Sweet boy but gets aggressive dominant

mommaofbrutus

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Aug 1, 2013
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Brutus
Hi all, Brutus is turning 8 months old in two days and lately I have noticed that when he plays (usually by himself), he gets all worked up and lunges at our hands or feet as we sit near by on the couch. When he's corrected by a loud "NO!", he seems to be challenging us and barks back and comes at us repeatedly. Each time it ends when I pin him to the floor until he calms down, and when he finally does I calmly stroke him and praise him. He appears to aggressive and I have been reading posts on here that this might just be how bullies play? It worries me that he might not grow out of this and when he gets bigger, it will only be harder for me to contain him to make him stop. I've tried standing up, walking up towards, or walking away from him to ignore him which I've read on this forum that eventually they get it that you don't want to play, and have even tried yelping to mimic littermates' cries. All of this to no avail. I'm at the point where I don't get to enjoy playing with him and cannot be at peace once he starts playing! I hate resorting to holding him down because he reacts aggressively to it, growling and trying to catch my hand with his mouth. Is there something I'm not doing right??? Help!
 

TubbysMom

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Jan 15, 2013
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Reading this I could have sworn I wrote it myself. Tubby will mouth at my hands or feet to entice me to play with him. He is also a growler and will mouth at my hands when we are playing. I usualy get up and walk away from him and he gets the point. I also give him a disappointed look. He will run to me and give me kisses after sort of like a sorry mom

good luck
 

JAKEISGREAT

.................
Mar 25, 2011
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Southern California
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I'm not too good with the whole "submitting" thing..but I DO know, if not done properly and at the right time, it can cause the opposite outcome and more behavior problems. I will tag a few people that may have advice for you!
[MENTION=2614]Vicaroo1000[/MENTION]... [MENTION=1714]Sherry[/MENTION]... [MENTION=2071]Davidh[/MENTION]
 
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mommaofbrutus

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Aug 1, 2013
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Brutus
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thank you [MENTION=7831]TubbysMom[/MENTION] and [MENTION=2092]JAKEISGREAT[/MENTION]. I'm wondering if it's a matter of staying consistent and with time he'll get it. Let's see...
 

Davidh

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Well most of it is just play and some will play hard. What may help is try to stop the play right when you notice he is getting too rough. You might even take him for a good walk to help burn off the extra energy he has stored up. A tired bully is a calm bully. They will also go crazy at night, usually around 8 or 9 PM. I call this the bewitching hour, their last burst of energy before bed time.
 

FORDE'SMOM

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Jun 17, 2011
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Forde
Reading this I could have sworn I wrote it myself. Tubby will mouth at my hands or feet to entice me to play with him. He is also a growler and will mouth at my hands when we are playing. I usualy get up and walk away from him and he gets the point. I also give him a disappointed look. He will run to me and give me kisses after sort of like a sorry mom

good luck
exact same thing here....Forde was the same way........he's 4 now.....much better now but still plays with so much excitement !
 

MzGrnMnM

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Aug 17, 2013
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USA
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Gator
Since Gator is a rescue, and we adopted him when we thought he was a little over a year, when we try to play he gets very aggresive also. I am very leary about putting my hands near the toy in his mouth cause he growls and sometimes snaps. I usually let him play alone, but I want to play catch and other games with him. So if anyone has any info on this I would love to hear it also.
Good Luck with Brutus, they are really a joy to have!!!
 

kazzy220

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Jul 31, 2010
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Maggie (My Angel Baby 5/31/2012). Daddy (2 years). Linus (1year). Bella (4 years)
I agree with what others have said. Don't panic as this is just normal bully puppy behaviour. He is still just a baby and sometimes it takes a while for them to realise what is expected of them. As you said, continue to be consistent and calm in the way you deal with the situation. He will gradually learn how to behave!! :yes:
 

Manydogs

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This is probably a stupid question,and I guess will make me look(sound) even more stupid but I have had dogs, all my life-as a child, and usually several at a time, since adulthood(looooong time) I have never pinned a dog to the floor or heard of it. Is this a normal training method? My dogs are spoiled, but pretty well behaved. Can you explain this "pinning" to me? Thanks!
 
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mommaofbrutus

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Brutus
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This is probably a stupid question,and I guess will make me look(sound) even more stupid but I have had dogs, all my life-as a child, and usually several at a time, since adulthood(looooong time) I have never pinned a dog to the floor or heard of it. Is this a normal training method? My dogs are spoiled, but pretty well behaved. Can you explain this "pinning" to me? Thanks!

No no, please don't say that! It is a valid question and I will try my best to explain what it is that I do. Honestly this is the first time I am trying to this method myself so this is a work in progress for me, too. Brutus can get really out of hand and wants to bite me despite my stern "NO!'s" and seem to get even more riled up by it. So what I do is use my hand to mimic the shape of a claw, use it to push him down and keep a light touch on his neck. It is based on the idea that if they were misbehaving as a younger pup, his mom would correct him with her mouth around his neck. All throughout I am calm and just repeat a stern NO and keep him there until he is calm. When he mellows out I can then show him that I am pleased and walk away.

I in no way intend to hurt him or want to do this to begin with, but I am at a lost and this seems to work most times. Rather, I'd like to learn if there are ways to not even let this escalate to that point where I have to pin him down to relax because he is playing too rough. I try to walk him for half an hour to an hour but he just won't have it. The weather has been relatively cool for our summer so I have been trying to take advantage of this beautiful weather with him but he rather sit about waiting for someone to come over and say hi instead! Silly boy...
 

ddnene

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Well most of it is just play and some will play hard. What may help is try to stop the play right when you notice he is getting too rough. You might even take him for a good walk to help burn off the extra energy he has stored up. A tired bully is a calm bully. They will also go crazy at night, usually around 8 or 9 PM. I call this the bewitching hour, their last burst of energy before bed time.

:goodpost:
 

Sherry

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Is he neutered? will he play fetch when he's all wound up? have you tried putting his leash on?

I have used the pin method, but only in the case where I want him/her to submit to another dog. This way they accept other dogs to sniff them. I can't tell you the last time I pinned one of my dogs.


A tired dog is a good dog. I would first try to get him distracted with food or exercise.
I'm hoping he doesn't become aggressive unintentionally
 

Kross225

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Dec 4, 2012
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Luca Brasi
I hold Luca in the down position when he gets too worked up and gets too rough. Usually hold him by the scruff of his neck and his hips and he knows this means he's being "shut down". It kinda neutralizes him; putting him into a submissive state. It works but only if you remain calm before, durring and after
 
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mommaofbrutus

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Aug 1, 2013
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USA
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Brutus
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Is he neutered? will he play fetch when he's all wound up? have you tried putting his leash on?

I have used the pin method, but only in the case where I want him/her to submit to another dog. This way they accept other dogs to sniff them. I can't tell you the last time I pinned one of my dogs.


A tired dog is a good dog. I would first try to get him distracted with food or exercise.
I'm hoping he doesn't become aggressive unintentionally


He just got neutered yesterday, so with the cone on he was easily redirected when he got too energetic and I had to calm him down.Prior to his surgery, he will not play fetch. If we take the toy, he engages in tug of war. We don't want that so we immediately stop and don't bother grabbing the toys from him anymore - hence what I mean by us not being able to play with him.

i have made an observation though. I'm thinking his toys which are stuffed animals that squeak is getting him really worked up and perhaps is setting his instincts to go into overdrive. I will give him chewing bones and ropes for the next few days and see if that makes a difference.
 

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