Puppy aggression

[StephanieChanax]

I would like to know why my puppy is aggressive towards me and bites me hard and how to stop it 

[Adrienne]

Hi Stephanie, 

Welcome to the forums,

True aggression from puppies is not too common, in most cases, we deal with "play aggression" in other words puppies biting owner's hands, feet, out of rough play. Play growling may accompany the rough play as well. To better understand your situation, can you please provide some more details on what you are  exactly seeing?

How old is your puppy?

What breed is your puppy?

How long have you had this puppy?

When does the biting happen? What seems to trigger it?

Does he resource guard food, toys, sleeping places? Resource guarding takes place when dogs stiffen, growl and bite when approached and they are protecting a bone, toy or sleeping area (bed, couch etc)

[StephanieChanax]

She is 3.5 months old  , she likes to bite at the point that she makes me or the other owner bleed she barks at anybody, tries to bite out of no where, she starts growling at anything or anyone, for example yesterday I tried giving her a treat and petting her at the same time, and she just bite my arm , she is a German shepherd mix 

[StephanieChanax]

1 minute ago, StephanieChanax said:

She is 3.5 months old  , she likes to bite at the point that she makes me or the other owner bleed she barks at anybody, tries to bite out of no where, she starts growling at anything or anyone, for example yesterday I tried giving her a treat and petting her at the same time, and she just bite my arm , she is a German shepherd mix also when putting a leash she starts to growl and tries to bite , if someone tries to pet her she starts to bite, sometimes she just wants to bite without any reason 

[Adrienne]

Thanks for the additional information,

Germans shepherds and their mixes can be quite nippy when young. This is because they were selectively bred to herd livestock. This required determination, courage and a strong instinct to control the movements of the sometimes stubborn animals they herded. In particular, German shepherds can be very mouthy due to their herding heritage and they tend to use their mouths as hands.

So when you take a cute, fluffy puppy bred for this purpose and welcome her to your home, she'll be predisposed to biting unless you provide her with outlets for these natural, instinctive behaviors, redirection and lots of training.

On top of this, young puppies in particular have teeth that are very sharp, but their jaws haven't fully developed yet. Due to their weak jaws, Mother Nature has compensated by providing them these needle-sharp teeth which can easily tear and puncture our sensitive skin. 

Now, there is nipping and nipping. In most cases, when dog owners describe their pups as aggressive, they are simply playing very roughly, nipping hands and feet and attaching to their clothing and growling as they tug. As scary as this sounds, in these circumstances, in most cases puppies are simply playing. 

More serious, potentially aggressive behavior is provoked by specific circumstances or exposure to certain triggers. The most common reasons why puppies engage in aggressive behaviors is because they are either resource guarding an object such as a bone, toy, person or resting area(protecting it), reacting out of fear, defending themselves, or responding to pain. This type of behavior can start as early as 6 weeks of age. 

If she is barking and growling at strangers or people she doesn't know, we may be seeing some potential fearful behaviors due to not being socialized or genetics. This is something we want to tackle earlier rather than later because as she matures, she may become more confident and decide to bite or she may bite out of fear when cornered, restrained or the moment people turn around. 

This type of behavior requires more behavior modification than training. Enlisting the help of a behavior professional is recommended for in-person guidance, safety and correct implementation of behavior modification. 

You can read a sample of a behavior modification protocol I have used when working on a dog who was fearfully barking when a particular person entered the home: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dog-barking-someone-enters-room/

The reaction towards  being touched can be due to a lack of handling. There is a guide on handling exercises here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-teach-puppies-to-tolerate-touch/

However,  if your puppy bit your arm when you were feeding a treat and you were petting her, this can be a sign she wasn't ready for that level of touch. It helps to increase the value of the treats used (something super valuable she loves) and starting with a very, very light touch in areas she tolerates better at first. 

So it would be important working along with a professional to start by touching the puppy briefly in areas she's less likely to react at first while feeding a tasty treat at the same time. Stop touching once she's done eating the treat. Rinse and repeat and aim to obtain a positive conditioned emotional response as described here: 

 https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/

After ward, very gradually move to areas where your puppy may dislike being touched like the top of the head, ears or paws. Always feeding a treat to create positive associations. If your puppy ever tries to nip, split the exercise into smaller steps. For example if your puppy tries nipping when you try to pat the top of the head, start petting the nose lightly or sides of the head and giving a treat until he's comfortable with that before progressing to petting the top of the head. If the nipping causes tears/wounds, it is recommended to wear heavy duty gloves but always aiming to not push boundaries and working at the pup's level of comfort, taking baby steps and progressing slowly. 

Since she seems to be biting strongly, it would be important  teaching her better bite inhibition. This is a very important skill.

A good exercise to train this using treats is here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/train-dog-take-treats-gently

Also, here are some bite inhibition games to redirect biting, teaching hand targeting is one of my favorites:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/

She also needs to learn to be better under control when exposed to anybody. Keep her on leash and don't allow her to rehearse the undesirable behaviors targeted towards others. Only once she is better under control you can keep her off leash.

One of my favorite games for teaching puppies to control their impulses a bit more is learning to respond to a smacking sound made with your mouth. First, make a smacking sound and toss a valuable treat (kibble can work too if your pup loves to eat it) for your puppy to chase and eat. Repeat several times until you get a reliable response. More details on this is found here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/

Practice then with your puppy on the leash as she watches people walking around. Feed her treats for observing them. Then practice with your puppy on a long line (longer leash) and then only once she responds reliably, you can practice with her off leash. If you notice an intent to nip make sure to redirect your puppy before she has had a chance to approach them.

Once she does better, volunteers may be used for the treat and retreat game:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/treat-retreat-game/

Other tips that come to mind:

-All meals should be fed from food puzzles, brain games, foraging and training.

-Outlets should be provided such as play with flirt pole, chasing a remote controlled car, games that involve digging and sniffing. 

-Dogs prone to nipping excessively need to checked for having sufficient rest and undisturbed sleep. They shouldn't be exposed to over stimulating situations that causes them to rehearse nipping Nipping behaviors tend to get worse when a dog is cranky. Ensure your pup gets an opportunity to nap very 3-4 hours at least and set a routine. Also, create the right setting for encouraging deep sleep. Puppies need a lot of sleep especially the REM-type sleep which is the most restorative sleep of all. If the room you keep your puppy in is noisy, chances are, she's missing out this deep sleep and her internal switch is still turned on.

-Start training. See the obedience 101 section and train her some impulse control and frustration control exercises:

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

-Ensure to prevent resource guarding:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/the-importance-of-preventing-resource-guarding-in-puppies/

Because there is potential aggression involved here, once again it's important working along with a professional. Also, since you mention her growling at anything/anyone and trying to bite out of no where (read more on this here https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dogs-dont-bite-blue/,) it would be important ruling out any medical issues which may lower her threshold for aggression. 

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions. I am basing my answer on your description but for a truly accurate analysis, it would be important observing the behavior. 

Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course (or any online source) are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dogs' behavior against you or others.