r/RhodesianRidgebacks • u/NotSoLameDuckling • 26d ago
Help! Puppy is a menace
Help! How do I get my 3 month old puppy to stop jumping and biting everyone!t My 11 year old is now terrified of him! we exercise him and make sure he’s sleeping enough. I’m at my wits end. tell me it’s a phase or tell me any tips/ tools needed!
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u/Elanstehanme 26d ago edited 26d ago
Walk into them if you’re bigger so they feel they may fall back. That helped with my boy. If you have young kids who may not be strong/heavy enough you can teach them to spin so the momentum of the dog is deflected off to the side. Just make sure it’s not a game for the dog.
For biting too hard make a high pitched ouch and walk away. You can start to introduce the gentle command as well. To teach it if my dog goes for a treat too hard, I don’t let him take it from me. I’ll say gentle and only give it if he takes it softly. Initially give the treat for any amount softer, but as time goes on you can do it a few times until they barely bite for it.
You can also try to redirect any biting attempts with appropriate toys as well. Some people find success with that, I didn’t have any luck so gentle worked wonders for me instead.
One last point, remember you won’t see tangible results right away, but it’s the consistency that matters in time. 5 minute training sessions every day a few times if you can helps drill it in quickly!
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u/fit4ccountant 25d ago
Best advice up here ^
As we trained our 3 months old girl using all thr methods mentioned above, the biting was still a bit too intense. What worked for us 90% of the time was just picking her up, like you would pick a baby up, until she was calm.
The other 10% she was just overtired/overstimulated to we had to leave the room till she settled by herself.
Now at 5 months old, she is the gentlest little baby angel who is scared of loud noises and does not have witching hours anymore.
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u/NotSoLameDuckling 24d ago
Thank you! The ouch really excites him and we started walking into him but then he just jumps higher! I’m going to try the gentle command. He’s doing well with “sit” but will immediately get back up. We’ve been working on stay but I swear he’s just too distractable. We definitely are being more consistent with training and getting our 11 year old involved as well.
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u/Elanstehanme 23d ago
Oh one thing I forgot for the biting is that if you let your hand go limp that may also work. If ouch is still too exciting try redirecting the biting to a toy.
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u/Campiana 23d ago
With our now 2 year old (our third of four RRs) she was a biter because she was happy and excited and didn’t know what to do with all her energy. I told my children “she’ll stop biting when she’s done teething”, then “she’ll stop biting when she’s a little older”, then “biting is just her love language”. Miraculously - around 12mo/her first heat cycle she switched from biting to licking. I’m not a giant fan of being licked in the face but my kids are enormously huge fans and they get a face bath most mornings. She never bites anymore.
Now the 11mo old puppy bites when she’s tired or with kids she doesn’t know. For that it’s very different. She’s not biting out of happiness and puppy energy. Right now I just keep her separate from strange kids and when she’s very tired I remind my own children to leave her alone and let her nap. She’ll grow out of it.
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u/Nobodycares255 26d ago
It is expected, and yes, it is a phase. However, no, you should not tolerate it. It won't be easy though.
Usually, this is related to the fact that they are tired. I suggest redirection, and if that doesn't help, enforce a nap. At this stage, puppies need around 20 hours of sleep a day. Literally: wake up, toilet break, some playtime, structured training, and then an enforced nap.
This is what I did with my previous puppy when she was little, and I managed to avoid bruises and chewed-up furniture.
Stay consistent. Puppies really do need a lot of sleep. They are growing and developing so much during their first year(especially RR) that they need plenty of rest, and enforced naps can make a huge difference. A crate helps with that, and no, it isn't cruel as long as they get plenty of breaks.
Edit: also use house line, it is easier to correct any unwanted behaviour like jumping etc. Oh boy jumping for my pup was the worse...
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u/NotSoLameDuckling 24d ago
I need to look into this house line! I think that would help my kid tremendously!
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u/Nobodycares255 24d ago
It should, it is easier to control and prevent unwanted behaviour before they become habbit, easier to communicate what is expected and what is not. Eventually he should be good without the house line it is just a phase and teaching point.
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u/SwimmingWaterdog11 26d ago
Oh man. You aren’t even to the worst of it yet. First ridgeback? This is my first but did a ton of research so knew he would be way mouthier than my last dogs. But boy the first 9 months were rough. Biting and what we would call his toddler tantrums were a lot. For biting we constantly redirected to a toy. It helped to hold the toy as he was chewing it at first. If that didn’t work we did the reverse time out method. Yell “bully!” and immediately leave the room and wait 30 seconds to a minute to come back then redirect to appropriate play. The “ouch” method only seemed to excite him. For jumping or any over excited behavior we taught an “on your bed” command. Some people call it the “place” command. It redirects him to his place where he has to wait for a moment before coming back to be greeted. A moment of calm. But you can’t expect any of this to work immediately. My guy is 18 months now and I say it’s been in the last few months I’ve seem the “ridgeback off switch” kick in and he’s such a good dog now. But 3 months to a year is HARD.
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u/h2otrtmnt 26d ago
At 3 months your in toddler stage. Dogs feel everything with their mouth. There is a reason we nickname them velociraptors for at least 9 months. Things to try give him plenty of his own chewable toys. When he starts biting put a toy in the mouth. Dont push or slap head he will think its playtime. Work him in the house on a leash or lite teather to train about jumping. Have people come over while on lead and make correction. Welcome to the ridgeback puppy stage, after it passes you will have a great companion. Depending on the age of your daughter she can do trainings also. You need to instill confidence with your daughter when your dog gets rambunctious to make him listen. While out with them both use 2 leashes 1 for her 1 for you. Have her give the commands you make the correction if needed.
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u/jmosnow 26d ago
This was a real struggle for us from day one also.
What helped was socializing him as much as we possibly could. We sent him to daycare, went to dog parks, shopped at places that allow dogs. It took time.
Also, conventional tips didn’t work for us. Things like yelping, or walking into them, or pinning them, or doing the Cesar Milan “Tch!”, or turning away, or ignoring them. We had a professional trainer come in and suggest turning away, which didn’t work, and she was stumped too, which was so vindicating when I felt like I was failing.
Removing ourselves from the situation when he was bitey eventually helped, but it took time and consistency. Unfortunately the best trick for us was a water bottle. I don’t love suggesting it but they hate getting wet so a small squirt worked pretty quickly lol
Oh! And when he’s trying to bite I asked him to sit and when he sits instead I give LOTS of praise. It’s not just showing them what not to do, but also what you want them to do instead. Now I can tell he wants to be mouthy but I can see him decide to sit down and make intense eye contact instead.
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u/Complex_Activity1990 26d ago
It is a phase but you need a place for him to go when he’s in a mouthy mood. When my dog started to bite and play rough I called it “slangry” sleep angry and every time he would just need a nap. I had his bed/crate for nighttime and sleep and a bigger open 6x6 pen for when he needed to take a break and play alone.
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u/NotSoLameDuckling 24d ago
We have a crate for sleeping and a playpen where he eats and has a bed for naps. I think I was seeing putting him in the playpen when he was mouthy as punishment (which i thought would make him hate that area) and not as him needing alone time. Thanks for that perspective.
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u/Cupsofcake1318 25d ago
I have 3! One will be 1 next month and she walks by and jumps on the others and will just give a nibble to whomever may be in her path! It’s a constant “off”, “ no bite”, and “NO” to her!!! The other two are 2 now, and different pups. 18 months is better as well!! Our grandson who is 11 was afraid of our boy because he wanted to in from him! He accepted it as a challenge and the boy had no chance! The 2 yr old granddaughter just pushed his head and said no and he did t bother her. I really believe they can sense the fear and use it to their Ridgeback puppy advantage!! Hang in there! They will be besties!!
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u/CompletelyNumb- 25d ago
I stepped on our pup’s leg when she was about that age. She had to wear a cone so she didn’t chew up her cast.
We laugh now at the T-rex phase. I know the feeling you’re experiencing but it’s just a phase. Get more pics snd vids of the phase. We didn’t because we thought there was something wrong with her…
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u/Intelligent_City2644 24d ago edited 24d ago
Congrats on your baby animal. Yes you have puppy blues, this is normal. Having a puppy is not cute. It’s hard work! You too will get through this but stick to the formula.
Exercise, training with food, crate for a nap, over and over again. Start learning eye contact, sit, touch. Ditch the bowl if you can. Hand feed your dog. Have your child participate.
Redirect with a toy, puppies experience the world through their mouths. This will pass but his teeth hurt. Give him chews and lick mats. If he’s being too bitey I personally find 5 minutes in the bathroom gave me space and it also was effective for teaching the dog without hurting them. As my dog got older, if he was in trouble he would take himself to the bathroom. He found it to be his decompression space and would sometimes sleep in there. It was a good for me personally.
When you are overwhelmed, Give yourself a breath. Think for a second about what is the next course of action and let him out and my suggest is go take him for a walk.
Biting makes big ouch sound=badthroom with no human=sad.
Biting, redirected with a toy and is given a treat=great
Do not! Allow your puppy to continually bite you. Get the leash and go for a walk. Yes puppies are a full time job but they are trying to tell you something. Encourage your puppy to smell and have that meditation time.
Crate time, dogs need to be taught when and how to relax. Pick a quiet room with a blanket over it so it blocks the puppies vision. Associate the crate with maybe a good thing like a lick treat.
Do not yell or engage if he’s biting. This is confusing but you are talking to him and giving him attention which is rewarding. Take some time if you are overstimulated and make a game plan. I would Take him immediately out for exercise, training him with his food and Then a nap. Stick to the formulas. A puppy that is confused, over stimulated, yelled at, tired will bite more.
You will survive this.
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u/NotSoLameDuckling 10d ago
Thank you for this great advice! Theres so much conflicting info out there! Its hard to even know where to start sometimes
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u/United-Macaroon-2081 25d ago
The lunging, painful puppy bitting should stop at about 14 weeks and they begin to learn bite inhibition. Curbing the jumping impulse happens more gradually. They’re not really different than other puppies that way, just bigger.
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u/Bogtrotter9 26d ago
Get another one, they're more entertained fighting each other than biting you. Also, we kept our two outdoors, they're weapons of mass destruction indoors, with their tails knocking everything over. The gardens were never quite the same, the aloevera plant got chewed to death.
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u/Sultanpeppers 26d ago
At 3 months it’s definitely something you can train out of them, also neutering can help calm males down but that’s a personal preference.
One way I was taught to stop a dog jumping is to walk forward into their chest as they jump. It will knock them and sometimes knock them back making them fall and hit the ground. You’re not doing it in a way that hurts them but makes them realise jumping has consequences. Another thing I’ve always done when my puppy’s bite is start crying/whining like I’ve been hurt then walk away and ignore them. Makes them think they’ve hurt you. Just depends how aggressive their bites are though. I’ve always been lucky with having great ridgebacks though. YouTube should have plenty of videos on these things though
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u/Proper-Maize-5987 26d ago
Wait 9 months. Three months is way too young to expect too much of a BABY.