Hello friends, I'm really struggling with Rufus (nearly 7 months) he's always been quite fiesty and bitey (see my other posts) but today has been awful! The wet weather has meant a lot of towel drying...which Rufus hates. Yesterday this resulted in Rufus really snapping and biting down hard. So today I tried using lots of treats to help with the drying. He still had a bite but not as bad as yesterday. It seems like we're back to square one today. Rufus was extremely bitey when I was playing/doing clicker training. I had to remove myself from the room and eventually gave up. He has peed twice in the house (hasn't done this for months) and was snappy and bitey when we were out for a walk. On the plus side there weren't too many dogs when we went for our off lead walk this morning and he only ran off once, and was doing really well at coming when called/whistled. And to add to this, I reluctantly gave him an antler (one split so the marrow is easily accessed) for the second time today for supervised chewing...he loves a chew just now and the only thing I'm not nervous about him chewing is his anco root, but he takes or leaves it. Anyway, he managed to chew off a slither (2cm/2mm) and before I could get to it, he had swallowed. Cue anxiety and phone call to the vet who said he should digest but just to keep an eye... I just needed to vent my anxiety and frustration. I've been a bit teary. I love my pup to bits, but he's such hard work. I'm frustrated that the biting has surfaced again, and today especially has been relentless. And the fears that I've got an aggressive dog have all flooded back... I'm frustrated that I thought we'd cracked toilet training. I make sure he gets a chance to go out every three hours, and he has always been dry through the night, of late longer with a few Christmas lie ins! Am I not letting him out enough? And now the added worry of this bit of antler! I'm hoping he crunched it up a bit before swallowing...no more antlers for Rufus! He stole three bread rolls in a plastic bag and promptly devoured them despite knowing the drop it command (he ignored!) a few days ago...that caused me two days of worry waiting for it to reemerge...thankfully it did. He's curled up on his bed enjoying a post dinner snooze right now...looking adorable. How could something so cute cause me so much stress! Thanks for reading/letting me vent xx
Some days can be tough with a teenage doggie.... Sounds like it was one thing after another today, you poor thing. I wouldn’t worry at all about the bit of antler. Even if it’s not digested that should pass through with no problems. Sometimes teenage dogs do start up with a bit of biting or hard mouthing when they’re having an antsy or wired up day... It definitely doesn’t indicate any aggression at all. It’s a combo of exuberance, play, excess energy, lack of self control...that kind of thing. Removing yourself when it happens is a good thing to do. At this age they can need a bit more activity (to wear out the brain) and some more training in self control and settling. When you’re feeling up to it have a think about what you might have time to add into his routine. Hope he’s a bit more settled tomorrow.
Hi @Katrina Johnston , sorry you've had a bad day with Rufus, they can such hard work at 7 months. Cassie didn't like being dried either, but now at 20 months she's fine with it, she just seemed to suddenly accept it, I don't think I did anything special but gently put one hand under the top of the collar and gently dried her legs and counted them ritual fashion! I wonder if it would be worth getting him a drying coat or robe that he could wear, then you only need to dry his legs. Cass doesn't like her's much but she is soon dry in it. Perhaps it would be worth doing a tuggy game with him? It teaches them that teeth touching skin is not ok. I'm not an expert, which is why I posted a thread "playing tug" a few weeks ago, I had some helpful answers which you might like to look at. Take heart and dig deep -- you will get through this phase
Thank you. My doggy walking friend suggested the coat. I took it slow today and he seemed better. I think the biting when getting dried is definitely a fear thing for Rufus... he isn't keen on getting his feet/legs touched. Will need to work on that...
For games, I’d suggest things that involve him using his nose. Hide treats (use his kibble allowance if he has kibble) throughout the house at dog height and teach him to sniff them out. Short trick training sessions are good too. And just 5-10 min sessions where you run through obedience style things (sit, drop, stand, go backwards, nose touch, recall) in a fun and relaxed way.
If you don't mind a bit of a mess, have a look through your recycling, get a big box and chuck in some kibble. Then use any smaller cardboard boxes, toliet rolls, etc, and put a piece of kibble inside each and scrunch up the ends. Get a sheet of newspaper and wrap up a piece of kibble in each page. Save any tetrapacks or plastic bottles and again put a piece of kibble in each. Throw in a few high value treats for good measure. Even wrap up kibble in old tea towels. (knot or plait towels and tuck treats in the folds) Then let Rufus loose! Unless he's massively destructive you can probably reuse a lot of it another time But i tended to save this for extra special days. Also throw in some toys just to fill in the space and make it a bit more difficult to find every treat.
Hi Katrina Inky used to be a real biter too, I think it got better when I just turned my back and walked away to the other side of the stair gate - so I could regain my equilibrium as much as anything! Do you need to dry his legs, again Inky wasn't keen so I just used to kneel at his height and put a towel over him, patting it vaguely and stopping as soon as he didn't like it, sometimes straight away, now generally he's fine but if he's not I leave him, I reckon his fur is thick and he's not cold. For me, I felt it wasn't worth a stress over! Hope you have a better day tomorrow, it is extremely hard having a puppy but as lots of people have commented, it gets easier. By the way inky loves to find hidden kibble and the tug it games on Selina's thread have helped our tug games too
And for the toilet training, just go back a few steps, reward massively with high value treats for weeing outside, and maybe a few extra visits outside through the day. And concentrate on the good stuff. Tomorrow's another day.
Thanks for the topic! I’m sitting (hiding) in the bathroom and nursing a bruised hand that got in the way of Bowie’s thrashing body and open mouth. I had just gotten home from work and the dogs were getting their rubs and kisses. Then Bowie spotted a dog being walked down the street and took off like a speeding bullet, pulling the leash right out of my hand. I’ve only had this one-year old boy for 3 weeks, and moments like this are just tough. I’ve always had dogs, and I’ve always been able to train them in my imperfect way. But this guy is testing every bit of me. Ugh. Not dealing with rain but freezing subzero temps. Still need to feed and walk the wild boy to burn off some of his energy. I know I didn’t offer any help but just know I commiserate with you.
One of Bailey's favourite games is an old muffin tin with treats in each of the 12 holes. I then cover each hole with a tennis ball. He then has to lift each ball out to get the treat - when he was younger he would lift the ball off drop it scoff the treat then chase the ball - now he does the tin in seconds and then chases all the balls at once tying to get them all in his mouth! I buy a lot of tennis balls!
Hello Katrina, My name is Riesa and first-time owner of (almost) 2 year old male lab called Bowie. I recently just joined the forum and saw your post - so hello from me and Bowie!! I hope Rufus is getting better, he will settle down eventually!!, I promise When Bowie was around Rufus' age (or when he hit his 'teen' phase), he was also a complete nightmare. All of the 6 months of training we did just went out of the window. He just went two steps backwards, ignored us and was a general pain in the ass! I remember breaking down in front of the trainers and felt so utterly frustrated and helpless. It passed, though not without a few hiccups and emergency trip to the vet - Bowie managed to grab and open a tupperware full of sultanas from the kitchen bench and devoured half a kilo of them!!! Persevere with the training. We had to adjust our training method and be more stern with Bowie. He's calmed down a lot now, though he still has lapses now and then. He likes to push the boundary and test us - the downside of having a smart dog! To keep him out of mischief and burn his burst of energy (normally in the morning and late afternoon), we often play 'find the treats' around the house and 'hide and seek' - either we hide his toys or ourselves. We mix them up with his training as well, like we ask him to 'sit/drop' and 'stay' while we're hiding the treats etc, and we say 'free, find the treat!' then he can start nosing around. I also make batches of frozen Kong treats and keep them handy in the freezer. We give Bowie raw marrow bones as well (they're the best!!) - they clean his teeth and most importantly keep him busy and not pestering us For the first year my arms were full of scratches and sometimes 'accidental' bite marks from playing ball or tug with Bowie. I'm sure he didn't mean to do that - he just didn't know his strength and sometimes couldn't control his excitement. We gradually taught him to be gentle - it's like the magic word now!! Good luck with Rufus and do feel free to vent out! That's what I did too and glass(es) of wine!! Riesa & Bowie Btw if you'd like to read more about my experience with the 'teen, devilish' Bowie, go here.
It takes a dog 3 to 4 weeks to really start settling into a home so you are still at very early days . Forget that Bowie is a year old and just go back to the very beginning with all his training as if he is a young puppy. It's possible that his socialisation was lacking so any area that might need some work and perhaps some 'look at me, 'look at that' type training. Don't despair, It's very early days
Having my own teenage delinquent who's just hit 1yr old a few weeks ago, you have my complete sympathy! They can be extremely hard work, and I don't mind admitting there have been times when I've wondered if I did the right thing in getting him. Ash has calmed down in the house a lot now but is still testing me when out on walks. He was also still having the odd rare accident indoors right up to 11mths old, fingers crossed we seem to have cracked it now. Try not to stress too much as they will pick up on that too....not easy... I know! Things WILL get better, you wait, in 12mths time you'll look back and be able to laugh about all his antics.
Thanks everyone for your kind replies. Yesterday was better and today, so far so good. We just tried hide and seek with a portion of Rufus' lunch-he loved it! Although next time some trickier hiding places! Then some basic commands, kept it short as he was very excitable. He did everything that was asked. But...again when he realised the treats were finish he jumped up grabbed my jumper and growled?! Why is he doing this. I just picked up my washing and walked past him to hang it up, he followed picked up a chew and is now snoozing in a sunny spot?! He's very greedy, and I wonder if the growling biting is him being very cheeky? Or should I be worried? He lets me lift his bowl during feeding times. Even his kong. Thanks again, this forum is keeping me going xx
The growling and biting is all play - he wants the ‘game’ to carry on! You could try popping him on the lead at the end of the training session and giving him a filled Kong, so that he gets used to settling after the session. Routines really help. Don’t touch his food or Kong while he’s eating. He’ll gain more confidence if he knows his food is for him alone.
I'm a total newbie (our pup is 16 weeks) , but just a few thoughts. For when you are done playing/training, maybe teaching him a signal to let him know it's finished might help? I show him my empty hands and say "all done", seemed to work after a few times. Another idea for an activity to tire him out a bit more, especially when it's cold or rainy outside: our trainer suggested pointing a laser light and having him chase around the dot. When you are done, you put a treat down, point the laser at it and that's the end of the game (could say "all done" again too). She did say some dogs will obsess over it (still look for the dot for a long time after you're done), if he does than the game is not for him. Good luck!
[/QUOTE] Yep I understand the jumping up and biting thing...Pearl started doing more of that but with me at around 7mths...I was thinking, can't there be a forum page just for 6mth olds, teenage problems? Anyway not nice, and I was worried that should my puppy be doing this at her age? I think I read in an article by Pippa about jumping or biting and she mentioned around this age....so I was a bit relieved. Anyway I also went back in my a bit of my training in making it easier, like giving treats straight away after a sit instead of waiting (I think read somewhere about going back to the basics, at this adolescence age?). She's 8mths and doing better... I feel I'm also more relaxed around her so she feels that...and I think doing calm movements not to excite them into that behaviour.
