Hi there,

sounds to me like you have very nice puppy there.
Thing is that screaming and repeating 'no' does nothing for him (other than firing him up <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> and you will have to be little harder on him if you want to get him to stop.

Also learn to calm him down.
When he is all fired up take im in your hands and stroke him gently while speaking softly untill he calms down.

Oh, do wear long sleeves shirt <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

One more thing I forgot ...
He does show food aggression. When I fed this morning, I was stroking his back, saying goodboy. He started growling at me. I tried to get him the rest of the way in the crate so that I could close the door to get in the shower and he turned his head, growled and looked like, showed teeth. When I got out of the shower, I went to the crate to remove the food bowl, he licked it even cleaner, while I held it, I took it out and when I closed the crate door, he growled at me again... I stood in front of the crate talking gently to him and he barked, then started wagging his tail.

What do you make of this? I'm at a loss...

Hey Ivan...this is Marc again.

We have tried calming him down. Once he is fired up, it seems the only thing that calms him down is to put him in the crate. He is hard to "pet" at all because all he wants to do is bite and nip. We have tried to hold him, speak calmly and pet him gently but he still nips and wants to play. We thought that maybe it was he was in the crate too much and he thinks that anytime he is out of the crate is "play time" but he was out ALOT this weekend (atleast 7-8 hours each day off and on) and he still seems to have the same "issues". He is VERY mouthy to say the least. Like I said, we cannot really just pet him (unless he is really tired and finally slows down).

Is this normal for a pup this age? I know pups can be mouthy but is it normal for a pup to not really want to be pet? Also, when playing we used to get on the floor with him but he climbs ALL OVER US and likes to sit in our lap. We thought it may be a dominance issue so we are cutting that out and only playing with him while we stand (plus it helps him not be able to put his teeth all over us! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> )

It is not 'normal' as in 'average', but that does not mean it is bad thing <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Only question here is are you willing to put up with that kind of behavior, put it later to some use or are you going to be constantly annoyed by it (in which case it might be better to give dog to someone who will appreciate that kind of temperament).

Good luck with little alligator. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Well, we don't mind putting up with it because now I just put him in the crate when he gets too fired up. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I do believe he would be a good protection dog because 1) he has a very strong prey drive and 2) he is very food driven. With that being said, we don't really want a protection dog. LOL We just want a family dog that will get along with our cats and not try to eat them. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

In your opinion, does this dog sound like he could still be a good family dog?

My opinion only, pup is only 3 months old. You don't know his history, and it may include some abuse. He could have been afraid. If you were not calm and controlled when correcting him, and upset especially when he bit, he's going to figure that out quickly. Why pick a fight with the pup when you don't have absolute control? Have you tried a collar and drag leash?

Have you also tried quietly calming him instead of scruffing? Sounds like his actions were fear based, and feeding him in his crate may not be a good idea. The crate is his den, try the kitchen, and keep a collar/line on him. Make him sit before you remove his food. He may be afraid he'll lose his food, and may need to learn that he's not going to be starved. However, if matters escalate then you may need more drastic measures. Give it a day or two and see how things go.

I doubt that one incident like this is going to ruin your pup. However, leaving cats loose with a high prey dog, any dog, can be an invitation to disaster. Good luck.

The only sound advice anyone can give you is to get a trainer who knows what to look for when observing dominant dogs and have them come to your house and watch your interaction with your dog. Everything else is just speculation.

OK – I’m gonna try to respond to each of you (as much as I can while at work) …

Alison,

Thank you so much for all the information you’ve sent. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but will and make Marc read it too! I will put him in the crate as you’ve suggested next time before using the scruff. I’m also going to try the calm no-no’s, as he seemed to respond to that this morning. That’s another issue in itself – what worked this morning may not work by the time I get home. I’ll be in touch.

David,

What you have said is definitely something to think about. However, I have a hard time thinking that this pup could be aggressive only toward me or my husband. He has shown no aggression toward other people or dogs. Now if chasing the cat is aggression, then we may have a big issue and some difficult decisions to make. It is hard when you can’t see what happened and it happens so quickly that I can’t remember move by move. I think I scared him and I may have been doing the scruff grab all wrong. None of the videos we bought show you how to do this. It was a bit of a scary situation for me however, I’ve NEVER owned a dog before, never been around dogs that much. So, for me – when he acted this way I was shocked. Never seen it before. You mention the fact that he is a parvo survivor and go on to say “If so, this pup may not be quite right in the head”. Is there evidence that dogs that survive parvo have mental problems?

Kay,

He is a rescue; we adopted him when he was approximately 8-9 weeks. We know nothing about how he was treated before we got him. I can tell you that the type of behavior he displayed this morning has not happened before. It helps to know that others have experienced this behavior. When you say, “you shook her and pinned her over and over” What did you do exactly? I can only hope and do all I can to ensure that he turns out as your pup did. I’m certainly trying! Thanks for the encouragement – it’s needed when you go into this blind.

Theresa,

Your correct – we know nothing about the first 2 months of his life nor how he was treated the 6 days we had to wait to pick him up and the shelter. We wonder often how he was treated.
This morning I did the calm correcting approach; he seemed to respond to it. He’s just an alligator – there’s no other way to say it. It’s not something that drives me crazy or aggravates me, except when he gets wild and fired up and gets the skin. I’m going with the calm, cool, collected approach and when he gets out of hand he will go in the crate.
I do agree about the feeding in the crate. I fed him one day out of it and when I would pet him he didn’t growl. I told Marc about, he said he had read on the site to always feed in the crate so, that’s why we continued with it. I’m going to try feeding him outside it tonight and see what happens.

Brian,

I agree - and that’s the next step. Finding one I feel I can trust and knows what they are talking about will not be easy.

We were using the scruff method because Ed talks about it on the 8 month – 8-week video and how he answers the question on the Q&A for puppy biting. Problem is Blu went from one extreme to the other – didn’t phase him for several days then all the sudden he bites me.
Another question on exercise. Ed says on the site or video (can’t remember) that a pup shouldn’t be walked more than a couple blocks. We live in the rural south, no blocks here. How long is a couple blocks, a mile, 2 miles?

Thanks again, to you all for taking the time to help and offer advice. I’m sure I’ll be seeking your help again.

Paige

You say you have a hard time believing that your pup only has aggression towards you and your husband, well actually the 2 of you are the only ones that have ever try to make the pup do something it didnt want to do. Im sure you would get along fine with the pup if you did everything it wanted you to do. Once again I havent actually seen your pup in action so I dont know exaclty whats up. It brings to mind though a couple of pups (family type pets) Ive seen in the past that had real problems , so my comments are somewhat based on what I learned from those pups. As far as parvo having lasting effects, ? I dont have scientific proof. A very high temp,near death, in a little pup is obviousely not good. I probably shouldnt have made the statement if I dont have facts. I imported a pup once that arrived with parvo.I talked to a couple of well known people in the Schtz. world that told me that if the pup survived it wouldnt be right and I should get rid of it,,so I did. It doesnt really matter what everybody tells you, your pup will either get better or worse regardless. If you work with the pup and it fixes everything,great. If not, well your the one who has to live with the dog, or not. Im sorry Im the only one not spreading peace and joy and congatulating you on the fine little snapper you got but Im trying to give my honest opinion beacause I realize that it is YOU and not me that has to live with it. There are lots of good dogs in the world.

Your right David - I just didn't think of it that way.

And don't apologize for your opinion, I asked for it. I'm a big girl I can handle it. If I only wanted people who had nice things to say, I would of asked for nice comments only.

I just don't really agree with the parvo thing. I certaintly have no scientific knowledge either. I only have the comments of people that have dogs that survived. I work with a lady that has a dog that survived parvo and she said he's a very good dog. I got the treatment for Blu because my brother (really ny neices) has a 12 year old poodle that survived also and he has to be the sweetest dog. I guess like all things - it's relative and depends on the dog.
Thanks -Paige