before he has grabbed my arm?
I do not hunt at the moment, but it is always possible for the future since we live in the middle of a forest. Pontus seems like a dog who will need a job when he grows up, so gun dog work could be a good way to go. It is what he was bred for after all.


Lee, a tennis ball will always get his attention (something to chase and "kill"), and he loves obedience. In the beginning, when he was always trying to bite my hands, marker training sessions were the only happy times we would have. He concentrates so hard, it is funny and sweet to watch.

Well Sari, you do want the recall to be a good time for the dog don't you? What better then a little fresh blood for sport? Hahahahaha!
Naw, just kidding. As soon as he redirects his attention to you, give your recall command at the sametime you make your movement to get him on the way to you, once he's on the way you don't have to be the prey any longer and stop your movement, give him praise and encouragement all the way to you. To keep him off you redirect with a toy or such, when he latches on to the toy, good here (or whatever your command is). Before long you can start putting it all together with a finished sit in front, but for the moment keep all simple and fun for the dog.

He sounds like a real go getter.

If my dog isn't learning, I'm doing something wrong.
Randy
PS.
A soft ball on a rope or a tug are good toys for redirections away from your hands, arms, legs, feet, pants legs, loose shirts, fingers, or any other soft muscle tissue. LOL

Edited by randy allen (05/30/2008 09:53 AM)
Edit reason: Toy suggestions

Sari,

Chessies are great dogs.

You could try moving away from him backwards (quickly) and calling him to you and when he gets to you, highly praise him for the recall and then pop a ball out of your pocket and initiate a game of fetch.

This may help redirect the grabbing you stuff.

Once he sees the ball, make him sit before you throw it.

I was in your shoes for a while so I just tried different things until we figured out what was better than biting me when she came into me.

Chessies are a tough breed, but are also willing to please. Finding the right balance of give and take with them takes a while but once you do, it is pretty smooth sailing with them.

WELCOME to the board....