As far the deck went, Toby was sitting calmly wagging his tail. My hubby walked through the gate, and Toby started out in a play bow. All of a sudden, he ran, jumped up, and bit my husband's arm. My husband said, "No", then "Sit", and Toby started to growl, bark, and kept jumping up at him. I heard the barking from upstairs, and it sounded like he was attacking something. It did not sound playful. My hubby couldn't get away and was actually kind of scared! I went out and got Toby.

Yesterday is another example. My daughter opened the door and took one step outside to call him in from outside, and he ran up to her and nipped her hand. He again started to growl and bark, so she came in and shut the door.

They can just be standing in a room, and he will out of the blue jump up and bite. My daughter can't even walk past him without him starting out biting her feet and when she tries to get away, he jumps up to get her. I keep him attached to me on a leash when they are home now, but he still tries to pull at her Sometimes it seems like he's trying to play but it very quickly turns into more than that. He's between 45-50 pounds right now and almost 7 months old. He's VERY strong, and this is not a good situation. I can do pretty much anything with him, but it's only me.

I agree that we tried a lot of methods, but almost every one we tried resulted in him getting more fired up.

Sorry I got off-topic, Connie, but with this dog it is a very strong recurring motif - "don't know what else to do, if this last thing does not work will have to give him up". This is not a good state of mind when trying to deal with a persistent problem. "Yes, I can do it! What else could I try that is most likely to work?" would be a better attitude.

Kelly, you could try teaching Toby "leave it", "come" and "down/stay" and then use these commands whenever he is into something he shouldn't be: "Toby, leave it! Come! Down,stay!". This worked with my 2 females who had a fight and one of whom has aggression issues.

There are 2 great things going on: 1) Toby is "great with you" - keep bonding with him and 2)he's got great food and toy drive - use it to your advantage! You've got all you need to make a great dog out of him. Just don't let him anywhere near your husband without a leash just yet.

I'm confused.
What is this about? A place command? An aggression issue? Or a touch pad training question.

Can someone help me out?

Randy, I think we have the value meal!

and Kelly, I think it has alrady been determined that your husband is "Three fries short of a Happy Meal" where the dog is concerned!

You were upstairs, this dog was on the deck by himself, and hubby walked in? I wouldn't have this dog unsupervised...sounds like play that your husband further provokes...I too would like a visual!

Sorry about the topic confusion... believe me, the last thing I want to do is find him a new home. I just feel a tad outnumbered on that. Hubby and I are starting to fight over it. My daughter (and now husband) is scared of him. What was meant to be a "family dog", has turned out to be anything but. I do believe everything happens for a reason, and I have been determined to help this guy out from the beginning, but his attitude towards my immediate family is getting worse instead of better. Not to mention his new bad attitude towards other dogs and strangers.

Ana, he does know "leave it", "come", "stay", and "down". It just seems that when he gets into this frenzied state, he totally blanks out. I will try to practice them more this week with no distractions.

I will also try to get a video (although I feel kind of bad using my husband for bait!)

 Quote: kelly schultz

As far the deck went, Toby was sitting calmly wagging his tail. My hubby walked through the gate, and Toby started out in a play bow. All of a sudden, he ran, jumped up, and bit my husband's arm. My husband said, "No", then "Sit", and Toby started to growl, bark, and kept jumping up at him. I heard the barking from upstairs, and it sounded like he was attacking something. It did not sound playful. My hubby couldn't get away and was actually kind of scared! I went out and got Toby.

This sounds like obnoxious puppy hijinx. Did the pup have on a long line? I know that I (and others) have mentioned this, but he really needs to be on a long line all the time when he's outside, so that these types of interactions can be controlled. It escalated to barking and growling because your husband's actions got the pup more excited.

 Quote:

Yesterday is another example. My daughter opened the door and took one step outside to call him in from outside, and he ran up to her and nipped her hand. He again started to growl and bark, so she came in and shut the door.

For now, don't let your daughter interact with the puppy...

 Quote:

They can just be standing in a room, and he will out of the blue jump up and bite. My daughter can't even walk past him without him starting out biting her feet and when she tries to get away, he jumps up to get her. I keep him attached to me on a leash when they are home now, but he still tries to pull at her Sometimes it seems like he's trying to play but it very quickly turns into more than that. He's between 45-50 pounds right now and almost 7 months old. He's VERY strong, and this is not a good situation. I can do pretty much anything with him, but it's only me.

This puppy needs more exercise, which needs to come from you, since you are the only one that can handle him. Take him out on a long line and toss a ball or soft frisbee for him, and let him burn off some energy. If you do not exercise him more, I doubt that you will see much improvement in his behavior.
In addition, keep walking him. Have you tried desensitizing him to the prong collar?

You just beat me, as I was logging in with my post about managing the environment with tethers to Kelly, lines, etc. instead of giving him free roam of the house and deck and access to everyone at this stage.



eta
Kelly, not allowing the situations you describe to even occur helps a whole helluva lot. It also reduces to a minimum all the random corrections you have described.

He needs a ton of structured exercise and management. The excited yelling, swatting, or whatever else happens when he starts this: "My daughter can't even walk past him without him starting out biting her feet and when she tries to get away, he jumps up to get her" just kicks him into high gear.





Edited by Connie Sutherland (04/23/2010 12:51 PM)
Edit reason: eta

 Quote: Lynne Barrows

... For now, don't let your daughter interact with the puppy...

And the exercise is absolutely crucial.

The only time he is not on a line at all is when I let him out to the bathroom. That's the one activity I let him do solo. I also let him drag the line when it's just me and him home, because he's fine during these times.
With the exercise, I'm still trying to get him to the point of where I can walk him without having my shoulder pulled out of the socket. He is also still very skittish on walks. I got a Gentle Leader headcollar that I'm trying to get him used to, but he keeps getting it off his nose in the middle of the walk. I've been using the treadmill and taking him in the yard quite a bit. He's not so great at bringing balls back, but he loves to chase them.
There are certain times where someone other than me has to be in charge of Toby, simply because I'm not here! What to do during those times??

 Quote: Kelly Schultz

There are certain times where someone other than me has to be in charge of Toby, simply because I'm not here! What to do during those times??

That's what the crate is for.