Help?!

[lenkin]

So hey. I Have googled and tried everything.
so i decided to see if i can get help here.
This is alot but i’m begging for help. please read.

background info.
My dog is 8 months. He is a red nose and blue nose pitbull mix. He was raised very loving and was never hit or beaten on. He spends most of his time outside but sleeps inside with me at night. He is so sweet and loving when he’s sleepy but other than that it’s crazy.

issues I need help with or an explanation.

Since he’s been able to reach up and jump he is constantly jumping up and biting me. He constantly is biting my pants and trying to drag me around. If i’m laying in my bed he will bite me while i’m under the covers. He is not just doing a little nip. he tends to get very serious he will bite done very hard sometimes even drawling a little blood. Is there any way i can get him to stop doing this? (i’ve tried telling him no and putting him in timeout)

My main issue is him jumping up and biting us when we are walking around the house or simply laying down. He only bites me and drags me around when i’m walking and he is then normal around my other family member but when any of us lay down that’s when he starts to bite us when we are laying under a blanket.

keep in mind he gets a lot of play time. we try to offer him toys to bite instead of us and he had plenty to choose from but he will play with them for a few seconds then continue to bite us.

 

[yuli]

@lenkin Sounds like a high arousal dog. First step for management - keep a drag line on him and straight arm him (hold leash out in a way he cannot land a bite, you can look up how-to online) so he cannot land a bite. This shouldn’t be punishment, don’t hurt him or try to jerk the leash/scare him at all, this is just to keep him from practicing and reinforcing the behavior and protecting you.

Then look into finding him an appropriate outlet. If he is being so mouthy, it’s likely his needs aren’t being fully met. He may need more sniff walks, play time, mental enrichment, or he could even be over-tired, hungry, or stressed. Until you know why he is mouthing, you cannot treat the cause and have the behavior resolve. To figure this out, it’s best to contact a trainer and work with them.

 

[kumari5050]

@lenkin You need to contact a trainer.

 

[lenkin]

@kumari5050 no one in my area will take his breed in. they say it’s “to much of a risk”.

 

[hopesinotlost]

@lenkin Find a trainer. Right away. Serious problems need to be addressed in a serious manner. The suggestions here may help some but you need immediate help from a professional.

 

[imjapun]

@lenkin You have a young, high-energy dog that isn't going to mature for at least 3 years. How many hours a day is he spending in the dog park? How many miles a day is he being walked (or, preferably, run)? This is NOT a housedog that can use a lot of play time. This is a bored young athlete. Get him fixed so he can go to the dog park and then let him romp and chew and chase and play for an hour or so every single day. If you can't do that and you aren't up to a four-mile run with him every day, you aren't the right home.

 

[kumari5050]

@imjapun Dog parks, nope doesn't set dog up to succeed. One bad experience and it's a lifetime of possible reactivity. Dog needs rules, boundaries and he needs to learn self calming. I'm a trainer, certified in canine behavior and never suggest dog parks. Owner needs to step up and set the rules.

 

[imjapun]

@kumari5050 ....they took a young, high energy dog to be a HOUSEPET. You should at LEAST be telling them to get a dog walker, look into agility, or SOMETHING. An 8 year old pup that's bouncing off the walls does need to learn to calm himself but it's like asking a 4 year old child to stay calm and quiet all day. IT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. At a MINIMUM, doggy day care or a dog walker if they can't haul themselves up and out of the house themselves to get him some exercise. We DELIBERATELY got two dogs of a similar size and similar play behavior (aussie mix and collie) and have a yard big enough for them to tear around in and wrestle, a bit over a quarter acre, fenced. And when we got the collie pup, we got him from an OTSC line that's known to be extra chill, and the breeder picked out the biggest couch potato of the bunch.

We would never have gotten a single high-energy dog, even with our own kid, because they need a lot of outlets for that energy and we don't have them. OP's family...DID. And now they aren't finding outlets. Hunting dogs and high-energy breeds, especially as pups, ARE NOT HOUSE DOGS unless the owner is committed to meeting their physical needs.

You can't train energy out of a dog like that. It'll happen naturally with age, but right now? Train away, you'll get an obedient dog that still tears around the house and destroys things from anxiety about the conditions it's kept in.

 

[kumari5050]

@imjapun Wrong. The dog needs to learn rules. Owner has to step up and set them. We don't know the dogs at home exercise routine. The nipping is a behavior that is rude and obnoxious the dog is young and exercising the hell out of it is not what it needs. It needs structure and rules. Currently training a 3mnth old who was nipping kids. We set the rules and worked impulse control. Puppies do not grow out of behavior they grow into it. The dog has learned that the kids can set the rules. Yes you can teach a dog when it's time to shut it off and chill.

 

[kumari5050]

@imjapun You absolutely can train energy. Remember we don't know the conditions it's kept in by a reddit post

 

[lenkin]

@imjapun You’re assuming we keep the dog in the house 24/7. you did not ask any questions and you just started blabbing about what you think and not off what you know. i asked for help not for assumptions to be made or to be attacked. This dog was a rescue. My other dog was a cockapoo she passed away sadly. do it is a very big change going from a chill dog to a high energy dog and i am quite suitable for the challenge. i never said i keep him inside and let him get no play or anything your just assuming that. your telling me i need to put him in “doggy day care” but you dont know my dog. he does not work well around other animals at all he becomes very defensive and goes into a serious attack mode. we have the dog on a set routine and schedule. we have worked with him since he was around 7 week which i know is very early but there was no other option. he did very well at first and did not have any issues they did fly came out of no where.

 

[lenkin]

@imjapun also do you know anything about pit bulls and the reputation they have ? the second i take him out and he attacks someone else’s dog or someone out of natural instinct is the second he gets taken and gets euthanized. i know my dog enough to know a dog park will never work for him or any other animal being around him. the only animal he will be around and not harm is my cat. he has never attacked a “new person” or someone random but it just takes him a long time to get used to them so he still has his guard up. I will not be taking him to a dog park because he DOES NOT WORK WELL with other ANIMALS.

 

[lenkin]

@imjapun coming off a little rude there. My yard the size of around 2 football fields. He has plenty of space to run and play. I go outside to throw sticks and his toys with him for hours a day. He is fixed. He does not like to be around other dogs the only animal he will be around and not harm is our cat. He gets plenty of play and running so i’m wondering why he still assist on biting everytime we take a break or go to lay down for the night.

 

[johnscalera]

@lenkin Yeah I would ignore the dog park advice, as it sounds like he needs help learning to be calm and settle and dog parks are just likely to push him over threshold.

He is hitting adolescence hard and is going to be pushing boundaries left right and centre, he will get bored more easily and you are the funnest thing in his world so in his brain it's like "get up human entertain me right now." Ignoring him and putting him in time out is likely to increase his frustration and can exacerbate the behaviour so try to always have a toy nearby and redirect any biting to a toy or tug.

As well as everything you've listed above I would introduce 3 x 20 minutes sniffing sessions throughout the day (dog puzzles, treats in the yard, treats in a box or all at the same time), as well as some licking and some chewing. Twenty minutes of brain enrichment is as tiring for their brain as a 40-60min walk. So maybe do some letting off steam in the yard with sticks and toys and then set him up with some sniffing to do. I would also do several sessions of settle training every day (look up kikopup on youtube as she does a great tutorial on settle training). Once that's working with him he will eventually be able to take himself off to settle, but some dogs need help learning how to do that.

It is probably worth radically accepting that he he is going to be a more of a challenge for the next year while all these adolescent hormones course around and then settle down again. But if you keep going with settle training and brain enrichment throughout that you will have a super chill happy dog at the end of it all.

I think the majority of pup owners feel like this around 6-9months, because it feels like all their work has gone out the window, but it is to be expected and you will get them back lol! Good luck, you got this!

 

[lenkin]

@johnscalera thank you!

 

[ticketswebsite]

@lenkin You need to yell Ow. Very loud and turn away . He hasn't learned that he's playing to rough. Everyone has to do this. And I agree about the exercise. And the neutering is not just for playing at the park. He should lose some of his aggressiveness.