Re: Is my 8 month old puppy getting out of hand? [quote author=Lee Bell link=topic=10185.msg151457#msg151457 date=1427124727] I think Indy has started early he is 5 and a half months, is ok on his lead apart from when he sees another dog, person, bird, lamppost.... the list is endless actually. I've had to mesh off all my flowers and plants in the garden but he has now learnt to jump over it, my poor flowers are getting trampled. He barks at everyone for attention all the time and has become snappy again at the minute as I think some more of his teeth are coming through. Although we are trying very hard with his lead he still managed to send me flying the other day by tripping me up by cutting across me, talked about a bruised knee and fully embarrassed. I could have ran home after that. I'm hoping it will get better soon my partner is starting to get agitated that we have a bad dog, but sounds like I have a few months of craziness to manage. Anyone got any useful tips? Thanks x [/quote] We went through a second "snappy" period when Maisie started teething really badly, it was very discouraging as I thought I had been working on softening her bite, and was going to start switching to getting her not to bite at all… then she started biting HARD. It was less frequent than baby bites, but her bites just randomly increased in strength (I think because her mouth hurt). We used a lot of ice cubes, frozen washcloths, toys, chew treats, redirect with a toy… and now, and really for maybe a month now? she has been so much better about biting. Really she very rarely bites, she brings me toys instead of chomping on me, and if she has a mad moment she still knows it's not right to bite me so sort of chomps "around" my hand instead of touching it and if I offer my hand she goes crazy twisty head to not bite it because she knows it's wrong. So don't despair, it sucks for it to get worse after getting better, but I think once the teeth are out, it's much better. If Maisie had free access near a garden she would be leaping over fence posts to get it too! She has some sort of primal attachment to dirt… it's quite hilarious on walks if we come across a patch of loose sort of soil/garden type dirt… she leaps about, doesn't even dig, just has a momentary hooly. So not sure what tips I can offer because we don't have a yard so she's always on a lead when she's out and about or off leash in an area without gardens. For walking… once Maisie gets the hoolies, it is very hard to get her to not react like a hooligan to the next "hoolie thing" she sees - like you said, a bird, a dog, a person… she got very excited about some birds today and then was way too excited for other dogs, etc the rest of the walk. Do you use a harness? I feel like using one gives me more control … although obviously not that much.
Re: Is my 8 month old puppy getting out of hand? Hi Thanks for the advice. I have reverted back to freezing lots of things for him at the moment. His teeth are definitely coming through as I found a baby tooth last night and he has a little gap, so it must be very painful for him. I've frozen all his kongs, some ice cubes and some apple pieces for him last night to try and help him a little. He doesn't bite hard he tends to snap his gums if you are playing with him. I had enough the other night and just thought I would see what would happen with his biting so I out my hand by his mouth and he was very gentle didn't bite down hard at all and just ended up licking me. we use a flat collar and a lead as that is what the puppy trainer we go to recommended she wasn't a fan of a harness however, I am considering getting one but I will give it a little more time and practice with him on his collar and lead and see what happens! x
Re: Is my 8 month old puppy getting out of hand? Hi Mols I agree with what everyone else has said, your 8 month pup sounds exactly like my 7 month pup! I took the baby gates (plural - I've had to double up!!) down today because Bonnie has stitches at the minute and I didn't want her jumping up and pulling them. And I get no end of advice from well-meaning owners of genteel dogs when we're out and about. It can make you feel like you're doing something wrong. Or, like someone else said, like you've got a wrong 'un! I was so grateful at the weekend when I showed a friend a picture of Bonnie and she said, "Oh a lab, you've got your work cut out for you." Rather than the usual, "Labs are so easy to train; so obedient; so willing to please!!" : That's why this forum's so reassuring. I'm sure you're not doing anything wrong. I personally think anyone who seeks out a forum like this is a very conscientious owner. We've trained and trained ...and trained again and Bonnie's still as bonkers as ever! In fact, my pup sounds very similar to Molly - oh how I recognise those 6pm mad half hours!! (funny, my niece and nephew used to go mad around that time when they were little!) ... must be something in the light at dusk! I'm noticing little improvements and it's reassuring to know from others that patience is the answer and it will get better. That makes me feel the training is going in on one level and will eventually settle in to stay! I'm also noticing lots of regression too! We even forgot to go outside to toilet this week!!!* Oh my! We'll get there and I'm sure you will too! *I think this might have been a momentary relapse after being spayed.
Re: Is my 8 month old puppy getting out of hand? all this sounds normal to me milly is now21 months and has calmed down a lot i think some of the problems i had are exactly the same i did stick to exercise 5min per month of age and found that as she could run for longer times she improved a lot i have a harness after spending 14months walking her trying to get loose lead walking but not good on collar and lead now she is good if i have lots of treats and say steady as we got her at 5months old we did not know what commands she was used to
