Temper Tantrums - Page 1

My 4 month old had a temper tantrum on three occassions where he would bark at me and nip. Are temper tantrums normal in an adolescent puppy? Also, how can I effectively control and stop this behavior?

Thanks,

Dre

We were playing tug of war and were practicing off, take it, and drop with the the rope. When I briefly took it away he started barking and showing his teeth at me and then nipped my hand as in bit my hand enough to create a scratch but not draw blood whenever it was near the rope and his face.

Our pups did that only a couple of times - we came down hard on them just to let them know it was not acceptable - and they never did it again. 

Nothing wrong with being firm on a snotty dog- if in fact, you know your dog is being snotty. If you are misreading your pup, and punish them harshly, you will create a problem. Are you working with a trainer?

Give him an alpha rollover and get in his face and stare him down.  Don't be gentle, make it fast and scary.  My girl had one really ugly temper tantrum.  Not anymore.  It doesn't hurt them and it's what another dog would do.  Think like the alpha pack leader and don't put up with this kind of behavior, not one more time.  It can grow into something dangerous if you let it continue.

removed by owner

Dre,
I would like to know more about the particulars of this behavior.
What was going on at the time?   What were you doing? 
Details please.
What do you mean by a nip?  
Did the dog bring it to you, or were you already in striking distance?

Dogs do not have temper tantrums, and you need to do something about it now.
You may be in over your head. 
Details.

Moons.

Hm.... I wil abstain from commenting on this particular situation as more details are needed. However, my dog growled at me ONE TIME when he was I don't know, 5 or 6 months old, when I removed his food bowl while he was eating.

I kicked him hard in the ass and took the bowl away. He stopped growling.

Oh, no no no, dogs most certainly DO have temper tantrums.  Picture a spoiled three year old flailing around on the ground and screaming when mommy tells them what to do, now picture that as a dog. But it isn't really aggression- it's brattiness. To call it a "tantrum" helps people understand what is going through their dog's head: a pissy dog shutting down not because it doesn't understand, but because it'll be damned if it will do a  thing you tell it in that moment. And to be quite frank, it rarely happens in breeds like the GSD who are typically to willing to learn and eager to please, so if your experience is primarily in GSDs and other working, highly trainable breeds, you may not have ever really seen one. That's why I asked the OP if he was working with a trainer. I am concerned the behavior is being misread.

Is there such a thing as being over agitated in the way your were playing tug- and was frustrated?? hard to tell like they said without observing.

katrina