Akita help! *update* still need help!

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sophaloaf
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Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2016 4:42 pm

Akita help! *update* still need help!

Post by sophaloaf »

Hi
Im really hoping someone on here can help!

I have a 5 month old japanese akita and he wont stop biting. He bites when i try to fuss him, he bites when you walk past him, he will walk into the living room and just come and bite someone for no reason at all, and he bites when he is being told off (almost like 'dont tell me what to do')

Ive tried giving him toys or treats instead. Ive tried turning round and ignoring him. Ive tried pretending to yelp like im hurt and he doesnt care and bites again, and ive tried leaving the room when he jumps up and bites me.

The major problem im having recently is he has tried to bite my house guests faces. Its one thing for him to bite arms, hands and feet, but i feel like him trying to bite someones face has taken it way too far. One friend said they were actually scared of him.

Ive also tried 2 different puppy classes and he still does this. He does listen to basic commands, e.g. sit, lie down, paw and stay, but he will only do these if he knows he is going to get food. If there is no food, he will not listen.

I fully realise he is only a puppy and he is teething but he is going to be a big dog and i need this to stop as soon as possible.

Really hope someone can help!!
Thankyou!!
Last edited by sophaloaf on Sun Apr 10, 2016 4:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
carrie_02
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Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2016 9:03 pm

Re: Akita help!

Post by carrie_02 »

sophaloaf wrote:Hi
Im really hoping someone on here can help!

I have a 5 month old japanese akita and he wont stop biting. He bites when i try to fuss him, he bites when you walk past him, he will walk into the living room and just come and bite someone for no reason at all, and he bites when he is being told off (almost like 'dont tell me what to do')

Ive tried giving him toys or treats instead. Ive tried turning round and ignoring him. Ive tried pretending to yelp like im hurt and he doesnt care and bites again, and ive tried leaving the room when he jumps up and bites me.

The major problem im having recently is he has tried to bite my house guests faces. Its one thing for him to bite arms, hands and feet, but i feel like him trying to bite someones face has taken it way too far. One friend said they were actually scared of him.

Ive also tried 2 different puppy classes and he still does this. He does listen to basic commands, e.g. sit, lie down, paw and stay, but he will only do these if he knows he is going to get food. If there is no food, he will not listen.

I fully realise he is only a puppy and he is teething but he is going to be a big dog and i need this to stop as soon as possible.

Really hope someone can help!!
Thankyou!!
I'm no expert, so I'm not going to try giving you any training advice, but since you are apparently able to pay for dog trainers (you said you've paid for two classes already) it seems like it would be a lot of help and reassurance and support for you to hire a good positive trainer. I think this website has some "Positively" certified trainers and I'm sure there are other positive trainers near you.
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Nettle
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Re: Akita help!

Post by Nettle »

We need more information! :)

Please would you give us a complete detailed rundown of his average day including food and exercise, any other animals in the home, all other people in the home, what he likes to do best, no details too small. Then we can help more.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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sophaloaf
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Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2016 4:42 pm

Re: Akita help!

Post by sophaloaf »

Thankyou for the replies!

He has breakfast at 7.30, he goes outside and play to burn some energy. I go to work (out for 5 hours at most) he has lunch at 1.30. Outside again for play. We go for a walk which is about 25 minutes (wev been told not to take him on long walks by both trainers) he has his tea at 7.30.

He does have treats through the day, like small puppy biscuits or a kong with peanut butter or chicken in it.
What he likes best are tennis balls. There must be around 20 tennish balls in and outside the house for him to play with or us to pick up and play with him.

We have a cat and a rabbit. He doesnt really bother with the rabbit but hes always trying to get at the cat.

In our house its me my mom n sister. We normally have friends round most nights which is when hes at his worst (we assue because of the amount of people in the house) he will litterally just walk in the room and jump up the sofa and bite for no reason.

Hope you can help =)
Misodog
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Re: Akita help! *update* still need help!

Post by Misodog »

Hi, firstly I should say I am not a professional dog trainer, but I have grown up with dogs and have owned my own dogs for 30 years. I am currently training my 3 month old rescue puppy Miso, who is going to be BIG- she is already 15 inches at the shoulder and she is still under 3 months old, so I am working hard to make sure she is a a calm respectful happy big dog!

Akita's are also big, so it is important to stop this biting as soon as possible. If you go to the YouTube channel of 'It's me or the Dog' and look for the video's of Diesel the Husky, you will see how Victoria deals with a serious biting problem, using timeout in a safe area to give the message that biting is not acceptable. To make this work you will have to have everyone who is in contact with the dog on board. You will have to be very calm but very firm and very consistent- give your full attention to the job. Be very quick to reward any polite behaviour, but any biting must result in a timeout. Leaving a short leash on can help to quickly catch him, then put him in a safe place like a bathroom or utility room. The time out need not be long, but make sure he is quiet for at least half a minute before letting him out. I suggest you start this at a weekend, so you can give him lots of tiring exercise, and you have time to repeat it as often as necessary.

With my own pup we always ask her to sit when she greets us or guests, with lots of rewards and praise for a polite greeting.

I hope this helps
sophaloaf
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Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2016 4:42 pm

Re: Akita help! *update* still need help!

Post by sophaloaf »

Hi Misodog
Thankyou for your reply!

I have seen that video of the husky and we have tried many times to send him out the room but as soon as he comes back in he is the same so we send him out again. This is repeated so many times and eventually he does calm down. But after hes had a nap, hes back to biting and missbehaving so it clearly isnt sinking in.

He is also never willing to leave the room unlike the husky. Kodi will flip on his back making it sometimes impossible for us to get him to leave so we tried leaving the room ourselves when he bites and jumps up but he really doesnt care that we have left and when we come back in he bites again so we leave again. Again, this is repeated many times but it just does not sink in that what he is doing is not ok.

There is always a toy to hand so i try to keep him entertained as much as possible and keep him happy, but even then he would rather chew my hands, wrists or feet rather than the toy.

Hes 6 months old now and already very big and i really need this biting and jumping up to stop before he really hurts someone =(

HOPE SOMEONE CAN HELP! :(
Misodog
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Re: Akita help! *update* still need help!

Post by Misodog »

i am not an expert, but I have been looking at a lot of different training methods (all non-punitive, kind to the dog) and it seems to me that your pup needs some clear boundaries, and to do this you have to take control. The two sites I find really useful are this one, and the one run by Doggy Dan, an online dog trainer from New Zealand. He has a more structured system, but still uses nothing more punitive than time out. I hope I don't offend the regulars here by mentioning it here, but I think you might find it a help.
Suzette
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Re: Akita help! *update* still need help!

Post by Suzette »

Sophaloaf, our experts will come along shortly to help you out. I realize your post has sat without reply for a while, but they will most likely see it and offer some useful suggestions. The weekends can be quiet here, so it might not be until Monday, but they will help you! :D
My avatar is Piper, my sweet Pembroke Corgi. b. 5/11/11
sophaloaf
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Re: Akita help! *update* still need help!

Post by sophaloaf »

Misodog
Thankyou again for your reply. I will try that next i think =) ive not tried time out with him other than just shutting him out of the living room when he gets too bad, but even then he still gets the run of the kitchen and he is always jumping up onto the counter top (even when there is nothing on there for him to take.. ever the optimist). He knows he shouldnt be up there though because as soon as we open the door, hes off like a shot.

Suzette
Thankyou for the reply.
Hopefully i can get some more tips. Im happy to try anything anyone can suggest.
He does know what to do, he just always makes the wrong choices.

Thanks again!
Sophaloaf
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Nettle
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Re: Akita help! *update* still need help!

Post by Nettle »

OK chill :D lots of dogs are land sharks at his age, and it's frustrating but curable.

First, make it easy on yourself with an attitude change. He is not stubborn or naughty, he does not know he is 'not allowed' to do this or that and he is not making wrong choices. His choices work just fine for him - it's you they don't work for. Dogs, contrary to what so many people think, do not come hardwired to do what we want, please us or obey us. They want to do what they want, and they want to do it now. We run the risk of always being one step behind and also of being the Fun Police.

Next, break your training into do-able pieces. You are trying to do PhD stuff with a kindergarten pupil. With the mouthing, keep his excitement levels low, so no rough games, loud voices, flapping. If he tries to mouth, get a toy in every room that you can see and he can't and when he gets That Look, put it in his mouth and let him bite down on that instead. If he still tries to grab you (you are the ultimate squeaky toy) leave the room - time yourself out not him. make sure all family members do the same. No exposure to visitors until he has this no-bite rule established. Do not vocalise when you do this - operate in silence. When he starts to respond by trying to control his mouth, reward him.

Make sure he has lots of puzzles to occupy him, and lots of safe things to chew. The russian doll cardboard box game is brilliant for mouthy dogs (see our pinned Exercise the Mind thread).

If there is somewhere you don't want him such as the kitchen, bar off the kitchen from him. You can't expect a dog not to counter surf when he has found it rewarding in the past.

There is more but this will take you some considerable time, and I don't want to overwhelm you with information! :)
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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Shalista
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Re: Akita help! *update* still need help!

Post by Shalista »

ditto keeping excitement levels low. I (almost said recently O.o has it been almost 2 years already? :shock: ) got a rat terrier puppy and i worked very hard to keep him calm. keeping him calm proactively by not working him up with hand play and jumping worked wonders.

Something what's also important is consistency. Everyone in the house has to be on board with keeping him calm. My brother, bless his soul, loved my dog (in that one aunt who always gives you candy kind of way) and he would get my dog into frenzy. Bax hadn't mouthed anyone in months but as soon as dan walked in the door Bax would get worked up just seeing him and would mouth him.

So yeah, try to get EVERYONE on board, it will save you alot of work =P

EDIT: ALSO worth mentioning. Bax is no longer a puppy and never mouths. BUT if you play handsy with him he will mouth you. I never do for this reason because it's not worth it to me. So yes, try to cultivate habits for a lifetime. Some behaviors might trigger the mouthing for a lifetime.
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
sophaloaf
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Re: Akita help! *update* still need help!

Post by sophaloaf »

Hi shalista and nettle!

Very good advice thankyou both!!

One thing that confuses me about Kodi though is that we never played with hands, hes always had lots of toys to play with. I can only put it down to the place we got him from. They had 3 small children and the puppies were kept in a pen in a gap under the stairs, so to pet the puppies they put their hands in to play with them. Hes mouthed ever since we got him so i can only assume thats the cause?
He will litterally just walk into the living room and jump up and bite someone. We could all be quiet, no movement and he will just lash out. Cant understand why. He will have had his meals and the back door is always open for him and he still does it. I pick up a toy to play with him and it just doesnt seem like he wants to play either. Any ideas?

What are the best ways to stop counter surfing? I have tried lemon juice, vinegar and other various things ive been told he may not like the smell or taste of and they dont seem to be working.

Nettle, you mentioned a box? Are there specific ones for dogs or is it just the normal maze box?

Again, thankyou for the very helpful advice!
-sophaloaf
mansbestfriend
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Re: Akita help! *update* still need help!

Post by mansbestfriend »

Hi sophaloaf. If I read this correctly, your dog 'randomly' jumps up and snaps his teeth together near a person's face (yes/no). It's a very specific behaviour. If that isn't it, please describe EXACTLY what your dog does.

Does he ever cause pain, bruising, broken skin?

As well as advice above, I'd suggest revisiting solid basic obedience behaviour training with a positive reinforcement type class or trainer. :)
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single Sit.
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Nettle
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Re: Akita help! *update* still need help!

Post by Nettle »

I think you are spot-on about why he finds hands so exciting. Think of how it looks from a puppy point of view when hands come through the bars of a pen - disembodied hands with voices behind them!

The boxes - all boxes to be cardboard without staples. Start with s amall box. Fill it with tight screws of newspaper, one of which has a very small smelly treat in - cheese, liver, anything like that. Another screw has something boring but edible in, such as a piece of biscuit. Put it in another box in which there is more paper and a couple of other treats. Repeat until you have a big parcel of boxes. It doesn't have to be neat and it doesn't have to look good. This is all about scent and chewing.

Give boxes to pup and let him shred them and find the treats. He cannot do this a wrong way - any way is good. By the time he has chewed his way through all the boxes you will have a mess to clear up (sorry) and a very satisfied pup.

Look at the chew toys you give him - would they feel good in your mouth? Rope tuggers are good to chew down on. Big raw vegetables are safe and super chewy. Even land sharks only have so much chew in them. Chewing and biting release endorphins, which is why he loves it so - and why we chew and bite when we are stressed. I am NOT saying he's stressed but he is just past teething age.

I have to go out but I'll be back later and we can cover more behaviour patterns.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
sophaloaf
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Re: Akita help! *update* still need help!

Post by sophaloaf »

Manbestfriend
Yea he jumps up the sofa (just front paws, hes not completly on the sofa) and he will snap at my face with a small bark aswel. If its not my face, itl be my arms or hands, and when hes down itl be my feet.
He has broken skin before (but thats also because when he bit, we pull away) and left bruises.

Nettle
Yea im really not happy about his previous home =( ive tried so so hard to stop the mouthing and biting but its basically been drilled into him from the start so surely he knows no different.

Ill try the boxes! That sounds like a great idea! Ive been using empty coke bottles with food in but they dont last long anymore as hes worked out what to do.

Hes got a massive range of toys. Rope toys, plush toys, rubbery plastic toys with like... little rubber spikes, tennis balls (he goes mad for tennies balls lol) and a couple of squeaky toys (which he isnt to fond of, so we dont really play with them unless he picks them up first).

Thankyou for the great advice again!
-sophaloaf
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