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Help!!!

daniel_m Feb 04, 2007 10:28 PM

Alright so my family added a husky to our family about 3 months ago, we got him when he was 2 months old and hes a little over 5 months old now, we all love him to death and cant see our lives without him but theres a few obediece problems that we cant seem to work out or maybe we just arnt doing the correct tasks to correct them. First off our biggest concern is he bites, at first we ignored this since we thought maybe it was since he was teething but now it becoming constant, he bites all the time, he will be calm for a while but then if you get too close to when hes on on the bed or couch he will start biting, is this because he has claimed them as his?? or why does he do this, next he will not let go of things when he gets hold of something hes not supposed to, about 3 weeks ago he got a bag of peanuts still in the plastic bag, i didnt want him to swallow it so i tried to get him to drop it, when he didnt i tried to take it away and he began growling at me and when i mannaged to snag it from him he bite me like he had never done before, he puntcured my skin a bit, so thats our problem, can anyone give me any suggestions to how to try and solve this?? we started taking classes at teh petsmart but so far ive seen no results since all there showing him is how to sit, down, and walk which we have no problems with, when i asked teh trainer about this she said a simple no would get him to stop but that has not worked, somehow i dont think these classes will be much good. Thanks in advance guys, help us make this little angle perfect hahah, thanks.

Replies (2)

Chelle Feb 04, 2007 11:26 PM

The classes will help, but not directly. It's teaching you how to communicate with your dog and gives you a way of establishing yourself as the leader. Generally speaking, classes give you tools to solve problems with your dog, but until you use the tools correctly, they are not very helpful.

So, overall, a 5 month old husky is still going to chew, bite, mouth objects to learn about them. A 5 month old is still teething and will continue ot teeth for quite some time. Knowing that, how you handle it won't change, but you need to know that it is a NATURAL dog behavior and nothing more prompting the chewing.

There's a book I like called 'Preventing Dog Aggression' that goes through a fairly systematic approach to dealing with mouthy dogs and resource issues. ANother book is "Don't Shoot the Dog" and it gets into some additional training tools to help with the behaviors you are seeing.

Keep going to classes and learn how to work with your dog. Also, get some appropriate items for your dog to chew on instead of you. Kongs filled with frozen yougart are a favorite for my teething pups as well as frozen chicken broth. Carrots are also a good subsitute.

It takes time to teach a puppy what is acceptable behavior or not. Try training your dog by rewarding what you DO like and don't put your dog into positions where he will fail.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles

KDiamondDavis Feb 07, 2007 03:58 AM

>>Alright so my family added a husky to our family about 3 months ago, we got him when he was 2 months old and hes a little over 5 months old now, we all love him to death and cant see our lives without him but theres a few obediece problems that we cant seem to work out or maybe we just arnt doing the correct tasks to correct them. First off our biggest concern is he bites, at first we ignored this since we thought maybe it was since he was teething but now it becoming constant, he bites all the time, he will be calm for a while but then if you get too close to when hes on on the bed or couch he will start biting, is this because he has claimed them as his?? or why does he do this, next he will not let go of things when he gets hold of something hes not supposed to, about 3 weeks ago he got a bag of peanuts still in the plastic bag, i didnt want him to swallow it so i tried to get him to drop it, when he didnt i tried to take it away and he began growling at me and when i mannaged to snag it from him he bite me like he had never done before, he puntcured my skin a bit, so thats our problem, can anyone give me any suggestions to how to try and solve this?? we started taking classes at teh petsmart but so far ive seen no results since all there showing him is how to sit, down, and walk which we have no problems with, when i asked teh trainer about this she said a simple no would get him to stop but that has not worked, somehow i dont think these classes will be much good. Thanks in advance guys, help us make this little angle perfect hahah, thanks.
>>
>>

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

Classes do not address this kind of problem. It's time to ask your veterinarian to refer you to a veterinary behavior specialist. What you describe is potentially extremely serious, and if it isn't handled just right before he gets older, someone is likely to get badly hurt and the dog, well, no longer among the living.

At the link below my name, read the articles on Behavior Specialists and Dog Trainers, Destructive Chewing, Stealing, Defensive Dog Behavior, Resource Guarding, and the articles on Aggression.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

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