Bandit - Demon Stage

edited May 2009 in Other Breeds
Hey,

been watching its me or the dog and searching for help.

So, we aren't sure why but he has been biting the HELL outta us and growling and lunging. He is wagging his tail but we aren't sure why he's being so malicious. We aren't sure if its an upset stomache or something. He is very nice when we take him outta his crate. He's been sleeping a lot and been a bit gassy. He did get sick from catfood yesterday but is fine now. He has been urinating like every 20 minutes. so we try to take him out bunches. He doesn't let us walk him much either. he plants his butt on the ground and growls. Its odd cause he was very sweet at first, and when he is tired he is sweet and will climb in your lap and chill.

We have been ignoring him and getting up when he bites/barks. we want to train him in puppy class and other things, we've been trying to train him but he REFUSES to listen at all, esp when we have treats. He's been very irritable.

I'm considering going to the vet to ask what they thought but wanted your opinion first. I think some of the biting could be dad and bro play rough with him...possibly.


Help/Suggestions?
he is 8 weeks and a couple of days.

Comments

  • edited November -1
    Have you been taking him for walks ... like outside? xD I was just curious. I would never risk a puppy or even take a puppy for a walk at that age, especially without shots completely finished. n__n;

    Not sure what to suggest about the growling and lunging ... :(
  • edited November -1
    we have, sorta. I get really upset if my parents let him meet other dogs. He's had almost all his shots and we keep him in our yard. Dad refuses to let us puppy pad train him in the house. ^^; But we take him in our yard frequently. My dad wants us to every 15 minutes but its a little crazy to do that.

    Its just odd cause he's either sweet and tired, or crazy and bite-y.
  • edited May 2009
    I got Bella at 7 weeks or 8 weeks I forgot, but she didn't mind her harness, but when she had a leash on and if I was going in a different direction she was going in she would stop right where she is and not budge so I started to walk where she wanted to go for a bit each day I would try to lead her and of coarse she would stop and stand there, but as days went by she got better and started to follow me as I called for her. I just walked her in our backyard which we had to keep snow out of so she had a few spots to potty, but after her first shot we started to take short walks in the trails which she did fine and she stoped a few times, but as she got a bit older she did great on walks took alot of work and talking to her trying to get her to come and walk good.

    I'm sure it's because he's a puppy I've read alot of posts on different forums and this one which it seems alot of people's puppies go through this with the leash and walking, but I'm sure little Bandit will do better. =)

    Lol Bandit Demon stage he sounds like Bella at 8weeks I wish I took a video of her crazy antics runing everywhere, biting my clothes, hands, feet, and barking alot at Dink when she wouldn't play with her. It was hard to live with her for a bit she put holes in my pants and my PJ luckily my pants were outside pants and I needed new PJ anyways..

    With biting it's hard to work with a teething puppy I did the cry and leave or cry and give her a chew toy or plush toy I think after a few weeks she finally got the hint, she'll still bite when rough housing with me, but she'll stop when I tell her to and she doesn't bite hard at all. With the barking I would leash her when we was barking at dink too much and would just take her to the couch to lay with me to calm her down which seems to work, but sometimes it doesn't and she would just run back to dink to bother her which she always bark a few times out of frustration or something whenever dinky gives a warning growl when she is too rough, but she's not doing it so much now.

    The biting and lunging is probably a puppy thing since he's still young I'm sure it'll go away as he gets older if you keep working with him my Bella was a crazy dog she still is, but at 6month she's alot more well behaved and she's still a crazy puppy she just has more manners now also I'm sure puppy class will be good for him and maybe the trainer there can help you with it also meeting puppies and new people will help wear him out too.

    I hope you get the help you need I know taking care of a puppy can be tiring, but hang in there it'll be worth it once you work things out he'll be the perfect pet.
  • edited May 2009
    Thank you so much this is very helpful. : )
    It's just very hard since my dad gets irritated and expects him to be better already. : P I figured it's like the terrible twos. I love the info i get on the forum, its invaluable. I think once he gets older and mellow's a bit he'll be perfect as well. Though, I love him so much already (he's just a poop-head) :D

    i'm gonna try and get a video of him being evil tomorrow haha
  • edited November -1
    Yeah, you should tell your dad not to expect your puppy to be better already. xD; 8 weeks old is only the beginning. ;)
  • edited November -1
    wagging the tail doesnt mean that they are happy. they are just "excited" which could lead to a number of different behaviors including malicious behavior. however, when there tail is wagging they can go from being excited to excited happy in a second so you have to be careful how youre reacting to them.
  • edited November -1
    yay...no sleep. i think he might have some digestion issues because he has been trying to throw up and whining all night and tried to use the potty but struggled (though he did get it out...everywhere) I'm gonna take a fecal in to the vet tomorrow along with him if i can.

    its really crappy cause im starting to get very ill. I'm scared i'm gonna get him sick too.
  • edited November -1
    I'm sorry he's not feeling well did he get into anything?

    Watch him if he goes under your bed, Bella sleeps with my parents and when it wasn't bed time she would go under the bed and pull out the black cotton stuff under the mattress she must have eaten a little and she had some runny poop after that we don't allow her in that room except for bedtime.
  • edited May 2009
    puppies can't be malicious, unless there is something seriously wrong with them. They are puppies, they act like wild animals because they pretty much are... they don't know your expectations because they are so new to your lifestyle and family unit.
    Plus, he probably really really misses his litter since he's so, so young (did you get him when he was 7 or 8 weeks old from the breeder?!?!) and now you are the replacement litter, so unless you show him your expectations, he'll keep on showing you his.

    As his shots are not completed, you really should tell your family to not bring him out of the yard and definitely to not interact with unknown dogs. I would call the vet and ask to determine his risk for things like parvo, giardia, etc.

    What are you feeding him? In total, like treats included.
  • edited November -1
    i feel like such a noob.
    and he is a little more than 9 weeks now, i am tired so i hadn't realized how much time had lapsed since i got him :P we got him at 8 weeks. (i wish we could've gotten him at 12 weeks so he could learn more from his mom, but we couldn't do that : [ )
    I don't mean to sound agitated constantly, I haven't been getting much sleep (still no excuse) and it's been nearly impossible for me to get my whole family on the same page (esp dad). So I was really frustrated. I understand he isn't trying to be a complete terror, and I thought he might be sick since he was fine and then suddenly BAM he was irritable. We are trying to make sure he's happy, and he's fine as long as we are in the room but as soon as you get out of his sight he freaks, and he is super excited soon as you walk in. We are trying to make him like our crate (he used a crate at the breeders) and also get him to be a little less nervous alone. Does anyone have any suggestions? I haven't found much good advice outside of this forum.

    I've been trying my hardest to tell dad we shouldn't let him out until we get all his shots, but he wont have it and gets angry. Honestly the vet is not my favorite and doesn't seem to care what we do behavior wise and training wise. I am looking for another vet currently but we haven't had much luck with a good vet. -.-;

    Last check up he was healthy and weighed 3lbs.

    we are feeding him a cup of blue buffalo puppy food (that's how much they say for how much he weighs) throughout the day and about 3-4 treats (organic peanut butter grain free treats)
    today i gave him a organic peanut butter kong to enjoy in his crate, its a tiny kong, so its about a spoonfull of peanut butter and he can't reach it all yet.


    My bed is on the floor, like completely and there is nothing he can get into except his crate and my bed. We think he may be getting into stuff outside that or the catfood, we had to move it to a ridiculous spot because the puppy woudl do anything for it (the catfood) and he got sick after that.

    sorry for the trouble =.=
  • edited November -1
    I would def take a fecal to the vet for tests. Gihardia is very common and can cause MAJOR tummy upsets.
  • edited May 2009
    Will do, we are trying to get in today actually. : )



    do we need one super fresh or is one that's an hour or so old still good? cause i want to make sure i can get him to go. : )
  • edited November -1
    A fresh one is best, but I think they can test one that is an hour or so old and still get results.
  • edited November -1
    okay thanks : )

    he's been a little better today. Its odd but when he's with me, rather than my family he is about 100 times better behaved and less bite-y. He actually tends to sleep and be fine. When my family comes home he gets much worse. Mom gets bitten tons, dad not really as much but he gets in a fouler mood around him, more touchy, and with my brother he goes out of control. like off the wall biting and crazy. I think this is part to do with how they treat him. I'm the one who does most of the training and work, mom spoils puppy but listens to me pretty well so he's not as bad around her, dad and bro tend to be harsher with the dog when he "misbehaves" and freakishly lavish attention otherwise.

    I really do think he did get a bit sick and if i can get the vet to tell me no outside i can keep dad from doing that. I really would rather him stay healthy.

    And awesome, its me or the dog has a pom-chi on it. sweetness.



    But seriously guys, thanks : )
  • edited November -1
    Actually I think they can test feces for up to 12 hours. Refrigerate it if it's going to be a long time before you take it in, mark what it is in the fridge...

    When you are stressed, your dog will be stressed. I wish your father was more willing to work with you on coming up with consistent routine and training for the dog, it would make things so much easier on little Bandit.
  • edited May 2009
    I'd suggest you ask the vet to write down on a piece of paper that Bandit is NOT allowed around other unknown dogs until he had all his necessary shots, then make the vet sign and date it. This should make your dad realize the dangers a little more. Maybe you should have the vet (or you even) print out something that states all the possible dangers for a puppy in the outside world to give to your dad to read...
    As for Bandit's behavior, I think the current situation really confuses him. You try to train him your way, you brother and father their way, your mom spoils him and doesn't really train him (as far as I understood). If you could get EVERYONE involved in the training you specify (I know you have the most knowledge out of all of you) Bandit would understand the rules much better and be less confused and probably happier that way ;o) Let us know what the vet says about his tummy... good luck!
  • edited November -1
    i hate gihardia. it would be very very wise to make sure that your puppy does that have that.
  • edited November -1
    As far as health goes, I think everyone pretty much covered it. There are two things, however, I would like to address.

    1. The nipping / biting. When he does this during play, yelp REALLY loud & turn the other way. This way he learns he's hurt you & when he hurts you play time is over. You only have to stop playing for a little while, like 30 seconds or so. If he continues to bite, or he still hasn't "learned" leave the room for a little while. Again, only like 30 seconds or so [ & make sure he's in a room where he cant get into anything ] By yelping & ending playtime, you're essentially teaching him what his littermates would have taught him. By doing this you allow him to develop a "soft mouth" so that je learns when playing with humans, it's not ok to bite hard. This is something you deffinitely want to do early as it might be cute now, but once he gets his adult teeth it WILL hurt.

    2. Whenever you leave for any amount of time, do NOT make a "big deal" when you come back. No psycho petting, hugs, or instant play. Otherwise, he'll just miss you more when you're gone.


    I would also look into "Nothing in Life is Free" technique. When he starts learning his obedience commands [ sit, up, down, stay, etc. ] essentially before he does anything [ playtime, walk, feeding, etc. ] he has to do a command for you. For example, before you feed him, you tell him "sit" when he sits, he gets his food. It's a great way to develop your pup into a respectful doggy. I've seen some awesome pups come out this way & definitely recommend it.

    Good luck! ~
  • edited November -1
    Hey guys, sorry. Been dealing with my school and my job and my puppy. We went to the vet, the poo was the catfood issue and he has a slight kennel cough so they gave him some antibiotic. So he's gonna be fine thanks : ). He's been doing much better now and he sits whenever he wants anything. Thanks guys, bandit says hi : P
  • edited November -1
    update:

    internet's down : ( so sorry
    also pup got gihardia (sp) and another parasite so dealing with that. be back soon.
  • edited November -1
    oh no... does your dad finally agree to not take him to other dogs yet?
    All the best for Bandit!
  • edited November -1
    God, I hate Giardia, Tetsu had it and it gave him major runs. Be very careful when handling his poop or being near where he goes, that stuff is contagious to humans as well as other animals. Visually, though, treating for Giardia is not as gross as for worms.
  • edited November -1
    Good lord this has been keeping me busy/that and lack of internet. he is getting better at behaving around me, i've got to record him playing sometime he likes to kill things.
  • edited November -1
    Sounds like you've got your hands full. And no wonder Bandit wasn't feeling very well, poor little guy.

    Yeah Giardia is no fun, Lynx got that too when she was a little pup (from drinking icky, dirty water from our wildlife infested yard).

    I hope he gets better soon! Oh and I know it's super hard but...try not to stress too much. Just take things as they come and try to focus on the task at hand.
  • edited November -1
    I had a friend who's siberian got giardia and it was so hard to deal with.. took 2+ months to get rid of it!! He will be in our thoughts!!
  • edited November -1
    thanks he's about to repeat his meds, apparently the first batch lays eggs then you have to deal with it!! haha. he's also gone from 3 lbs 1 ounce to a whopping 4 lbs. :P i'll post pics when i charge up my cam. everything is going well except potty training. it's a huge pain to train him esp since he has to go out like every 10 min. lol tiny dogs. thanks everyone for the support!! :D
  • edited November -1
    yes yes...spam pls.

    Hang in there Bandit! ~
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