# PLEASE HELP ME.........



## jjncr03 (Apr 23, 2005)

PLEASE HELP ME I HAVE A 10MTH OLD MALTESE AND SHE HAS BEEN GETTING SO BAD, SHE CONTINOUSLY BARKS AT NOTHING AND WONT STOP. SHE HAS BEEN GETTING EXTREMELY AGGRESSIVE WHEN SHE PLAYS AND I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT ALSO THE WORST THING IS SHE KEEPS ON BITING US AND ITS BEEN GETTING HARDER DAY BY DAY. I FEEL LIKE NOTHING WE DO IS WORKING AND I WANT TO CORRECT THIS BEHAVIOR BEFORE IT GETS WORSE. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT I CN DO TO CORRECT THE BITTING AND THE AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR. ALSO I WANT TO KNOW IF THIS BEHAVIOR IS ACCEPTABLE FOR HER AS A PUPPY ALSO IF THIS BEHAVIOR IS TOTALLY OUT OF THE ORDINARY AND I SHOULD BE VERY CONCERNED. PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME....


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## NC's Mom (Oct 23, 2004)

Sorry not to be actually answering your post, but you might want to retype that. When you type in all caps, that is screaming. Frankly, I haven't read your entire post because it feels like you are hollering at me (and I know you aren't). Run a search for "biting" and "aggressive" in the "Maltese Training" section of these forums and you'll find lots of good information...enough to keep you reading for hours!


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## stini (Feb 26, 2005)

The all caps is meant to convey urgency, I think...

And, she's new to the forum and facing a potentially serious problem. If it was me with an out of control puppy on my hands, I'd feel urgent too! I'm letting this one slide.









Basically, I'm guessing your puppy thinks she's boss. She knows that if she barks and bites, she gets what she wants. 

Call a trainer, and get 'er back in line! Good luck!


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

1. Find a trainer who uses positive, motivational methods like clicker training. You do not want a trainer who uses a choke collar or advocates correcting this behavior physically. Get her into a basic obedience class and you can have a private session with the trainer to address her specific problems. 

2. What to you do when she barks? What do you do when she bites? 

3. If she bites when playing yelp, stand up, and ignore her. If she just gets more wild, yelp when she bites, say "uh oh" in a happy voice, and crate her for a time out. This is not punishment, but time for her to calm down. The idea is if she bites, the game ends.

4. What do you mean by aggressive when she plays?

5. No, this behavior is not something you need to be tolerating, but it is a very common reason for small dogs to be given up to rescue. They are manipulative and often get away with murder. They require quite a bit of training and work to be nice, managable dogs in most cases. 

6. Increase her exercise. Take her for nice long walks, take her in a safe fenced yard to run off leash. If she likes to play fetch, play that. Exercise her brain as well with 2-3 short training sessions per day. Also, get her puzzle toys. Never put another bowl of food in front of her, make her work for it. You can feed it to her piece by piece for doing obedience and tricks or put it in a food toy like a Busy Buddy Twist and Treat, a treat ball, or a mini Buster Cube. You can also mix it with a little canned food in a kong and stuff it in. Exercising her body and mind will help her behavior be more managable.


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## Harleysmom (Jan 26, 2005)

Our dog can be alittle angel one min and very aggressive & bite the next-My husband thinks its out of boredom.?


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

> _Originally posted by JMM_@Apr 26 2005, 07:30 AM
> *1. Find a trainer who uses positive, motivational methods like clicker training. You do not want a trainer who uses a choke collar or advocates correcting this behavior physically. Get her into a basic obedience class and you can have a private session with the trainer to address her specific problems.
> 
> 2. What to you do when she barks? What do you do when she bites?
> ...


[/QUOTE]

I agree with everything JMM said. I was having a similar problem with Lexi when she was 11 months old. I talked to my trainer about it and they were able to help us. Obedience classes helped a lot. We also did a version of the Nothing In Life Is Free program.


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## Sisses Momma (Dec 29, 2004)

I don't mind the all caps, you must be very frustrated!! Just out of curiosity, how old was the puppy when you got it?? Sometimes if they are taken before they learn proper puppy manners they tend to be very agressive and bite quite often. JMM always gives great advice, I do agree with her answers.

Sisse has the "barking for no good reason" thing going on right now. And from answers from other SM gals and guys, it seems to be a phase they go through. I do believe she is "protecting" us against all those boggie men she sees in her own mind! We have resorted to introducing her to the object she seems upset with and letting her know it's alright to be there. Also, if she gets to wound up and just is a barking fool, we do time her out so she can settle down in her Casita for a bit. It seems to be working right now for us!!


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## jeanette (Mar 3, 2005)

> _Originally posted by jjncr03_@Apr 26 2005, 12:46 AM
> *PLEASE HELP ME I HAVE A 10MTH OLD MALTESE AND SHE HAS BEEN GETTING SO BAD, SHE CONTINOUSLY BARKS AT NOTHING AND WONT STOP. SHE HAS BEEN GETTING EXTREMELY AGGRESSIVE WHEN SHE PLAYS AND I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT ALSO THE WORST THING IS SHE KEEPS ON BITING US AND ITS BEEN GETTING HARDER DAY BY DAY. I FEEL LIKE NOTHING WE DO IS WORKING AND I WANT TO CORRECT THIS BEHAVIOR BEFORE IT GETS WORSE. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT I CN DO TO CORRECT THE BITTING AND THE AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR. ALSO I WANT TO KNOW IF THIS BEHAVIOR IS ACCEPTABLE FOR HER AS A PUPPY ALSO IF THIS BEHAVIOR IS TOTALLY OUT OF THE ORDINARY AND I SHOULD BE VERY CONCERNED. PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME....
> 
> 
> ...


[/QUOTE]


Hello, the all caps doesnt bother me one bit....  I also have the same problem with my baby the only difference is that he's only 5 months and he is also getting worse with his aggressive playing and barking, i just keep on saying no and walk away ... just to let him know he sosnt have my attention when he acts that way...Good luck


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## Sisses Momma (Dec 29, 2004)

Jeanette, Good answer!! I use the phrase with Sisse (I think it was Marj, Ladies Mom said this) "Puppies that bite play alone". We yell "Ouch" and walk away from her. Her feelings are really hurt by that (I'm sure it's our tone of voice), but she will immediately come to whomever it was she bit and lick us!! She is usually pretty good for a while after that........She is also 5 months old......









After reading this I wanted to add that her behavior of biting and being aggressive is most likely the "Alpha" wanting to come out in her. Us yelling loudly "Ouch" and walking away is a behavior that her Mom would of used to let her know that wasn't permissable. Her coming to us and licking afterwards is most likely her "submissive" reaction. You need to become that Alpha for your puppy.....your in charge Mom!!


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## abbey (Apr 4, 2005)

Abbey is 4 months old and has just started doing this! My hubby freaked out and said I will not have a dog snipping and growling at the kids!







(She's not really hurting them but he thinks if you let her get away with it, she will become one of those snippy mean little dogs) This is why he wanted a male to avoid a "moody" female and I didn't want a boy because of marking - Oh well, the trade offs!!







But I explained to him the alpha thing everyone on here mentions and we have been trying to quit playing with her until she calms down. It helps at the time because she will calm down and then lick you as if to say sorry. But then the next day she's the tasmanian devil again! Hopefully she will get the hint soon!


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Abbey_@Apr 26 2005, 12:21 PM
> *Abbey is 4 months old and has just started doing this!  My hubby freaked out and said I will not have a dog snipping and growling at the kids!
> 
> 
> ...


[/QUOTE]
At that age she is also teething. When Lexi was teething she would bite more. After she was done teething it was like someone had flipped a switch. She is so much better. She very rarely bites anymore.


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## abbey (Apr 4, 2005)

Thanks Lexi's Mom. It's good to know she won't always do this! I've been trying to take things from her mouth so she reacts to me and I can correct her than having her snip at the kids. I also mess with her food while she's eating so she won't be stingy about that either. I fiqured she must be doing it out of play than meanness since she is only a puppy, but her little growl just surprises us! I researched this breed for a year before picking this breed and one of the things I liked was their personality and other than those few incidents, she is the sweetest dog anyone could ask for.


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## Laceys mom (Nov 12, 2004)

Lacey also did this...she is now a little over a year old and she has stopped. She is an alpha doggy and I think it is part of their personalities. We did pretty much what everyone here has suggested. Just keep doing it and it will stop. I was amazed...one day Lacey was biting and barking and the next she wasn't. It also helped that my cat had enough of her behavior and he bit her. Not hard, but he let her know that enough was enough. Now that the weather is getting nice Lacey is barking a little bit when she hears something outside but we have been telling her "no bark" and she is getting much better. Yesterday the landscapers came, she barked once, hubby told her no bark and that was the end of it.

Good Luck and just keep working with her...these little ones are so smart and it doesn't take much to teach them. Lacey doesn't like her feelings hurt or timeouts so that is what we used to teach her. We would ignore her and she would get the message real quick and want to make up with us.


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