My pup went through the same thing when he was 5-6 months old.

It was extremely easy to fix. I put a prong collar on him (fitted snugly high on the neck), said NO in a calm firm tone (which he ignored, obviously), then gave him a jerk with the prong for continuing to be an ass.

The prong correction immediately calmed him and made him back off on the barking in my face/biting/jumping. I then told him to down and praised/petted him quietly for a bit, then released.
He was a perfect little gentleman after that!

A few days later, he started again with his out of control barking and biting at me, so I got the prong on him again and repeated the same thing (remember to say NO first before you give any physical correction - this teaches the dog to obey your voice commands and it gives him the chance to do the right thing before receiving a prong correction).

Two or three more repeats over the next few weeks and that was the end of that
He's 11 months now (and 95 lbs) and no longer does that. When he gets too aggressive during play I just tell him NO (calmly) and he quickly backs off.

By that age (5-6 months), he was too big and strong for scruffing or picking up off the ground (which just made him "madder" anyway) and it actually took a pretty hard prong correction for him to take notice (level 6-7 maybe? enough to jerk his front feet off the ground).

Since your girl is only 15 weeks, don't go too hard on the prong correction the first time around. Make it hard enough that she'll knock it off after the correction, but not so hard that she screams, lays down and acts traumatized!

Good luck with your puppy!

Remember to stay calm when correcting her. A respectable pack leader never loses his/her temper and gives very quick, effective corrections. Not nagging ones

And don't hold a grudge either. Once she's calmed down, give her a sit or down command and praise her for it.

Eventually, if you're always consistent with giving a good correction every time she ignores your NO, she'll back off on the NO alone and shouldn't require physical corrections very often.

One important thing I forgot to mention: don't use the crate as a punishment or as a substitute for getting a handle on her behavioural problems!!

The crate needs to be her comfortable place to go to. Besides, putting her there when she takes control of your household won't teach her anything

With due respect to Yuko, I personally don't use prongs on 15 week old puppies. What I would do:

First of all, you mentioned that you had to "push her off the couch." Well, first thing is don't let her on the couch in the first place! Not on your bed, either, and don't let her sit on top of you, or your daughter or anyone else. Check out Ed's article on Groundwork for Puppies. Follow that advice exactly. Don't let her go before you through doors, etc. Make her work for her food...at 15 weeks she's capable of following some basic commands. Make sure she understands that her toys are actually your toys and you're letting her borrow them.

If I were you, I would tether her to you when she's out of her crate, and give her lots of stimulation and puppy appropriate exercise. There are ways to wear out a puppy that aren't hard on their joints...mental games tire them, too.

When my pup was 15 weeks and acting a fool, I had him tethered so I could give him a mild pop on the leash (to get his attention away from what he's fixated on, NOT a harsh correction though) and then I would reward correct behavior. Most of the time I used distraction techniques, though, and tried to make sure that I eliminated as many opportunities for him to act up as possible. My pup liked to wrestle and fight, so trying to physically control him would make him wilder.

Don't forget that when you tell your pup "off" or "leave it" that you reward the correct behavior. Sometimes even negative attention is still preferable to being ignored to a puppy, so give her lots of attention and praise for doing the right thing.

Good luck!

Good point Amber, I think you're right about a 15-week-old puppy being too young for a prong.

Holly, use my prong advice in another month or two if she continues the barking in your face and biting you. Amber's advice is better for now


Amber, how would you correct a puppy that age if it was focused on fighting with YOU (not something else). Let's say he jumped up on the couch, you said no and pushed him off of it and he started barking in your face and biting & lunging at you. Basically doing everything in his power to try and dominate you?

I haven't had a puppy that age in a while so I'll defer to you on this one

I do remember how my pup was at 5 months and he got so wound up and aggressive with ME that redirecting didn't work at that point. He would really get in my face and bark, bite, lunge, anything to get on my nerves, hee hee.

Granted, he was 5-6 months, not 15 weeks.

Sorry Holly for giving you incorrect advice

 Quote: Yuko Blum

Amber, how would you correct a puppy that age if it was focused on fighting with YOU (not something else). Let's say he jumped up on the couch, you said no and pushed him off of it and he started barking in your face and biting you.

Well, actually that IS what Carbon would do with me! But I didn't look at it as a serious confrontation so much as him flexing his puppy muscles. From what I knew about his bloodlines, it was to be expected that he wouldn't just hand over his respect without me earning it (much the same way as it was to be expected that he'd be a mouthy alligator).

I did know it was something I couldn't let him get away with, though, and so it made me realize how very important those pack ground rules were. I followed them religiously, and I did tether him to me (HUGE help, IMO).

I also realized that this was a pup who was not going to just sit calmly at my feet. He needed a lot more stimulation than any other dog I had ever had. So I gave it to him. It really strengthened his bond with me and all of the games we played had an element of role status. Even now, I never forget that he's the kind of dog that will jump in and lead if I don't. Personally, I love that about him.

It's my belief that puppies are hardwired at a very young age to gauge pack status. It didn't take very long before he got that he wasn't in charge. Following pack groundwork is something that I think made a much bigger difference than corrections at that age.

These days I do sometimes have to mildly correct him. But I still follow the ground rules. I think that if I didn't follow them I would be giving him the idea that he could assert his will more (and challenge me more) and as a result the corrections needed would have to be MUCH stronger.

Does any of this make sense? I got a billion phone calls while I was trying to type this!

 Quote: amber morgan

I did know it was something I couldn't let him get away with, though, and so it made me realize how very important those pack ground rules were. I followed them religiously, and I did tether him to me (HUGE help, IMO).

...all of the games we played had an element of role status.

...

These days I do sometimes have to mildly correct him. But I still follow the ground rules. I think that if I didn't follow them I would be giving him the idea that he could assert his will more (and challenge me more) and as a result the corrections needed would have to be MUCH stronger.

Does any of this make sense? I got a billion phone calls while I was trying to type this!

It made perfect sense, as usual

Carbon sounds like such a wonderful exciting pup to have around. You must have a lot of energy to deal with him! Lol.

I SO agree with you about the ground rules! I think they should be printed out and glued onto a puppy before the puppy gets sent to its new owners

The games having a role of status is also a very interesting concept. I've always played rough tug-type games with my pup, still do, but as you said, I made sure that I reenforced the pack structure with the games. I let him win all the time, but I was always the one to initiate games (especially rough games) and I always decided when the game was over (and when the toys were to be handed back to me, haha).

If he wasn't tired/stimulated enough and as a result got into my face barking, biting, growling and shredding clothes , I did correct him though. It just didn't seem right to allow him to decide when to play rough, especially when warned with a NO that now was not the time to play.
I also didn't want him to get the idea that if he fought back hard enough and aggressively enough that I would "back off" and give in to his demands for attention and play!

Anyway, just so you don't get the wrong idea, I didn't go around correcting him like an angry maniac for everything!! He probably got a total of 4-5 one-pop prong corrections throughout the 2 month period when he was 5-6 months old, but that was it.
No compulsion was used in obedience or in anything else, everything was initially done very motivationally.
I've only recently started using corrections in obedience for commands he's really solid on, but even so I make sure he's always working in high drive and having a good time!

I did always go the redirect route first when he acted up and I adjusted the exercise/play/stimulation accordingly


But yes, as you said, ground work first and foremost. Isn't it great when your pup/dog eventually respects your rank enough to automatically get out of your way around the house? Or politely waits for you to go out a door, through a hallway or down the stairs first without being asked and then quietly follow behind?
And all that done through groundwork alone, without harsh corrections of any kind?

I'm so glad I found this site in time for my pup.

I had the chance recently to see some of Taro's littermates. I was shocked to see how out of control some of the higher-drive pups were!
This one female pup (now 11 months) would charge around and SLAM into her owner, knocking her over!
The pup would even do that slamming routine to complete strangers
When her owner tried to give her a leash correction or to grab her and bring her back to her side, the pup went out of control, barking, growling, biting her and jumping all over the place. Her owner just had no control, it was nuts.

That female pup was acting just like mine did back when he was 5-6 months, only it was 100 times worse. Seeing the "what could have been" image made me that much more grateful to have found this site and implemented the techniques in time!!

The sad thing is that this beautiful female pup has tons of prey drive and is bursting with energy and confidence. She'd probably make a phenomenal and very flashy competition/sport dog in the right hands. She reminds me so much of my own pup.
Now she'll probably end up being sent back to the breeder (hopefully) or given away/dumped in a shelter because her owners did a crappy job raising her

 Quote: Yuko Blum

Anyway, just so you don't get the wrong idea, I didn't go around correcting him like an angry maniac for everything!!

Believe me, I know you better than that by now!! I would love to respond more to your last message, but I think you and I are occassionally a little guilty of hijacking threads and also, I have to leave the house! I'll send you a PM later!

 Quote: Amber Morgan

I think you and I are occassionally a little guilty of hijacking threads...

I know... I never learn