On The Breaking Point

[Mikijak]

Hi Kris, I also have a Malamute - she is two years old now - and I spent a lot of time on the phone to my breeder, 'Is this normal?', 'What have I gotten myself into?' etc. and I have known this breed for over 10 years (first time owner tho')!! Be firm, without being abusive, and be consistent. Mally's are very pack oriented and you absolutely have to be pack leader with them. They are also highly intelligent and will consider what you ask them to do first, then decide if they want to actually do it or not. Your job is to make it more appealing for them to do what you ask them. It takes time, but is definitely worth it. My girl is now going through the "You've gone out and left me home, I'll chew your shoes / clothes / camera' stage (we have a pet door) which means we now have to make sure we pick EVERYTHING up

Have you tried Southern Districts Kennel & Obedience Club? They are at Morphett Vale and I have heard good reports about them from another mally owner. Also, check out the Dogs SA website - they have listings of all affiliated clubs, including obedience one's.

Good luck, and keep us updated with your progress.

[Clyde]

You purchased a difficult, independant and stubborn breed

I think this also needs to be realised by the OP. Mals are a far cry from Goldens and you will always need to be one step ahead. They are very head strong and need a firm, switched on owner.

[Snout Girl]

Hi there

As the owner of 2 puppies that both went through the biting stage- they are now 9 and 7 months- including a border collie that was VERY persistent to the point of i couldnt move without her trying to bite my clothes, hands, feet anthing.

we tried a plethora of methods recommended by our obedience school.

The most effective method we found was using dencorub. dogs hate the smell/taste. within a few hours of putting it on my hands, sally had stopped biting almost completely. its also useful when she decides to chew on thigns like door frames etc.

we tried redirecting her behaviour with a toy, ignroing her, yelping etc and the only thing that worked was the dencorub.

and she was a persistent little madam, thought i was going to lose my mind! (hang on, i still feel like that lol)

[Mollie10]

I'd also put in a plug for the 'yelp' then ignore tactic.

Anouk was a real nipper as a pup, but on advise from our puppy class we let her mouth our hands UNTIL she mouthed too hard at which time I'd yelp and turn my back on her. The rationale behind letting a pup mouth to a certain extent is for them to learn how hard they can bite without hurting someone - which may be useful if they ever feel threatened enough to bite a person as a warning.

The yelp and ignore is what a pup's littermates would do if the pup bit too hard while playing.

It's part of puppyhood.

[Blue_Ice]

Thanks for all the guidence, i spoke with the breeder last night and she re-assured me big time and she has 4 pups at this age going thru it...

My RSPCA comment was out of pure frustration and could never take a puppy there the little fella is going strong and today no holes... *touch wood*

I thought we were doomed this am as i read about the fear period and some silly lady let her dog run at Tuk, but he did really well which was good. He was a bit scared but soon stood his ground and walked off Its amazing the amount of stuff i am learning from this site and i can see it happening as i read. So thanks to everyone... esp Tara for all ur wise words.

[persephone]

[all that glitters]

Contact Mark Singer http://caninetraining.com.au/ as a starting point

you need to keep persisting. You purchased a difficult, independant and stubborn breed were you not told that by the breeder?

And no one forced to dump a dog at the RSPCA. It's my pet hate when people cannot cope and dont really try everything then dump an ill mannered dog off who will probably fail temperament test.

Yep that's the thing that put me off the Mals initially!

[charli73]

Blue Ice,

We all go through it, Zoe our German Shepherd was my first dog ever and by 5 months I was about to have a nervous breakdown. We had a trainer come out and told us that our dog had us all figured out and that we werent being firm enough... A lightbulb moment you could say..

I highly recommend someone come out and help you show how to be a firm but gentle leader...

When we got mouthed the high pitched yelp just made Zoe more excited and it didnt work so we used vicks vapour rub on our wrists and that helped, we also had to do the boss grip around her mouth which a trainer can show you and she soon learnt who was boss.

Good luck and dont give up!

[luffy4688]

Being a 1st dog owner myself, I can't offer much advice besides what has been suggested by the other helpful DOLers above.

Just want to let you know we went through a similar phase with Bailey when we got him. I reckon most puppy owners do. We were really frustrated back then as well, not to mention full of bite marks all over.

Took the advice of the great people here and had a personal lesson with a trainer. Worked wonders I tell you.

Hang in there!

[corvus]

I know of someone on another forum who had a Flat-coated Retriever that thought it was incredibly fun to cover her owners in bruises. It went on for a long time, and they tried just about everything before finally finding a trainer that managed to come up with some creative ways to deal with it that actually worked. They were talking about muzzling this dog at home the biting was so bad. They found that using biting games with legitimate chew toys as rewards for basic obedience helped, and it enabled them to redirect her to her toys when she felt like biting. They taught her the names of her toys to help with the redirection. They found the more loudly or sharply they protested the more excited she got, so they went to quiet, calm commands. Essentially the aim was to harness the biting and bring it under control by putting it on cue and teaching her what she should bite on and when.

I think that it still took them a long time to get a handle on it, but they got there in the end. She was a really hard dog.

[Guardienne]

Blue Ice, I just want to say how great it is that you are doing everything you can to work out Tuk's behavioral problems now. You don't know how many 7 month old pups end up dumped in the pound, some make it out, many don't, because their owners gave up on them too early. It was too hard, too much effort and they just didn't care enough. So a big from me!