Rocky Being Aggressive?

Okay, hear's the thing. Lately it's been getting really bad.

Whenever I say, NO or NO BITE... he starts getting pissed. He'll start barking angrily and then I either grab his snout and shake it a little to calm him down or grab his collar and shake it a little to calm him down. Both are extremely terrible ways, I have learned and only make things worse.

It seems like aggressive behavior but he has tremendous respect for my dad. Whenever my dad says NO or NO BITE, he backs off and listens. But I spend more time with him, so shouldn't he respect me more? I'd really appreciate some help. It's getting really bad, he's starting to bite and then run away barking angrily at the same time.

Any help would be appreciated.

mabe he is asosiating being agressive with the commands no and no bite...

How does your dad tell Rocky? Do you say No No bite in a friendly playful tone, or with authority. Puppies are pretty good about deciding which 'humans' mean what they say and which can be worked around. I find that half the time when I scold Dante for no bite, I'm laughing myself which is a poor way to tell him.

Hope that helps!!!

That running and barking is more likely complaining that you're spoiling what Rocky thinks is fun and he's wanting you to get with the program and play some more.

That shaking his snout was inviting him to play roughly - like a litter mate.

Are you the one who is feeding Rocky? We need to get Rocky to see you less as another pup to play with and more like the One Who Is Boss.

Let's give Emma a holler on this one . . .

That's what my dad says, he says it seems like I'm his brother and my dad is the dad.

But I want him to see me as a parent as well, My dad normally feeds him because in the morning I'll be getting ready when he's already ready and so he feeds him then, and in the noon time he feeds him once. So twice a day, which is all he eats.

But on weekends and holidays, I feed him. I fed him today. Once.

Is there anyway for him to see me as an alpha parent and not as a litter mate, I've got enough scars on my arm . . .

I've given a holler to Emma for you, BigDoggyDaddy.

You might try getting up a little earlier in the morning so you'll have time to feed Rocky and take him out for his morning constitutional. That will help your cause a great deal.

Something I do with my dogs that helps establish the relationship is sharing the last bite of my food. Only the last bite. You don't want to teach him to be a beggar, lol, and in a dog's world, the parent or most important dogs eat first, then let the pups eat what is left, so it makes sense to a puppy and tells him that you are the DoggyDaddy and he is the pup.

Good idea. When he comes and begs with his big 'ol eyes and cute little face it's hard for me to say no, so I usually give him a little bit while or even before, I begin to eat.

BigDog, I think a lot of the difficulties you're having with Rocky are due to social confusion. He's just a puppy, but he's already really working on you! It seems like I'm recommending this a lot lately, but I really think it will help with a lot of Rocky's behaviors: http://www.geocities.com/demodogsite/bb_resource.htm Forgive the messiness of my website. It's in a transitional period. (Thanks Bonster!!!) The link is a social exercise that will help Rocky understand who you are and who he is, and what your relationship should be. Make sure the whole family's in on it. It will work wonders, believe me! Start with that, and in a few weeks we'll address any remaining problems you're having and work them out together. If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to PM me or e-mail me at [email protected] .

Creature Teacher,

My email isn't working right now. I don't know if you got my email but it won't let me access mine. Thing is, I had a bunch of questions sent into the email. I PMed you earlier asking you about it. If you can, check your PM's and let me know if you didn't get my email or put your answers as a PM or in here.

Thanks.

Uh oh. I thought I wrote you back. But I think I had the presence of mind to save the e-mail. I'll PM it to you.

One of my pups did this and I thought my god what have I kept, anyway, how I got over this was have a treat in my hand, let the dog sniff it if she tried to grab I said NO and did not give treat, I continued this til she stopped nipping at my hand and immideaitely said good gently and gave her the treat, I kept doing this and now she does not nip me and in fact does not bite or grab anything. her whole manner to me has changed and she has become very gentle, she has even stopped the running away routine and her grumbly attitude, now I am thinking I made the right choice keeping her.

Mo

That's actually a frequently practiced technique, Moe. You have great instincts for thinking to do it yourself! If you try it without the "no", it's even more effective.

Hi,
What kind of dog do you have? is it a puppy? Sometimes puppys want to play and really do sound aggresive but are not. And some want lots of playing or another play mate so they will use you as there play mate and play bite.
~!~Mandy~!~

I meant to put that other reply on another talk. Sorry.
~!~Mandy~!~

It seems whats lacking here is the whole "i'm the alphawolf and your the dog...i'm in charge, not you"...lol am I right?

Hi Big Dog,

We have a herder who did this type of thing. He didn't have a real aggressive problem. So, I don't know if that is what you are dealing with or not. We taught the "leave it" command with the technique above like Moe. We also would stop all play. As soon as he put teeth on us, or full speed grabbed a toy out of our hands without notice, or any other super scary behavior, play ended. No attention, no snout grabbing, nothing. (Well, if teeth were involved a huge painful scream first) I'm talking end all play like this.

He is running inside with toys.
We are practicing tugs, etc.
He runs full speed by me without being rude.
Good boy!
He chases a thrown toy.
Good boy!
He brings it over.
Good boy!
He puts a canine on the wrist.
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!
Silence. Turn around. Put the toy up high. Turn off the light. Walk out of the room. Ignore the dog for a few minutes. Maybe don't play again for a few hours, maybe resume in 3 minutes. Depends on your tolerance.

We now have a dog who does not nip, or grab, etc. Emma could probably shed some light on this as. I can't really tell if you are dealing with a similar situation. But, I thought I would share our experience with a nippy boy.

Thank you for your concern and everyones replies! But I think Renee hit it right on the head, I've started feeding/watering him and such . . . and I have to say, his behavior towards me has improved but I'm still trying to go about it the way Creature Teacher suggested.