strange behavior - please advice

[mistarkos]

Cassie is almost 5 months old. Since she was a puppy she used to bite often. I've read back then a thread in here that when she bites to grab her snout with my hand and say "NO BITE". So I did that.. I've been doing it since then and she stopped bite ..that often. She rarely bites now. Btw when I was grabbing her snout she was ok with it.

This afternoon when my dad came for visit she was biting his shoe laces. So I grabbed her snout and said "NO BITE". She immediately became very aggressive to me, she swipe her snout, she was barking at me and she was reaching towards me and biting on the air. She did this again a few days ago but she was not so aggressive. Today it was something else. It was like I was the bad guy and she was attacking me.

Have you seen this behavior again on a puppy? Is it a way to tell me "Stop grabbing my snout - I hate it" ?? She was ok with it so far. She stopped bite because of that - I hope!

Any advice on this kind of behavior appreciated!

Thank you.

[tammyhuffman]

Sounds like she is testing you maybe. (As long as you were not hurting her.). I would check her mouth/teeth just to be on the safe side to make sure she does not have a sore or broken/cracked tooth. If all is ok I would just continue to be firm with her.

[mistarkos]

I'm not hurting her, I would never do that. Maybe she has a broken or cracked tooth because she lost 2 teeth lately. I will check tomorrow morning.

Thanx.

[tammyhuffman]

I didn't mean I thought you were hurting her! I apologize if it sounded like that, you don't sound like you would EVER hurt your puppy! I just meant maybe you were holding a little tighter than normal. I am really sorry, I never meant to insult you. Since she is teething her mouth is probably sore. Try wetting a wash cloth, putting it in the freezer and when it is frozen give it to her to suck/chew on. It seems to really feel good on their gums. The teething and associated soreness is probably what caused her behavior. She may also just be testing you as they seem to do that from time to time at this age. Somedays I swear someone took Maxx and brought me a devil puppy!

[mistarkos]

I didn't mean I thought you were hurting her! I apologize if it sounded like that, you don't sound like you would EVER hurt your puppy! I just meant maybe you were holding a little tighter than normal. I am really sorry, I never meant to insult you. Since she is teething her mouth is probably sore. Try wetting a wash cloth, putting it in the freezer and when it is frozen give it to her to suck/chew on. It seems to really feel good on their gums. The teething and associated soreness is probably what caused her behavior. She may also just be testing you as they seem to do that from time to time at this age. Somedays I swear someone took Maxx and brought me a devil puppy!

No need for apologize! I wasn't insulted, I knew how you meant it and I was just talking generally. So no worries! no hard feelings.

Thanx for the tip and I will do it first thing in the morning. I'll let you know how it goes.

[tammyhuffman]

Just make sure you take it away from her if yo can't watch her. They can eat/swallow a wash cloth in no time!

[labby]

I'm not hurting her, I would never do that. Maybe she has a broken or cracked tooth because she lost 2 teeth lately. I will check tomorrow morning.

Thanx.

She's cutting teeth. Her mouth is VERY sore and she prolly was letting you know that. Find another way to correct her behavior.

[mistarkos]

Thank you all for the advises.

[patm]

Baxter was a mess when he was loosing his baby teeth. I'm sure she was just very sore. I would try to phase out the nose grabbing pretty soon anyways. Give your dog her own things to chew on, and let everyone know that if she chews on them to say "no bite' and move away from her. Also, never let anyone, including yourself play rougher and wrestle with her, letting her chew on you then, but correcting her other times.

[mitziandjudysmom]

The only time a puppy air bit at me was when Judy was about that age. I think it was an indication of her assertive personality. To this day, 10 years later, she's a pack leader wannabe, and I'm constantly explaining to her that that that's my job, not hers.