# Help...suddenly nasty!



## Alli (Jul 21, 2005)

My 6 month old chi in the last couple of weeks has started to snarl, bark and try to bite people when they pet him. He has always been a very good natured puppy until now. He usually loves people...I made sure to socialize him like crazy when he was small. I'm hoping he's going though an adolescent phase or something. He gets neutered in a couple of weeks. Will this change him back to the sweetie he was before? I know he's also teething right now too. This is exactly the behavior I didn't want and now I'm scared he's always going to be acting vicious. What's going on, and what can I do?!! Thanks.


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## KB (Apr 13, 2004)

Somewhere here is the stages they go thru I will post the link....you must assert your alpha role now.

Dont let it bum you. My boy doesnt like anyone, my girl loves everyone.....as they grow up they will get more protective so that is their nature, some adjust better than some 

hmm link wont pull up for me....I will try toadd it here later but it is on the board maybe in the article section :wave:

ah here it is I have a stupid virus on my computer and it wasnt pulling it up http://www.vanerp.net/ilse/GSDINFO/stagesofcaninedev.htm

hope that helps


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## Boogaloo (Mar 27, 2004)

Good link, Victoria! That is very helpful.  

Be sure not to accidently reward your Chi for this behavior (i.e. picking him up, getting him away from the thing he is barking at, etc. can encourage the behavior.)

Have you signed him up for a puppy class yet? That may really help the problem. 

Continue to socialize him. You may not want to take him out around people as much now, but right now is the time to really keep doing it. Just be sure to warn people that he does tend to nip.

Good luck!


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## Cooper (Jun 15, 2005)

I'm so sorry to hear your boy has decided to let his inner diva come out! :lol: 

Most behavorists will tell you that a dog that acts like yours is in social situations is doing it out of fear. Since he's just a pup still, he may be going through his teenage angst years as well, testing to see how far he can go.

Vic was right about the dominance; if he's confused about the dominance hierarchy, the barking might be caused by him not knowing who's in charge. Try this simple dominance-gainer and see if it helps:

When you feed him, make him sit (first, teach him to sit. LOL) before you put down his food. Put it down and if he gets up, take the food away. It'll take a while for him to figure it out but the gist is that he sits until you tell him he can eat. Once he does sit and wait, the next day, make him sit a bit longer. Just 10-20 seconds is all he needs to wait - long enough for him to realize YOU are the one that controls the food, therefore, you are the one in control.

If you have other people in the house with you, have them do the same thing so he views all of you as his pack leaders. If it doesn't stop the biting and nipping, then at least you'll have dominance figured out in the end.  

Puppy classes are a must, in my opinion. They're more for the human than they are for the dog. Cooper is the first dog I've owned all my myself so I *thought* I knew how to do certain things... I found out my ways were all wrong. They really do help form a bond between dog and human, as well as giving you good tips on how to handle just about anything. Your pup gets an opportunity to get some socialization with unfamiliar dogs in as well.

Good luck!!


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## Alli (Jul 21, 2005)

Thanks for the ideas and info! I did enroll him in puppy classes but pulled him out because of an aggressive rottweiller. I will have to find another one. It's just so disappointing that I tried to do everything right and read a million books, and he still turned out to have the behavior I wanted to avoid. I had him around literally hundreds of people before 4 months of age... I took him everywhere with me...he really loved people and would even lick strangers hands and faces. This is just so upsetting that he could do a 180 within a couple of weeks! I hope it doesn't last but I'm going to try everything I can to change it. Thanks again.


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