Hello...and help!! Questions

Hello all,

I just joined this forum this morning. I am in need of advice/help!! I don't know how to use emojis on here yet, so please forgive the lack of smiley faces, etc.!

So, we got a female Malamuite puppy about 10 days ago. She was 8 1/2 weeks, so she's about 10 weeks now. I have done a great deal of reading up on the breed, but am at a loss. I have never had a puppy even 1/10 as difficult!! I have her signed up for obedience orientation, followed by a class, but it doesn't start until Jan. 7, and she is already getting VERY hard to handle/control.

So, the main problems we are having are:

1) She eats/chews EVERYTHING...except the many toys she is supposed to! We have gotten her a variety of different types of toys, yet she wants to chew my robe, my slippers, the couch, our blankets, etc.

2) and more important....she gets very aggressive when she wants to play. She drew blood on me in 2 places this morning from biting. When I scold her, it just seems to rev her up even more. When I yell "ouch" and say "NO" firmly, she doesn't seem to care. She just bites all the more. This morning, it did not seem to be playful biting, either. It seemed aggressive. She is already hard for me to physically handle (I'm on the small side), and if I can't get her under control, she will easily dominate as she gets bigger. When she bit this morning, because I haven't been able to get her in training and didn't know what else to do, other than say "ouch" and "NO!", I basically climbed on top of her to show her that I was dominant, and held her head to the ground. Was this right? Wrong?

3) She gets bored sooooooo easily. Again, we have bought her all sorts of toys, play with her, take her on walks, and yet she is constantly bored and trying to get into things.

4) We have cats. When we got her, we did not know that Malamutes look at cats as prey, unless they grow up with them. While she is certainly growing up with them, (she was only 8.5 weeks when we got her), our cats are very afraid of her (because they are also afraid of our chihuahua, and associate all dogs as scary). Because the cats will not even let her get close to them, I'm afraid she won't see them as pack members and therefore, might go after them.

Sorry for the very long post, and thank you, if you read this far!! Any and all help would be much appreciated!

Lynnanne (ha! Just found the emojis!)

We have a wee pup ourselves, got her at round about the same time as you did and i see many similarities in her behaviour to your wee lass. below are some of my experiences.......trust me it gets better. Everest is now 7 months and one of the most fun and pleasant dogs i have owned. I have small kids of 2 and 4 but no other pets and she is fantastically well behaved around them.

1) She eats/chews EVERYTHING...except the many toys she is supposed to! We have gotten her a variety of different types of toys, yet she wants to chew my robe, my slippers, the couch, our blankets, etc.

Yep, she will, Everest never picked up a toy until about 6 months......only really chewed on clothes particuarly fleecy dressing gowns. I am fairly sure this is normal puppy behaviour, and my reasoning was that they want to chew things but some toys (particulalry "tuff" chews) are a bit on the hard side for sore gums, in our experience it was a general level of acceptance that thais was going to happen frequently and to weather the storm until adult teeth came in. We found that getting Everest a teddy worked very well and any time she chewed on something she shouldnt we would replace it with the desired toy (make sure it doesnt have hard plastic eyes). Everest also loves ice cubes. and this was a good distraction from chewing up robes etc. chewing clothing and people subsided when we started training bite inhibition.


2) and more important....she gets very aggressive when she wants to play. She drew blood on me in 2 places this morning from biting. When I scold her, it just seems to rev her up even more. When I yell "ouch" and say "NO" firmly, she doesn't seem to care. She just bites all the more. This morning, it did not seem to be playful biting, either. It seemed aggressive. She is already hard for me to physically handle (I'm on the small side), and if I can't get her under control, she will easily dominate as she gets bigger. When she bit this morning, because I haven't been able to get her in training and didn't know what else to do, other than say "ouch" and "NO!", I basically climbed on top of her to show her that I was dominant, and held her head to the ground. Was this right? Wrong?

Bite inhibition training - Malamutes are boisterous, they are also fairly large pups and although mouthing is natural, there are ways to reduce it. We found that the "puppy yelp" method was just a way of winding her up and she would bite more and play rougher. We started our bite training by just abruptly saying "NO" and getting up and walking away, ideally to another side of the room, potentially out of the room for a minute or 2 if she persisted. we did this whenever teeth touched skin and i mean touched skin. not on a slightly harder bite than before, not 90% of the time. 100% of the time, abrupt and consistent. We also tried some soft "alpha techniques" i.e not pinning her down but scratching her tummy so she would be on her back but never pinning, always eating first, walking through doors first, always winning tug of war etc. this was more as a basis for how we want her to behave when she is big rather than for pack dominance roles though. I have to say she clicked with bite inhibition very fast. As she got older we would remove her from the room i.e putting her in the kitchen for a few minutes when mouthing happened which again works well.


3) She gets bored sooooooo easily. Again, we have bought her all sorts of toys, play with her, take her on walks, and yet she is constantly bored and trying to get into things.

Is she sleeping enough? we made the mistake of assuming she would need boundless exercise. This was a huge mistake. Everest would play for 20 mins and sleep for 3-4 hours. Buy a crate, enforce naps as you would a toddler. (again usual rules for adjusting to crates apply, never for punishment, never forced). Taking her on walks unless on your land is not advisable as vaccinations will not be effective yet. We would have never believed she would sleep so much and exercise so little in the early days....the behaviour change was instant. just like kids, they get sore from extended play and cranky from lack of sleep and then get hyper just to confuse you. In the early days Everest literally would sleep 18-20 hours a day.

4) We have cats. When we got her, we did not know that Malamutes look at cats as prey, unless they grow up with them. While she is certainly growing up with them, (she was only 8.5 weeks when we got her), our cats are very afraid of her (because they are also afraid of our chihuahua, and associate all dogs as scary). Because the cats will not even let her get close to them, I'm afraid she won't see them as pack members and therefore, might go after them.

Sorry, no experience here.

All in all, Malamutes are remarkably clever, Everest is by far the most obedient and well trained pup at her classes, and amongst the dogs i have owned, Shes a challenger though and will test your creativity. She learns fast both in training and in how to get into a bin, open a door or steal that sock. She responds better to absolute conditions where x behaviour = y response. no grey areas or ok just this once.

Once again they are clever, expect excellence, you'll get the best in return.

On a practical note in terms of handling, once again our experiences have shown us that a harness (a walking one) works better than a collar. Everest seems more content to drive into a collar than a harness which seems to lift her onto hind legs when she pulls.

Food was always her key motivator, toys she didnt even look at until 6 months or so now it has switched and toys motivate her more.

Again, more sleep, more than you think she needs. then double that and add an hour.

She will get better, shes a bairn, shes just a big one.

Hopefully ive been of some help.

Allan

Thank you so much for all of the advice! I will pass it on to my husband. Funny, just today I was talking with hubby about whether or not she's sleeping enough. How do you encourage more sleep?

We basically had to design a sleep schedule and stuck to it. We could never tell when she was tired and hyper vs just needing to play for a bit. from memory it was something like.

6.30 am - out for toilet and 10-15 mins of playtime, some basic training, general fussing and food.
6.45 -10 - crate for sleep.
10 ish depending when she woke up which varied but always after 10, run around outside for a bit, training.
10.20/30 to 12/1- Crate for sleep
12/1 - lunch and play, training again.
12.30/1.30 - crate for sleep
usually this was a big nap maybe 4-5 hours so we just let her out when she woke up.
5.30/6.30 - Dinner, play, training, general fussing she would maybe stay out with us for about an hour, depending on what was going on in the house.
7.30 - 10 - sleep again.
somewhere between 10 and 11 final wee fuss and toilet before bedtime.

somewhere between 3-4 am up for a pee.

our crate was in the living room so she was always nearby but tucked by the couch so it was a bit secluded. Some days she would wake up more than others and when she stirred we would be responsive, often she would be absolutely unconscious. As her behaviour and exercise needs developed we responded again by either changing timings etc but we were always aware of how she got a bit more feisty after playing for 30 mins or so without a suitable nap in between.

Secondly as her behaviour got better she could be out whilst cooking etc, more able to take herself off to the kitchen/crate when she was fed up with kids without us telling her.

As of today (7 months) our routine is

6am - walk for 30-40 mins,
8am - in crate for eating breakfast (she is out and about when cooking etc but just when we eat)
10ish - out for a play and potter about. training
12.30 ish - in crate for lunch
1.30-2 - out for the afternoon, training
5.30 - Crate for dinner.
6.30 - out for training and pottering about
8.30 odds - out for a walk 30-40 mins or so.
10.30ish - bedtime in crate.

Lately we have been working on food manners and we will have her out of the crate on a leash whilst eating so she can learn whats expected whilst we eat. she is doing well with this and yesterday was off lead whilst kids finished eating. lots of staring but no snatching.

When she is out of the crate she has more or less free run of the bottom floor of the house and grounds (10's of acres) but she tends to lie about in the kitchen most of the time.

Next steps are increasing exercise gradually, and probably dismensing with the crate for meal times when we can though i envisage continual use at night and when we are not home.

Hi Allan,

Thank you again, so much, and for the specifics, such as "x behavior = y response", and "not on a slightly harder bite than before. Not 90% of the time. 100% of the time. Abrupt and consistent." Thank you, too, for your example schedules! That really helps! I truly, truly appreciate it!

Lynnanne

Hi Lynnanne, my puppy is almost 14 weeks so I can sort of sympathise wth you. My little one started to calm down once I began taking her for walks. She also loves Kong toys. Maybe try them too? ☺️

I've just read through her regime, I think she might be going in the crate too much. I've never had nowhere near the problems your having other than mine had a little separation anxiety. I don't crate mine at all and she has total family interaction. She's never tried to bite any of us. Maybe have a go without the crate and just use a safety gate so she can sleep in the kitchen of a night. One thing that we swear by to help her settle down of a night is we play meditation music on repeat on the iPad. We don't hear a peep from her.

Hello!
you say you did a great deal of reading up, so why are you at a loss? this is what you should of been reading. This is normal prey drive.
Sounds like the pup does not have bite inhibition yet, normal.
sounds like pup is in prey drive when playing, this is not aggression, normal
sounds like you may have a high energy pup, normal
I have 3 working dogs, all high energy, here's what i do.
Crate training
Tracking
Clicker training
flirt pole
swimming
carry a bite rag everywhere, and when pup sinks his teeth into you, redirect a onto a old rag.
Stop playing when bitten. Put distance between you (i walk off)

Calm behaviour ONLY indoors.
never try to tire a dog physically. do it mentally.

Hi Nic,
I just bought her a Kong, but haven't tried it yet. I'm hoping she will like it. A gal at the pet store also recommended bully rings or bully sticks and so far, Mishka really likes her bully ring. It stinks to the high heavens, but the moments of peace while she is occupied are worth the smell!
I do try to walk her every day. I'll admit, today, I didn't get a chance to. One issue, she walks in front of me, which I know she's not supposed to, but I haven't learned commands yet, or how to properly train her not to, since the classes haven't started, so I feel like I'm going to have to "undo" a lot....but I know she needs the walks, even if we haven't started training!
Oh, and the crating schedule you saw was not mine; it was a suggestion from another member. I have been crating her at times in the day, just not quite as much as that schedule, and I will say that getting her more rest is definitely helping!

Hi Summer,

I guess I'm at a loss because I keep reading that I shouldn't allow any of these behaviors, and yet, training doesn't start until mid-January. So I know she's not supposed to do some of these things, but I don't know how to properly train her not to. I don't want to just "wing it" and do it wrong, and have a lot to "undo" at training.

What is a flirt pole? You're the second person to mention it. And how do you do tracking with a pup? (Can you explain your method?)

Thanks,
Lynnanne

All this behaviour is NORMAL , your pup is displaying puppy behaviour, they bite and they bite hard, its how they learn, pup is not being aggressive, it is simply doing what pups do, some are more bitey than others, they also chew things, its normal, its down to you to make sure they don`t chew what you dont want them to , crate training will help with this.

But to be honest reading through your post, I feel you have taken on more than you can deal with, you said you did a lot of research, then you should have been prepared for all this, not to mention the breed you have taken on, from my understanding of this breed they are extremely challenging as pups and adults, if not in the right hands, they are an independent breed and these breeds do not do well with owners who are not capable of the needs of the breed.

I could write pages of advice on how to teach bite inhibition and tips to help with puppy behaviour, but to be honest your post worries me in as much as you have said you are already struggling to physically handle her at 10 weeks old, she is going to be a big dog one with an independent nature, to be honest if you are struggling now you are not going to cope with a boisterous teenager and adult.

My only advice to you is to return her to her breeder and do a little more research into a breed next time before you buy.

ill hazard a guess, you've had small breed dogs before???

We have had the pleasure of had the pleasure of explaining our choice of pup to several family members who at first didn't understand why we wanted to bring "practically a wolf" into our home with 2 young kids. Seeing how exuberant she is only cemented their opinion that we were making a mistake, however. having grown up around dogs all my life, from 15-20 differing breeds. My wife not....it took some explaining.

We bought Everest because,
- We are a very outdoor family and needed a dog which could keep up with us on walks, camping etc etc.
- we camp in all weathers and seasons and needed a dog which could handle the cold, it doesnt get all that hot here in summer.
- We wanted a larger breed as my opinion is they are a bit more robust and will tolerate an accidental trampling a paw or a bit more exuberant play.
- We wanted a larger breed due to the subconcious fact we will NEVER become complacent about Everest and the kids. We very well may have with a small terrier or spaniel etc.
- We like a challenge so wanted an intelligent breed.
- They are stereotypically people friendly.
- We do like the look they have and a host of other smaller reasons.

We did our research, we read books and websites, we got baffled and bewildered by crate vs no crate, correction vs positive re-enforcement, alpha techniques vs those against it.

We took all that info and then did what works for us. There are as i said we used some soft alpha things, but 90% positive re-enforcement. We bought a crate and used it to great effect, when i had never done so before, but it took some time getting used to it, we felt guilty about it but we saw it worked well in terms of behaviour and naps and toilet training was a breeze. we tried puppy yelping for teaching no bite and that failed, we tried redirection, we tried taking her out the room. we reacted and we learnt.

Where it mainly fell down was when people misunderstood she was a pup despite dwarfing some adult dogs, where a westie tugs your trouser bottom, she gets your belt or coat. you brush off a bouncy spaniel with ease, less so with a large Malamute, the behaviours are all the same, its the size that makes the difference.

I certainly wouldnt return her, your doing the right thing seeking advice, but youll get opposing opinion like everything else. The only thing i would be concerned about is that she is going to get very very strong, and pulling is in the DNA. The more pressure i put on the lead, the more she leans in....think about different harnesses and head collars/halti's as a means of additional control. Dont wait til puppy class to start training.

Sit, Down, Stay, Heel, Come, Leave, Bed, Off, Gimme a paw. you wont have to undo any of these, the method of teaching may differ but you want the same result, She'll learn that no bother,

Finally, Be consistant, if you try a technique or method stick with it......the most common complaint i ever here is "ive tried everything" and often the people have, and that therein is the probelm. you get better results by trying 1 thing for a sustained period than trying every trick in the book for shorter periods.

bit of a ramble but hey, i have no patients booked in today.

@allan - you are assuming that the OP has only had small breed dogs before and you are telling her what you would do. Only she is not you and you do not know what dogs she has owned in the past. You are, to be honest, making yourself look like a "know it all" especially your last sentence about having no patients booked in today.

Are you a qualified vet? Or maybe a qualified dog trainer/behaviorist? And why is teaching a puppy "Gimme a paw" so necessary?

@Jackie - who is 100% correct in her message #11 - if the OP cannot cope with a 10 week old puppy, what chance is she going to have to cope with a large and powerful adult dog?

Sometimes tone doesn't translate very well to text.

i guessed the OP had only owned small breeds as this was in my experience the difficulty people around us had in differentiating bad behaviour from puppy behaviour and admittedly one we had to reflect on ourselves. Probably wasnt clear i meant it that way but i did.

never claimed to be a vet/behaviourist/animal professional. I dont have any patients (people) to see today hence i have time to ramble......again probably the flippant tone i intended didnt come across.

Teaching give me a paw is not necessary, just something you can do. i never suggested these were the "must do" training exercises, its not necessary to teach any of it. its just fun.

I always speak based on my experience. i dont agree at all with the post about returning the pup so dont believe it to be 100% correct. Our pup at 10 weeks was much more difficult to handle than the 7 month old we have now, we worked through it, not just return one and buy a different "easier" dog.

But we digress, Hopefully the OP has found some benefit to all of the comments in this thread and will find something that works for your situation.

@Lynnanne Not sure where you live but here in UK there are Husky/Malamute clubs that have get together's every 3/4 months, I went to one called Huskies in the Park, held at Darley Park there were 200 Huskies/Malamutes there & breeders/owners were helping those with young puppies that had a few issues like being aggressive when playing towards, other dogs & towards their owners.

Some of the photo's I took at Huskies in the park

Think that’s a bit harsh Malka, he didn’t ‘presume’ Quote (ill hazard a guess, you've had small breed dogs before???)
As far as I see it he is just advising OP on his experience with the breed and how he handles it.
As for (Gimme a paw’ ) why not simple tricks are fun for both dog and owner, it is interacting with the dog and helps with bonding.
I always teach mine to ‘roll over’ which comes in very handy but its fun to.

Vee, before having a go at me, did you actually read Jackie's post #11?

And I wonder what patients he had not had booked in today if they were not dogs.

Vee, before having a go at me, did you actually read Jackie's post #11?

And I wonder what patients he had not had booked in today if they were not dogs.

That's your view and I respect that, but please don't say I am incorrect, my view is different to yours not wrong. I stand by my advice, the poster has not given her previous experience with dogs, she may or may not have had dogs before but I am taking from her post that she is a novice, due to what she writes, anyone who has had a puppy before will know they bite, and do not associate puppy biting with aggression, also when someone says they are struggling to physically control a 10 week old pup, it does not bode well, which is why I think there is no point in telling someone how to deal with biting and chewing when they are already struggling , the only sensible solution to this is to send pup back now while it is still young enough to be placed into the right home where they CAN deal with all eventualities to come.

Things are going to get far worse before it gets better, I hope the poster takes my advice, I doubt she will but that's what I recommend .

I wasn’t having a go’ just said I thought it was a bit harsh.
Yes I read Jackie’s post and liked it as I agreed with the majority of what she said.
@ Allan didn’t agree that she should take it back that is his opinion but it doesn’t make him wrong just like everyone, he is entitled to his opinion.
We don't all have to agree but we should be able to put our points across with respect & civility.