Help for Agressive Play in my dog

I have an 8 month old Papillon and at night when i'm laying on the bed he will come up with me and start snapping at me, backing up, and barking and will reapeat this sometimes with actually getting his mouth on me. If I tell him "no" this just encourages him to do it more and bark even louder. I've tried putting him in his pen for 10 minutes for a "time out" and when I let him out he will do it again. I've tried just walking away from him and that didn't work. He has also started sometimes grabbing a toy and coming at me with the toy in his mouth and will be growling. I dont touch the toy because I discourage tug of war. I'm running out of ideas and this is a nightly ritual for him. What should I do?

 

maybe crate him at night.
I hate to see a crate being used in the way (sort of like punishment) but if nothing else will work and this only happens at bedtime maybe you should put him in a crate for night.

 

Give him about 15 minutes of exercise/play just before you go to bed. A well-stuffed kong would be a nice touch for after the exercise session. If he's tired out he will be unlikely to try to get you to play at bedtime.

 

I do crate him at night after he has gone out for his last potty. I know this may sound stupid, but how do you suggest playing with him. I feel right now that he thinks i'm his play toy, so if I play with him with a toy he might start that growling thing, or if I pet him he might start the biting thing. Or, are you saying if I play with him before he get to his biting play he wont do that? The kong thing is a good idea, he loves the kong and he usually get it with him before I leave anywhere.

 

Hmmmmm----
8 months?
I have found that the 8mo - 12mo period to be a difficult adolescent time for puppies. With mine, they were trained enough to know the basic commands, but still had a lot of puppy energy and a puppy mindset.
This is the time I have always found most difficult.

My 9month old is a huge chewer - not from teething but to release energy!
This is the age when I have seen new quirky, often obnoxious behaviors develop. And this is a time that I really give the dog my best effort because for a few more months of patience, I will be rewarded with years of a great dog.

Hang in there with your pup!
I agree with some play time before turning in for the night.
Maybe even an evening walk? A grooming session? A little time training? Anything you two like to do that can release that evening energy.

Good Luck

 

Hello:

First, this pup needs to realize that you are the LEADER of the pack! So if the dog is growling even in play mode. You must not let the pup go on the bed. You also should begin NILIF immediately. (Nothing in life is free) It sounds like your dog has 0 respect for you. A big NO NO!

You could also Practice taking toys away from him tell him to "Drop it" and trade for a treat or another toy so he learns he does not have to fight for his toy. He will get something else that’s as good if he gives it up. You don't have to take the toys away a lot, but begin with 2 or 3 times a play session.


If he bites you hard enough to hurt, react at first by yelping and then walk away. Start ignoring behaviors you don't like (and encouraging behaviors you do!). If he continues to try to chomp on you, then ignore him completely - by putting him in a puppy "Time out." Leave the room (if someone is still there to supervise him) or take him & very matter-of-factly put him in his crate. He shouldn't begin to resent his crate over this. Leave him there for a few minutes to think about why he was just excluded from the pack. Of course, he's really likely to whine, cry, & bark. Be sure NOT to let him out while he is doing any of that... unless you want to encourage that behavior! Just wait for a brief pause in the noise, then walk back in quickly, praise him for being quiet & let him out to rejoin his "pack." Another thing you may wish to try is to redirect his interests into something more appropriate when he begins his biting.

Toss a ball for him, give him a proper chew toy.

Good luck!

 

Yes. Try to begin a play session before he starts his usual hyperness. Squeaky toys work nice for many dogs and if you think he'll be reluctant to give the toy back so you can toss it again simply have 2 or 3 toys available. Toss one toy, encourage him to bring it back to you and then take a different toy and toss that one. He should leave the first toy to go for the second. A nice run in the park would work well quite well too in addition to the play session. For walks on the street I use a regular leash but for runs in the park I use a retractable.

 

Don't forget that play time can double as training time, too. Start looking at his behaviors while he's playing. For example, if he dances around while waiting for you to toss a toy, tell him "Dance" just as he starts dancing, then say "Good boy" and toss the toy. If he sits and looks up when you hold a toy over his head, tell him "Sit" as soon as he starts moving his butt down, then "Good boy" and give him the toy.

That's called marking a behavior, and by using the same word, followed by praise when he repeats the behavior, it becomes a conditioned response. In a very short time he'll be sitting when you say sit, even without any formal work on the command.

I've taught my dog sit, wait, bring it, go over, back, down, heel off lead, and crawl all as part of our play sessions. I also noticed that he runs in a circle when he gets excited, so we taught him "NASCAR DOGGY" for running in a circle. Then we expanded it to "Are you a Mark Martin fan?"...runs in circle. "Are you a Dale Jr. fan?"...runs in a circle. "Are you a Jeff Gordon fan?"...sits and looks disgusted.

Dogs have a lot of cute behaviors that you can mark this way if you watch them during their play times. Then you can impress your friends with all the cute tricks they know, and at the same time you give them a release for all that energy. And the dog just thinks it's all good fun.