[ARCHIVED THREAD] - new dog problem (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 12/29/2012 5:05:13 PM EDT
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OnThanksgiving day I had to put my 5 year old doberman to sleep. She was the most gentle and obedient dog I have ever had. I just got a new dog a couple weeks ago. Our family now includes a 10 week old female german shepherd. We have had two problems with her. She bites my two younger boys. I am pretty sure it is puppy play, but my 2 and 4 year old don't take it that way. They usually cry and run from her which makes her nip more.
The other problem is potty training. She is good about going outside and asking to go out, but when she gets in trouble or excited she will pee inside. The biting concerns me the most. Our house is all tile so I am not too concerned about the pee. It is more of an annoyance. Any suggestions? Here is the offender. 
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It's puppy play. Tell the boys not to run. Now, as to how to resolve the biting issue. Play with the puppy and when she bites you, bite her back on the paw.... kinda hard to make her understand that it hurts. She'll get the idea pretty quickly. Work with her a bit and she'll be fine.
As for the potty training... well, the best way is positive reinforcement. Take her out every hour and when she goes, praise her and reward her with a treat. She'll learn fast and learn to work with you in time. |
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It's puppy play. Tell the boys not to run. Now, as to how to resolve the biting issue. Play with the puppy and when she bites you, bite her back on the paw.... kinda hard to make her understand that it hurts. She'll get the idea pretty quickly. Work with her a bit and she'll be fine. As for the potty training... well, the best way is positive reinforcement. Take her out every hour and when she goes, praise her and reward her with a treat. She'll learn fast and learn to work with you in time. I have tried pinching her lip when she bites my hand and biting her back. She has moved from biting to snapping her jaws at me. She still bites the kids though. It is hard to convince the kids to not scream or run. |
| I used to grab my dogs lower jaw and hold on for a few seconds and say OUCH. It took a few weeks but when she would bite I would just have to say OUCH and she would let go. Eventually she stopped biting all together. Another thing you could try is bitter apple. Every time she bites spray her mouth with it. They don't like it and quit soon. The excited peeing will either go away as she grows or not. What we have had to do is no look, no touch, no talk until she calms down. She still pees on occasion when she thinks she is in trouble or if she is happy to see you and try to touch her. She is now 10. |
| She bites, You grab her jaws and squeeze and tell her sharply NO! Then you release her jaws and ignore her completely for a few minutes. If she tries again, repeat but squeeze a bit harder. Do NOT give her any kind of attention that may be construed as approval or praise. |
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I have a 10 month old golden that mouths me, and when he does I stick my finger in the back corner of his mouth and he hates that, so he is getting much better at it. with a GSD I would get a good trainer to help you though as GSDs bite harder and DO NOT use the dog whisper train videos they will ruin your dog |
| LoL, GSD pups are also called "land sharks" for the reason you mention. They bite and they bite hard, and are not trying to be vicious. it is what this breed does. The pup will outgrow it later in puppyhood, a year. It chases because it is a herding breed, it is natural instinct. Visit germanshepherds.com, great board and the land shark issue appears frequently. They can help you through this, and any other questions you have relative to the GSD. Beautiful pup! |
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Have the kids yell at the top of their lungs OUCH when she bites, followed by totally ignoring her... they get the message pretty quick. If it continues, I am a firm believer in a shock collar for some negative reinforcement. As far as the peeing, she will outgrow it, it is simply the fact she is still a puppy and don't have 100% control of those functions yet. |
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She bites, You grab her jaws and squeeze and tell her sharply NO! Then you release her jaws and ignore her completely for a few minutes. If she tries again, repeat but squeeze a bit harder. Do NOT give her any kind of attention that may be construed as approval or praise. Yup, you can also bite the fur on the back of the neck, the loose stuff. That's what momma does to them. |
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Electric shock collar and zap her WHEN she does it. If she was my dog and continued afterwards, she would be planted in the back yard with a bag of lime! Fuck biting dogs when you have kids in the home. Yes let's shock a 2.5 month old puppy! 
I hate crying infants when I'm trying to enjoy a nice dinner out... I think restaurant patrons should have remotes for the baby's shock collar. I mean that newborn hound know not to cry and why try less aggressive means to redirect the behavior when we can just zap em! |
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Make a "puppy yelp" sound when it bites, then offer up something else thats not human to chew on. Yep. She is playing and doesn't have bite inhibition yet. Seek out a real trainer in your area if you have them. I wish I had done it sooner with my boy. I have quite a bit of electronic collar experience. She's too young yet. I highly recommend proper use of a prong collar for training. |
| The biting will stop, just work with her, a lot of good ideas posted already. I used to just give my dog a good stiff flick in the nose, that was pretty much the general correction for anything, and it worked well. It doesn't really hurt them, but shocks them a little bit and gets them to stop doing whatever they were doing. It didn't seem to bother my dogs sense of smell any, she used to track the mice in the crawl space of my old house pretty well with that snout. |
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Make a "puppy yelp" sound when it bites, then offer up something else thats not human to chew on. This worked for our very mouthy golden when she was that age. As for the potty training, he is still young. Give it another 4-6 weeks and you'll forget it was even an issue. Have fun with the puppy; they grow up so fast! |
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Sorry for the loss of your Doberman.My Doberman is 5 now the best dog ever and I have owned lots. Thanks. She was the best dog I have ever had. I told this new dog on day one that she has some pretty big paws to fill. I think she will be a good dog, but I really miss my dobie. 
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Put a collar and leash on her. When she bites gives her a sharp leash correction and say "NO" she needs to learn no quickly. I would also make her sit/stay after giving her the no command. It seems like its just play but she needs to learn boundaries early. This guy knows what he is talking about...... the rest? Well........ but please, no e-collar on a 10 week old pup. Both behaviors are pretty common for a puppy. You have a crate right?? You can' properly train ANY puppy without a crate....... so you have a crate right? Use the leash correction when the puppy bites someone with a stern NO!!!!!! Also, when the puppy bites, you can firmly and quietly grab it by the scruff of the neck, showing NO emotion and WITHOUT yelling, put her in her crate and ignore her. She will learn that unacceptable behavior gets a time out and is no fun. Sometimes, well actually most times, separation from the "pack" is the worst punishment in the dogs eyes. Get the nipping and biting under control FAST. The quicker and younger she learns that biting humans is a huge NO NO, the better off you all will be. ETA: also, watch those tile floors and how she runs around and slides on them...... nice for you, hell on a puppies hips and elbows when they slide around on them. |
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Quoted: Quoted: The peeing is submissive peeing my pooch did it till she outgrew it. I was hoping that was going to be the answer. Yup. Our Aussie did that for a while. It was usually when my wife or I got home. We started ignoring him for about 5 minutes till he calmed down, and he stopped. He would also do it when we got him over excited during playtime, or if he was in trouble. We just had to tone both of those down a bit until he get over it. Now he's cool. No more accidentally peed on shoes/carpet/couch/etc. |
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Put a collar and leash on her. When she bites gives her a sharp leash correction and say "NO" she needs to learn no quickly. I would also make her sit/stay after giving her the no command. It seems like its just play but she needs to learn boundaries early. This guy knows what he is talking about...... the rest? Well........ but please, no e-collar on a 10 week old pup. Both behaviors are pretty common for a puppy. You have a crate right?? You can' properly train ANY puppy without a crate....... so you have a crate right? Use the leash correction when the puppy bites someone with a stern NO!!!!!! Also, when the puppy bites, you can firmly and quietly grab it by the scruff of the neck, showing NO emotion and WITHOUT yelling, put her in her crate and ignore her. She will learn that unacceptable behavior gets a time out and is no fun. Sometimes, well actually most times, separation from the "pack" is the worst punishment in the dogs eyes. Get the nipping and biting under control FAST. The quicker and younger she learns that biting humans is a huge NO NO, the better off you all will be. ETA: also, watch those tile floors and how she runs around and slides on them...... nice for you, hell on a puppies hips and elbows when they slide around on them. Yes on the crate training. I would never apply a shock collar to any dog. I have the prong collar from our dobie I use when walking her. I will try the leash idea. Thanks. |
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This chick is kind of dorky, but it's a good method for correcting play biting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d0R6pZi5Qg |
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We have a 10 yoa GSD rescue that still nips when playing. It can hurt but a stern no and it doesn't happen again for at least 6 months. Just wait till you take her to the vet and do it now to acclimate her. The first time ours was taken by us, she released the anal glands. NOT pleasant. She still pisses everytime!!! when held for anything including a shot and I usually have to hold her, the girls there can't. |
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OnThanksgiving day I had to put my 5 year old doberman to sleep. She was the most gentle and obedient dog I have ever had. I just got a new dog a couple weeks ago. Our family now includes a 10 week old female german shepherd. We have had two problems with her. She bites my two younger boys. I am pretty sure it is puppy play, but my 2 and 4 year old don't take it that way. They usually cry and run from her which makes her nip more. The other problem is potty training. She is good about going outside and asking to go out, but when she gets in trouble or excited she will pee inside. The biting concerns me the most. Our house is all tile so I am not too concerned about the pee. It is more of an annoyance. Any suggestions? Here is the offender. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8218/8324395278_2be81062d3_c.jpg Sorry to hear about you dobie, oddly enough we lost our GSD at the age of 4 and replaced him with our Doberman. What happened to your dobie to put her down so early in life? As far as the biting, it will go away in time with a swat here and there and a stern NO with each offense. |
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OnThanksgiving day I had to put my 5 year old doberman to sleep. She was the most gentle and obedient dog I have ever had. I just got a new dog a couple weeks ago. Our family now includes a 10 week old female german shepherd. We have had two problems with her. She bites my two younger boys. I am pretty sure it is puppy play, but my 2 and 4 year old don't take it that way. They usually cry and run from her which makes her nip more. The other problem is potty training. She is good about going outside and asking to go out, but when she gets in trouble or excited she will pee inside. The biting concerns me the most. Our house is all tile so I am not too concerned about the pee. It is more of an annoyance. Any suggestions? Here is the offender. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8218/8324395278_2be81062d3_c.jpg Sorry to hear about you dobie, oddly enough we lost our GSD at the age of 4 and replaced him with our Doberman. What happened to your dobie to put her down so early in life? As far as the biting, it will go away in time with a swat here and there and a stern NO with each offense. She was staying with my parents while I was with my wife and in-laws in SC for a week. I got a call from my dad thanksgiving day that Wilma was not looking good. She was breathing erratically and was bloated. At the time, none of us knew the symptoms of a twisted stomach. Wilma was a 100lb doberman and my parents are both older and unable to pick her up. It took them knocking on neighbor's doors to get help loading her into the car to get her to the ER vet. By the time she got there she was really critical. I spoke to the vet and she didn't believe Wilma would make it to surgery. She was already dying. I told them to quickly euthanize her to avoid any further suffering. If symptoms would have been recognized earlier she would still be with us and I would be reminding her daily how much money she cost me. I really miss her. Best dog ever! |
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You may be able to slow down or stop the nipping / biting via a firm clamping hand on her muzzle and a shake while telling her 'no!, Then place her in her crate and ignore her a while. A squirt bottle with plain cold water may also work. Neither of these will make her hand-shy, which is a real danger with such a young pup. She needs to understand the limits of what she is allowed to do in play with you and the kids. Also...don't let the kids get her too 'wound up' in play (difficult, I know, with kids but try) This will no longer be cute when she is 6-8 months of age. Also, she will start getting her adult teeth at around 4 months and her chewing may increase then.
Puppies can usually 'hold their water' for about as many hours as their age in months, thus a 10 week pup, assuming you take her out immediately after eating or a long drink as well, will usually need a break every 2 to 2 1/2 hours Nice pup! 
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I don't quite get the herp derp knee jerk reaction whenever the phrase "shock collar" comes up.
There are some 42 birddog training videos Here and I bet all of the professional dog trainers there use an e-collar. |
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Electric shock collar and zap her WHEN she does it. If she was my dog and continued afterwards, she would be planted in the back yard with a bag of lime! Fuck biting dogs when you have kids in the home. Yes let's shock a 2.5 month old puppy!
I hate crying infants when I'm trying to enjoy a nice dinner out... I think restaurant patrons should have remotes for the baby's shock collar. I mean that newborn hound know not to cry and why try less aggressive means to redirect the behavior when we can just zap em! 
Yeah, pups will be pups. She's just playing. Sounds like the kids need to toughen up. 
Training is the key here, OP. If you can't do it, pay to have it done. Good training is worth every dollar if you can't do it yourself. Otherwise, you can add jumping on people to the list soon. |
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Sorry about your dobe bloating. Please read up on it, GSDs are a breed that can bloat. Any deep chested dog is at risk. Lost a collie to it. The GSD board I recommended to you will have loads of info on bloat, too.I hope you find time to visit that board. Our vet recommended tacking her stomach when we get her spayed. We are considering it. |
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give her something else to chew while playing, like a knotted rope. It will help her with her puppy teeth.
the peeing can be helped with crate training. confines her after eating, then take her outside and don't go back insdie until she pees. then praise her and take her in. |
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I don't quite get the herp derp knee jerk reaction whenever the phrase "shock collar" comes up.
There are some 42 birddog training videos Here and I bet all of the professional dog trainers there use an e-collar. They don't use them on 10 week old puppies I bet. Seriously I question the ability of most people to think critically. 
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Electric shock collar and zap her WHEN she does it. If she was my dog and continued afterwards, she would be planted in the back yard with a bag of lime! Fuck biting dogs when you have kids in the home. go get a goldfish. you need to avoid anything else. |
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Puppies play and bite during play. They learn to temper their bite when the other puppies yelp.
You have to train your puppy to understand any biting of a human is too hard. Puppy teeth on human gets a yelp followed by a sharp and stearn no. Also, shepherds are going to shepherd. I know your boys are young, but running away from the dog is just going make the dog excited about the play being offered by their running away. Peeing when excited will go away as she ages and gets more control over her bladder. Peeing when being corrected might not. Submissives piss literally themselves. |
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I don't quite get the herp derp knee jerk reaction whenever the phrase "shock collar" comes up.
There are some 42 birddog training videos Here and I bet all of the professional dog trainers there use an e-collar. They don't use them on 10 week old puppies I bet. Seriously I question the ability of most people to think critically. I find it hard to believe that he posted two retarded posts like that. KarlRichter, i'll get you a goldfish, if it will keep you from getting a dog ( or cat, or anything that allows contact). no professional trainer will use an e-coller on a puppy, and you don't really "train" a 10 week-old either. You simply encourage and reward good behavior. |
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I don't quite get the herp derp knee jerk reaction whenever the phrase "shock collar" comes up.
There are some 42 birddog training videos Here and I bet all of the professional dog trainers there use an e-collar. They don't use them on 10 week old puppies I bet. Seriously I question the ability of most people to think critically. There is a minimum weight limit on the first e-collar I bought. No age limit listed on the packaging or in the instructions. It was on the girlfriend's toy fox terrier. He would terrorize the two cats. A little nick right when he was going to lunge at them, did that like 3 times. No more terrorizing the cats. |
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I don't quite get the herp derp knee jerk reaction whenever the phrase "shock collar" comes up.
There are some 42 birddog training videos Here and I bet all of the professional dog trainers there use an e-collar. They don't use them on 10 week old puppies I bet. Seriously I question the ability of most people to think critically. I find it hard to believe that he posted two retarded posts like that. KarlRichter, i'll get you a goldfish, if it will keep you from getting a dog ( or cat, or anything that allows contact). no professional trainer will use an e-coller on a puppy, and you don't really "train" a 10 week-old either. You simply encourage and reward good behavior. How do you extinguish a bad behavior then? |
| She's still a tiny puppy and has no training whatsoever, so you have to resort to using instinctive behaviors for correction. For nipping: grab scruff of the neck, gently shake, and firmly tell "NO!" If that doesn't work. carefully pin the dog to the floor and hold the dog's muzzle shut. When the dog stops fighting you, release her. This will help to establish you as the dominant animal in the house. |
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Biting is puppy play, GSDs tend to be in the puppy stage for about 2 years.
One thing to do is when she bites "Yelp" like it hurts. you want them to learn Bite Control (how hard they can bite and not hurt) teaching them to Not bite is not good since if they ever do bite they do not know control and can hurt someone (even in play). The peeing is a submissive thing and that takes work to correct, think of it as if when they are afraid they pee; Mine did it for a long time but finally grew out of it. GSDs also take A Lot of work, but if you put in the work they are an awesome dog. PS: Your Children also need to be trained to learn how to handle her |