Advice needed

Well, as you can tell by my increased number of posts, Bacon has been giving me lots of trouble lately. All the normal teenage stuff, but the thing that I want to make sure stops is that he seems to be getting bold with me and others.

Every time I catch him doing something he is not supposed to (Grabbing things out of the bathroom waste basket, jumping onto my bed, etc...) I ask him to leave it, or drop it, or to get off... Most of the time that works... Sometimes he is extremely defiant and I cannot just wait for him to lose interest and I have to intervene. So I go in and try to pick him up or grab hold of his collar. Seems that every time I do this now, he gets low, growls at me and grabs/bites me, then jumps at me does a little bite grab, and backs off and does it again... At this point, i'm not sure how to handle him.

Should I continue to pursue him and grab him so he does not think that growling and biting will get me to back off?
Should I back off and have him do something like sit or shake to diffuse the situation? Then move on as if nothing happened?
Or, should I pursue, grab him, and time-out?

I'm kind of confused on how I should respond so that I am neither encouraging this behavior or being passive about it. He does not bite down hard, but it is definitely a "leave me alone" defiant grab. The other day my mom was puppy sitting and he grabbed hold of her foot because he was mad she was taking him back inside and cut her a bit with his bite so It's not something that can continue to happen.

Don't grab. If you grab at him he'll either think you're playing rough & will reply in kind or he'll try to avoid you. Either way, you lose control.

Try to remember to keep some treats in a pocket all the time (until he's all grown up & a little less defiant!). If he defies you, take a treat out & call him ("Come" or whatever word you use). As soon as he responds, you've got the upper hand again! When he gets to you, get him to do a couple of simple obedience exercises (sit, down, paw - whatever) and then treat him.

He's at that age where he will push the boundaries as far as you'll let him!

Thanks for the advice Caryll. I'll have to remember to have some good treats in pocket all the time.

Agree with Caryll on this one. We always have treats nearby

I used to grab Loki's collar when he'd chew walls and doors and stuff. This was when he'd only been here a few weeks so he'd yet to get the hang of the rules. He'd always try to bite us. I think they just don't like it (either out of discomfort or defiance). Caryll's advice is good, I've been having to use loads of treats for Loki in the hope that giving him treats when he doesn't jump on the counter will stop him wanting to do it. I can only hope. So I guess we'll be going through the madness at the same time but yeah, treats will work well I think.

Have you tried the out of the room method ? when he refuses to to do as he is told put him into another room and close the door, leave him he will cry to come in open the door and let him in after 30 seconds. if he still carry's on the behavior put him back into the room shut the door again , this has always worked for me over the years , just make sure there is nothing in the room you put him in that he can occupy himself with .

mickgill wrote:Have you tried the out of the room method ? when he refuses to to do as he is told put him into another room and close the door, leave him he will cry to come in open the door and let him in after 30 seconds. if he still carry's on the behavior put him back into the room shut the door again , this has always worked for me over the years , just make sure there is nothing in the room you put him in that he can occupy himself with .

Yes, that works, but if he's on the bed & won't get off how will you put him out of the room without grabbing & going back to square one?

Caryll wrote:

mickgill wrote:Have you tried the out of the room method ? when he refuses to to do as he is told put him into another room and close the door, leave him he will cry to come in open the door and let him in after 30 seconds. if he still carry's on the behavior put him back into the room shut the door again , this has always worked for me over the years , just make sure there is nothing in the room you put him in that he can occupy himself with .

Yes, that works, but if he's on the bed & won't get off how will you put him out of the room without grabbing & going back to square one?

Good point Caryll and one i should have answered first time round , making a grab for any dog is not a good idea . i kneel or sit at their height i then slowly offer the back of my hand , i find with Duke at ten weeks that he approaches smells then licks the back of my hand this is a good time to slip your hand under him and pick him up .