Puppy bites harder and more furious than before

[capestorm]

My puppy is 2.5 months old GSD. I've had her for little over 20 days. After a few days I've got her, I've discovered that she had fleas, I've applied what I was advised and she got better. 4-5 days ago I was forced to change her kibble a little(same trademark, but a little different), because I wasn't able to find her previous kibble. And 3 days ago I was forced to give her a small fast shower, especially for her paws(but not exclusively) because she stuck in her feces and it was a mess. And after that she started to act strange, before it was easy to pet her without being painfully bitten, but now she bites far more harder and actively, with kind of crazy eyes, if I try to touch her. Sometimes right after that she scratches/bites herself. I guess recently she started to scratch more than before. I wasn't able to locate any fleas or its feces.
Now I can sometimes see her upper teeth when she bites, kind of aggressive.
This behavior occurs more often on the couch where I've wiped her with a towel. Before she was grumpy like this only when she wanted to go potty. And in this mode she chases and bites my legs, when before she would usually bite just my slippers on me and more indifferent.
My mother helped cleaning her, before puppy was okay around her and now she is super agitated with ears pinned, jumps around her, I don't think it's fear though. And when I try to pet her around mother she is totally nuts.

In her pen, and it doesn't hurt much

On the couch this morning, on the floor she acts the same. It hurts. - not crazy enough here, before I've recorded this she chased my legs like never before.
Yelping didn't help from the start.

She scrathes herself after bite on the second video at 0:50

I don't ask why she bites, she bites because I try to pet or tease her, but in the kitchen where couch is, she is crazy.

Is it because of my fast shower and now she doesn't trust me?
Can it be a reaction to kibble change?
Or is it fleas again?
Or her teeth started to grow more actively?
Or can it be because of hunger?

Update:
And she had this on her belly

https://imgur.com/a/zvidl

https://imgur.com/a/V8ZLm

. Vet advised me to apply local antibacterial liquid. It got better, but in the last few days pimples started to reappear. Now -

https://imgur.com/a/xasTy

.

 

[thetruthalonewemustobey]

@capestorm You said sometimes she bites/scratches herself. The thing that is screaming out to me here is a food allergy. I read a book on dog behaviour and there was a part on a little "aggressive" Rottweiler puppy. Who would start by biting his own leg, he would then get up and run around like crazy, biting anything and anyone who gets in his way. They thought something was seriously wrong with him but it turned out he was allergic to his food.

What food is she on? Is it grain free (chicken free as well just in case)?

Also, be sure to not let her play with your hands. I have a 4 month old gsd pup and I have to be careful what I allow. A lot of his behaviours are manageable now while he is small, but I'm not going to let them become a habit. For example even though he comes up to my waist I'm not allowing him to jump on me. Because behaviours we allow now as puppies will be brought into adulthood. You don't want a full size shepherd jumping and play biting you! It also seems like you got her quite young which also means she was taught less bite inhibition. You need to get her around other puppies asap.

 

[capestorm]

@thetruthalonewemustobey

Who would start by biting his own leg, he would then get up and run around like crazy, biting anything and anyone who gets in his way

Sounds very familiar.

I don't allow jumping, hand biting either. I only allowed it for the video. Usually I say no/looke at me and then sit, and it's enough, or leave her if she is in a pen. But when she is "crazy" nothing works.

Because behaviours we allow now as puppies will be brought into adulthood.
That's exactly why I've made this post. She was a good puppy and suddenly I have a crazy puppy that is already scary. I was afraid it's because of a shower and I've ruined her trust.

You need to get her around other puppies asap.
She will get her last shot in two weeks. I don't know about clean puppy classes in my town.

What food is she on? Is it grain free (chicken free as well just in case)?
She was on Royal canin junior maxi for large breeds, and now I've got kibble from her breeder, it's just for breeders, royal canin and sensitivity something.

I will go try a different food right now then. I hope she will stop this crazy behavior, I will be desensitizing her to touch more thoroughly now.

Thank you.

 

[thetruthalonewemustobey]

@capestorm I hope I didn't sound condescending! I try to approach these posts as if this is the owner's first puppy, especially as it seems you got her before 8 weeks. Your approach is perfect.

Do you know anyone with a puppy or calm/gentle adult dog? There are some places that do puppy playdates which often take puppies from 8 weeks.

 

[thetruthalonewemustobey]

Also foods that contain proteins from more than two different sources can cause reactions as well. Just looking up the ingredients and it has more than two.

 

[capestorm]

@thetruthalonewemustobey Yep, I'm the first time owner, I don't mind any good information even if I've already known some part of it. It was my first encounter with fleas, it was like in horror movie. I think I've gathered around 100 dead fleas. And that said, initially I've seen only one flea on her body before killing them.
Got her new kibble, hopefully it will not cause any trouble.

 

[juujuu]

@capestorm When I got my pup she had a skin infection which made her very itchy all over - she would often bite when petted, because the stroking made her more itchy. We got special shampoo from the vet and as her itchiness subdued, so did the crazy biting.

 

[dgill]

@capestorm Your story is very similar to mine... 10 week old GSD pup is constantly itchy and developed weird acne like stuff on his skin. I was originally feeding Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy, and he would be really itchy, really lethargic, really uncomfortable (constantly getting up and moving around), and throwing up every once in a while, so I switched to Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream because it's fish based instead, and he seems happier. His poop is better too. I'm going to the Vet later today to talk to them about the skin stuff. He's only been on the food for a couple days, so I'm going to see if the new food clears up the skin stuff before resorting to any medications. I'm hoping it was just a food allergy.

 

[allaloneuk]

@capestorm I wouldn't leap to the conclusion that she has a diet allergy right now. Only your vet can help you decide why she had the lesions and pimples. They could have been from something as simple as exposure of the skin on her belly to an irritant outside. Or from whatever you washed her with.

Or (and I believe this is most likely the case) your puppy may still be getting some flea bites. It's very likely that you still have flea eggs and cocoons in your house and those will continue to hatch into adult fleas in the near future. Here's a link that will tell you more about this. It can take several months to be completely 100% flea-free in the home, and until the full life cycle of the flea is eradicated from your premises, some fleas will still hatch and bite your dog. For some dogs, a single flea bite can trigger skin lesions and whole-body itchiness. Be sure to strictly follow your vet's instructions for ridding your house of fleas, since it's not just about the ones you see on your dog. You should be vacuuming carpets, rugs and furniture daily, and shaking out or washing dog bedding daily also. Flea cocoons can live for many months before hatching out.

As far as the biting behavior, the videos show typical puppy biting. I have to say though, that she was doing her best to NOT interact with your hand at the beginning of the first video. I know you said you let her bite you just for the video, but what really happened is that you first overcame her natural avoidance to biting you, then instigated and rewarded a whole minute of biting you for the sake of a video. Same principle in the video on the bed. She spends 10 or 15 seconds trying to be a good puppy, but you kept petting her and getting her more excited until she started biting. Again, I realize what your intentions were (get a video), but it was bad form to break through her avoidance to get her to bite you. And no "teasing" - not sure why you'd ever do that in the first place. Sorry for the scolding.

The scratching in the bed video could be related to itchiness, but I believe that it may have been an expression of her anxiety at that point. "I'm trying to be good, but he's making me more excited and that's making me anxious because now I want to bite him, but I'm not supposed to bite him....."

It could be complete coincidence that you gave her the shower and then the biting and craziness got worse. But some dogs are easily riled up by over-handling, and that may have been the case with the shower and towel-wiping times on the couch. Next time you need to towel her off or handle her feet or whatever, do it very gently and slowly and stop often to reward calm behavior with a treat and praise. Don't just throw a towel over her and rub her all over, unless you want a crazy puppy to emerge. And if she is troublesome on the couch or bed, stop letting her up there! And last, make sure she is getting lots and lots of exercise. All puppies have the "crazies", especially in the early evening, but a tired puppy is less like to have a problem.