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I'm writing in because I'm starting to get a bit worried about whats going on with my Diavlo (12 wk male). He is not my 1st Dobie, but the last one I had was over 15 years ago.. and well.. I was his "sister" not his mommy lol.. I was also only 15, so it's pretty different this time around.
Diavlo just had his ears cropped a week ago, so I understand my boy is dealing with that. I think if I could just understand why he's doing these things then I'd feel better. I've been lucky enough to have 3 other wonderful dogs in my lifetime, so it's not that I'm brand new to "puppy behavior" but perhaps a little rusty lol.. Ok, so we brought him home 3 weeks ago and he's been an all around wonderful pup, and has completely stolen our hearts. However, he has been getting really rough with my 3 year old son biting him and tackling him, which is completely unacceptable. I understand it's "play biting" but thing is he was beginning to get the whole bite inhibition thing, and that my 3 y/o was "off limits" with any sort of biting. He would run around with him, get excited, even herd him some (which we loved) before yesterday, but very rarely even attempted to mouth lightly on him. Starting yesterday he began jumping up onto my sons tray and stealing his food. After that, every time Joe Joe was in the room with Diavlo he'd begin nipping and tackling him to the ground, so we gave him a stern "no! no bite Joe Joe!" and then redirected him to a toy. He kept at it and at, after 3 times or so we began giving him brief doggie time outs. As soon as we let him out, right back at it. Also, I wanted to mention that I spend all day with Diavlo, and for 4 hours in the morning it's one on one time as Joe Joe goes to nursery school. I've noticed lately he's been whining a lot, so I've tried to give him extra TLC considering he's still new to the house, just got cropped, and well.. he's my cutie pie and I want him to adjust well and feel cared for. Over the past few days though he's gotten progressively rougher with me and I have to stop playing with him due to the biting harder thing. In response to that he gets more riled up, more persistent and then starts barking at me.. and soon after is attacking my legs since I'm standing up trying to let him know playtime is over. Yes, I believe 100% this is just rougher play and in no way feel he's a threat to me, however I am concerned. I don't know why he's behaving this way or how to stop the behavior now. I feel I cannot even look away from him, or he gets mad at me! Even when I simply try to return a text message, he either starts barking or whining as if he doesn't like my attention being on the phone. Don't get me wrong, I feel great about him wanting my love and attention, and am more then happy to give it... but I have 3 children and home to keep up on, so it's just not feasible to literally give him ALL my time and attention.
The biggest fear I have though is with my 3 y/o, as Diavlo is growing in leaps and bounds. Already over 30lbs at 12 weeks, I know he will soon dwarf my 3 y/o so he needs to get this down ASAP! If anyone can give me some insight, advice, or tips as to why he may be doing this, what his continual barking at me is really about, and why he may suddenly be going for my 3 y/o when before 2 days ago he seemed to get thats the biggest "no no" in this house... Most importantly, any ideas on how to stop these new negative behaviors would be so VERY MUCH appreciated..
Oh a little bit more info on Diavlo. He is crate training quite well. He really only sleeps in there at night now though since he has pretty much got the potty training down. If I do have to leave him for a few mins, he stays in the crate until I can get back. We take him out on at least 2 good walks a day, and he rings bells on the door to tell us he needs a potty walk. Unfortunately we live on a military base so we don't have a backyard for him to run in. We do have a stake with a long lead, and my older sons love to take him out to play with them outside multiple times a day. Also, we purchased Diavlo from a great breeder where both of his parents were present. While his mom and dad looked intimidating enough, they were complete sweethearts and very well behaved too. Diavlo was neither the runt of the litter, nor the big cheese... He was friendly when we met him, but not over-friendly. He showed a lot of cautious curiosity, lets put it like that.. So middle of the road type pup. This aggressive thing he's doing now, is new.
Thank you soooooo much in advance for any help or advice any one has to give.. Heck I'd appreciate it if you're going through the same thing right now too and you can just identify with my situation. Basically just looking for support from my fellow Dobie lovers out there.. Especially if you also just happen to be a professional dog behaviorist too lol, or just have lots of experience with this magnificient breed :nicejob:
Jamie (Diavlo's mommy)
Diavlo just had his ears cropped a week ago, so I understand my boy is dealing with that. I think if I could just understand why he's doing these things then I'd feel better. I've been lucky enough to have 3 other wonderful dogs in my lifetime, so it's not that I'm brand new to "puppy behavior" but perhaps a little rusty lol.. Ok, so we brought him home 3 weeks ago and he's been an all around wonderful pup, and has completely stolen our hearts. However, he has been getting really rough with my 3 year old son biting him and tackling him, which is completely unacceptable. I understand it's "play biting" but thing is he was beginning to get the whole bite inhibition thing, and that my 3 y/o was "off limits" with any sort of biting. He would run around with him, get excited, even herd him some (which we loved) before yesterday, but very rarely even attempted to mouth lightly on him. Starting yesterday he began jumping up onto my sons tray and stealing his food. After that, every time Joe Joe was in the room with Diavlo he'd begin nipping and tackling him to the ground, so we gave him a stern "no! no bite Joe Joe!" and then redirected him to a toy. He kept at it and at, after 3 times or so we began giving him brief doggie time outs. As soon as we let him out, right back at it. Also, I wanted to mention that I spend all day with Diavlo, and for 4 hours in the morning it's one on one time as Joe Joe goes to nursery school. I've noticed lately he's been whining a lot, so I've tried to give him extra TLC considering he's still new to the house, just got cropped, and well.. he's my cutie pie and I want him to adjust well and feel cared for. Over the past few days though he's gotten progressively rougher with me and I have to stop playing with him due to the biting harder thing. In response to that he gets more riled up, more persistent and then starts barking at me.. and soon after is attacking my legs since I'm standing up trying to let him know playtime is over. Yes, I believe 100% this is just rougher play and in no way feel he's a threat to me, however I am concerned. I don't know why he's behaving this way or how to stop the behavior now. I feel I cannot even look away from him, or he gets mad at me! Even when I simply try to return a text message, he either starts barking or whining as if he doesn't like my attention being on the phone. Don't get me wrong, I feel great about him wanting my love and attention, and am more then happy to give it... but I have 3 children and home to keep up on, so it's just not feasible to literally give him ALL my time and attention.
The biggest fear I have though is with my 3 y/o, as Diavlo is growing in leaps and bounds. Already over 30lbs at 12 weeks, I know he will soon dwarf my 3 y/o so he needs to get this down ASAP! If anyone can give me some insight, advice, or tips as to why he may be doing this, what his continual barking at me is really about, and why he may suddenly be going for my 3 y/o when before 2 days ago he seemed to get thats the biggest "no no" in this house... Most importantly, any ideas on how to stop these new negative behaviors would be so VERY MUCH appreciated..
Oh a little bit more info on Diavlo. He is crate training quite well. He really only sleeps in there at night now though since he has pretty much got the potty training down. If I do have to leave him for a few mins, he stays in the crate until I can get back. We take him out on at least 2 good walks a day, and he rings bells on the door to tell us he needs a potty walk. Unfortunately we live on a military base so we don't have a backyard for him to run in. We do have a stake with a long lead, and my older sons love to take him out to play with them outside multiple times a day. Also, we purchased Diavlo from a great breeder where both of his parents were present. While his mom and dad looked intimidating enough, they were complete sweethearts and very well behaved too. Diavlo was neither the runt of the litter, nor the big cheese... He was friendly when we met him, but not over-friendly. He showed a lot of cautious curiosity, lets put it like that.. So middle of the road type pup. This aggressive thing he's doing now, is new.
Thank you soooooo much in advance for any help or advice any one has to give.. Heck I'd appreciate it if you're going through the same thing right now too and you can just identify with my situation. Basically just looking for support from my fellow Dobie lovers out there.. Especially if you also just happen to be a professional dog behaviorist too lol, or just have lots of experience with this magnificient breed :nicejob:
Jamie (Diavlo's mommy)