# Am I just fueling his brattiness?



## wheeliechick (Nov 8, 2010)

So I have an 8 month old spoo. He's already very big and strong. There's a lot he does well, but the two things we are still REALLY struggling with are 'nipping' (it's more than that really- no broken skin but it hurts!) and snatching things and not being willing to give them up. I started giving him treats when he stops doing the biting or when he does finally drop the item, but now it seems like he's doing these things on purpose to get the treat when he stops! Is this possible? What do I do about it? I've tried spraying water, blowing a whistle, swatting him on the nose, making him sit (which he does but then as soon as he gets up he does the bad thing again), and carrying around a walking stick which even though i dont actually hit him with it supposedly makes me look tough to him, or so says one of my friends. Anyone have any advice? I really don't want to have to get any more 'physical' than I already am- in fact i never wanted to have to even swat at him but I didnt know what else to do. 
Is some of this maybe jsut that 'adolescence' thing? How long does that last? He's still squatting to pee, which I read somewhere means he's still a puppy.


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## vtomblin (Jul 18, 2010)

I started either pushing my hand further into their mouth when they nip or grabbing the bottom jaw for a few seconds with a 'no bite!' works quickly and well. They don't like it. It won't hurt them either. if it doesn't stop completely it will at least make them more gentle. Some say to yell 'ouch!' like a puppy would when they bite too hard and turn away. Mine thought that was funny and it didn't help. The other way worked way better. Good luck!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Have you done the OWWWW! + ignore, or even a time out, for the nipping? The moment those teeth hurt, you - or anyone else on the receiving end - shriek in pain, and the game ends. It may need fairly frequent revision while he is an adolescent, but I have found it very effective. If your reaction is to jump up and down, push and paw at him, and make lots of excited noises, you are behaving like a playful dog welcoming the game, and rewarding him for nipping. Ignoring him is usually much more effective - although I did ROAR at Poppy when she nipped my bum once to often! I am not at all sure about the psychology of a big stick for dogs - if you hit him with it, you risk making matters far, far worse, and if you don't hit him with it, what does it actually mean to him?

On the snatching, I would work very hard on Leave it. There are various ways, all pretty similar - The Leave It dog obedience training command is useful and easy to teach to your puppy is one. The two main points are to establish the behaviour before adding the cue (and be happy and cheerful when you say Leave it - no need to yell it!), and to proof the behaviour in different places and with different items. He gets the treat for NOT taking the forbidden item. In the meantime, manage the behaviour - pick up and put away anything he is not allowed to have. 

If he is showing any signs of resource guarding or possessiveness, playing swapsies may help - swapping whatever he has for smething even better, and then if possible giving him back the original toy, etc.


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## Feathersprings (Jul 15, 2010)

He sounds just like my Spoo was at that age. At 1 1/2 he has improved  He still steals things but has learned "leave it" and will drop what he has. I was so hard when he wouldnt and would get something that really was not ok and run from me... chasing made it a game andI didnt want to punish him in any real way because I was wanting him to come to me... !!!! The biting/nipping has been gone for a while. I just used "enough! " for biting and would give him something more interesting to "play" with. I learned that there were certain time when it was the worst and would head it off with outside play and giving him a stuffed kong or something that took some time  He is still super high energy and what has made the most difference was getting him his own Poodle to play with ... he is sure she "belongs" to him !


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

Give him something to do instead.

I taught mine to be gentle with the "OW!" method as above. Plus, I redirected with an appropriate toy. Now, if we are roughhousing and he gets too rough, I screech "OW!" and he stops immediately and runs to get a toy. Which I then play tug with as a reward. 

Dogs seem to struggle with the concept of "stop what you are doing", and do better with "do this instead", especially if the "this" is something fun and rewarding.

How much exercise does he get? Sometimes, the madness of living with a young dog can be tempered a bit by making sure he gets plenty of exercise. 

I spent much of the time when mine was about 9-10 months old muttering "when you are three, you are going to be a GREAT dog".

With the stealing stuff, fjm's swap game is a great solution. Bear in mind that when he steals stuff, he's trying to get a reaction from you, not in an evil way, but to instigate attention and (best of all) a game of chase. 

The more you value what he has stolen, the more he will value it. Mine was a demon for socks, and I suffered quite a few socks with holes in the toes, but solved it by a) never ever ever chasing him when he stole MY socks, just ignoring and b) giving him legal socks, with a plastic water bottle stuffed inside, and regularly playing with him with this ... chase, tug, etc.

Good luck!


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

I had the same issue......and still do but much differently.

I suggest training "leave it" and "drop it" command first. Plus these are fun to train when you are tired because it consists of you and your dog sitting on the floor together.

Olie was and is obsessed with socks. I stopped the chase because he loved it! I think dogs that often put things in their mouth are great to teach retrieving. 

When he got the sock, I praised him and had him come. He started looking at me crazy when i did this. Eventually as it takes time, he would start inching towards me. I praised him. And once he got close to me, I reached quickly and got the sock. It worked! It takes time and patience with any annoying behaviors.

Now, why I said teach leave it or drop it first was because I didn't. At the time, I didn't know either  

Now I can stand and say drop it and he does. If he goes to the clothes basket, I say leave it and he does. When I asked him to come or bring it he does. It took a few weeks but it was worth it in the long run. I think this also helps with chewing the items when you do pay positive attention to what they are doing.

Now the squatting - some male just squat and will all their life. Olie has still never lifted his leg on anything.......


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## Tulip (Jun 19, 2011)

Giving things up can be trained by a trading game. When you see he has something, offer him another toy that's even better (when training pups, I keep a special toy just for this so it's new and not boring) to trade with so he learns that when he gives up the stolen article, he gets a play. Then give him the article back, and then trade again. He'll soon learn that you taking something from him isn't to be feared or a game. I also suggest teaching leave it, too.

Nipping is difficult to turn off, but there are a few things you can try;

Exercise more, mentally and physically. Training in between adverts is a good way to start, and training out on walks too. Try adding an extra walk, even just around the block can help. 

Sometimes yelping very loudly in a high-pitch can help, but I actually couple this with exclusion. I yelp, and then stand up with my arms crossed and my back to the pup so he learns the game is over as soon as I feel teeth.

Playing with a toy instead of your hands - teaching tug is a great way to teach Leave it too, as you can just drop the toy and walk away when he doesn't leave it and reward with the continue of the game when he does leave the toy. If you play rough with your hands and body, he will be more likely to nip and mouth, it's very natural, so playing with a toy instead is much better.

Dogs! My first dog mouthed until 9 months, but my other puppy grew up with my first dog and as such, NEVER mouthed me or my family, at all! She mouthed with my other dog and that was it, so try borrowing a friend's dog for the afternoon so he can get it out of his system and be corrected by the dog if he bites too hard.

I hope this helps! I know what a nightmare a brat can be, but it does get better with time and consistancy!


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## caboodles (Jan 7, 2011)

I would definitely STOP giving the treats after he misbehaved like that, even though he would give up the toy or stop or whatever. In his mind, he's being REWARDED for doing those things, which is why he keeps on doing them. Chances are.. he steals something, and then you go and get a treat? He lets go, gets the treat. But do you see WHEN you're reaching for the treat? It's when he's doing his BAD behaviour, not the good. If he were to DROP the toy/thing on his own terms and submit to you, then that's GOOD behaviour and is deserving of a treat at that very moment.

Spraying water, whistles, swatting at his nose.. those are all games to him and you're just playing them with him. I would also recommend stopping those as well, since you've noticed they aren't effective. 

He sounds to me like he just wants more attention and has a lot of energy pent up. How often are you walking him? and for how long? At his age, I would do about 45 mins, twice a day (If you can). I find that a well exercised puppy is one that stays out of trouble. No need to overdo the exercising, but just ensure that he gets out for his walks. Also, with the biting, I think it's a dominance kind of thing. Winston used to do the same with me when he was about 6 months old.. and then I started walking him ON MY SIDE instead of letting him walk in FRONT on walks, and I noticed an immediate change in his attitude towards me. Crazy, but it's true. He instantly started listening to me and my commands, and behaved a LOT better off-leash. So, I also recommend walking OFTEN and keeping them by your side at all times. PLUS, it looks better.. I get compliments all the time about how nice my dogs walk (and they just walk by my side, so it's nothing spectacular but a lot of other people admire it).

Last thing, when he gets into "crazy mode", I make them fully submit. Which is just getting them to lie down completely on their side. And you know when they've achieved a "full" submit because they will have a bigger exhale, like a sigh of relief .. basically saying, "OK, I give up and I'll behave from now!" I find this method ALWAYS completely calms them down and removes them from being crazy puppy hyper.

Good luck with whatever methods you choose and let us know how it all goes!


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