how much longer

[jamiemc]

Rocky is 13 weeks and he has started to get really rough with growling, barking and then lunging in to bite. From what I have read on here so far this seems to be normal behaviour. How much longer is this going to last or is it something that we have to break him from. He is biting our 4 year old too much and nothing seems to deter him from this. No redirecting it is like he is focused to the point where he doesn;t even hear you. I just want an idea how much longer we can expect him to be biting at us. Any one?

 

[thog94]

Max is 2 and still behaves like that, but not as bad. However he only does it when he gets really wound up, and he's never bitten before. He came close a few times when things got maybe a little to rough, we stopped and had a time out. When ever we thought that the time would come again we would stop playing. Now I don't even worry about it. He's been playing with our son ever since Connor came home from the hospital and has been 100% gentle with him. They will go face to face and growl and bark at each other, but we never had an incident, it usually ends up with a lick or 2 then some giggles. Rocky is still young and learning. By stopping and taking a break from it, he'll eventually learn. As far as a time table, each dog is different. A pups learning curve always tries the patience of the owner.

 

[jamiemc]

He just starts the growling and barking then the hard biting. It isn't happening during play. Rocky is initiating. Is he just looking to play or is it something else. He only does this with my wife not with me. There is no tail wagging or anything. It sounds like a serious growl. Then he barks and bites. She can put him away in his crate for a time out and as soon as he comes out it starts all over again. We took him for a walk today and had him running hard around the yard after a frisbee until he didn;t want to play any more. Let him do his business outside and he has been pretty good since we came in. Is it possible that he is not getting enough exercise and this is his way of working off the excess energy? Or is it just that I am back home again and I am the leader. If so how do we teach him that my wife is ahead of him in the order of the pack. Since I am gone for days without coming home. He had a short episode tonite and stopped when I told him to.

 

[thog94]

It sounds like he might have a lot of pent up energy. Since you are gone most of the time and your wife is home, he might be more comforable with her therefor directing his attention to her. Just a guess on my part. Try to keep excersizing him and see how his behavior changes.

 

[BeckyNC]

Rocky definitely has a lot of energy. His behavior is totally normal for a Boxer pup. When he tries to play with your 4 yo, divert his attention with a Nylabone or a toy that he likes to play with.

As for how to handle this with your child, you might find some help in the Boxers and children forum.

 

[elbykitty]

Oscar did that a lot when he was younger to my 8 year old neice. He just was a really loud rough player. If he behaved he got to play with her if not he was seperated from her. This taught him that gentle play was the only way he got to play with her. Now he just cuddles and sleeps on her. I don't know about other dogs but he has grown out of the whole playing to rough with people, he only gets rough now if he hasn't had a walk or been to the dog park. So seperation and exercise has worked really well for him.
Elbykitty
mom of Oscar and Lilly

 

[Jan]

No redirecting it is like he is focused to the point where he doesn;t even hear you. I just want an idea how much longer we can expect him to be biting at us. Any one?

Redirecting doesn't work right away. It take persistence and training. Sometimes a timeout in their crate (5 - 10 minutes) or other room separated from their pack can work. They just need a chance to settle down. When they bite, yelp loudly and leave the room. The worst punishment for pup is to be separated from their pack. It can take a couple of months.

Are you taking your pup to puppy classes yet. They are very important and will help teach your pup not to bite.

You might want to download "Before You Get Your Puppy" by Ian Dunbar. It's free and you can get it from www.openpaw.com.

Good luck with your pup!

 

[jenjones28]

Here's what worked for us... when you play with your boxer and he bites too hard, YELP really loud (loud enough to make him stop what he's doing), and then it's game over. The yelp, from what I was told, will help him realize that he is hurting you and that is why you won't play anymore. Make him think that humans are the biggest babies in the world. Pretty soon, he'll be really gentle so that you will keep playing. Maybe that will work for you like it did for us....

 

[courtney323]

jenjones28 -

Please post your Introduction, as required. This should have actually been your very first post. Thanks

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[Turkey]

Rocky is 13 weeks and he has started to get really rough with growling, barking and then lunging in to bite. From what I have read on here so far this seems to be normal behaviour. How much longer is this going to last or is it something that we have to break him from. QUOTE]

Turkey use to do this when he was that age. He did this specially when I would pick him up. He grew out of this stage when he was about 5 months. But each time he would do it I would just stop whatever we were doing and ignore him.