[Anjanag]

Hi, we have an adorable little dachshund puppy (3months old) who is unfortunately being extremely aggressive :( and I don't know what to do!
The vet suggested we react aggressively and yell at him and bang on a surface near him to scare him, but from what I can see the more aggressive I get the worse he seems to get.
I've tried being really patient and loving while saying a firm 'no' but there are times when he just doesn't seem to listen to anything I say and he gets really really hyper and bites us really really hard (we feel bad for the poor little guy since we figured he is getting his teeth and that must probably hurt him a lot)
I don't know what to do! I've been reading about "establishing alpha position' but training a dachshund is like trying to train a fly :( all he listens to is 'come' and if he feels like it - 'no'
If I should at him he barks back and looks a bit crazy (demented eyes... mean of me but he REALLY bites HARD)
2 min later he'll come crying to be picked up to sit on the sofa with us and make really cute, sad faces :(
HELP please!
Oh also he pees and poops everywhere :( I've tried the puppy pads (he sits on them and tears them up) newspapers (pees on them sometimes)... he just seems to do whatever he feels like doing
If I take him for a walk he'll just run around eating everything he can find then come home and pee and poo!
Is it safe to take such a small puppy out?

(sorry everything is all mixed up I'm going a bit crazy trying to figure out what to do... plus he's giving me the emotional blackmail treatment at the moment because I'm not letting him sit on the sofa next to me)

Thanks for any help!

[Alty]

At three months of age this is not aggression, this is puppyhood.

I can't believe that your vet recommended that you be aggressive back. Your actions teach your puppy. Aggression begets aggression.

Positive reinforcement is the way to go. Also, ignoring the bad behavior. If he starts to bite, a firm no, and then walk away. If he's not willing to play nice than you won't play.

Also make sure that he has lots of things to chew on. Those puppy teeth are ready to come out and teething isn't fun. You can also try redirecting him with a toy. If he bites you give him a toy. This will teach him that it's okay to bite the toy, but not you.

He's really young and he has to learn the behavior you want from him. This isn't deliberate, it's not knowing any better, just like a child that hits, you have to teach what you want him to do.

As for the potty training, consistency, lots of praise when he goes outside, no puppy pads. Puppy pads are confusing. Can I go potty inside or not?

I would recommend some puppy obedience classes as well.

Good luck, and remember, this puppy is new to your home, new to living with a human. He doesn't know your rules, you have to teach them to him, and patience is key. Trust me, the puppy stage doesn't last forever. ;)

[Lucky098]

Research your breed! Doxies are not cuddly, loveable dogs. They were designed to hunt badgers and other nasty animals! They're naturally assertive.

Puppies do not show aggression. They are learning who they are and are testing the limits. Can his actions become aggression later in life? Very much so! So right now is your window for improvement!

I'll tell you right now that the #1 bite incidents do come from little dogs. Why? Because no one treats them like dogs. Yes, he is little, cute and you don't want to hurt him. But you also need to treat him like a dog. Meaning... if he bites you, don't just make the excuse of "Oh, hes just teething". Mama dogs do not allow their pups to bite them, and neither should you. At this point your pups life, you need to become mama dog. If he bites you hard, and yiping, pulling away and ignoring him isn't getting the picture across, then you need to be a little harsher. Understand that dogs do not understand hitting, kicking, swatting with newspaper and chasing around screaming at them. They do understand, however, grabbing the scruff, a firm no, and put in "time out". Time out can last up to 5 minutes, and be as short as 10 secs. Biting you is a big no no and gets him nothing. I don't necessarily like using crates for time outs, but sometimes that is your only tool. Just be sure to make the crate positive as much as possible so when you do need to use the crate in a negative. Nature, the pup won't resent the crate.

I'm not quite sure why you were advised to be aggressive back to your pup. Being aggressive back to a baby is really unnecessary. Vets are not very knowledgeable with behavioral problems. They know the basics and have their own methods learned from their own dogs or maybe a friend. They're job is medicine... You should be speaking to a trainer. I would suggest to start classes ASAP. I would also suggest not to go to petsmart or petco. The training classes aren't the best.

[Lucky098]

Also... for the potty problems.. Get him on a schedule and stick to it. What your feeding plays a huge role as well, so make sure it's a high quality puppy food. Use the crate. The crate will become your friend :) Feed him twice a day, control his water intake. I always say that puppies being house trained are usually very thirsty! You are not only training him mentally for house training, but also his bladder muscle.

Throw away all your puppy pads. Puppy pads are nothing but a disaster. If you live in an apartment, get a grass potty pod. And put it in a designated area. PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE when he goes potty. Make a HUGE deal about it. When you take him to potty, don't play with him, don't talk to him.. just say "go potty".. give him a good amount of time.. If he doesn't potty during that time, take him in, put him in his crate and try again in 15 minutes.

Tie him to you.. If he cannot sneak off to potty, the easier it will be. You will also learn his signs to go potty. House training dogs is for the human too.. not just the dog. You need to pick up on his signals.

[Alty]

I agree with Lucky. The only thing I don't really agree with is using a crate as a time out. There's really no way to make a time out positive, and a crate should be a sanctuary, a safe place, not a place for punishment.

Like I said before, when he bites, a firm no, walk away, or redirect will work.

Our beagle puppy was a biter. He was the only one that loved to bite play. I won't tolerate that, but I have to say that he was a hard nut to crack. My other dogs have never had issues with this. With them, even in puppyhood, a firm no was all it took. They caught on quick. My beagle, although very smart, is also very stubborn, and he took a bit of time. He's the first dog I've ever had to pin to get the point across.

Dachshunds and beagles are very similar. They're both trained to hunt, and that hunt instinct over rules all. Redirect using something that's in their nature (a toy, something to chew on, or a treat) and they learn a lot better.

There is no training method that works 100% of the time with every dog. It's trial and error. At 3 months you have a clean slate and your dog is what you make it to be. Positive reinforcement is the best. A firm no when he's being naughty, but never a hit, never a yell, and stay consistent.

I agree with Lucky that a trainer is the best course. I also agree that any pet store giving training lessons is not the best choice. Most pet store trainers are employees that know nothing about breed, or about training, they just got the job because they applied and that was the only position available.

[Anjanag]

Thank you both SO much for the replies!
I thought the vet was being pretty stupid too suggesting that we yell at him and try to scare him. But then the vet also told me that saying a 'NO' in english is too short and the puppy won't understand?? (My husband is turkish I'm indian but we live in turkey and I speak in english here also with Peanut - our puppy) The vet was asking me to use the turkish version for no which is much longer but I've had dogs in India and NO has always worked with them!
Is he right about this? (I really don't like him much since he seems to give me advice without doing any research!)
I've been reading too many 'be the alpha dog' sites and getting worried and confused.. with your replies though I can relax a bit and just treat my poor boy as a puppy! So thank you both sooooo much.
So I'll try the 'time out' techniques now instead of whacking him (lightly) on his bottom.

Obedience classes is a bit of a problem since they'll be in turkish and both peanut and me will be confused!

<3 thank you again!

[Alty]

I have to say, and I mean not disrespect, but your vet is an idiot. He may know animal medicine, but he has no idea about animal behavior.

Animals don't understand English, German, french, Turkish, or any of the other languages. They associate the action with the word. For example: you say sit, push the puppies bum down, give a teat and say "good dog" and you repeat it over and over again. After a while puppy associates the sound of the word sit with the action you want in hope of praise and a treat. Puppy doesn't know that sit means sit, he/she just knows that sitting when you say that word sound means that you'll be happy and a treat is given.

No is fine. Any word that you decide will mean no is fine. You can say "leaf" in a stern tone and it will mean no to the puppy. It's not the word, it's the tone and the action that matters.

You have chosen a difficult breed to train, but they're not impossible, and at 3 months you really do have a clean slate Your dog is what you make him to be.

Do you have kids? Puppies are a lot like kids in many ways. A child isn't born knowing how to walk, talk, eat, potty. A dog isn't born knowing how to exist in our surroundings. From birth he's been with his mother. All dogs have the instincts of wild dogs. Wild dogs don't pee on a pad, or pee in the yard. If they have to pee, the do it, wherever they are. If they have to poo and a good piece of earth is available, then they poo.

He has to learn your limits, your rules. It can take time.

This is where your vet failed you. If you have a child and you've gone through the potty training stage, what did you do? What would you do? Would you yell at the child if it peed in it's pants? Would you scold the child for having an accident? Or, would you be patient, teach the child that the potty is for peeing and pooing, and then praising the child when he/she does what's expected? Puppies are the same in that respect. They have to learn what's expected, and it can take time. The more positive you are, the more consistent, and the quicker he'll learn.

It's the same with biting. Dogs use their mouths to play. When they play with their siblings they mouth. They don't have hands, so they can't use them. Their mouths are their hands. It's playfulness, but to us humans, darn, those puppy teeth hurt. But puppy doesn't know that. He just wants to play. The only way to stop this is to gently teach him that this isn't acceptable behavior, and that he'll get no attention when doing this. I've even done the yelp when my beagle puppy bites. It stops him dead in his tracks.

I have faith that you can do this. You seem to know the right thing to do, and you know that your vet isn't a good source of information when it comes to training your dog.

If you have any questions, any concerns, or want to learn more, we're here. We have excellent dog people on this site. I hope you come back with any concerns, and please, we love pictures, especially puppy pictures. :)

[Anjanag]

I agree about the language bit :) its all about the tone. No I don't have any children yet (I'm 26 and after peanut I'm terrified of having any for a while :-D)
Doing what the vet told us to do what emotionally traumatic for me because I felt terrible shouting at the poor baby and I didn't think it was right to intimidate him to get what we wanted. He isn't a prisoner poor guy! The vet also suggested we leave peanut with him for 5 days (at a nice high cost) and he would 'Train' him for us.
I feel a lot better today after reading the replies here because I can just treat him like a baby again instead of constantly shouting at him for things. I'm trying the 'time out' method a lot more patiently and so far it's going fine.
I'm a bit scared of taking him out because he immediately eats anything he can find and the building complex has large garden areas where they've grown some special trees and grasses (I'm assuming with a lot of fertilizers) a few days back we took him out and he was pulling at some grass (which I thought was normal) but then he came back home and while I was holding him, suddenly his eyes started moving rapidly from left to right for around 10 seconds. We were terrified! He was completely fine after that (he didn't realize anything happened) but now when I take him out I am too scared to let him eat any grass :(
I researched a lot on seizures but none of the symptoms match what happened and it hasn't happened since then.
He had traveled a lot that week (2 plane rides 1 hr each and 2 hours of additional travelling per way) maybe he was very tired? Too much altitude change?
I can't tell you how happy and relieved I am with your replies :) thank you so very much!!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=561021&id=549680412&l=414d681600

here is a Facebook album with peanut's pictures :)