Okay, I feel really bad about this...so please be kind in your answer. I know I made a mistake?

Question

okay...

so our puppy Stewie he is almost 13 weeks he is a mastiff/doberman/apbt mix.

he growls..a lot. and he bites. next monday (not this coming one-since its labor day) we are taking him to obedience

but today...I picked him up and he bit me and growled...so I scared the **** out of him. I was mean and I growled/snarled and bit him back (I felt dumb...it was on the scruff of his neck) and it shut him up for a few seconds so I could put him down...

that has happend before (very few times) where he will do that...and I will react. ( I grabbed his mouth in my hand after I 'barked' back at him and I stared him down) and the other time I had to get him off my sister on a walk (b/c he was biting at her legs b/c they were walking behind me and the girls (my two female dogs) and he gets really pissed off when they are first and he nips a lot b.c of that. so I lifted him by the scruff of the neck (and my hand supporting his back end...it wasnt hurting him...but I think it scared him)

so I feel really bad about this...and it only happend last night and today that I reacted

will he still love me? will he be afraid of me? could I have scared him in to keeping to act like this? we are taking him to obedience. but could this have ruined him? like his relationship with me? can I make him (for lack of better term) forget? or forgive?

I feel horrible about this. I didnt let anyone see it...but I cried about it.

Answer 1

aggresiveness is no joke. doing what you did will only aggravate him more, and teach him to continue doing waht he's doing. i recommend buying some books about aggresiveness. good luck with your puppy, and please, be kind to him/her. dogs are man and woman's best friend. treat them like they are :)

Answer 2

I once had a cocker spaniel that was very aggressive.  He flunked obedience school 3 times.  The last time the instructor told me that I would have to prove to him that I was the dominant one.  So, I was to take him by the jowls with both hands, lift him up off the ground so that his hind feet barely touched the ground and stare him in the eye.  Apparently he was supposed to be so scared that he would pee himself.  Well, I felt really bad about doing this to him,  I did try it on the instructors insistence.  Did it work???  Well I had to get 3 stitches because he never did pee and after I let go he bit me.  He was a very stubborn dog.  The long and the short of it is, he was my best friend and my biggest protector for 12 years.  So I wouldn't worry about this damaging your relationship with him.  Males tend to show their dominance with a lot of agression when they are young.  You do have to take him to obedience class and keep trying until he passes.  Shadow finally passed the fourth time!!!

Answer 3

Look people on this site will hunt you down for this but I fully understand.  Your dog is out of control and I know how you must feel.  It's hard especially at the beginning to understand how you must discipline your dog.  You are human and will make mistakes.  That said you must be the dominant one in the pack.  

I suggest you do the following and if anyone on this site disagrees s***w them.

1)  Do not hit your dog.  You must stand erect and move towards you dog and make it move backwards.  

2)  Put your finger out and say Shhhhhhhh to stop it from doing the things that is wrong.

2)  Put your dog in another room when it does wrong and leave it there for 10 minutes.

4)  Pour water over it's head and say NO! when it does a really bad thing.

5)  Take it on long walks.  Very important.

6)  Get all family members to feed it and water it.

All the best.

Answer 4

I am not a trainer, but similarly I had a lab chow mix years ago who was also very aggressive as a puppy. I did the same thing you did, growled at her back and closed her mouth. Sometimes it worked, other times, she rebelled harder. But I believe all of the aggression is just a way of testing you to see who is boss. The puppy is not going to hold a grudge against you or anything, but it does need to learn who controls whom.

Some things that I did learn were simple gestures. Things such as rubbing the puppy from its hands to its feet can build trust and also give you dominance. Don't let the puppy sleep with you for now, and he or she's paws should never be on your hands or your body, your hands should be on it.

I don't think what you have done is going to make him hate you, or be scared of you. But I also don't think what you have done thus far will prevent future aggressive tendencies.

Answer 5

First, let me say I do not think you made a mistake. It sounds like your little boy has some dominancy aggression. I have a german shepherd that had the same problem. Dogs are pack animals and in that pack there is an established hierarchy. He seems to think he is at the top of the pack. What you did was challenge his position, which is what needs to be done. When he shows aggression towards anyone or another animal, even if it is a slight muffled growl you need to say “AT” or in a higher firm voice and remove him from the room isolating him in a crate or a small enclosed area. In order for this to work you must be adamant and firm. Obedience is the key. I suggest you get a clicker and a lead rope to work with him daily in short sessions. Here is a really great article that may help http://leerburg.com/dominac2.htm  

Answer 6

Its not like dogs are totally unforgiving, but they see you like a little kid would see his parent. When you treat him badly,  they can end up as timid, scarred dogs. The best to react it to look him in the eye, and then ignore him. Like anything annoying, as soon as you ignore it, it will subside eventually. If it really, truly bothers you, you can tap him gently on the nose when he does something and say "No Bite!" or "No (whatever hes done wrong". Don't scream at him, just say it a bit louder than a speaking voice, and look him straight in the eye. Make sure to praise him when hes done something good and say "Good Sit!" or "Good (whatever he has done good)." I don't think you should be too concerned, just go by my tips and you should be fine until obedience. Keep up with the tips, and the obedience should just be optional! Bring him in your bed with you, crawl up on the couch with him, give him a treat, and just show him that you love him. Dogs will surprise you, they are more forgiving, and amazing than you'd think!

Answer 7

my sister had to send her pup to doggy boot camp for 6 weeks. google it for one near you. very expensive.

and she still has a trainer in twice a week. her pup is going on 1 yr. he's a GSD.

Answer 8

dont feel bad, i have a husky and sometimes he wont stop barking because he sees a squirel, i smack him on the butt and yell at him, i used to grab his snout so he would have to look at me but now he is obedient.  he is still loving.  and he loves me, but he can tell my tones from serious to when im being playful.

Its like with kids, you are patient but sometimes you have to get bad, you have to grab them and make them look at you.  im not saying beat the c**p out of him in no way, he is a puppy and is still learning, but he needs to know you wont tolerate that behavior from the begining.

Mastiffs are known to be more aggressive than most dogs, thats why they make great junk yard dogs.  they can get a bad rep like pits because they can be dangerous, but it all depends on how they are raised, you need to get him under control now because as he gets older he will only get more violent, and make sure when you are able to that he gets fixed, the lower amount of test. should also help a little with his behavior.

Answer 9

I have a Shiba Inu with a very dominant personality. Initially, whenever he misbehaved or mouthed on me, I rolled him over and growled at him. While it worked somewhat at the beginning, things started going downhill after a very short while. He would start fighting back, and he lost trust in me, and would not let me handle him.

I switched to reward based techniques when I noticed that things were not working. Now he is much better about handling, he doesn't misbehave much anymore, and he hasn't shown any aggression in over a year. So yes, you can definitely regain your dog's trust.

Some things that really worked for me:

1. Be Calm and assertive. The key is you must be calm - not angry or frustrated. Being angry only amped up my dog and caused him to get even more crazy. Dog's respect a calm leader, not an angry one.

2. NILIF program. A great way to establish yourself as leader is through the control of resources. Don't give anything to your dog (including pets and affection) unless he does something for you first. For example ask him for a "sit" before you give him food, toys, or freedom.

3. Always put a drag lead on him. Use a light lead, and clip off the loop at the end so it doesn't catch on anything. Make sure to use a flat collar and not a training collar. When you dog does something inappropriate, non-mark him (ack, ack) and stop him. For example if he jumps on you, turn away; if he gets on the furniture, use the lead to get him down.

4. Time-out. If your dog continues with his bad behavior after you have told him to stop, then say "time-out" and remove him to a time-out area (a safe but boring room, e.g. laundry room). Leave him in there for a couple of minutes and let him out. If he starts up again, non-mark him (ack, ack), and say time-out and put him back in time-out. This time lengthen the duration to about 10-15 minutes. Note that if your dog stops the bad behavior, make sure to praise him a lot and give him good treats. Keep this up and your dog will learn that certain behaviors get him rewards while others get him into a boring room with nothing to do.

5. Obedience training. It is really good that you are starting classes soon. Try and do some obedience training sessions everyday. Do two or three short sessions (10-15 minutes) every day. This will help establish you as a leader, improve your bond with your dog, exercise your dog's mind, and give you good tools that you can use to help control him in the house. I recommend going to a positive reinforcement obedience class.

Answer 10

I would consult with a certified dog behaviorist he's only a puppy now. But if he ends up taking on the size of a doberman or mastiff. You don't want this going on with a dog of those sizes.