[elkie]

Hello everyone my boyfriend and I got a pup few weeks ago and he's been good, but up until recently he's become more and more aggressive. He'll attack me if I say no when jumping and such, also while having play time when he starts to play too"rough" and try ignoring and walking away he'll go for my legs. It's not just nipping it's hard biting the yelping from me only gets him more excited and I'm not sure what to do it worries me he might become too aggressive.

Another thing, I started taking him out for walks just to the corner and back but he now hates me holding his leash. It's growling barking and biting from him the whole walk.

We sometimes push him off us when he starts to get too aggressive or won't stop jumping but I really don't approve of physical punishment/hiting.

I love him, I've always wanted a doberman such beautiful dogs but I'm stuck right now. Getting rid of him is no option for me anyone know how to deal with this situation? We're getting him a trainer but until then I'd like to be able to try to manage it on our own.

Well...pups certainly act like nutballs! At 3 months, it is lucky he is not yet large enough to knock you over, so definitely important to get the training started. Have you established who is boss in the house yet? I have a very dominant Elkhound (I grew up with Dobermans and Rotts and found them to have better temperaments than my little man now!) who used to display some similar behaviors when he was little.

The biting at the legs is something puppies do, it hurts terribly! However, I actually would bite my guy back or use a tiny squirt bottle filled with water. I just had to touch it to make him back off and run away. Soon he grew out of nipping at the legs.

Do you buy him enough bones? He needs things to chew all the time. This will help get some of that negative energy out. If he has something to chew, he will learn to entertain himself.

Also, rough housing is a no-no. Some breeds DO NOT respect an owner who will get on the ground and play with them. They will view you as a litter mate. This happened to my boyfriend with my dog. The puppy views him as lower on the totem pole because I will not roughhouse or entertain such foolishness that causes my dog to nip and snap. My pup STILL grabs at my BF's hand and jumps on him when he wants something. These are behaviors he does not dare do to me.

As a note...you need to be firm and stern with a Doberman. Control the food, do not let him eat until you give him a command to do so. Show that you control the resources. His aggressiveness will subside more when he realizes that bad behavior could cost him something.

At the end of the day...it's giant baby. I remember thinking Onyx hated me around the 3-6 month time period since he could be so grouchy. He was teething and it made him super unhappy. Your puppy is trying to see where he stands in the house...do not let him establish himself as #1.