Puppy Attacks

Question
Hello,

We have a german shepherd/border collie mix puppy who is now about 7 months old. Any advice you might have for us is very much appreciated.

The biggest problem is when he gets energetic he tends to attack us to try and get us to play--it's scary because it's not just puppy mouthing anymore it's like lunging and biting onto our arms. If I reach for his collar, he'll wrinkle his lips and snap at me. We've never hit him or anything like that, so I don't understand why he exhibits this kind of aggression. He's usually so sweet, but then all of sudden he'll turn into Cujo! Also, during these episodes when I stare into his eyes he barks at me and will sometimes growl. We live in an apartment, so this is difficult.

So far, I think it happens when he gets a lot of energy and wants our attention--usually about one hour before I can take him for his walk, unfortunately. I've tried yelping the high pitched OUCH, as well as the alpha roll (which totally backfired), but the only solution we've had work is to lock him out of the room until he settles down.

It's become a real problem because the other day a person tried to pet him and he just started jumping up and biting their hands...not a good situation. The unfortunate thing is that I think he would be better behaved if he were allowed to free run at the park as he would as a younger puppy. However, we can't let him do this anymore because of an incident where he chased a small child who was running around...again, not good.

Furthermore, as a puppy he would sit in our laps, but now he tries to walk all over us if we sit in his favorite spot on the couch--or if we try to do situps on the ground he'll jump on us and try to step on our faces! He'll do the "off" when there is food involved, but without it, he doesn't listen. Any help with this would be so much appreciated! We're getting cuts and bruises and don't know what to do! Thank you for your help.


Answer
Well,being part Border Collie,this can be a herding instinct,but as you say,this CANNOT be allowed

It sounds like he's trying to be boss,and that is a big no-no,he also at the age were you should consider neutering,as that often calms them down

Another thing I would highly recomend is taking him to obedience classes

I hope this helps