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Puppy being aggressive on furniture - nothing Im doing seems to be helping.

Momtogytha

Jr Member
Hello everyone! This is my first time posting on the forum AND my first time raising a beautiful dobermann. My little girl is 4 months old and we have had her since she was only 5 weeks (mom was ill and owner couldn't care for her pups so we adopted her). Shes healthy, active and just an overall great pup EXCEPT that she gets extra bitey on our sofas and my bed. We have 2 sofas, that are connected to each other so whenever she gets on the sofa she gets hyoercharged and starts running and jumping from sofa to sofa. She doesnt let anyone sit on them (keeps biting and being snappy). She could be EXHAUSTED from activity and play but the minute she enters the lounge, its like all that exhaustion washes away and shes ready to be hyperactive again. I have been trying to teach her the on and off comand and she abides when I have a treat, but the minute she enters her hyperactive mode she stops listening. Its weid because shes otherwise a vert obedient dog! The reason my family and I think this could be is either a) Our kitchen is an open kitchen and is opened to the lounge so she keeps smelling food there OR b) Shes being territorial.

For the past 3 days we havent been allowing jer on the sofa because she was getting too rough with it. It seems to work. But sometimes we do want her to get up there (like when shes tired or shes being good), but again, the second she gets up she goes haywire.

Please give some tips! There is a chance something we are doing is wrong, so Im open to being corrected obviously. And also: we dont have dog trainers and behaviourists where Im from so that's not an option unfortunately :(

Many thanks!
 
No furniture or beds until she is mature - at least a year or two old, and only then if she can lay quietly. Rising to your level gives her boldness that she can't get from floor level and can lead to wanting to "own" the sofa. Give her her own bed on the floor so when you sit in that room she has her own place. No playing wild in the house. Tough love, I know, but it's easier to make things clear at 4 months than 14 months! Firm but Fair rules, on leash in house if need be.

PS, we love new puppy photos! Welcome to the forum!
 
Hi and Welcome to the forum! My Doberman is the first one also (not first dog) and his puppyhood was quite the trip:rofl::whistle:
Since you got your puppy that young she hasn't learnt bite inhibition from her mom and littermates so she's worse with the biting for that reason. Good that you don't allow her on the sofa! They should not be allowed on ANY furniture. Later, IF at all, then not until they are much older and mature enough to clearly respect boundaries at all times. It depends on the individual dog. Some can definitely NEVER be allowed on furniture, and rightly so. I'm saying that because none of my or my family's dogs in the past were ever allowed on furniture. Now our Dobe is allowed but he is very well trained, is over 2 y old and still does not get anything for free.

Your pup at 4 months is still a baby and just does what babies do. It will go on for several more months and you have to keep things very structured. Puppies must have CLEAR and firm rules, same rules all the time. Every time. There's a lot of great info on this site.
Nothing In Life Is Free - NILIF, works very well.
 
Four months is right into teething, so the nipping, snapping and biting will prob get worse.

You can play and enjoy puppyhood but you must make sure he knows you call the shots.

Can’t let them push the boundaries or break rules- inches leads to a feet to yards, etc…

Get control of it now and you will have a more respectful and obedient Doberman as he grows. Leave it as is and you will have a monster when Doberteens hit.

Tough love is a very good way to put it. It really does pay off though.
 
Consistency is important in keeping her off the furniture. Make sure that everyone in the household agrees to the “no dogs allowed” policy, because part-time privileges make it harder for her to understand the rules.
 
Crate training will help a great deal with this. Teach NILIF (nothing in life is free). She must work for everything she gets. I.e.,Teaching sit, stay, down, side, roll over and reward when she responds correctly.
Do not allow her to get on any furniture in the house.
Work her brain and you will tire her out much faster than any physical exercise. There are brain puzzles made for dogs so I would get one and utilize it.
Be consistent, firm but fair in her training. She will learn that no means no but it takes a lot of work on your part.
Crate training teaches respect for being out and teaches them that their crate is their den and safe space.

An out of sight, quiet doberman is a Doberman that is into something they shouldn’t be into. Lol
 
Silence is golden, unless you have a Doberman puppy, then silence is frightening because they are probably chewing something! Crate training and no going on furniture until they are fully mature and trained!
 
All great advice above! Just wanted to say that it can be a real culture shock with your first Dobe. Mine is a mix but the same behaviours are all there! All the things you are experiencing are NORMAL Dobe puppy behaviour! You will have a brilliant dog in the end but will need to learn a LOT of new training tactics along the way. It is a big learning curve but quiet patience, consistency and finding what rewards are most valuable to your dog are a good start.

There are many really good threads to read about puppy training on this forum as well. And puppy behaviour!
 
@jazzies mum @Firestar Dobe @Tropicalbri's @Viemarangelrock @Ddski5 @AnnV @Ravenbird
Oh my goodness, guys, thank you so much for all of this help and all of this advice! I was not expecting such a warm, welcome and such wonderful advice because this is the first time, I am part of a forum that feels active lol 😅 and I'm still figuring out how this works.

But thank you so much for all of this. This, is great insighr and I will most definitely implement this with my little pup. I think I was being a little mushy and just allowing her on the sofas because of being all soft-hearted and, you know, I felt bad that she was sitting down (and just for some cuddles lol) but I now understand how this can give way to disobedience and bad behavior. So, I will make sure, that I don't allow her on the furniture anymore.

Thank you so much everybody. This is wonderful. And I most definitely will share photos of her in the introduction introductory thread as well 😁
 
If you’re looking for an alternative bed and want to keep her off the furniture try one of these raised beds. Lots of members here use this type of raised bed. The Kuranda bed is the best but there are cheaper versions on Amazon.

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We all get it. We want to cuddle them and give them what they want when they look at us with those big brown eyes but, just like kids, it can't be yes all the time. That also means it doesn't have to be no all the time either. You just have to decide how you want to run your household. In ours the dogs are allowed on the furniture for cuddles and nothing else. If they start playing or climbing or something or is immediately off. They also have to wait till invited before they can come up with us. Ares, our 15 week old, is still learning this and often gets pushed off the couch for just forcing his way up. He then has to sit quietly for a moment before he's allowed back up. The thing is to set consistent rules. You can have cuddle time but with very strict parameters and you have to stick to them no matter how much you may not want to. And if the furniture issue doesn't seem to be working you can always make it off limits all the time and just join them on the floor sometimes.
 

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