I think dpup might have to go back to the rescue.

[TheHoundsBitch]

I feel so guilty and sad :(
She has been biting a LOT and we are very worried that she is going to hurt DS, so we got a trainer to come and see her today to help with training and how to deal with the biting. Trainer was very positive to start with but about half way through the session dpup went crazy (as she does) and bit her. Trainer is now saying that dpups biting problem is extreme (the rescies behaviour team said this too when I described dpup to them on the phone) and sometimes dogs can't be trained to be 'lovely dogs'.
I'm so worried that dpup is going to hurt Ds and I wonder if the best thing is to return her to the rescue :(
She is such a bright puppy, training all the basics is going well but its like she loses control and can't help herself, she is drawing blood frequently when she bites and has little interest in toys. She would much rather bite my clothes and skin than a toy.
Sorry if this is garbled, I'm at a loss. I don't want to be one of those people who give up their puppy when it gets a bit tough, but I'm not sure its safe for DS if we keep her.
We are in a really good position to have a puppy, we thought everything through carefully and we are gutted that its gone so wrong. I don't want to give up on her, I feel so guilty.

DS isn't really interacting with her at all, he is spending a lot of time upstairs as he is wary of her. He's quite a quiet chap so doesn't seem to be doing much to stimulate dpup. When she pounces on him its when he's just sitting watching tv or reading a book.

Infinity - how did you go about getting that diploma?? Linky would be great!

Ideally, she needs to learn her manners from another dog - preferably one that's dealt with confused, manner-less pups before. So one who's been a mother herself, or who has helped to bring up subsequent litters. Even a well adjusted, well socialized dog would do.

No animal teaches manners without some form of telling off. One of the same species can time their telling off perfectly though, and give it exactly the right amount of severity. You would be surprised how sharp an adult can be with a bolshy pup that's not behaving - no harm done, but they certainly don't ignore being nipped or jumped all over. Usually they catch it well before the nip though - because they can see it coming, and act far earlier.

I would also look for a trainer who is confident that they can help. You need someone who will assess your pup properly and give you good strategies. In the meantime, if you keep her, protect yourselves. You need to stop her hurting you - for her own safety (pts) as much as yours. If that means she's kept away from your son and out of the main living areas, then that's the best option for now.

Sorry must have misread about the vaccination.

Honestly i don't really remember have blanked it out of my.memory. He also was very toy possessive as well so we avoided that until he got to know us better ages

Rottie was a bit older too. I would maybe be playing with a raggie toy (rope toy) or cuddly toys from charity shop (but have to be vigilant as she will tear them easily) throw toy and encourage her to give it back to you in exchange for a treat or another toy. Don't engage in tug of war as that is too much and will encourage biting behaviour. The very second the dog puts his mouth on your skin then its game over. Walk away. Not interested in playing any more. Try and keep your tone neutral, my voice always goes up ten octaves when i am around dogs and it winds them up a treat. If she starts getting too excited. Stop the game.

Kong toys ate good plus anything that make Her work for treats. Hide things in the garden for her to find.

It is hard work but worth it

To echo what others have said up thread - of you are going to rehome the pup it's really quite important that you do this now while it has a chance of still being young enough to find forever-home.
Hanging into it for a couple of weeks might make a huge detrimental difference to its life.

On anthother note ignoring the bad behaviour didn't work for us, our little bugger was more hard core than that. He would just clamp on to your hand/arm/jacket/leg/foot (on one occasion a friends nose (ithat was the friends fault - he was told to keep his face away from the pup) and not let go. Blood spurting, person crying, much shouting - our pup held on for dear life. Breaking eye contact made little in the way of difffernce at that stage! Leaving the room/ game impossible as he was now attached to you.

we found it important to replace a negative behaviour with a positive one - always have a ball on you to throw to move the beast away from the biting to chasing and running. When he gets a bit older you can send the dog to fetch a toy insted of biting you. You will end up with a ball-obsessed dog, but that's better than needing a blood transfusion due to blood loss.

If your pup is as enthusiastic as I have described you are looking at at least three more months of hard hard work.

Have you thought about a getting a cat?

Our pup went through a horribly bity stage, so much so that dh (who was home all day with him) wanted to take him back to the shelter too. He had times when he just zoomed around as if he was on speed with his teeth just ready to grab onto the nearest person. We mainly addressed it by having lots and lots of plastic dog bones and basically holding them out in such a way that he bit them instead of us. Plus standing still with arms crossed to make less appealing targets. ds found that very hard! Especially as his idea of the best fun with the pup was playing mouthy games on the floor even though they always led to tears. I can't remember how long it took the dog to grow out of it, but over time it pretty much disappeared, although when he is feeling very loving and pleased to see dh his licks can turn into nibbles, and "No biting' is still a command he recognises (although I think in his mind it mean 'lick me lots!')

I thought I would update just in case anyone is interested/ may find it helpful.
Dpup is still here and most definitely a permanent resident!
After a lot of reading and and advice we found that the amount of food the rescue had advised us to give was way too little, so we gradually increased her food to what she should have been on and kept up the training and she is like a different dog. She is just a normal (albeit large!), playful, slightly over the top puppy now.
We are walking her now, which makes a massive difference and she had her first puppy party the other day which went much better than expected! I was worried it would be chaos, but it was really well run and Dpup did her best not to splat any of the wee ones.
I'm so glad we figured out the problem and didn't give up on her, thank you to everyone who took the time to give us advice and for not judging me when I was finding it hard.

Excellent.

As for finding it hard, puppies are that cute for a reason. They're evil furry sharks. They do get better eventually .

Just read this whole feed and am so happy things are working out for you! Congratulations, I hope your family and Dpup stay happy together for many years! :)

Fantastic update. I think I would have been tempted to return her too, but so pleased you persevered. Puppies are hard hard work, lucky for them they are so cute!