18 month old Husky plays agressively

[Russ]

Quick background.  This is our third Husky, all have been rescues.  Skye (our name) came from a hoarder with a couple dozen dogs in a trailer.  The dogs were sent to a kennel to be put down and Releashed Rescue in GA was notified of several Husky"s.  They picked them up and we got this sweet girl (at approximately 12 - 13 months old) within about a month of her release and vet shots and spaying.  She is now about 17 months and full of energy.  She was not a good eater when we got her and under weight at 47-48#.  Our vet said she needed several pounds and we've now got her at a good Husky weight 52.4#.  She has been a quick learner but still some problems.  Had her house trained within two weeks with rewards.  She now comes and puts a paw on my leg to go out.  She learned sit, shake, lie down (with coaxing) and I had her partially whistle trained at two weeks.  I mention coaxing and partially whistle trained.  I do not know what may have happened in her former life but I have to assume some abuse.  I can get her to come during training with treats, but sometimes she will sit and look at me for 15 - 20 seconds before coming at other times.  I am only giving her the command once.  

Most likely due to being in a trailer for her first year everything is new to her.  She had never seen children, bicycles, trucks, people on tennis courts, etc.  She is fascinated by them and can watch for several minutes without moving.  When concentrating on that she rarely hears a name call or whistle.  I would think as she gets used to the world around her it will become commonplace.  If she is trotting around on her lead she will hear the whistle and come running flat out as she loves those freeze dried chicken liver treats.

She is comfortable with her forever home.  However, she is still just a large puppy with high energy.  I walk her approximately 2 miles every morning early and mid morning we go for a run.  I walk, she runs on an 80 foot lead with harness and looks forward to it.  The afternoon walk is 1 - 2 miles depending on the heat index as we live in coastal South Carolina.  Training to fetch has been less than great.  Too many smells and distractions outside.  When she gets excited she will jump and or and nip at your pants.  Sometimes she may get skin.  Today she would go after a rolled ball but turn and want to jump on me excitedly.  When we play tug of war she uses her paws which are pretty heavy and not meaning to, can break the skin.   She is sweet and likes to cuddle near us.  She will also find furniture to sleep under or get under our legs between an ottoman and chair.  Possibly due to her early situation.

I am looking for suggestions to stop the jumping and nipping when excited and not use paws to play.  I believe the nipping is her way of trying to get us to move faster, like pulling on a leash with her mouth.  I know it is all playful for her but needs to be addressed now.

Thanks for your assistance.

 

[Adrienne]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

Your husky is stunning and it's so wonderful you were able to rescue her from a very critical situation. Bless your heart for opening your home to such a wonderful companion!

 

At this age, your husky in the full adolescent stage, when dogs have lots of energy and need lots of mental stimulation. It looks like you are providing lots of exercise which is good, but don't forget mental stimulation which has been found to be particularly energy draining too. So provide Skye with brain games, training, food puzzles and don't forget yo put your dog's nose to work. Here's a read about the adolescent stage in dogs and what to expect:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/

 

We may also want to instill some more impulse control games so to channel all the excitement into calmer behaviors. So sits before attaching the leash, sits before opening the door, sits before putting the food bowl down or giving some long-lasting treat. Here are several impulse control exercises that may benefit her:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/

 

You need to teach her that when she nips, you get only slower, not faster. So if you are going to put a leash on her and she nips, turn away and leave. Then, try approaching again going slowly, she nips again? Once again, turn away and leave. Rinse and repeat until you can walk towards her, ask for a sit and attach the leash. If at any time she nips, be ready to turn and move away.  Be patient: at first, you may need to repeat this several times until she gets the idea that nipping and acting impatient makes you slow down and even leave, while not nipping and waiting patiently makes you advance. Do this with almost anything; putting the food bowl down, tossing a ball, taking her out the door. Calmness pays, impatience loses. 

Here's an example of training a dog to sit calmly before opening the door:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/college/open-sesame/

 

For the pawing when playing tug of war, this can be a bit of a challenge because she may be just naturally inclined to play this way. Some dogs are just more "pawsy" than others. Here are some ideas:

 

-When does she scratch exactly? When she jumps up trying to grasp it and misses? When you stop the game and she wants to continue?  Identify when the pawing happens. Sometimes making a little video and then watching it in slow motion can show you the exact dynamics.

-If the scratching happens when you are getting her to tug and she misses, you can try with a longer tug toy so that her body is a little more distant from you and her missing won't catch your legs/arms hopefully. 

-If she scratches when you stop playing tug by intently pawing at you, I would prevent this behavior next time by having her drop the tug toy and then tossing several kibble I was hiding in my pocket as I put the toy away as she goes on her treasure hunt. Here's a guide on training dogs to drop:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/drop-it/

 

"Today she would go after a rolled ball but turn and want to jump on me excitedly. "

 

This is interesting, because usually, we use tossing a ball to redirect a dog from wanting to bite and jump. From your description it sounds like she jumped after you tossed a rolled ball, almost as if she was attracted to the movement of the ball, but once she saw what you tossed  she lost interest. What was this ball made of? Since you mention "rolled" was it made of paper? Perhaps she's not too fond of it and prefers more rough play with you than anything else. Maybe you can try a ball made of a different, more appealing material or try one of my favorite games, the "toss kibble game." It goes like this: your dog is walking towards you (maybe with the intent of jumping?) ask your dog to sit or hand target, and toss a kibble. Once she's done, rinse and repeat several times. This is a fun game for the dog to burn off energy, it puts her nose and eyes to work, and prevents her from rehearsing troublesome behaviors. 

 

Here's how to train sit and hand targeting: 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/sit/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/

 

Finally, while you train your dog, it is possible still for some scratching to occur. Hopefully, this is short-lived, but better be prepared! Here are some ways to reduce any potential damage. 

-Trim your dog's nails in a way that they aren't sharp.Normal clippers generally will leave sharp edges. Make sure to file them down or use a nail grinder (or Dremel) to remove any sharp edges. Ask a groomer for help.

-Try Soft Claws. These are nail covers that can be place on your dog's nails and that can reduce the effects of scratching.

-Have your family and guests wear old clothing with long sleeves and long pants.

 

I hope I have accurately grasped what's happening and that this helps your lovely dog! If I misunderstood or if you have any further questions, feel free to post. 

Happy Training,

Adrienne 

 

Disclaimer:  behavior modification comes with risks. if your dog is showing aggressive behavior, please consult with a dog behavior professional for safety and correct implementation of behavior modification. 

 

[Russ]

Thank you for your quick reply.  There are several things my wife and I will initiate immediately in the slowing down our actions to change her behavior. 

To explain her tug of war traits, your info on adolescents is entirely correct in the transition phase.  When we got her she was and is a chewer.  My vet wants no hard chew toys, so of course we got pull ropes and rope balls Kong chews, etc.  She will not chew a toy long but will want to nip with her front teeth.  There is no toy (except for rubber) that can last more than an hour with her.  She nipped the cloth strips off of a large $17 Kong chew in about 1 hour.  She destroys rope pulls and rope balls in short order.  We got a Kong rubber (figure eight) type of pull toy.  She has been unable to chew through it but doesn't like it as much as a rope pull.   We also have a 6" squeek ball with handles on each side and a ball inside.  We will tug with this.  Being as close as she is, she just puts her paw up to help pull and it can land anywhere on a hand or arm.  Again, it is unintentional.  As for nails, she has been professionally groomed twice, (bathed, deshedded, fur cut between pads and nail trim).

You asked about the fetch ball.  We found out she can destroy a tennis ball in 1/2 hour by removing the outer layer and working to tear apart.  So I got her the orange and blue "Chuck-It" ball.  I have two sizes, and believe it or not she has had these for several months and had not been able to nip them apart.  These are what I would like to use for retrieving.

So you know, this is our first adolescent Husky.  Our first was a well behaved 1 year old Husky/Akita mix (Patti) who became an 85# girl that was so gentle my granddaughter could lay on her when watching TV.  She lived to 15.  (first pic Patti age two)  Then we found a 3 year old runaway at ASPCA who was the sweetest girl that we lost this past February to a Hemangio Sarcoma at age of 8.  (Second pic Sierra the day before we lost her.)  Now we have our new adolescent.

Again thank you for the assistance.  You have given me a lot of reading material and I'll check back in as we initiate further training.

Best Regards,

Russ Tuttle

[Adrienne]

Your former huskies were stunning dogs and I am so sorry to hear you have lost them. They sure leave a deep emptiness behind. I am sure though that your teenager husky keeps you busy and on your toes! 

I am reading through all the toys you have been trying which just shows how much dedication and care you provide your rescues. Chewing is surely a big factor at this age and it's often difficult to find a balance between toys that are sturdy enough but not that hard to harm teeth. Kongs are always popular, with the Kong Estreme (the black version) being built for powerful chewers. Other toys that come to mind are Goughnuts (which I think come with some sort of guarantee for being indestructible or they'll replace it) and I think West Paw still makes some sturdy line of indestructible toys too.  

I am wondering whether your husky may be less likely to accidentally paw if you would use a flirt pole. I see some models end with rope rather than furry toys which she may be more likely to readily destroy. Another option that comes to mind is a very long tug toy such as the Mammoth Flossy Chew 5 knot rope toy. I think it's super long measuring about 72'' long, however, it may or may not work. I can see some dogs "acting like it’s 2 feet  and ignoring the other 4 feet when they play." So something to consider.

Looking forward to your update on her training!

Best,

Adrienne

[Russ]

Adrienne:

We tried both the Black Kong and one called Monster K9 dog toys.  Both are virtually indestructible and the K9 brand offers lifetime warranty.  Skye loves to chew these toys.  She still prefers a rope toy, so we got her a Mammoth Flossy Chew toy that is a three strand rope 1 1/2" in diameter with 3 knots that are 4" across and 36" long.  She has been working on it for over a month now and although it is definitely well chewed, she hasn't gotten through it yet.  So thanks for your assistance.

I did want to ask you what you think of the Nina Ottosson Puzzle Game Dog Toys by Outward Hound.  Similar to playing "go find" Skye has to really think about how to get her treats.  The first one we got was the intermediate "Hide and Slide" puzzle game.  It took her about 5 minutes on day one, three minutes on day two, and about two minutes each day since.  She uses her nose to move the slides.  So we moved her to the Outward Hound Advanced Worker Dog Puzzle. (Hide and slide and rotate) She is a bit stumped as she has to move a wheel to get at some treats.  Just wondered if you were aware of them and what you thought about them?

Thanks,

Russ Tuttle

[Adrienne]

Hi Russ!

 

I am glad to hear that you have found toys that are withstanding Skyes' powerful chewing! 

 

In regards to the Nina Ottoson Puzzles, they have a good reputation among dog trainers. I have used them in the past, but realize many dog owners may find them expensive, but they can be great additions for all the Einstein pups out there. 

 

I have reviewed the puzzles here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/adriennes-picks/top-5-dog-feeding-toys/

 

[Russ]

Adrienne:

Thank you for the input.  Thought I'd show you the pup.  We had Skye 2 weeks (from Releashed Rescue) when the pic was taken on the porch.  Although undernourished at 48# she was still a stunning dog.  Today she is 54# and just a huge fur ball of winter coat.  These taken last week show her in foyer and working on the advanced puzzle.

I'll let you know when she masters the Worker Dog game.

Best regards,

Russ and Gwen Tuttle

[Adrienne]

Skye is so pretty!  And so smart! Thanks for posting the pictures, I love to see how she develops along the way. She sure has a lot of coat and looks so fluffy. 

She also looks very happy! You're doing a great job.

Thanks for the updates!

Happy training!

Adrienne 

[Russ]

Adrienne:

She is fluffy for sure.  It will be interesting to see what happens this spring.  Both other huskies shed 24/7/365.  Skye is retaining her fur over the winter.

She finally finished the game above without help.  However she still cannot do it every time.  Using nose to turn wheel but then forgetting to move cylinders.  I will tell you she is exhausted after this expert level game.

One area where I require help.  She gets excited (early morning & mid afternoon) when it's time to go for a long (2+ mile walk) or going for her run on my long lead mid morning. (she runs and I walk. 🙂 ) She will sometimes get the zoomies and run through the house jumping from area rug to area rug.  Then in an effort to get your attention and move faster she nips at clothing and many times gets more than clothing.  She understands NO but pays little attention when excited.  By going into a bedroom and closing the door then opening in about 30 seconds will slow her down for a few minutes.  I have taught her to sit when i reach for the door knob, again to slow her down.  My concern is when my granddaughters (13 & 7)visit, I do not want her to have the zoomies or nips.  Again this is an excitement behavior.  She will even nip as I am putting her game down.  She is now about 21+- months old.  Suggestions?

Thanks for your assistance.

Russ Tuttle

[Adrienne]

Hi Russ, 

I foresee so much fur to make another Skye out of it next spring! 

About the excitement prior to the walk or just going outside for her run I can suggest two ways to tackle it: one is a short-term temporary management solution, the other is a more long-term permanent solution. Let's start with the short-term one.

In this case, we're looking for a more productive, less damaging behavior to engage her in to replace the undesirable one. We often tell dogs what not to do, but that often leaves them with a "vacuum" meaning that they're still left with un-used energy and possibly frustration. On top of this, as you can attest, when your dog is too over threshold due to being overly excited, your "no" goes to deaf ears-and when our request goes to deaf ears, it risks weakening over time and becoming victim of learned irrelevance. 

So if this behavior tends to happen when you grab the leash or at a certain time because she's anticipating what is happening next, we can find ways to prevent it or re-direct it at its earliest onset.  So perhaps, we can create a new routine. 

As a short-term management solution:

One way to do this would be to send her out in the yard to burn off some energy. Rush towards the door and into the yard, enticing your dog to chase you so that she can burn off some steam in the yard. If you have a spacious yard, she'll have more room to stretch her legs and less risk of getting injured or knocking down items. Once outside, you can encourage your dog to sniff or engage in some other calmer, structured yet appealing activities. For example, you can encourage her to drain some energy by digging in a designated area or in sand box, or you can encourage a game of tug with a long tug toy or flirt pole that you can readily keep handy for this purpose. 

Once she's calmer, you can then ask her to sit and clip the leash on and take her on a walk/run. 

As a long-term permanent solution:

If the zoomies occur contingent upon seeing the leash, and expecting the walk/outdoor time, it's important to prevent encouraging these hyper behaviors by accidentally reinforcing them. It sounds like her behavior is driven to rush you up into going outside, just as she's trying to rush you up when you are putting her game down. 

Here's how it often goes in many households with dogs, this is just an example, not necessarily your case, but just to give an idea:

You grab the leash and your dog start pacing around as you walk towards the door. Then, you clip it on your dog as he's moving and possibly even jumping around. Next, you open the door as your dog is moving excitedly. Once the door is open, your dog pulls and continues pulling for the rest of the walk. 

While this may seem like a normal routine with a dog who is overly excited about walks, in reality if you analyze the whole situation you will notice how owners may have inadvertently reinforced every little chain of this behavior. 

To better understand this, consider that going outside is something that many dogs perceive as very rewarding, so every little thing you do that gets you and your dog progressively closer to his objective (that is the door/outside), will be reinforced. 

For example, by clipping the leash on when the dog moving and jumping around, you have reinforced moving and jumping. By opening the door as your dog moves excitedly, you have reinforced moving excitedly. By getting out the door with your dog pulling you strongly, you have reinforced his pulling forward behavior. By pulling on the walk, you have reinforced pulling as pulling gets your dog walking faster or reaching something he would like to explore. 

By doing all of this, one is  basically reinforcing a dog's excited, impatient behavior.  So here are several tips to calm a dog prior to a walk. 

Desensitize your dog to the leash. At random times of the day, start getting your leash from where you usually keep it and sit down. Keep it near you and pick it up at random times and put it down. Your dog may get excited when you do this initially, but at some point you'll notice he starts caring less. 

Desensitize to you walking towards the door with the leash in your hand. Next, start grabbing the leash and walking towards the door with it. Do this several times at random times. . Your dog may get excited when you do this initially, but at some point you'll notice he starts caring less. 

Train your dog to sit nicely when you clip the leash on. Learn to tone down the excitement by clipping on the leash only when the dog is calm and sitting.

Walk Away From Undesirable Behavior: What if your dog gets up right when you are about to clip on the leash? In that scenario, turn around, and walk away. Rinse and repeat until your dog stays nicely put and calm. By doing this, you are informing your dog that his excited behavior make you move away, making the chance of an immediate walk less likely. 

Train your dog to hold a sit-stay as you open the door. Many dogs like to pull out as soon as you open the door, but this can be a tripping hazard and you don't want to be dragged by the leash out. Also, you may want to be the first to check things out outdoors, prior to getting your dog out so make this a new habit. Practice sit-stays first in areas with less distractions (like using the yard door), before practicing in front of the door you use to go on walks. Once your dog is able to hold a sit/stay reliably, make it a habit of you walking outside first and then inviting your dog to join you, by releasing him from the stay. 

Train polite leash manners. It goes without saying that training polite leash manners will also be important so that your dog learns that a loose leash is your accelerator (making you walk forward) and tense leash is your brake (making you stop or turn around the opposite way.) With all these polite behaviors reinforced, with time, you should notice calmer, more relaxed behaviors in your dog.  

Something worthy of mentioning is that if the zoomies happen often after meals, the food may be to blame if it's a high-glycemic carb food. Sort of like a child who becomes wildly hyperactive shortly after consuming a sugary food or drink.

Nipping when giving the game

Same goes with nipping when you are lowering her game. You are lowering and she tries to nip? You move the game away. She keeps on nipping? You walk away and even leave the room if she persists. Then you come back and try again. She behaves? You walk towards her and try to lower it down. She tries to nip again, you move it away. Ideally, you should have her game when she's sitting nicely for her game and then you once it's on the ground you tell her to "go!" You can do that as well with her food bowl. You get what you reinforce. 

I would also suggest impulse control and frustration tolerance exercises. More on these here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/

I hope this helps, let me know how things go.

Send pats to fluffy Skye for me.  

Best,

Adrienne