Will qualify my remarks here by saying I have no schutzhund experience. I do have experience with high-drive Briard puppies though, so will speak to that.

Congrats on what sounds like a little pistol of a puppy. Sounds like you got just what you are looking for, which is a GOOD thing.

In my experience with drivey puppies, this behavior is completely normal. Once they have legs and teeth, stepping into their pens for feeding or a poop clean up becomes a real dance, and I have plenty of pairs of ripped pants to show for it.

Eventually, one learns to keep as still as possible, use one hand to flit a rag around, and the other hand to do whatever needs doing. They still mis-direct....biting my hand, or going for my pantlegs, but this is my best shot at accomplishing the task with minimal damage to skin and clothing. I wouldn't have them any other way!

I have my own ways of raising and training such puppies to suit my own needs, but will leave it to the schutzhund trainers to discuss with you how to deal with this in an appropriate manner based on yours. Just wanted to let you know that IME, this is completely normal behavior.

BTW, how old is the little alligator?

Best,
Tracy

I don't have any advice for the OP, since I don't do any bitework with my dog. I just wanted to say that the original post made me laugh.

One time when my pup was about ten weeks old I was sitting on the couch and she started playing tug with my shoe lace. She pulled the shoe off and went back for my sock, got the sock and went after my pants, and almost got them off, too!

Puppies are funny little creatures. Enjoy it!

I just went through the same thing! I am the proud owner of my first Mal (13 weeks old now), and theoretically I knew what I was getting into, but man was I in shock for the first few weeks, lol.

I've had her just over a month now, and for the most part she doesn't bite me anymore. I made sure to always have treats or a toy on me, and did a lot of redirecting, praising, and rewarding for correct behaviour. At first it seems like it'll never work, but one day soon the lightbulb will go on in her little puppy mind.

For the first three months I owned this puppy I was a mess! Tired to the point of being emotionaly broken down, bruised and bleeding all the time. Completely and totaly overwhelmed.

It was like a cracked out mini Cujo had taken over my house.

The "So you think you want a high drive puppy?" video made me laugh when it first came out. It made me realize that I wasn't crazy, drivey puppies present special challenges.

I had been around a lot of puppies, and had never known one with real drive. I was convinced something was wrong with her. I didn't know that the way you lived with a pup like this was different than other pups.

I love the part in the video where Ed points out that having a puppy with drive is equivalent to taking care of multiple toddlers. So true!

the scary thing is I have a toddler too! 22 month old little girl. LOL i am sooooooo glad I'm not the only one going through the puppy shock value! he is 9 1/2 weeks now.

Oh and just a heads up on today..no breaking of skin..worse

he was almost done chewing his bone and i always take the last piece to make sure he doesn't swollow it whole..

well have you had the pleasure of putting your finger in the back of a dogs mouth only to find out the mechanics of a dogs jaw. The back mollars HURT worse than the front LOL. and there is a LOT more force when you get your finger stuck between them. He didn't swollow the last piece..but i couldn't speak "sainly" for a few mins. and my poor nail will just have to grow back

thank you ALL for all your feedback. Congrats on your Mal pup Tabatha! I wasn't brave enough for that breed yet..maybe Ace is part mal...that would explain soooo much!

Just a side note-
have any of you gone to Home depto for socialization and have to tell EVERY SINGLE person "please don't touch" and have the responce of half of them "why" and keep moving foward! grrrrr!! or "what a cute alaskan malamute". (LEARN YOUR BREEDS PEOPLE!!)

Are we talking raw hide by any chance?

nope. not rawhide.

oops sorry..i thought it was a pig ear wrap...i was wrong. throwing them away. it was rawhide

Those things can really cause an issue - trust me. A few things which won't however are Kongs - you can fill them will all sorts of yummy stuff and freeze them which will keep him entertained for longer and help with easing any teething issues. Some folks use peanut butter and cream cheese I think...

Bully Sticks are also safe and 100% digestible.

This way you won't have to be grabbing stuff out of his mouth and getting shredded in the process!

ETA: Check these out too!
http://leerburg.com/797.htm

we have kongs and the blue thing that is round and you can put raw food into..but he won't touch them even with peanut butter inside. he might lick it for a few seconds but that's it. wierd for a highly food motivated pup. So no pig ears? no problem. I have duck jerkey but that last's a few seconds where as my st. bernard will take at least 10 mins to enjoy the duck. Bully sticks..are bones from my butcher okay too? i assume they are if in raw form. thanks for the link...my fingers thank you.