Dominating behaviour from puppy??

[Mrs S]

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JudyN - you have said what I think... I worry that due to his rough start (not from us but with his previous owners) It's ruined him. I know I should be more optimistic but I just can't see him getting any better.

 

[JudyN]

@leashedForLife please never give medication for behaviour!! it's only rehabilitation that is medication.

Medication can help with behaviour, as part of a training programme. It can put a dog in a better frame of mind to learn, and once the training work has done, the medication can be gradually removed. It's the same as medicating someone with anxiety, depression, etc. so they can cope with life while also undergoing counselling/therapy.

I think we could do with a separate thread about the pros & cons about neutering at various stages of development as it's something that will come up time and time again and warrants a LOT of discussion

 

[JudyN]

JudyN - you have said what I think... I worry that due to his rough start (not from us but with his previous owners) It's ruined him. I know I should be more optimistic but I just can't see him getting any better.

For what it's worth, when my dog was around that age and until over a year old, we were struggling with his behaviour and I really did think he might end up on a one-way trip to the vet One behaviourist actually told me he was on borrowed time But with a lot of help from behaviourists and a LOT of work and management, we got through it. He still has issues and will need a degree of management for the rest of his life, but because we had to put so much into him he's generally a very compliant, happy and willing to please dog. So there is hope.

 

[Mrs S]

For what it's worth, when my dog was around that age and until over a year old, we were struggling with his behaviour and I really did think he might end up on a one-way trip to the vet One behaviourist actually told me he was on borrowed time But with a lot of help from behaviourists and a LOT of work and management, we got through it. He still has issues and will need a degree of management for the rest of his life, but because we had to put so much into him he's generally a very compliant, happy and willing to please dog. So there is hope.

That's good to know. I just hope we can give him what he needs. We have so much else going on in our lives right now a dog was really not in the plan... Especially a badly behaved one. I hope we can adjust things and make it work. Sometimes I feel so angry that he has just been dumped on us and we are stuck with him (I say us as although he was dumped on my friend we are in the process of moving up to hers so hes become ours by default). I know I sound incredibly harsh and I don't blame the pup... He is just being a dog. I just hope we are cut out for this :-(

 

[Violet Turner]

@leashedForLife yes 2-4years of age he would keep it because he will stick with it

 

[Violet Turner]

JudyN - you have said what I think... I worry that due to his rough start (not from us but with his previous owners) It's ruined him. I know I should be more optimistic but I just can't see him getting any better.

I can say he could change but he won't be cured.

 

[Maggie Mul]

I am not sure if this will help but some of what you describe Mrs S resonates with our 5 mth old puppy. She also targeted me, (I am her main carer and spend most of the time with her) and would often bite me quite hard. She really used to go for my trouser legs and actually ripped a few pairs of them! I also thought she was quite aggressive but my friend thought otherwise and said a lot of it was trying to instigate play. We started to redirect her to toys and as soon as you attached her teeth to one, we gave her lots of praise and a treat. It took a long time but we started to notice the difference. She is still a little too active for my liking with her teeth, but it is a lot better. I think it is quite unusual for puppies to be aggressive, but I am no expert. We are just trying to find our way with our own puppy who has a million and 1 issues!!!

 

[Mrs S]

I am not sure if this will help but some of what you describe Mrs S resonates with our 5 mth old puppy. She also targeted me, (I am her main carer and spend most of the time with her) and would often bite me quite hard. She really used to go for my trouser legs and actually ripped a few pairs of them! I also thought she was quite aggressive but my friend thought otherwise and said a lot of it was trying to instigate play. We started to redirect her to toys and as soon as you attached her teeth to one, we gave her lots of praise and a treat. It took a long time but we started to notice the difference. She is still a little too active for my liking with her teeth, but it is a lot better. I think it is quite unusual for puppies to be aggressive, but I am no expert. We are just trying to find our way with our own puppy who has a million and 1 issues!!!

Yeah Giz is the same. We also have been trying the redirection approach by sticking a toy in his mouth when he starts biting but at the moment when my friend is present he has no interest in his toys, just wants to latch onto her with his teeth. He has destroyed most of her clothing too with his teeth. We will persevere with the redirection approach as I really don't know what else to do. I'm hoping when my husband and I are back up there between the three of us we can come up with something

 

[leashedForLife]

@leashedForLife please never give medication for behaviour!! it's only rehabilitation that is medication.

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Violet,
I can't imagine why U think Rx meds, or even OTC calmatives, would be bad to use for dogs with problem behaviors.

I know that many of the effective psychoactive drugs were DEVELOPED using nonhumans, often dogs - such as SSRIs, which indeed are useful when dogs have OCD behaviors [fly-snapping, lick granuloma / acral lick dermatitis, chasing gleams or shadows, etc.].
Why not give dogs the same relief we can give to humans with OCD, who for instance, wash their hands until the knuckles split & bleed?
Personally, i'm thrilled that the species that gave us so many medical advances is finally reaping the rewards they deserve - such as pacemakers, insulin pumps, & effective behavioral meds. Dogs deserve good medical care, including life-extending tools & psychoactive meds.

Rx meds are absolutely needed for certain problem behaviors; U simply cannot address them with B-Mod alone, it won't work.
Really severe sep-anx is one such issue; OCD behaviors that are associated with focal seizures, such as 'rage syndrome', fly-snapping, tail-chasing, & trancing, also often require Rx-meds; they're not optional, meds are needed. Lick-granuloma can result in cellulitis, a bone-infection, or septicemia - like severe sep-anx, it can be life-threatening; like tail-chasing, it can result in amputations. // Trancing can get dogs killed, b/c a dog in trance can react with extreme aggro, if s/he is startled by someone who innocently & ignorantly tries to interrupt or redirect the trancing dog. The dog delivers multiple full-mouth & full-depth bites, & then s/he is dead; the person they attacked is left with deep wounds that may become infected, might need skin-grafts to close, may leave keloid scars that contract over years & increasingly limit function, or might lose muscle or nerve function, so that the affected limb is more or less not working anymore, or possibly at all.

For any dog whose problem behavior is reactive, no matter what the root - anxiety, over-arousal, aggro, barrier frustration, whatever it is - I've personally found OTC calmatives to be very useful. Among them, Anxiety-Wraps, DAP / Adaptil in a pump-spray bottle, body-wraps a'la Tellington Touch, Calming Caps, & more; a simple super-snug T-shirt with spandex or other elastic fibers in the fabric, secured at the waist by a 4-inch-wide Ace bandage, can be almost as effective as an Anxiety-Wrap.

I'll use anything that will safely help a dog & reduce problem-behaviors in frequency, duration, or intensity. Under the direction of a vet, there's nothing "bad" or wrong about using Rx-meds, as obv the vet will be aware of potential side-FX & can monitor the dog, including their kidney & liver function to ensure they're detoxing properly.
OTC calmatives are extremely safe, have no interactions, & have no dosage worries; they can be refreshed ad lib. // Adaptil AKA "D.A.P." / Dog Appeasing Pheromone in a pump-spray is portable, species-specific, & safe; one spray is a measured dose, & that spritz lasts about 90-mins / 1.5-hrs B4 U need to spritz again.

- terry

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[Violet Turner]

@leashedForLife it's just a personal opinion...