Help, Puppy has changed into a monster of a dog.?

Question

My puppy is driving me NUTS! I just moved into a new house, and new state, and I have a 9 month old Boxer mix, and a 13 year old dachshund. Before I moved, my puppy was going through multiple training classes and did very well in them. Since I have moved, she has turned into a completely different dog. She constantly jumps up and nips when I come home and even when I come back into the room when I was only gone for a second. When I invite people over, her hackles go up and the howls and snarls at them, so I put her in the other room, and she screams like someone is beating her, and she now knows how to open the door. She gets out and jumps on my guests and nips them, it is so embarrassing. I tell her "no" and "off" and turn my back on her, and just ignore her, and it used to work, but now it only makes her worse. When she gets excited, my dachshund starts barking and won't shut up. I am so embarrassed to invite people over now. Also, she has developed some major problems. She now likes to chew on rocks. She will whine at the door to go outside, so I let her out because I think she needs to go to the bathroom, and she grabs a rock and starts chewing on it, and runs away when I try to take it from her. I can't get rid of the rocks, my back yard is all rock and has a large patch of grass. I tell her "leave it" and "out", but it seems like a game to her now. She used to be such a great dog. One of my guests used a laser pointer to get her off of him, and now, she has an obsession with anything the resembles the laser pointer. If there is a reflection on the wall, she will actually run into the wall several times until I find out what is causing the reflection and make it stop. She REALLY needs help. I have called my trainer that we had before I moved, and she said to just to continue working with her, but she only seems to listen when food is involved, without food, she could care less, and when training is over, she goes back to being bad. I really want her to get back to her old self. Why did she just change into a monster of a dog? How do I get her to stop all of this? I live on my own now and I am going to college, so I can't afford more training lessons for her to "relearn." Are there things I can do for her myself to get her to leave the rocks alone, to stop jumping, nipping and acting aggressively to my guests? Thank you.

Answer 1

lol just like my puppy just let him settle in he'll calm down :)

Answer 2

Keep her on a leash, tied to you all the time for a while.  It will let you control, and correct her instantly.  When she gets jumpy, stand on the leash.  She'll learn quick that jumping is a bad, bad thing.

When she gets nippy, use a harsh sound to stop her.  "UH-UH" or a firm "NO", combined with a tug on the leash will let her know to quit.

Don't make an effort to keep her untangled from the leash.

Don't make an effort to keep from stepping on her.

Both of those things are her job.  

She needs to watch you and respond to you to keep herself comfortable.

She's thinking she's "boss dog".  When she has to follow you around, and pay attention to your every move, she'll learn differently.

About the rocks:

QUIT chasing her!

"Keep away" has been a favorite game for dogs since the dawn of time.  Watch shows about wolves.  They start playing this as soon as they can walk.  LOL!

When she grabs a rock, turn your back and whip out a treat.  She'll drop it and come to see what your problem is.  ;-)

Good luck

Answer 3

Moving may have stressed her out. That could the cause of her sudden change in behavior.

Since she responds to food, perhaps you can get in the routine of having a few kibbles on hand and having her sit as soon as you enter the room. The theory behind this is that she cannot jump and sit at the same time. Hopefully over time, she will understand that sitting will be rewarded, while jumping will not be. You could also ask your guests to take part in this practice and hopefully they'll be understanding and happy to help you out.

An example of this would be to leash her before your guest enters and when she sits for you, ask the guest to enter. When she sits again, have your guest reward her, but if she jumps at them, have them turn away.

Also, I understand your financial situation may not be the best, but if you can, you might want to see a vet to rule out any illness or pain that may be causing her stress. Anti-anxiety medication may be recommended for a short-term solution as she may not be adjusting well to her new surroundings.

About the chewing, make sure she has good chewing toys at home. If you can walk her on a leash, even in the yard, you could use the command "leave it" when you see her going for a rock and then reward her with a treat or kibble instead.  

Answer 4

well first of all how many times do you walk her and for how long? Boxers are very energetic dogs and need lots of exercise and attention. Also food isn't a bad thing. Bake some chicken b*****s and cut them in small pieces. Dogs will do anything for food. Then you can put it in a bag and carry it around with you. If your dog obeys then she gets rewarded with a treat. When guests come into your house have your dog wait at the end of the hall and don't let her move any closer to the door. Then tell her stay and when she is calm walk towards the door. Always keep eye contact with your dog. Your eyes and hands are very important because that is mainly what dogs look at. If she moves then bring her back away from the door and tell her to sit and stay. this may take a long time, but you have to work with your dog or else she will turn into a monster. when you are able to get to the door without her moving open it and let somebody in. when that person comes in make sure your dog stays where she is if she doesn't then have the other person leave and try again. eventually the other person should be able to come in and when they pass by your dog have them give her a piece of chicken. so in your dogs mind guests=Chicken. As for the jumping and nipping walk away and go to another room. Then your dog will realize that if he or she wants attention she mus not jump or nip.

Answer 5

She is in her adolecent stage...all puppies go through this.  Re-enroll her in puppy classes if need be.it sounds like you are doing the right things so far.

Answer 6

Puppies will jump up, bite and nip-she going through the teething period and testing the boundries! That what puppies do best!

When you arrive home

1. Do Not pay any attention to her-walk in with your arms cross and avoid eye contact.Say down if she does attempt to jump up!

2.Wait 30mintues after arriving home and make sure she sit, before you give her any attentiion

3. Attach a lead and collar, so when visitor come, you get her to sit at the door-you can use food rewards to get her to focus on you, but only give the food rewards if she is focused on you and not the visitor!

Watch these videos-Stop dogs jumping up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlFqJkbpD...

Stop dogs from biting!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teN_HkIzO...

Answer 7

You need to do whatever you were doing in training and be assertive, not mean, but assertive about it.  She needs to know that you're in charge and you mean what you say.  

When you know someone's coming over, put a leash on her and put her in a sit/stay.  With the leash on, you can reinforce it.  The nipping is something you need to get really tough with - she should have stopped that by the time she was 4 months old.  An extremely firm NO and leave the room, ignore her totally for a few minutes.

She quite likely also needs a ton more exercise as well as obedience work for her mind.  She's a puppy of an extremely active breed and if she were tired out, she'd be better behaved.

As for the rocks, you have to keep telling her "leave it".  Take her out on the leash if need be until she stops this behaviour.  

I think a lot more exercise as well as working with her every day is going to solve most of her problems in a short time.  Be consistent.