Aggressive Male Puppy? Worried :(

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nene

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First off, hi everyone! I'm new to the sheltie forum because I am a proud new owner of a sheltie, Duncan. He is a bundle of a joy and quite a handful most of the time, but extremely loveable and knows how to give kisses!

He is approaching the 5 month mark, and for the past month he has become increasingly aggressive at night time. He begins nipping very hard and becoming very persistant with it. He then begins to "hump" my arm or anything he can latch on to.

The vet told me I have to wait until atleast 6 months to get him fixed, but he is only getting more and more aggressive. In fact, when he gets like this, we call it "the ugly face."

Also, sometimes during the day, if he is chewing on a pillow that he shouldn't be and you go to take it away he becomes very mean and bites at you. Duncan exhibits this behavior with plenty of other things too, but then 5 minutes later he is a perfect little angel licking your face and wanting to play.

Are all of these aggressive episodes linked to the fact that he hasn't been fixed yet? If so, will they stop once it happens? If not, does anyone have any advice of how we can get "the ugly face" to occur less often?

Thank you all so much for listening. I hope someone has some helpful advice!

-Ne & Duncan
 
Is there any special reason why your vet said to wait until 6 mos. to get Duncan fixed? We had CeCe done at 5 mos. and they said that was a good time, before her first heat. Maybe males have a different timeline than females.

I have talked to some Sheltie owners who said their Sheltie was a little aggressive because they didn't socialize their dog with others enough at an early age, and they waited too long to have them fixed, but it was longer than 6 months. Has he been to puppy class?

Anyway, welcome to the forum!:smile2: I know you will get a lot better advice from all these Pros.
 
I had my male sheltie fixed at 3 months old. It went fine and he is now 3 years old. Mine gets slightly aggressive towards our one very old collie at times. The other youngster we got when he was 7 months old and we had him neutered then since he was a closed down puppy mill puppy and had never been to a vet before we got him. My Fox is the omega of the 9 dogs here and loves that position. I am just wondering here...how old was Duncan when you got him? Sometimes if a dog is taken away from mom to early and his other siblings they do not learn how to react to being put in their place by mom or their other siblings. This is just a thought. Puppers taken away from mom and siblings tend to not know certain behaviors like who is in charge and what socializations skills are needed
 
Welcome to the Sheltie Forum, nene! You will find lots of great support here!

As for your pup, yes, neutering will solve most, if not all, of his aggression issues. He's basically right now a teenager and his hormones are all over the place!!!! Some vets are strict on the 6 month rule and some aren't. I personally had my pup neutered at 4 to 4 1/2 months old. Once that is done, I think the humping will be cured because, well, he'll have no interest and energy for it. :lol: If you want to get him fixed now rather than later, you can always consult another local vet in your area-but if you're like me, I'm devoted to mine!

If that doesn't help, I'm personally a big fan of Victoria Stillwell and her show, It's me or the Dog (on Animal Planet)-you can get some good tips on there about how to redirect his behavior into something more appropriate. He's old enough for some basic obedience, which will help too. And also socialization is key (puppy day camp type thing) -he will get cues from the other dogs and puppies around his age if he is playing or biting too hard

Good luck with Duncan and let us know how he progresses! :smile2: Again, welcome to the forum!
 
alpha dog

sounds like you dog thinks he is alpha :yes: getting him neutered might curb some of the humping, but that is not always the case. Humping is a sign of dominance and he could continue this if you dont establish boundries. I would start now with pack rules. I would follow the nilf rules. As for the fixing at 6 months I actualy prefer 9-12 months, it helps them devolpe a good coat if you wait for the hormones to kick in. Of course I have never had aggression problems in any of my dogs fixed or intact. So whatever you and your vet are comfortable with :winkgrin: I hope this helps! http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/nilif.pdf
 
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I think I have to agree with everyone that he does not know his place in the pack and having him fixed will help some but not completly. Until he understands that you are the pack leader he is going to continue to be aggressive and it will get worse. You may want to watch Cesar Milan the Dog Whisperer, he deals with a lot of aggressive dogs that didn't understand who the pack leader was. You will be amazed at how easy it is to regain control and how much better your puppy will behave. Are you taking him out and getting exercise with him often? He may also not be releasing enough energy and that will also add to the aggression. That is one of the things that Cesar will mention right off the bat. The dog needs plenty of exercise. Hope that helps! Good luck with your puppy and welcome to the group!
 
Welcome NENE and Duncan

Duncan is most deffinately attempting to get his place as Alpha male. He needs to be taught that you are alpha dog not him. Neutering will help and socialization classes will also. Best of luck . Ask your vet for some good local classes or check on line, just type in your area and obedience classes. Welcome aboard and best of luck to you and Duncan. Be a good boy Duncan.:eek2::lol:
 
We have always had success with this: When he is being alpha assertive, take hold of the scruff of his neck and shake lightly, once or twice saying NO! That's how mother dogs correct their puppies. Of course, Shelties being sensitive, I would only do this for aggressive biting behavior. And I'd be very careful to be as gentle as a momma dog would be. I've only had to do this once with Layla -- I reached for her to bring her over for brushing, and she turned and snapped -- but once was enough. With your boy, it may take a time or two.
 
Oh please do NOT rely on the Dog Whisperer for advice! A 5 month old puppy is NOT trying to be alpha. The alpha theory was discounted long ago, but there are still those persistent individuals that want to milk it for all it's worth.

Shaking, scruffing, rolling, "biting" the dog is NOT recommended! Especially in the case of a young puppy!

Try some NILIF work (someone earlier provided a link). Enroll him in a positive training puppy class and work on socialization. As for taking things from him, just take them. Those things are yours, not his. If he makes the ugly face, give a firm (not angry, loud, or threatening ... just firm and confident) "no", take the item and walk away from him. Turn your back on him and put the item away.

Like someone earlier stated, it sounds like he was maybe removed from his litter too early. How old was he when you brought him home?

For some great POSITIVE training advice, I recommend the Rewarding Behaviors forum (http://rewardingbehaviors.com/forum/). The moderator of that board is a graduate of the Karen Pryor Academy and a member of APDT. The members on that board are wonderful positive trainers that have dealt with everything from simple puppy training (like what you have) to reactive rescue situations.

And for the love of Dog, turn OFF the Dog Whisperer and throw out that ridiculous idea of "alpha".
 
Wow! I have never felt so lambasted in this group as I do right now. I know everyone has different opionions but had I not seen Cesar's techniques work for myself, I wouldn't have recommended it. Thanks a lot!
 
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