13 week pup. Question!

Hi there

So far everything is going great. However, yesterday my puppy acted quite differently towards me. She had a huge amount of energy so I took her out for a short walk. This didn't seem to calm her down. She then went scitzo all over the house, bouncing off the walls (which she tends to do on a daily basis anyway), but when I tried to walk away she attacked my feet and legs (even from behind) as though she was trying to block me and when I shouted at her to stop (cos it really hurt!) she went nuts; growling, barking, lunging up at me etc. I obviously showed her I wasn't intimidated becaused I wasn't sure if she was playing or meant it, though either way it isn't acceptable. Shouting didn't work, locking her in her crate for a few minutes didn't work because when she came out she did it again, stamping my feet didn't work, I even pinned her down for a bit but that didn't work. Any suggestions? Normally she's very loving if not a bit nippy with me but I'm wondering if she's trying to challenge me. I do find this quite annoying though, because I like to think I am calm and assertive. I do everything by the book (or so I thought). Should I be worried?

No u shouldnt be worried at all, this is typical staffy pup play and over excitedness!! Honestly we have all been through it and yes it can look quite aggressive but its completley not in the slightness, a 13 week old pup wouldnt no what agrssive was if it bit her in the bum lol! The main thing is to keep calm and be consistant, it may take weeks or it may take months but she will learn eventually what is right and wrong, after all shes only a baby and this is your job as mummy to teach her. When kaos was a baby and he had these moments i used to say a sharp "AH AH" and turn away and ignore completley, then when completley calm praise. If this didnt work i shut him in another room (not his crate as i didnt want him to associate his crate with punishment) and just kept repeating till he was calm. Yes it took a long time and was very fustrating but over time it worked and he learnt.
She sounds very normal to me lol, good luck and keep us updated! x

Well thats reassuring to hear. Thanks. I actually also thought you shouldn't lock in crate but then I heard it was ok to do it. Now I'm a bit confused. And as for turning away, well I've tried that one and she just attacks me from behind!!! Still, I'll keep trying to be consistent and keep calm which isn't always easy!!!

I really can feel your pain lol and ive got the scars to prove it! As u say just keep calm and carry on doing what your doing, you sound like your doing great. She will learn lol. I personally think re the crating when naughty thing that if u have some where else to pop her ie) i use the kichen then you can keep the crate for really positive experiences which will make her take to it alot easier. x

thanks for that. I'll keep plodding on.

What are you feeding her?

wainwrights which is 30% protein

billy does that quite a lot, it's usually after his walk and tea, about 8pm, he just goes mad for about 5 mins running around.

when he was really small he used to run from one end of the room to the other and go under the coffee table, now he is too big but just manages to stop before the table somehow.

Try to find a lower protein food. Although yes, it's quite normal behaviour, it really shouldn't go on and on like that, even after she's had time to calm down. We had exactly the same problem with Dempsey while he was still on the dry food that the breeders had him on & he was absolutely impossible at times. We switched him to tripe & within a couple of days he had calmed down a lot - still used to bounce off the walls sometimes, but nowhere near as much!

You don't need to switch to raw food, though, just either try a lower protein dry or a fish-based one, as they are generally less hyperactive on those.

thanks I'll try that

I agree with everyone. Tyson used to attack my feet constantly but Paris was the most chilled out pup. I was certain he was going to be one of these out of control dogs as he used to bounce off walls with his head and not be fazed lol. They defo grow out of it, he still has his odd moment of the tail between the legs and off...
Dont worry though its the norm