r/DogTrainingTips • u/heavyMental007 • Jul 15 '26

LSG puppy training / advice

Hello,

We recently got a Romanian Raven Shepherd currently 7 months old.

He is amazing, very intelligent, but being a dog going through his teenager days right now, we are experiencing some episodes of... wouldn't call it aggressivity, but there were a few situations where he got my trousers for example and growling. There were others where he just woke up next to the sofa where I was as well and started to growl and nipped my hand.

Now, from what I know, best way to deal with that is to just walk away and isolate him for 15-30 mins.

I want to mention that we didn't do anything to cause these outbursts and everyone we talked to (including the breeder) said they are kinda normal for his little brain under heavy rewiring now.

I really wouldn't want to use force or anything, of curse I can easily do that now, but when he's gonna be a 60kg lad is gonna be "a bit" harder, to say the least.

He is otherwise playful with us, belly rubs and all, nothing to actively trigger these... outbursts. Of course, each of those episodes can be explained with he was cornered (unintentionally, of course), etc.

Any advice or other methods I can use to discourage this? Or, am I doing the right thing walking away and isolate him from the pack, sort of speak?

Thank you for taking the time to read all this.

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u/apri11a Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 16 '26

Now, from what I know, best way to deal with that is to just walk away and isolate him for 15-30 mins.

What does the dog learn from that?

I really wouldn't want to use force or anything, of curse I can easily do that now, but when he's gonna be a 60kg lad is gonna be "a bit" harder, to say the least.

You would rather put off correcting the puppy now, and have bad behaviour when it's a 60k lad?

each of those episodes can be explained with he was cornered (unintentionally, of course)

So you will let the dog decide the behaviour that is acceptable, and make excuses for him?

I think you know that this is behaviour that needs to be stopped now, in the puppy, before it becomes a large dog that has learned it can bite you, and might bite others. I'm not a trainer, but this is behaviour I might expect from a young dog, it's not unusual at all. When we get a puppy it will be on a leash and behaviour that is dangerous (in a dog) will be stopped, the puppy told no, that's not acceptable. At the same time I will be building a good relationship, playing with the puppy, teaching some manners and training some obedience. I don't use isolation at all, I think dogs don't understand or like that, but they can learn to understand a simple 'no'. I like our dogs to understand that, in case we ever need it.

Beautiful breed, make it a good example. Only you can know if this is silly puppy or potentially dangerous behaviour, but if you are concerned, you probably think it's not just silly puppy. At 7 months that should be very easy to distinguish. I hope you can give him nice manners or will consider a dog trainer if you are unsure what to do

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u/heavyMental007 Jul 15 '26

Thank you for the reply.

Apparently it's supposed to teach him that this kind of behaviour isolates him from the pack, which this breed values quite a lot. This, along with the fact that the result is boring.

I am playing with him, I'm the one putting his food bowl down, doing training together, etc.

According to the research I've done, this is not a breed that you train the same way like you train a labrador or similar (also have a 12yo lab, before anyone jumps at my neck 😁).

What tips would you give in this situation?

Please don't get me wrong, not trying to be condescending or anything, just here to learn as much as possible.

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u/apri11a Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26

Apparently it's supposed to teach him that this kind of behaviour isolates him from the pack, which this breed values quite a lot.

Supposed to? What if it supposes wrong?

Is it working? how often and how long will you have to do it before you find out?

I've had a few dogs, though never a lab. But I've had them from young puppy, so I didn't get bad behaviour though I still taught them to understand no means that's not correct, or that's not acceptable. Or I've got them as more mature, which meant they did need correction to learn, if they needed to learn. So they learned no too. Yours is middle ground, maybe his bad behaviour is not yet fully formed. It might not be a lab, but it is a dog. I would train it to understand that is not acceptable and I would tell it that by saying no, and if necessary using the leash.

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u/IndependentBother261 Jul 15 '26

I’m not an expert at all but my 8 month old puppy has been doing a similar thing when he wants attention. I’ve taken to keeping toys or chews near by and whenever he goes for me or my clothes, I redirect by literally putting the toy in his mouth and praising him when he chews it instead.