aggressive Shih Tzu (update)

[Ming Ming and Suki's Momma 0]

Well I have address the issue with my 4 year old with no contact with Ming Ming at all. Only when I have her in my sight and arms only. But, she still is aggressive. She attack your feet and socks and doesn't stop when you make the loud noise or walk away. She would just run behind you and continue what she doing. I tried the water bottle thing with no positive results and now I'm trying to punish her with crate deal, but she just bark and whine out of control.

I'm trying to avoid having to pay petsmart $109 for training that I feel that I could do myself, but I feel like am being defeated by a 12 week old shih tzu. So please don't giving any advise you have to offer.

Thanks

[GizmoHappyKitty 1]

First of all, at 12 wks i'm sure she is not being aggressive, that is just normal puppy behaviour and punishing her in her crate is not going to help it in fact it will just teach her to hate her crate. How long have you had her? She was probably removed from her mother and littermates before she was ready and therefore hadn't learned bite inhabition. What you need to do is yelp just like a puppy would in a high pitch "Owe" when she bites you to let her know that it hurts and then give her one of her toys that she is allowed to chew on. You can also get a wet washcloth wring it out and then put it in the freezer all twisted still, give this to her to chew on. She is probably teething and this will help with the biting too. Also, when you play with her, never play with your hands she will think that your hands are toys and will go after them, only play with her with toys. If you play with her and tire her out she won't follow you around so much trying to get you to play with her by biting your feet and socks - a tired puppy is a well behaved puppy.

I just think you are expecting too much too soon from a tiny little baby.

Michele and the pups

[kcsheperd 13]

Yeah, I agree with Michele. I don't think you have an 'aggressive puppy' I think you have a 'playful puppy' and that is a good thing! Payslee nipped at my feet and socks till she was about 16 weeks old..then she quit. She is working out some of her puppy energy. Do you take her on long walks so she can work off some of her energy? That would probably help a lot. They have to have a way to get rid of all that puppy energy throughout the day.

Please don't put her in a crate for punsishment, or as a 'time out'.. Dogs have absolutley NO CONCEPT of time outs. All that is teaching her is to hate the crate, and you want her to feel like her crate is her home, and den, and a happy place, so only happy times should be in the crates. You don't want her to associate anything negative there.

As for the playing, make sure she has a lot of chewy toys to play with. Payslee loved to play fetch with her babies, and she loved me to wave them in front of her and make them squeak. That way she is always biting the toys, and never me. Trust me though, this whole puppy phase doesn't last that long, she will grow out of a lot of this. But remember their minds are like little sponges right now, so you should try teaching her sit, stay, heal, wait, etc.. right now because they absorb it so readily..When she does or is doing, what you want her to do, praise her and give her a small treat that she loves. Maybe that will also help with the authority issue. Good luck! And enjoy her! Remember they don't stay this size very long!!

[Riquena 2]

I posted this here about the barking in error. I saw you had another post regarding excessive barking.

As for the barking and crying won't stop if you keep giving in to her and letting her out. She's training you so you have to nip that in the bud immediately. IGNORE her crying and barking. Yes it's hard - I too went through the same thing. But as long as she knows she has your attention, she will continue to do it. Once she realizes she's being ignored, she will stop. Also, if she happens to quiet down, then you can come out, praise her and even treat her, but ONLY when she's doing the right thing - as in staying quiet and not barking. It takes a lot of patience, but being consistent with the training is the only way you will achieve that success.

You might also try watching Cesar Millan's show, The Dog Whisperer, and It's Me or the Dog with Victoria Stillwell. It's amazing what you can learn from these shows, especially when you think you're doing the right thing and then you see that you aren't. Imagine, even the author of Marley & Me (John Grogan) called upon Cesar to help him out with his new lab.

Also, don't crate her as a means of punishment. She will only hate the crate and you will have more problems down the line. Like KC mentioned, tire her out. Take her for a run, or a walk, play a lot and let her release that energy.

Edited May 13, 2009 by Riquena

[K9lover 0]

Take her for a run, or a walk, play a lot and let her release that energy.

A tired dog is a happy dog :roflmao:

[luvinpreciousntoby 0]

I agree with the others... she's just being a puppy,,, doing what puppys do best.. playyyyyy.... Try the things mentioned above... but remember,, you're dealing with a lil pup.. it will take some patience.. I believe in the praise not punishment... with precious,, when she would nip at us,, we would yell.. ow.. in a shrill voice.. she ALWAYS stopped and looked at me like,, oops.. sorry mom...

Good Luck

[miley's mom 0]

I too agree with the above. She's just being a puppy. We used to just distract Miley with toys; play a game of fetch or something. He too stopped doing this somewhere around 16 weeks.

Aggressive biting: tail down, growling or a shrill bark, lips barred and then the bite. Quite a difference. Miley had some fear biting issues when out in the park. That's when I brought a trainer in. I'm pleased to say now that he's doing great! I no longer fear that he will aggressive bite. However, it is important to read their body language and be there to step in if the pup is getting over-whelmed.

I'm sure that Ming Ming will do fine if you just distract her and get her to play and/or chew on her toys.

[Ming Ming and Suki's Momma 0]

Ming Ming is my baby girl and I shop for like I shop for my real kids. She has a floor full of toys to choose from to play with. I'm trying the distration and the tiring her out methods to control the nipping and biting. Believe it or not, a trainer at Petsmart told me the crate deal. So thank you all for telling me that is a no-no.

I will continue with those methods for now so thank you guys for helping raise my baby girl!!!

[Riquena 2]

hang in there...it gets easier!! :thankyou:

[GizmoHappyKitty 1]

Yeah, hang in there it does get easier. Some puppies just have so much energy and want to constantly play. My boy used to like to bite hands in play when he was a pup and we had to break him of that habbit and would just get on the floor and play with him with his toys until he was good and tired. My little girl wasn't bad with biting hands, but she would grab onto your pant leg when you walk by (she still does this occassionally when she is excited and in a playful mood............lol.

Michele and the pups

[Stacey 7]

Yeah not all trainers know the proper methods..... some do more harm than good believe it or not

[Ming Ming and Suki's Momma 0]

Gizmohappykitty, Ming Ming does the pants leg thing to my son.

Thank you guys for the encouragement because my Ming Ming is just another baby without the labor and delivery.