Hi

Fenris is 12 weeks today ,he is a GSD.

I have not changed his routine but he has suddenly turned into a horror

He seemed to be doing very well with his training etc , toilet training was going well .Then on Saturday the weather here was vile , heavy rain high winds .I kept up the routine of short walks and into the garden at regular intervals but he would not wee or poo .......then would comeinside and do it in the house !!!

Yesterday he was the same , although the weather was better, I am going to bo back to basics with the toilet training see if that helps.

Also he has suddenly become really naughty , nipping all the time and generally taking no notice at all ...............The whole sitting etc has gone out of the window ! He even bit my finger and drew blood yesterday when he was getting a treat ..........normally he is quite gentle .

I am at a loss

Any suggestions please ??

What food are you feeding him??

__________________

Hills puppy for large breeds

__________________


For dog friendly holidays cottages click the link below.
http://www.penmaenuchafarm.co.uk/location.cfm

Just keep training him. When he nips, yelp and either you move to another room or you move him to another room for time-out for a few seconds. Also, teach "gently" when giving him a treat, only give him the treat when he takes it off you nicely. When I had my pup, I had tons of scratches and bites on my hand, and there was blood everywhere, every puppy owner goes through it, but they do learn. Keep training his commands as well.

__________________

Mummy to 7 pets: 2 rabbits, 3 rats, 1 dog, 1 cat

he has set 'play times' and there is no rough play (or at least I try to prevent him from wanting rough play)


He does seem a bit better today ..........much calmer and has been going to the door when he wants out !

let's see how it goes

It's no help but it might provide some comfort to know that our pup has periods like that, our weekend sounds very similar to yours.

I thought we had it cracked (again) then she has decided that her new favoourite place for a poo is behind the sofa.

The weather definitely doesn't help with the housetraining.

hey, mistress! :--)

i would go to this web-page and download both FREE pdf-books, either as files or as hard-copy, or just read them on-line as U wish -
Free Downloads | Dog Star Daily

the books are *Before* and * After U Get Ur Pup* by Dunbar, DVM.
he has excellent advice on teaching pups a soft-mouth, AKA an inhibited bite.

Q re Ur pup - How old was he when he left his litter for Ur house?
pups under 49-days / preferably at least 56-days or 8-WO, have not had enuf time in active play with their siblings to learn an inhibited bite. i think (tho i do not Know) that under-age pups are less of a problem in the UK vs the USA, but it is a possibility -
i wondered.

GSDs are notorious, along with some other herding-breeds, for being snappy pups and very mouthy - grabbing clothing, hands, arms, ankles, etc. be thankful he is not a Corgi, LOL - trainers think biting Corgi is a redundant phrase, like pair of twins, LOL.
teaching him Tug-of-Peace can be a HUGE help in getting mouthing and bitey behavior under control! Training Your Labrador Retriever - Google Books

happy training,
--- terry

terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, IPDTA, TDF

Hi

I can certainly recommend the Sirius Training methods, everyone who has a puppy should read it.

I was luckily enough to work with Ian Dunbar in the UK a few times and apart from being a font of knowledge, he is also great fun, we had some very late nights playing amazing games that made me change the way my dog saw me!!

It sounds like your GSD got 'the wind beneath his tail' over the weekend! Seriously puppies particularly are affected by the weather conditions, as are humans, it may be you didn't take him out as much because of the weather and all this has a knock on effect. As Janice says, don't worry too much about the toilet training, I wouldn't think that is a serious issue, he is still young and bearing in mind the weather.

It is important that you continue to have routine and leadership, being really consistent with this as regards him working for his treats, attention etc. Also try and 'feel' in control and positive, dogs so pick up on our weaknesses and if he has done something and you have sighed in exasperation, he will know this, so think positive, think leadership, think control!!!!

With the nipping it will improve, he is still young, if he was little it wouldn't be such an issue, but a growing GSD - it always seems worse than it is.

Again, be consistent, as soon as his teeth are used, shout 'Ow' (sharply and quickly making it short not drawn out, very loudly and withdraw immediately, turn away and leave him, If you have done it right, he will just sit and look at you, may wag his tail in appeasement, avoid eyecontact and do something completely different, paying your attention to something else - examine the wallpaper if you have to!!!! You need to decide at what stage you are going to use 'ow' to help with his bite inhibition, it may be as soon as his mouth touches, or as soon as his teeth, whatever, me consistent and praise when he is doing it right.

To teach him to be gentle taking food, hold a treat in your fingers, if he goes to grab pull back the treat immediately very quickly and say 'Ah' very sharply, make a fist if you have to, pause a second and offer the treat again and say 'nicely' or whatever you choose, if he does it again, repeat and keep doing this until he takes approaches calmly, when you can release the treat and give him 'calm' praise. It is all in the timing. If he gets wound up, stop, ignore move away and try again later.

It sounds like you have a 'high' dog, think about what you are feeding for a start and try and give calm praise, too often we can go over the top with praising and some dogs just can't deal with this, so praise appropriately.

Ignoring your dog is very powerful thing to do, so any unwanted behaviours do it, he will soon learn what is acceptable. But on the other hand, praise the good.

Eliminate the Negative, Accentuate the positive!

Kate

__________________
Listen to everyone, but use what suits you... and if it works, don't change it!