Sweet Angel to Tiny Satan - 8/9 Week Old Husky Puppy is a Terror

[johannatan]

We brought him home last weekend. He took to his kennel quick and asks to be put in there when he wants in. He's starting to alert when he needs to go outside with minimal accidents. He plays a lot and sleeps a lot. The problem? Three times this week he has become aggressive, and at first it wasn't directed at me. He grew up with his mom teaching him everything. It was only directed at my fiancé. He got bit twice and blood was drawn. Starting last night, our pup would not listen to me as much and would consistently try to go for my feet, hands, arms, and face. This morning? Nothing and no one was safe as our once sweet baby grew horns and began to go after everything. We have anti chew spray. Doesn't phase the little guy. He bit my fiance again and drew blood.

My concern: I have a 4 year old niece and a 14 year old cocker spaniel. I don't want either of them to get hurt because he has gone crazy. I don't want us to get hurt either.

We've tried everything. The spray, yelping/ouch, ignoring him, time outs in a separate empty room, and we've even taken his toys. I don't want to have to give him back to the breeder because he was a dream come true for my fiancé, and he was so good until 2 days ago. He suddenly started doing this. I know play biting and mouthing is normal. Let me stress to you that this is neither of those things.

I don't know what to do except call a trainer or see if we can take him back to the breeder...

Anyone else have a puppy go absolutely bonkers like this and what helped?

Edit: we let him sleep for as long as he wants. We try to redirect him when he plays, and it works sometimes. This started with him getting stuck during the zoomies, and this morning it was immediately after he woke up and had gone out.

 

[theflower]

@johannatan This is normally puppy behavior. It is highly highly unlikely that a puppy that young is truly aggressive - if so it would be genetic which is pretty rare especially from a reputable breeder. It sounds like it’s just an over tired puppy with too much freedom. I would cut way back on the freedom.

Have the puppy drag a leash whenever not crated so you can easily redirect. If he becomes super bitey it’s time for a nap. At his age, he’s still needs like 18-20+ hours a day.

As far as your niece and older dog, they don’t need to be interacting with the puppy until he’s learned bite inhibition. Puppies are notoriously annoying and can be too much for tiny humans and older dogs. If they do interact, very short periods of time and use a tow line. The second he starts to bite, lead him away and end the interaction.

 

[apc123_]

@johannatan A puppy takes an average two weeks to relax and adjust to a new environment. Everything sounds normal puppy. My dog who loves me more than life drew blood multiple times when growing up in his first months. They are called land sharks all over the thread for a reason.

First no kids should be interacting with your puppy for a few more months. Second he is too young to be likely teething.

Try reverse time outs. Don't put him in time out, put yourself in time out. The fact is he is still pretty young to full grasp any discipline concept. He gets it but not quite. You are going to have to be patient, consistent, and do more research. This is still likely play and exploring the world. With his teeth. We have all been there.

 

[cornbreadfed614]

@johannatan You can't give up on him after one week! Puppy biting is completely normal and not a sign of aggression. You are really overreacting. Continue with time outs for another month or so and he should start to learn his manners.

 

[bbless]

@johannatan We went through this too — we were aware “puppy biting” was a thing but imagined cute nibbles with sharp teeth but she just came AT US and we were super shook up. Growling, and biting HARD. Took a lot of reading on here to be fully convinced this is totally totally normal. Nothing we tried really worked for the two weeks of the worst biting (and it DOES seem aggressive but remember that it just isn’t, it’s a puppy finding its voice and learning its world and PUSHING boundaries to test its environment), reverse timeouts came the closest to helping and consistency is key. Don’t give up because this is super normal and super temporary. Husky owners will tell you the breed can be sharkier and more vocal than others as puppies, so it may last longer. Keep the pup away from kids or anyone else who isn’t puppy pro, until the phase passes. We are 14 weeks old today and the last three days have experienced almost no biting at all (but it was improving for a week or so before that). If you can find a puppy social, or a younger adult dog that likes puppies, have a play date ASAP. Puppies learn better from other dogs. Hang in there. I was deeeeeep in the puppy blues thinking my dog was aggressive but this morning I got kisses and cuddles and I’m glad I stuck it out.

 

[inquirer2016]

@johannatan It absolutely is normal puppy play biting and mouthing. You haven't had him long enough for any training to take effect and you're mixing in methods that encourage biting. You can't expect to see progress in a week.

Choose a cue word ("enough" or "game over" for example). Whenever he bites, say the cue word in a normal tone of voice and walk out of reach for a minute (longer is sometimes needed depending on the pup)- it's important that you leave rather than you moving him (for your neice, keep the pup on a leash and coach her through calmly walking out of his reach). Make it impossible for him to follow you- close a door, step up on something tall, keep him in a pen and step out of it, etc. Give tons of praise and treats whenever you see him chewing things that are approved chews (and make sure he has access to lots of these).

It won't be an instant fix but you'll see a noticeable decrease in several weeks if you do this consistently.

Also make sure he's getting enough sleep- overtired puppies are extra bitey. Letting him sleep as much as he chooses is almost definitely not enough sleep. He's the equivalent of a human two year old- not likely to choose on his own to nap enough. 18-20 hours per day is that amount of sleep pups this age need.

 

[cookie34ss6]

@johannatan Husky owner here. This is absolutely normal. Keep doing what you are doing. BOUNDARIES are key. Also follow through and consistency. I know most people will say they get better in a few months but to tell you the truth your entire first year will be similar to this but with less intensity as right now.
Also a good note to keep in mind: Huskies gestation period is about 63 days. So every 63 days is about a year of growth. So they are developing rapidly everyday. You need to have a patient hand with them at this stage in their development. You are totally new to them. Spend this time building TRUST before you do anything else.
Good luck. This hell stage will be over and you'll think omg I can't believe I wanted to get rid of him!

 

[johannatan]

Thanks everyone! He's gotten a lot better! We do have anti chew spray now (2 different ones). He doesn't chew on furniture that much anymore. He will play nip and chew, which we're fine with but are still teaching him no bite with this to make sure our youngest family members are safe. We've figured out he becomes bitey when he has the zoomies, so we do quiet time in the kennel. We put him in with a couple toys and some treats so he knows it's not punishment and that it's his safe place. It works wonders.

Our senior dog is even more open to play fighting with him. We still watch them in case pup gets too excited and starts the zoomies.