Hi all, I have a 6 month old female Weimaraner who came to me at 8 weeks as a serious biter, anxious and unable to sleep. I have been working closely with two vets and a trainer over the last several months to help improve behavior but symptoms are worsening. She is crated twice a day for short periods of time and unfortunately the rest of the time is predominantly devoted to trying to correct her biting. She only sleeps about 1-2 hrs at night and has a lot of trouble settling down. She has never been able to engage in a toy for any length of time or just relax on the couch by herself. I exercise her multiple times a day but briefly as she can get easily wound up, which escalates the biting. With a full set of adult teeth now, we experience multiple minor dog bites that bruise and break the skin on a daily basis. It seemed like her was her way communicating and often playful but now is transforming into more aggressive acts. I found out through the breeder’s vet that her father was diagnosed with aggression and has other physical health problems. There’s another pup in the litter with same problems. In hindsight, the breeder has not been very honest or open with information unfortunately. We have been trying a combination of training and now discussing medication for anxiety but the vet is unsure of what’s really causing this behavior. I contacted a behavioral vet who charges $600 for an initial 3 hr consultation and I think I will pursue it despite the cost as I’m running out of options. I grew up with Weims who had strong but beautiful temperaments so this is new territory for me. Does anyone have experience with this?
Hi You must be exhausted ! Sadly I don’t have any experience of this, but, I’m hoping someone will come along soon to help I’ll be keeping a close eye on your responses to see what I can learn Philippa
If the sire was known to have aggression problems the breeder should not have used him. And with two pups in the litter having the same problems it sounds that it could be a genetic fault, so medication for anxiety will not solve it. Before you pay $600 for a consultation with a "behavioral vet" - and I admit that I have never heard of a vet specialising in behaviour - I would request a referral to a canine neurologist. I hope you can solve the problems of your pup's biting and sleeping behaviour.
Quote (Hi all, I have a 6 month old female Weimaraner who came to me at 8 weeks as a serious biter, anxious and unable to sleep. Not sure I'd jump to 'aggressive' conclusion. It's incredibly rare that a puppy that young would be showing offensive aggression, 8 weeks old is a baby! All puppies bite some more than others, there are various methods to handling it. (How did you try to handle it) As for being anxious and unable to sleep lots of puppies go through that stage when they first go to new home. (What did you do to comfort her?) Quote I exercise her multiple times a day but briefly as she can get easily wound up, which escalates the biting. What type of exercise are you giving her and how long is each session? Puppies can get extra nippy if overly tired. Quote( I found out through the breeder’s vet that her father was diagnosed with aggression and has other physical health problems. Vets are not behaviorists and I certainly wouldn’t take behavioral advice from them, on what grounds do they class your puppies sire as aggressive. A good trainer will be able to help much more than we can online. They'll be able to observe you and the pup and see things you may not be able to.
There are one or two very experienced vet behaviourists in the UK. Danny Mill at Lincoln University I've found to be very good. They have the advantage of being able to do a full veterinary work up, prescribe any necessary meds and work with the owners on behaviour problems. They are very expensive though
Thank you Chris for telling me about vet behaviourists. I am not surprised that they are expensive though, as presumably they would have had extra training and studies, more than regular qualified vets, the same as with all specialists.
Thanks for your response! She is actually 6 months old now. I got her at 8 weeks. I hired a personal trainer when she was 10 weeks and we have been doing positive behavior training as general obedience and to curb the biting. She actually had an easier time focusing on the tasks when she was younger. He hasn’t really witnessed her behavior at its worst as his sessions are couple of hours max. She only seems to exhibit this type of behavior when she has become comfortable with you over long period of time in the home or if she bonded quickly. If someone visit for the weekend for example then she will behave that way towards them. As for the exercise, she likes to run. I do that for 10-20 min, multiple times a day. Things like fetch can quickly wind her up and lead to biting as she is giving me the ball. As for the sleep problems, I tried soft music, snuggle puppy toy, lavender, treats and ended up removing her from the crate at night and put her in bed. She is fine with the crate when not at home btw. She sleeps very short periods of time through the night and when she becomes unsettled I try to calm her by laying next to her or remove her from the bedroom to walk around.
Thank you! I never thought of exploring a canine neurologist. Although the idea of it being something genetic has been at the top of list of what could be happening QUOTE="Malka, post: 223182, member: 23671"]If the sire was known to have aggression problems the breeder should not have used him. And with two pups in the litter having the same problems it sounds that it could be a genetic fault, so medication for anxiety will not solve it. Before you pay $600 for a consultation with a "behavioral vet" - and I admit that I have never heard of a vet specialising in behaviour - I would request a referral to a canine neurologist. I hope you can solve the problems of your pup's biting and sleeping behaviour.[/QUOTE] Thanks
I am at a loss as to why you would need to hire a personal trainer for a 10 week old puppy! Any good trainer would not train a young pup for 2 hrs at a time, I wouldn’t even expect my adults to concentrate for that length of time. Running her for 10-20 min, multiple times a day, seems a lot for a young puppy.
Adolescent Weimies can be a real pain in the bum. They are gawky, pushy, excitable. Your job is to keep them calm. I also think you are over exercising for her age. If you are 'running' her, then I also think it's the wrong type of exercise for this particular breed. Yes, you have to expend energy, but quieter, calmer walks would be better for an excitable adolescent and using short training sessions throughout the day ( 3 or 4 minutes a time) is good for using mental energy and teaching self-control. At 6 months, teeth are still settling into gums so she won't have fully left her mouthing stage. It seems, from what you say, that the biting only occurs when she is over-excited? If that's the case, the more you can use calm behaviour around her and exercise in a calm way with self control exercises thrown in the better
