My German Shepherd puppy bites and jumps on walks. What to do?

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Although puppies will want to chew and bite, this behavior should be corrected with a little training. Keeping your hands away (placing them behind your back or folded) when he tries to go for a play bite will help eliminate the behavior. Also, making sure he has plenty of tactile toys around he enjoys to chew on will help as well. Lastly, a German Shepard needs PLENTY of exercise, so I would make sure he gets walked at least once daily (more is better). All of these behavioral tips can help decrease and eliminate the biting behavior. I hope this helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is certainly possible and recommended but this usually requires in person training by a qualified dog trainer. I recommend you consider contacting a qualified dog trainer to work with you in person. Good luck and have a good day!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I am sorry to hear that this has happened. This behavior is certainly concerning as you don't want Boston to cause serious harm to your wife or anyone else for that matter. I would recommend taking Boston to a behaviorist for training and other recommendations. There are trainers that will take Boston for several weeks for the training or trainers that will come to your house for in home training. At 4 months of age, this is easier to correct than when he is 4 years old. Now is the time to take action as it is much easier to train a puppy. I hope this helps and for now, please take the necessary precautions and keep Boston away from anyone until he is appropriately trained.

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! You should start with one on one training and NO walks until he is trained. Hire a trainer. Use positive reinforcement and train him to "sit, "heal" on a leash, "look," and "leave it." Also get him used to the gentle leader harness that goes on the muzzle, this allows for amazing head control. Once he is used to the harness and is able to listen to you at home, practice outside on a leash. When people approach ask him to "look" at you and sit. When he does this and ignores the person passing by he gets a treat and verbal praise. You can do this with people you know first. This will take A LOT of time and effort on your part but it should help. https://www.petco.com/shop/SearchDisplay?categoryId=&storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&sType=SimpleSearch&resultCatEntryType=2&showResultsPage=true&searchSource=Q&pageView=&beginIndex=0&pageSize=24&fromPageValue=search&searchTerm=gentle+leader&omnitureEnabled=false&cm_sp=SearchSuggest-_-gentle+leader-_-Location&searchsuggestion_keyword=gentle+leader I wish you and Bruno the best!

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! A lot of this is puppy behavior and jumping is the hardest bad habit to break. It sounds like you need more professional help if you have tried training her and this is where you are at. I recommend a private trainer than can work one on one with you and Bella. A group class setting will not get you where you need to be. I applaud you for trying to fix this now at such a young age. I can't tell you the countless numbers of animals I see where the owners think this behavior is okay. Once her vaccines are up to date consider doggie day care a few times a week as an outlet for her energy. https://www.petcoach.co/article/puppy-biting-nipping-of-hands/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/jumping-up-on-people/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/basic-dog-puppy-training-rules/ I wish you the best!

It is normal for puppies to jump and use their mouths to get what that want. Unfortunately, the habits that Rex has developed work for him, so there is no reason for him to change as he gets older. So, if you want to change his behavior, you will need to train him to do what you want. That does not come naturally to dogs, so you will need to train him to take food gently, not jump up for it and not jump and bite with excitement on a walk. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. This is undesired behavior and it is ideal to correct now while she is young and small. I would recommend leash training her and using treats as positive reinforcement for good behavior. If she stops biting you when you say "off" or "no" then you should reward her with a treat. Another training method is negative reinforcement. When she does the undesired behavior, a spray bottle filled with water is used to spritz her in the face while saying "off" or "no". If training is unsuccessful you might want to consider contacting a trainer for advice and for puppy training classes. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.