Biting me while playing... suggestions?

[ltk202]

Hello all. I have a shepard mix puppy, named Rocket,who is about 7-8 months old. He's quite friendly, but hasn't interacted with other dogs much. Once, we had a Shiba Inu over for a couple of days and they weren't the best of friends. Well, back on the topic, anytime we start to play something like fetch, after a while (like 5-10 minutes or so), he'll drop whatever he had and run towards me and bite my arm, shirt, or pants. If I yell no or scream a little bit, instead of backing away, he gets even more aggressive. I don't know how to relieve this problem from becoming a serious one. The bites aren't hard, but they tend to leave what I like to call red speed bumps. He never bites at any other time, except for when he starts nipping my side or back (sorta like he's pinching me), and sometimes when I put my hand near his head to try and pet him. When I do that, he sorta moves his head away like something bad is going to happen.

I'm the only person in my family who plays with the dog, and he has been doing this for about a month. He's never gotten this aggressive with me before, and I don't know what I can do.

Thanks for any help or suggesstions. I really appreciate it.

 

[Millie]

I have that problem with my dog too. Whenever he starts to play to rough I just stop playing with him. Eventually he realized if he did that I would stop. He is better than he used to be but he still gets a little wacko when we play. Try to find him a freind to play rough with that will help. Take him for walks so he can use up that energy. I hope this helps.

 

[bogolove]

Brady acts like that sometimes too. He sometimes gets too excited playing and gets a little rough, but luckily he has a girlfriend down the street that is the same way so I bring him over to her house and her owner and I just watch them run around and wrestle and play. He has such a good time over there. But he does the nipping thing with me too, I call them love nips, but they hurt. He nips just right on the edge of your skin, he usually does it to try and wake up in the morning or to get my attention when I am on the couch. I try saying no and he makes this low moaning sound and keeps on doing it, and then I threaten to put him out in the back yard and that usually does not work either. If you can get his mind focused on something else, a bone, a toy, etc., that works for me a lot. But I do have to say that he usually gets more rough with my husband than me. he knows he will get in trouble if he is too rough with me, but my husband just takes it, so Brady likes to aggravate him. Ahhhhh....boys.

 

[Renee750il]

This sounds like an adolescent dog trying to assert dominance.

First things first: if he hasn't been neutered yet, now's the time.

When he starts the aggressive behaviour, DO NOT make loud noises or yell or scream. That only incites him; to his mind, you are making the noises of fear. You stop the game immediately and the fun is over; make him sit or lay down, then clip an leash on him and take him back inside. You're the boss.

 

[ltk202]

.

Oh, he has been neutered.

Thanks for all the advice. I'll try them out and see what happens.

 

[crazydog]

yes roxy does that often to me too. whenever i try to pet her then she goes straight for my hand. she bites really hard. i wish i had a camera to show how bad she bit me. shes only a little puppy too (hence the avatar) and i cant find a way to make her stop. i tried taking a toy and sticking it into her mouth but she moves her head and gets straight for my hand that is holding the toy. i tried not playing with her anymore and she just sits there and whines. i dont know how to stop that. i wish she would stop. i have 3 major problems with her (if these problems can be solved then ill love her soooo much) they are:
1.) whining and crying when ever i am not there
2.) biting me whenever we play. ouch!
3.) using the bathroom all over the carpet, even after i sit outside for an hour with her
:sigh:

 

[ltk202]

.

UPDATE

Rocket brought his biting habits inside, so now whenever I'm using the computer he proceeds to nip on my side. I usually ignore it, but then he gets a good hold of what I'm wearing and tugs. And he tugs very hard. What can I do? (btw, the problem with him biting when we play isn't much of an issue as before. I usually take him in, and then he just calms down. But when we aren't even playing is when the biting problem gets a bit hectic).

 

[Renee750il]

That's when you make him sit or lay down. He's begging for attention, so you need to be honest with yourself and think about whether or not he's actually getting enough attention. After he's sat or lain down for a couple of minutes you can get up and play with him for a bit. Teach him that good manners get rewards and bad manners get him ignored.

An 11 month old male German Shepard really does need quite a bit of attention and mental stimulation. The females seem to be a bit better at entertaining themselves, plus by 11 months, the females are well on their way to trying to be more adult. But you have to take into account that whether you have a male or female, these dogs are smart and they're working dogs, so they want something to do. The nipping is a herding technique, as is the pulling.