New level of aggression at 6 months (male)
So glad to hear I'm not alone here. Elton has always associated biting and playing, but it's on and off. Well, 6 months old, and it's come back with a vengeance. Part of the problem is that he tended to respond solely to the male of the house, who is now deployed and I'm left with a puppy who ranks himself higher than me.
We've had a challenge reordering this for the past 2 months. We'd made some progress but 6 months old hit and it's like a monster was born. He is decently behaved 85% of the time. His daily exercise routine is active - averaging about 3-4 miles of walk/run combination a day (separated in morning/noon/after work), including one long uphill.
His become increasingly "vicious" in what I believe is still play in his mind - and its always on the leash! However, sometimes it seem like he may be truly trying to hurt me. Its a routine like OP offered. I believe it begins with his frustration of being on the leash. Once the frustration gets to him, he bites the leash. Distraction usually works best, or an occasionally successful drop it. If it doesn't work, the situation escalates into a small brawl ha. His other trick is to bite my ankle/shoe lace/shoe tongue. And when I go to harshly say No and Sit, it's like he's waiting for me to respond because he was really just instigating a fight (play?). So I say No and he starts jumping up and aggressively biting my hands/wrist pretty hard. When I try to grab his collar to force him into a sit, he's turning his head around the whole time to keep biting me, if he outforces me, he's even jumped up and bit my belly! Once I get him in a seeming calm, with a No, force sit, etc, as soon as I release to start the walk again he goes right back for my hand or ankle to start the whole process again. I have bruises and scratches all up my wrists and legs from these same leash encounters. I've tried the tricks I've read about - leash "corrections", firm NOs, positive reinforcement with treats and petting when he stops, etc. But it's to the point that he's hurting me and I'm not sure what I haven't tried yet or when I'm going wrong with the tips. Wait, this same level of viciousness is also present when he's fixated on something, like digging in th ecouch that I have to literally pull him out of with all my strength out of just for him to bite.
I'm sure a lot of this if not all has to do with how I"m responding...I just havne't found the magic bullet the books seem to have...all those only seem to rile my boxer up more to the point that he's hurting me while still "playing" in his mind.
Is this new extra aggression at 6 months possibly a neutering issue? I was planning on waiting a bit longer for that but perhaps this is the part of the problem?
So glad to hear I'm not alone here. Elton has always associated biting and playing, but it's on and off. Well, 6 months old, and it's come back with a vengeance. Part of the problem is that he tended to respond solely to the male of the house, who is now deployed and I'm left with a puppy who ranks himself higher than me.
We've had a challenge reordering this for the past 2 months. We'd made some progress but 6 months old hit and it's like a monster was born. He is decently behaved 85% of the time. His daily exercise routine is active - averaging about 3-4 miles of walk/run combination a day (separated in morning/noon/after work), including one long uphill.
His become increasingly "vicious" in what I believe is still play in his mind - and its always on the leash! However, sometimes it seem like he may be truly trying to hurt me. Its a routine like OP offered. I believe it begins with his frustration of being on the leash. Once the frustration gets to him, he bites the leash. Distraction usually works best, or an occasionally successful drop it. If it doesn't work, the situation escalates into a small brawl ha. His other trick is to bite my ankle/shoe lace/shoe tongue. And when I go to harshly say No and Sit, it's like he's waiting for me to respond because he was really just instigating a fight (play?). So I say No and he starts jumping up and aggressively biting my hands/wrist pretty hard. When I try to grab his collar to force him into a sit, he's turning his head around the whole time to keep biting me, if he outforces me, he's even jumped up and bit my belly! Once I get him in a seeming calm, with a No, force sit, etc, as soon as I release to start the walk again he goes right back for my hand or ankle to start the whole process again. I have bruises and scratches all up my wrists and legs from these same leash encounters. I've tried the tricks I've read about - leash "corrections", firm NOs, positive reinforcement with treats and petting when he stops, etc. But it's to the point that he's hurting me and I'm not sure what I haven't tried yet or when I'm going wrong with the tips. Wait, this same level of viciousness is also present when he's fixated on something, like digging in th ecouch that I have to literally pull him out of with all my strength out of just for him to bite.
I'm sure a lot of this if not all has to do with how I"m responding...I just havne't found the magic bullet the books seem to have...all those only seem to rile my boxer up more to the point that he's hurting me while still "playing" in his mind.
Is this new extra aggression at 6 months possibly a neutering issue? I was planning on waiting a bit longer for that but perhaps this is the part of the problem?
Firstly, don't push him away when he tries to mouth the glass. It may seem like a negative thing to us but to him it's probably just a form of rough play, which is what he wants. Then when you "start to play" with him (push him down) and then sit back again to enjoy your drink, that is even MORE frustrating to him than just being ignored altogether. Instead of pushing him down, give him absolutely NO attention AT ALL. Do not touch him, do not look at him, do not speak a word, instead just stand up and if he continues, walk out of the room and shut the door behind you. Puppy-proof the room so that you can safely leave him alone for a few minutes, or start hanging out with him in an already puppy-proofed room so that you can practice this routine. If he runs off, NEVER chase him -- that is 100% a game to him Instead, walk slowly in the opposite direction when he does that.
