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.

orchid They had Mum, Dad, and maternal Grandmother.

Thank you for the suggestions. I think I’ll have the most luck with the ideas in the house, she really struggles to focus outside, and refuses treats completely so it’s been hard to reward even when she has shown improved behaviour. The only way I got that was walking her alongside a wall to keep her next to me. I’ll try the trail.

*apologies for numbering going madly askew

Training inside is the best bet for any pup, dogs are not good at generalising behaviours and once they have mastered something indoors without distraction you will have to gradually up the challenge and introduce challenge. Reading up on generalising behaviours in dogs might help too!

*gradually up the challenge - it can take them a while to be able to do something outside that they do well indoors

Ylva

Thank you. I think she is definitely aware that I’m doubting myself. She isn’t separated, the kitchen is where I spend most of the time, and it’s where her things are, it has a stair gate so I can leave, but she can still be a part the household. She’ll jump up at the gate, but I operate with ‘4 paws on the floor’ so I don’t go in until that happens. We use ‘Off’ as the command as ‘’Down’ is her lie down one. Turning away was the first thing I did but she will bite harder/higher so leaving is more effective.

She’s better when my partner is here so right now we’re all the kitchen and she’s playing with her toys no problem. When’s it’s just me, she reacts more forcefully. I come back into the room regularly, or she accompanies me out if I need to go out. She’s absolutely fine to be left, she’ll sleep by the gate or chew a toy. I offer toys to play with with me, but it’s like I’m the toy she wants to chew the most!! She’ll reject any toy I hold even ones she rarely sees.

have you tried having her wear a muzzle? I have a rescue dog who can be bitey (he's like a puppy but in the body of a full size dog) and I use a muzzle in the car (he gets scared/excited, not sure which, and can bite me at times).

I'd advise joining the Naughty but Nice Facebook group www.facebook.com/groups/610566119052717/, people have great advice and they are linked to the Absolute Dogs trainers absolute-dogs.com/ (one of which is a behaviourist who does web-consults), might be able to help you.

But also agree with deciding whether you are too scared of her to continue, as she's young, rehoming will be easier (by the breeder).

I admire your tenacity OP.

I disagree that the breeder is one to go back to.
Mum came into season earlier than expected and so they weren’t prepared
Just no. Thats literally isn't how it works very very confused you are under this impression.

Likewise on here.

You need 1-2-1 training very quickly. Pups can learn at five weeks and earlier to sit and have recall and have a focus toy to distract.

You are right about keeping it to indoors. iI assume you habe a large outdoor space to work i with such a large energetic beasty of a pup?

Use it to make pup think and use up energy as well as intellectually challenged and occupied.

I would have someone round tomorrow as each training fail is a learning for this pup, and you need to get some solid stable learnings in quickly before tue dog seriously hurts you or others.

I still cannit get my head around anyone thinking this cross is anything but a disaster and horrified this is an active choice to support this kind of breeding. Breeders know better than accidental pregnancies, certainly a bitch coming in early is no bloody excuse. Its absolutely the wrong excuse.

But they'll go on breeding them and people will go on buying them, supporting a gross industry.

I really hope you can pull this off OP, and no, its totally not the same being inexperienced and buying a regular family tried and tested breed to gettig something like this how could you even think that . Its polar opposite frankly.

Smother once again, I’ll say I accept it may be a lie, but my gut instinct said different and I went with that. I may be wrong, but rehashing it isn’t necessary now.

My belief is there are no family tried and tested breeds. There are breeds who are more/less likely to have behaviour/training problems but every breed has potential to be problematic and fundamentally training is key. I’ve been doing training sessions since the day I got her, impulse control, heelwork, trick training, obedience and recall. All within the house. And all of that has had the correct effect and improvement has been seen. The only areas we are struggling in are the biting and the loose lead walking.

I have the garden, and several spots that are quiet to progress training outside when she’s ready. Also a rentable private field nearby for safe recall training.

My belief is there are no family tried and tested breeds. Just wondering whether youveyheard of breed traits at all? As that statement is odd in the light of breed traits and dispositions. Yes there are always variances within breed, bit good breeders breed for good temperament, or work suited characteristics, and have solid breeding lines that increase predictability. To deny that doesn't mean its not true!

All those amazing fundamentals should be working then to stop the behaviour. You say they are not? That your commands are ignored?

I would get help in asap like pp suggest.

This is not a first time ddog, I hope you can see this through for ddogs sake and come back in some weeks to say its all mischief managed

OP you sound like a very committed owner and I really feel for you. We had a pup like this when I was a teen - would jump up and bite at us constantly, sometimes breaking the skin, no recall, pulled us over, ran riot in puppy classes. We loved her but it was bloody awful living with her! In hindsight, my parents made a poor choice, but as you say there is no point agonising about past decisions. The biggest mistake they made was not seeking help - you are doing the right thing seeing a trainer now, before these patterns have become habits.
It must be very disheartening that this behaviour is directed at you alone but the flip side of that is that you know she has it in her to behave well, as she does with your partner.
Is there any way your partner can take over the bulk of her care for a few days so you can approach the training session feeling a bit less ground down?
Do you have a house line for her (a light lead you can leave trailing in the house) to make it a bit easier to control her when she gets in a frenzy?
Is she getting enough sleep? Puppies can get overtired like toddlers.
Think more scent games is a great idea - it’s suppose to really tire them out, mentally.

Smother many moons ago I did a canine behaviour course with a behaviourist at his own canine college, most of our work was on breed traits and how that determines behaviour and how training can be used overcome these traits. He still practices now. So much that I learnt then isn’t relevant now and I never actually used it then, it was over 10 years ago, but breed traits haven’t changed.

I just very strongly believe that training is paramount regardless of breed or crossbreed. The fact that I feel I’ve covered everything clearly means there’s a fault in my approach somewhere and I’m doing the best I can to rectify that for her sake. It’s just very tiring and miserable at the moment feeling like I’m at a loss.

I wish I knew how to work with either of those breeds so that I could offer some breed specific insights.

I hear what you're sayong about overcoming breed traits, but it seems to work against a dogs inherent drives when it would seem reasonable to get the dog inherently best suited to you and your situation. To make a good match.

You can't make good working dogs out of some breeds, or great family pets out of others, family pets that out of necessity are easier to train, more biddable and thats what works best for a family.

I hope you can find a good trainer to work with.

Just spoken to my trainer, she said she feels that puppy has a higher than average arousal level, so everything excites her more than it should and renders her incapable of calming easily or making sensible decisions. She’s given me some more ideas for calming her until Friday and then she’ll have a look and see what she feels from meeting her and we’ll go from there.

Thank you all for your help.

Good luck with her. Really hope this goes well.

After all that I would be remiss if I didn’t provide a picture or two.

Smother her name is Hope so your reply is apt. Thank you very much.

Oh she's beautiful! I also hope you can work things out

She’s lovely. I hope you can help her calm down

I’ve googled Spanish Mastiff. . That’s a dog that needs to be walked 17 hours a day

Many moons ago, I walked in your shoes. And it was directed only at me.

Thanks to training, patience and plenty of tears, the frustrated and hyper alligator turned into the most lovely dog.

Granted she wasn’t huge but the situation sounds the same. I know .Trust me on that!

@AmazingAardvark has said what I wanted to say really.

Wishing you all the best for Friday

She’s beautiful.

Thank you everyone, she is stunning, pictures don’t do her justice!

This thread has really helped. I think I just needed a head wobble to get how I was feeling all out so I can do the best for her. It won’t be easy, it will take time, patience, more expertise than I possess and lot of hard work but I’am determined to do the best I can for her, because although sometimes it’s hard to love something that seems like it wants to bite the heck out of you, I do love her. And I want to be able to look back in 3 years and think ‘I did it.’

She's gorgeous OP. I really hope you can work it out, especially after losing your previous pup. How sad.

My dog was an absolute total nightmare as a puppy. Our previous one was the sweetest, most gentle and friendly little thing, and we'd had 2 others previously so we weren't new to dogs, but Skye was like a devil in dog form. She would bite constantly. We tried the whole 'give them a toy to bite instead' thing but it didn't help - she wanted to bite US. To be honest although she calmed down as she grew older and is now affectionate, she never did grow out of biting. It's not meant to be vicious in her case, she doesn't growl or anything, but it's like she never learned to be gentle. She bites out of over-enthusiasm and affection (I know that sounds weird!) and she gets terribly upset if she hurts you (which, well, she does!). She's 7 now so I guess this is just how she is.

I think in your shoes I would give it a month with the intense guidance of a qualified and experienced trainer, and if you feel you're getting nowhere, return her then.

She's trying hard for you in that picture OP! Butter wouldn't melt, huh?

Have you had her structure checked out?. Her front legs may just be like that in this particular pic, but if they are normally this way have her joints x-ray'd. She's massive boned and not set cartilage yet so optimum time to rectify any future possible issues.

Are elbows and knees possible issies in this breed (breeds)?

I mean does she stand square? Like a box?

Smother I know, you’d never believe it would you!?

The vet checked her over fully and is happy with her so far, she’s got good movement!
She’s well insured because I wasn’t taking chances with anything joint related. Both breeds are prone to joint issues. My plan is to get her hip scored which I think is done at a year ( I forgot to check with the vet, can someone here confirm?).

She does stand ‘boxy’ but she has a long back so a rectangular box if you see what I mean?