# Lexi BIT me at lunch!



## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

I went to put Lexi in her pen before I went back to work and she started growling at me. I told her "NO!" and started her in the eyes until she looked away. I picked her back up and this time she growled and turned her head like she was going to bite me. I again told her "NO!" and started her in the eyes until she looked away. I think I even tapped her nose and said "No Bite!". When I picked her up the third time she bite my hand! She has NEVER done that before. I told her "NO BITE!" and I held her mouth closed and put her in her crate. 

She has started growling the last couple of weeks when I put her in her pen sometimes but normally I just tell her "No!" and thats the end of it. She has NEVER even tried to bite me.


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## Puddles Mom (Jun 20, 2004)

I think sometimes the (child) comes out in them. Wanting to talk back and just try ya. 

Puddles was starting to be a sassy butt (barking back at me) when it would be crate time or bath time. So I would just take control and show him, didn't take him long to be remember whos boss. 

Good for you standing up to her, we are the Moms !!

Is your hand okay?? Sure hope so !!


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

My hand is fine. She didn't break the skin. At first there were just 4 little indentations in my hand. After a few minutes it starting get red where her teeth had dragged across the skin and they got a little puffy. Its been about 30 minutes and it is almost back to normal.


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## kodie (Aug 24, 2004)

Lexi is 1yr old right? Kodie started his temper around that age also... and he NEVER was nasty to be before EVER! I dunno what it is... but i think its common for these babies to test us! I am still trying to get Kodie to be nice when eating a GREENIE!


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## sherylmint (Nov 27, 2004)

Flurry snapped at me once right after the vet, I was comfoting him and he snapped at me. He didn't bite though. He hates shots. When he went back 
I did not touch him all the way home and he was fine. He does nibble my knees 
run areound like a maniac and lift my nightgown in the morning, it's embarrassing but not hurtful. The dog book say you grab their nose and say NO! firmly. So you handled it perfect. I hope you are ok. I know I was hurt emotionally too when I was snapped at until I realized we just disagreed. 
Article I read:
The most effective method is the "Yelp and Shun" method. 
Try "yelping" in a loud high-pitched voice when he bites. As soon as he lets go, turn away from him, and refuse to play any longer. This mimics the behaviour that his pack-mates would use when he gets out of line. Before long, your puppy will learn that using his mouth on his people cause his people to turn away from him.

Other methods that may work with your dog are:

"Trade". Trade me that arm for this toy, and you'll recieve plenty of praise when your chewing is redirected to an appropriate outlet. 

"Instant Muzzle". When your puppy grabs your hand, flip it around on him and wrap it around his muzzle, holding his mouth closed for a few seconds. This is not a pleasant experience, and many dogs often get the hint fairly quickly. 

Play biting can evolve into a serious problem, so it is best to find out which method works, and employ it to teach your dog appropriate play. 

Hope the article helped

http://specials.about.com/zxfcp0.htm?gs=do...ing_nipping.htm


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

I just signed her up for an obdience class but it doesn't start until March 1. Hopefull I can nip this in the butt before then.


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## sherylmint (Nov 27, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Lexi's Mom_@Jan 26 2005, 03:03 PM
> *I just signed her up for an obdience class but it doesn't start until March 1.  Hopefull I can nip this in the butt before then.
> <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=31707*


[/QUOTE]
The direct link for nipping biting

http://dogs.about.com/cs/basictraining/f/biting_nipping.htm


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

> _Originally posted by sherylmint+Jan 26 2005, 02:08 PM-->
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The direct link for nipping biting

http://dogs.about.com/cs/basictraining/f/biting_nipping.htm
<div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=31710
[/B][/QUOTE]

Thanks for the link. 

This wasn't really a nip type bite. This was a "I'm pissed and going to bite you" bite. She was growling and baring her teeth when she did it.


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

I keep her in her exercise pen. In the pen she has her crate (door open), lots of toys and water. When she is not in a mood she will willingly walk into the crate. In fact this morning she went into the crate by herself.

Nichole: Thanks for the idea about her maybe being sore. I will check her out when I get home. I'm hoping it is a one time thing. The growling was bad but biting is just unexceptable.

After she bite me I locked her in her crate with some toys. I was kind of mad at her at that point.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

I don't know what Lexi's background is, but I have read that often puppy mill pups can develop aggressive behavior around age 1 or 1&1/2. 

I'm sure you'll be able to get a handle on it, Kristi. You are obviously aware that her behavior is totally unacceptable and will take whatever steps necessary to nip it in the bud as you say. Since the obedience classes don't start until March, if it continues, consider getting a personal trainer to come to your house and work one on one with you and Lexi. We had to do that once with a Springer puppy and the trainer was worth every penny.


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## kodie (Aug 24, 2004)

> _Originally posted by LadysMom_@Jan 26 2005, 03:34 PM
> *I don't know what Lexi's background is, but I have read that often puppy mill pups can develop aggressive behavior around age 1 or 1&1/2.
> 
> I'm sure you'll be able to get a handle on it, Kristi. You are obviously aware that her behavior is totally unacceptable and will take whatever steps necessary to nip it in the bud as you say. Since the obedience classes don't start until March, if it continues, consider getting a personal trainer to come to your house and work one on one with you and Lexi. We had to do that once with a Springer puppy and the trainer was worth every penny.
> <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=31725*


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are u serious? what does that mean for pups that are not from a puppy mill and still do this?


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

I think she was just testing me. We were playing and she didn't want to stop. She knows that when I close the pen door that mean I'm leaving. I'm going to start giving her some treats when I leave and see if that helps.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

All Maltese who show aggressive tendencies are not from pet shops and puppy mills obviously. Some are just alpha dogs whose owners are unaware of how to handle their "push the envelope" behavior in the beginning and it escalates to biting.

I have read, though, that difficulty house breaking, socializing and adult aggression are all too common traits in puppy mill pups. If you think about it, it makes sense. Just like with human babies, the beginning weeks of life and interaction with humans and other dogs are critical to their personality development. Being raised in wire cages like rabbits with little or no human contact is not that far removed from being wild. On the other hand, puppies who are loving home raised under foot as they say have a totally different world view and attitude towards humans.

It's also why it is so important for a puppy to stay with his mom and littermates until 12 weeks old. They learn important pack behavior - and their lowly place it - from their Mom. Have you ever seen a momma dog discipline a feisty pup? Since puppy mill pups are taken from their mother BEST CASE at 6 weeks (but records are often falsified and the pups are really much younger) they miss a very important part of their development.


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

Looking back there have been signs that she is getting aggressive but for some reason I didn't put it together. She has started to get aggresive towards dogs she doesn't know. She goes nuts when we go to PetSmart or Three Dog Bakery. And then the growling thing and now the biting. Dang it! I don't think I can afford private lessons. I'm going to stop after work and take to the trainers and see if they can recommend some stuff to do between now and when the class starts.


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## saltymalty (Sep 14, 2004)

How can such a sweet face turn into such a little devil? Have you tried calling the trainer for the course you've signed up to attend? He might be willing to discuss your situation. Our PetSmart is offering a series of single courses aimed at helping specific behavior problems...potty issues, biting issues, barking issues. You may want to see if yours is doing something similar. I think they were charging a nominal fee to attend...something under $20.


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

> _Originally posted by saltymalty_@Jan 26 2005, 03:57 PM
> *How can such a sweet face turn into such a little devil?  Have you tried calling the trainer for the course you've signed up to attend?  He might be willing to discuss your situation.  Our PetSmart is offering a series of single courses aimed at helping specific behavior problems...potty issues, biting issues, barking issues.  You may want to see if yours is doing something similar.  I think they were charging a nominal fee to attend...something under $20.
> <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=31750*


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I'm going to stop over at the training place after work and talk to them about what I can do. I'm hoping that they will be able some stuff that I can do on my own. Because right now I can't afford to do private training. I still haven't sold my old car so I have double loan payments and double insurance. Plus I have a lot of medical bills right now. But if that is what I have to do I will find the money to get the training.


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

> _Originally posted by LadysMom_@Jan 26 2005, 04:06 PM
> *All Maltese who show aggressive tendencies are not from pet shops and puppy mills obviously. Some are just alpha dogs whose owners are unaware of how to handle their "push the envelope" behavior in the beginning and it escalates to  biting.
> 
> I have read, though, that difficulty house breaking, socializing and adult aggression are all too common traits in puppy mill pups. If you think about it, it makes sense. Just like with human babies, the beginning weeks of life and interaction with humans and other dogs are critical to their personality development. Being raised in wire cages like rabbits with little or not human contact is not that far removed from being wild. On the other hand, puppies who are loving home raised under foot as they say have a totally different world view and attitude towards humans.
> ...


[/QUOTE]

Marj, what you say makes sense. My first Maltese, Rosebud, was bought from a home breeder but she left her mother and littermates at 7 weeks... I didn't know any better in 1990 and neither did the breeder!







She snapped at me if she was unhappy with me! I didn't know how to ever stop it and it continued her entire life. I learned what situations set her off and I avoided those, so we had a pretty peaceful time of it for the most part. I loved her dearly nonetheless.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Lexi's Mom_@Jan 26 2005, 04:48 PM
> *Looking back there have been signs that she is getting aggressive but for some reason I didn't put it together.  She has started to get aggresive towards dogs she doesn't know.  She goes nuts when we go to PetSmart or Three Dog Bakery.  And then the growling thing and now the biting.  Dang it!  I don't think I can afford private lessons.  I'm going to stop after work and take to the trainers and see if they can recommend some stuff to do between now and when the class starts.
> <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=31747*


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I was thinking about Lexi last night and suspected that there had probably been some signs leading up to her biting as they usually don't just bite one day unless they are injured or in pain.

I learned so much from the trainer we had. My Peggy was growling and being food protective from the day we brought her home at 7 weeks. (That was my first lecture from my then vet about why NOT to buy a puppy from a newspaper ad from a backyard breeder) She then became protective about her toys and snapped at my 3 year old son if he was even anywhere near her when she had a toy. We did what I now know was the wrong thing by believing that she had a right to "her" stuff and gave her space. Then she got on the couch one night and my ex-husband tried to tell her to get off and she growled at him! We obviously had a problem that was getting worse as she was only 6 or 7 months old. My vet recommended a trainer to come to our home and evaluate her and teach us how to modify her behavior.

The trainer stressed that this type of behavior would only get worse and warned that one day she might decide that she didn't want us to do something and "eat our face" if we didn't stop the behavior. "Biting the hand that feeds" is very serious and totally unacceptable behavior. It doesn't matter WHY they did it (jealously, anger, etc.) because they have no right to do it. Ever. Not once.

I would check with your vet and see if he can recommend a trainer. If you can nip this in the bud early on, it might not be as expensive as you think. It may just involve a few sessions to train you how to handle and correct Lexi's behavior now to avoid the behavior escalating. It will be money very well spent as it will be an investment in Lexi's future.


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

I talked to my trainer last night after work. He gave me some suggestions to try for 2 weeks. In 2 weeks I'm supposed to get a hold of him and let him know how things are going. One of his suggestions is to try a "Nothing is Free" type of training. This means Lexi has to work for everything (food, going outside, playing, coming up onto my lap, etc.) She needs to do some sits, downs, stands, etc. for all of these things. Another suggestion is that when she is on my lap not pick her up but to instead slowly start to stand so that she willing jumps off my lap. After she is off I make her do some sits and downs. I've also thrown some treats into her pen so that she willingly walks in.

Yesterday I was thinking back trying to decide if there were some signs. The only thing I could think of was about a month ago she started to get aggressive towards strange dogs (dogs she doesn't know). It just started one day. Before that she would bark at them but when we actually got up to the she turned into a kissing machine. She is not like that with unknown dogs now. She barks, growls and sometimes snaps at them. 

I told my trainer about this and he wants to work on her aggression to me first. After we find something that works for that he is going to have me bring her in to she for himself how she is acting with strange dogs.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

I'm so glad you spoke to the trainer and you have a plan. It sounds like a good one. "Nothing is Free" sounds like the way we trained our Setters when I was growing up and I used it later on with my big dogs. Basically your mindset is that you are the pack leader and you own and control everything, socialism instead of democracy. Your dog has nothing of its own - it is by your kindness and generosity that she gets food, toys, shelter, etc. Since these things are yours, not hers, she has no right to protect them. You give them and you have every right to take them away.

It humbles them and teaches them the proper hierarchy in the pack. 

What my trainer years ago taught me was that if a dog felt that her food was threatened or she felt protective for any reason, she should come to me as the pack leader to resolve it, not feel she had the right to battle it out herself.

When Petie was a puppy we all, even our 3 year son, made sure we messed with Petie's food while he was eating (just stirring it with a spoon sometimes and leaving again or even taking it completely away for a moment) We took his toys and bones away from him and put them in our own mouths. As a result, he was absolutely the most bomb proof dog with children. 

It also works well on teenagers! The old "I pay for the roof over your head and the clothes on your back so you will obey my rules" momism!

Seriously, JMM has recommended a book on understanding dog behavior several times and if I can find the thread, I'll post it or maybe she'll see this thread. Does anyone remember the name?

Found it! The Culture Clash.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...=glance&s=books


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## sassy14830 (Jan 19, 2005)




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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

> _Originally posted by sassy14830_@Feb 2 2005, 12:53 AM
> *we dont have to spank him for anytthing we tell him bad boy over and over in a mean voice and he knows. btw i would never hurt my babies just as a yougster he was very head strong and we had to swat him that was the only way he sisnt understand words. Prissy i never had to spank she just knows what i'm saying. I hope this helps i'm sure its just a stage just dont give up remain the one in control and you will get through it. sorry fr the rambleing i have dealt with several dogs that have behavior issues so i can handle just about anything.
> <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=32910*


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Hi, I noticed in your post that you mention spanking. I believe there are a lot of other training methods that work better. I've never seen spanking mentioned as a training method ever in any sort of training books and I've got a book shelf full of them...... especially for puppies. Just because they don't understand words, that is no reason to hit them. Hitting them will just make them hand shy and make them afraid of you. I wanted to mention this since we have a lot of people getting new puppies soon......


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

The nothing for free thing seems to be working. She did growl at me twice during the last Thursday and Friday. Since then she only growl once and that was this morning. I immediately told her to sit. You could tell that she knew she had been bad. I had her do a couple of sits and downs. Aftet that she was fine about me putting her in her crate. I think after a couple more weeks she will be a lot better. Then we can start working on her being mean to strange dogs.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Thanks for the update, Kristi! I'm glad you are seeing progress already. 

Think about joining our book club. The Culture Clash has a wonderful perspective into the mind of a dog. You might find it really helpful in dealing with Lexie's biting/growling issues.

Plus, it would be fun to have you!


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

I might join. Have to see if I have time. I might pick it up this weekend.


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

I stopped taking her because they raised the price to $20 a day. I couldn't afford this because I hadn't sold my Cavalier yet and was making 2 car payments. I'm selling the Cavalier on Friday so I might start taking her again. I could only afford to take her once or twice a month.


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## sassy14830 (Jan 19, 2005)




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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

> _Originally posted by sassy14830_@Feb 4 2005, 03:26 PM
> *I thank you for the advice and perhaps soon you can all read my book on training that should be finished by the end of this year.  I'm so excited!!!
> 
> 
> ...


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Maybe I have misunderstood your post but are you saying that in your book you recommend spanking as a training method?


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

That contradicts everything I've ever learned about dog training. 

The first dog trainer I worked with 25 years ago stressed that you should never use your hand to discipline a dog, that the hand should always be associated with pats and kindness. A correction of any kind should be "anonymous" so the dog doesn't know who it came from, only that something unpleasent happened (like being squirted with water or frightened by a loud noise like shaking a penny can).
In my Peggy's case, because her problems were so serious, corrections were done with her lead.


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## sassy14830 (Jan 19, 2005)




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## sassy14830 (Jan 19, 2005)




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