I have a 8 1/2 week old rottie that gets quite upset when he is picked up. We try not to pick him up often because, after all, he's a big dog and should be able to walk himself. But certain situation come up where we need to carry him. Sometimes (usually in public) he's fine, but other times he will let out some growls and sometimes even flail around and try to bite us. What can we do to curb this behavior? We've been trying to just hold him in a comfortable position until he calms down, then praise and treat, but it doesn't seem to be working well. He'll calm down then as we go to put him down he starts again.
Now as far as chewing/mouthing/biting ankles and stuff, from what I read you're supposed to give a command like "leave it" and when he stops praise him, then redirect his attention to a toy or something. Is that correct? What do I do if he is more interesting in whatever he was chewing on then the toy? Is there anything else I can do?
Now as far as chewing/mouthing/biting ankles and stuff, from what I read you're supposed to give a command like "leave it" and when he stops praise him, then redirect his attention to a toy or something. Is that correct? What do I do if he is more interesting in whatever he was chewing on then the toy? Is there anything else I can do?