Hello everyone. We have recently gotten a 12 week old newfoundland. We have had her for 3 weeks but it seems like months. She is nipping and biting and now has added the back of our legs and knees. She is drawing blood and nothing is seeming to work to get her to stop. A little background, We had a border collie mix for 14 years that was passive aggressive, had an "I'll get you before you get me attitude" We were always on "high alert" with her. She was fine with the 4 members of our family, but beyond that she was unpredictable. We "flunked" out of obedience training when she wouldn't walk forward nor back due to her uneasiness of the other dogs and people.The instructer there told me to "Smack her really hard so she knows who is the boss" I knew if I took that approach it would be very detrimental. After much research we figured out that we did not socialize her correctly. We had 2 babies and omitted that all important step, because we didn't know better. We also had a Great Pyrenees at the same time we had the border collie with no problems. I'm not proud to say that we tolerated her "quirks". We are determined this time to have a well socialized, confident, well mannered dog. I've always wanted a newfoundland and a goldendoodle. The other pup comes on Mother's Day. We've always had 2 "girls" at a time and it has always worked well for us. Even getting the Great Pyr helped with the border collies issues. Well, my beautiful newf is acting just like a puppy. She is confident and happy. She does the normal puppy stuff, that we can deal with. We are having a difficult time with the biting. It is constant and she is almost in a frenzy. The problem, is that so far we haven't had any progress with getting her to stop or even do it less. We have tried 1) Shaking a can of pennies- makes her bark 2) time out in her kennel-she calms down then when she comes back out, it starts again. 3)exercise. We walk her for 30-45 minutes, when we get back home the biting starts again. 4) we have yelped, shouted, fake cried, growled and given the silent treatment 5) Bitter apple on our arms- doesn't faze her. 6) I tried rolling her over on her back to have her be submissive, that just makes her mad and she starts growling and "talking back". Whatever we try, she gets more wound up and excited. We are in our late 40's and have had 6 dogs throughout our 30years of marriage. All of our pets lived well beyond 12-19 years old. We've gotten them all as puppies and with the exception of the border collie, we have never had a problem like this. We are not pushovers, so I know she is not thinking we are weak. We do know that we need to use positive training. My parents were here last weekend and my mom recalled how when I was little, our dog, puppy bit and my dad "flung her across the room" She never did it again, but I told my mom that you can't do that nowdays. It doesn't teach them, it only makes your pet afraid of you. My newf loves people and children but the neighbor kids run and scream because she is nipping them and also at the backs of our legs and theirs. This seems to excite her further. I bought this system hoping to learn some new "secrets" to help us. I also hope that getting the other pup will help her to calm down and settle a little more. Any words of advise or encouragement would be helpful. We love our newf tremendously and just want a sweet, calm, cuddler. I feel like we probably got the most hyper, ornary newf out there. Thanks, Sorry for ramblin'
Hi, We have looked into it, but you cannot enroll until 2 weeks after your pup has had all their shots (mainly due to the Parvo threat). She gets her 3rd round this week so it will be another month or so. I have tried to teach her commands here at home, She does a very well "sit" but beyond that one, she is so busy nipping, she seems to have very little self control to pay attention. Did I mention her attention span is about a millisecond! LOL
Still looking at someone watching you: What about hiring a trainer to come in for one session to help? I got one for one of my dogs. You do have to be careful though. Some of them have a hammer and think all problems are nails. You should state up front "This is my problem. I have tried all these things and I want you to watch me do them and see if you can figure out why they are not working for my dog." Your vet may be able to recommend someone.
You said you have tried everything but you didn't mention "giving her things to chew" when she bites you. Have you tried exchanging chew toys or lawhids when she puts her teeth on your skin?
I think she missed her litter mates that she can play by mouthing...
For puppies, mouth is the part of body used the most when playing, while kittens use their paws more...
Yes, she has alot of toys to keep her busy. Puppy kong with peanut butter, The new unstuffed animals, Chewies like rawhide but safer for pups, A puppy OCCUPI that releases activity treats as she plays with it. balls, dog stuffed animals. I give her a pig ear when i groom her to hopefully distract her but she bites my hands as i am trying to comb her. She just now lunjed at my husband as he is laying on the couch, He told her NO and she growled at him and started biting his hands and arms. Her growling is more of a "talk back" than a mean growl. However, since she fusses when we have rolled her on her back to get her to settle down, she's got a dominate streak in her.
Hijust saw this and had to tell you that my Gr. Pyrenees mix (born in wild) that I have had about 6 weeks now does this, not as bad as yours, but wants attention by taking my arm and trys to "herd" me. I got him a playmate (loves his Leonberger girlfriend, 1 1/2 mo approx younger and they play hard!), of course, things to chew and bones, and then, I put Tobasco on my shoes he used to nip and on my hands before going out in am to socialize with them as they are sooo excited to see me. Nice to be loved and wanted, BUT. I also use gloves with Tobasco and then grab his muzzle and my word for all this and running steps (afraid they will break a leg as they are so excited until I calm them down) is "easy." I also put a chair outside the door and work on getting a dog each side of me for belly rubs and etc. After this, they are better (& breakfast helps). Things are improving as he know I am consistent with my "stop" and body language. You see, like I said, he really needed work as born in wild, wary (as some Pyrenees are tho) of others, and was so traumatized at first. Now he is V ERY comfortable in and out (still have to watch him insideanother story) and lays by me and follows me to c heck on me. I think it will just take time and try gloves with tobasco and commands that you want to use. Also, grabbing the muzzle with your command each time seems to help. They do get excited and maybe he needs to run and play first somehow, calming down, then work on no nipping?
I read your original posting again and I am afraid that the instructor of the class you attended was wrong. I don't like his/her approach of making your dog understand who is the boss by physical power, such as smacking or turning the dog over to make a submissive posture. I also don't think it's a good idea to yell at your dog either.
My ideal relationship with dogs is to have them choose what you want them to do from many options, rather than forcing them to do what you want.
They have sharp teeth and strong jaws that can kill other animals but they choose not to use them when they don't need to, or when they don't want to hurt us.
In order to build a good relationship with your dog, forcing him using physical power is not only working but also teaching her to use the method. When your puppy gets stronger, you will fail... (especially your dog is a newfie, right?)
Instead, if you establish yourself as her respected leader, she would listen to you and obey your commands (not always but there is no perfect dog).
I would strongly recommend you and your dog start lessons that use positive reinforcement method. She would not change in one day but she would definitely start paying more attention to you and you would start watching her subtle expressions and behaviors/reactions more carefully and the distance between the two will become closer in a month or two. Remember now is a very critical stage for her to socialize with other people and other dogs as well.
