Giving up 12 week old puppy

[Ridusofyourstupidity]

Please please be kind.

I’ve been quite honest on here about losing my last puppy suddenly to anaphylactic shock and getting our new puppy a few weeks later. Now I’m not sure I can keep her due to her behaviour. It goes beyond anything I’ve experienced. She is 12 weeks old, weighs over 14kg and can reach chest height when she jumps against me.


She is repeatedly attacking me on a near constant basis with seemingly no reason. She will be chewing on a toy, lying down and get up to lunge and jump at me and bite my stomach, legs and arms while growling if I’m standing in the room even if I haven’t moved to draw attention to myself. If I ask for a sit or similar to distract her she’ll snap at me and ignore the request, although she does know ‘Sit’, ‘Down’, ‘Touch’ and will give both paws. When I have to carry her in from the garden she’ll growl and snap at my face. She is a large breed who isn’t meant to do stairs so this is unavoidable.

I can’t enter the room without her attacking me, she’ll bite the backs of my legs or jump up at my side to bite my arm. She’ll try and mount my leg while biting me if I’m still Leaving the room does nothing, she’ll try and block me leaving and she’ll continue when I return, even if calm. Toys do nothing as she will ignore them to jump and continue biting higher. Or she’ll pull my clothing like a tug toy while growling. I’ve tried every kind of toy but she let them go, snarl and dart under them to get back to biting me.

It is either very rough play or something more but it’s unmanageable. I’m now having to leave her alone in the kitchen as I can’t be in there with her, even when calm she will without warning launch at me. I keep trying to go in but it soon becomes too much as she doesn’t stop trying to get to me to bite. 15 mins is the most I’ve lasted with her ignoring toys and being latched on to me.

She’s incredibly difficult to walk even with no distractions as she’ll still attack me and bite me while we’re walking. She refuses all treats on a walk (I’ve tried several) and will pull, be incredibly hyper, running from left to right, and lunge and bite when I stay still.

I’ve done everything we covered in the puppy classes with my last puppy with her from the day we brought her home and none of this has made any difference. She has a marker word and all other commands are the same as before so everyone is on the same page. I’m not sure I’m going to make it through until Friday when I have a private training session booked. I’m utterly miserable and defeated.

[missbattenburg]

Is she from a breeder? Have you spoken to her breeder for their advice which might help as the breeder should know...

a) the breed, including their approach to handling puppies from that breed
and
b) the breeding line, for exmaple was her Mum a handful at the same age

[Ridusofyourstupidity]

I’ve already done the FB page, followed all the units and advice, so no luck there. They said I’d need to do 1-2-1 sessions with a trainer, which is booked for Friday but I really cannot cope with the level it’s at. It is actually relentless. I know dominance has been debunked but in all honesty it feels like she sees me as a threat that she has to triumph over. I just don’t know why. I’ve only used up to date methods of training, all of which are positive reward based methods.

[fivedogstofeed]

Is she a Malinois?

[fivedogstofeed]

What does the breeder say? Did you meet the mum and what was she like?

[BiteyShark]

Group puppy classes in my opinion are great for those puppies that follow the general rule e.g. food motivated etc.

What I would suggest is you try and hold on until you get 1-1 training. Honestly every time I did that we made soooo much progress because good trainers adopt their approach depending on how you and your puppy respond to each other.

My puppy was a land shark. He didn't respond to treats so we failed at everything in group puppy classes. I cried lots. I thought my god I am going to end up with a vicious adult dog (he is now a massive softy).

[Wolfiefan]

Dominance is rubbish. She just sounds like a hyper pup. Daft question but what are you feeding? That certainly made a difference to my girl.

[Ridusofyourstupidity]

She’s a cross, so not a purebred though both parents are pure.

I’ve been too ashamed to talk to the breeder about it, she’s messaged every week to check on her and I feel such a failure because my puppy clearly feels strongly enough to behave this way.

[missbattenburg]

But what about the breeder? If you're thnking of giving her up, would this be to return her to the breeder? In which case, having been in touch with them so they know what's happening will help.

[Ridusofyourstupidity]

Yes, I did say I knew that. She’s raw fed. And believe me it’s not just hyper ness. She’s had to be physically removed from my arm before because she had bitten through my arm and got her tooth caught.

[Ridusofyourstupidity]

Yes, it would be to the breeder. I only want what’s best for her. I’m just utterly miserable that I can’t even go into the room without her being latched on to either my leg, arm or stomach. She can reach chest height and managed to bite my nipple through my top last week.

She only reacts this way to me. She’s fine with my partner.

[Smotheroffive]

I wouldn't be thinking your breeder would be of any use based on you being able to get a 'puppy' within weeks of applying for one.

The breed you have is important. Is it the same breed as you bought before?

I can't help but think that your 'puppy' is older and pre-owned and returned for poor behaviour.

To reach your chest when only 3 months old!! You have a giant breed, is this what you had wanted?

The breed is vital. Some ddogs are very mouthy, snappy, growly and grab at anything, but yoirs doesn't sound like its learnt anything from its litter mate socialising experience.

Don't look at facebook. Email breeder!

[missbattenburg]

Sorry, cross post

Talk to the breeder, please. If s/he is any good then they will support you through this and there is no shame in saying "I have been a bit emarassed to tell you but I am really struggling here and could use some advice".

A decent breeder would WANT to know and help.

If that's not an option then hang on until Friday If you've made it this far then you can make it till then

[Illberidingshotgun]

I think you need to speak to the breeder asap. She should at least be able to tell you if this is fairly typical of her puppies (presuming this is a deliberate cross she has done before and not an accident). If it is typical she should be able to give you some suggestions.

I think she may just be trying to attract your attention and get a response, which she is getting despite you trying to ignore the behaviour. Puppies are pretty relentless at the best of times and she sounds like a big one.

Have you taken her to the vet and got her checked over (just wondering if she has an issue with her mouth/teeth/jaw that is leading to all the biting). Do you use a crate for her?

[Smotheroffive]

What are the parents then?

[Ridusofyourstupidity]

Yes, she is definitely 12 weeks, and I know her breed is a giant one. I met her at 6 weeks and she came home at 8 weeks.

I understand you’ll all think she’s puppy farmed, but she definitely wasn’t. Even the vet confirmed no suspicions of that. And they made me agree to return her at any point throughout her life. I also speak to them each week and they’ve been keeping up with her. I’m still in touch with the lady who raised my last puppy despite him passing away.

[Smotheroffive]

What breeds OP??

[Ridusofyourstupidity]

Mum’s a Saint Bernard and Dad a Spanish Mastiff. Met Mum, Dad and Maternal grandmother.

[Ridusofyourstupidity]

And yes, I researched. I did a canine behaviour course at college many moons ago and spent months researching training methods and up to date information for my last puppy. I didn’t walk into this empty minded. I have the money to pay for private training as long as necessary.

I guess I just know I’m fucking up somewhere and I’ve followed every bit of up to date advice to the letter and still can’t figure out where.

[adaline]

What on earth made you go for such a cross?

[Smotheroffive]

Just why??

WTH is up with people breeding two lines like that together. How fucking shit that breeder is.

I could be completely ignorant about some magnificient amazing animal produced by such a cross, but it really doesnt sound like it.

What health issues do the respective breeds have and have both parents had all checks and got certs?

You need to rule out health issues as a start.

Is this normal behaviour for this cross?

Do you know what is normal for this type of cross?

Did you know what you were getting into with this type of cross? If you didn't you have no alternative but to ask the breeder and get over your embarassment. This is about a dog that well out of your control and beyond you to manage.

I am so sad for your loss, it must have been an horrendous shock, and poor puppy. Was it the same cross,behaved differently?

I don't think you possibly have done much research in between losing one and buying another to be prepared for what you wrre getting into.

[GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman]

Definitely contact the breeder and ask for advice. As others have said, there is no shame in this.

[Ridusofyourstupidity]

What makes anyone go for any dog?

I have the time, money and energy to dedicate to a dog and I picked a dog I wanted after meeting the parents and the lady raising them.

I realise your point but I’m in a good position to own a dog, I don’t work, I can pay for vet fees and ongoing training. I prefer larger dogs ( my last puppy was also large) so I chose her. I don’t regret that, I love her to pieces and just want to find a way to cope when it seems like I’m the only one she feels like this about.

Ultimately I want her to be happy even if that means returning her the breeder

[BiteyShark]

There is no shame as others have said asking for help.

Unless you have exactly the same breed with exactly the same personality and temperament then the training methods you used on your last puppy may not be the same. What I mean is that you can use positive training methods but as the puppy threads on here show puppies are different and what you find easy to do with one would be different for another. I know my puppy was very different with DH than he was with me. Same puppy, different person, different body language, different interaction. One of our 1-1 trainers helped DH and I get the same thing from BiteyDog but we had to each find out own way of doing it.

[AlternativePerspective]

I know of at least three cases where a mastiff has focussed on one particular individual and ended up attacking that individual only without provocation.

I was one of them, and I am still of the view that as a rule, dogs do not attack unprovoked, and i am not afraid of dogs. But I would never, ever own a mastiff or recommend one to anyone.

There is only one other thing I’ve witnessed with regards to dogs being that “dominant” (and I’m not using that as a general term just a term to explain what I’m about to say)

OP is there any chance you’re pregnant?

All that aside, I wouldn’t put up with a dog which bites that relentlessly all the time and which has the potential to do incredibly serious damage when older.

Generally puppies could be considered just babies, but even as a puppy this one has some serious potential, and if you can’t get this right in the next few weeks then you potentially have a dog you will be having put to sleep in a couple of years time at best, because you simply cannot rehome a dog like that.

I would genuinely return the puppy to the breeder at this point, and I would look to get something far smaller.

And don’t blame yourself, There is clearly something far amiss with this dog to be this aggressive this young.

[dudsville]

Your story is heartbreaking OP. I'm so sorry, you must feel a bit destroyed by it all. I hope you find a reasonable resolution soon. In the meantime, if the puppy is ok with your partner then give yourself a break to physically and emotionally heal.