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New Cane Corso Pup:Advice about biting and growling

Ace of Spades

New Member
I was wondering if anyone had advice about biting and growling. We picked Ace up at 8 weeks. He is now a 10 weeks. So far he is doing/ acting exactly the way I read he would (he lets us know when has to go potty, sleeps most of the day and sleeps in his crate at night ). The one thing I didn't read about was the growling and biting. He started doing this last week and I don't want it to continue. He mostly bites and growls at my daughters now and usually when they are sitting on his pillow or are laying on the floor. He growled at my husband when he woke him up one night so that he could potty before he went in his crate. He growled at me when I picked him up for his bath. I want to know if this is normal puppy beahavior? Have any of you experienced this and how did you handle it? My breeder says give him a good scruffing(like his mom would do), but I am afraid that I could make him aggressive. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
 

Smart_Family

Dog Food Guru
Keep your daughter off the same level as your pup. Puppies can often think of kids as their litter mates and play roughly or want to challenge them.
 

Mooshi's Mummy

Well-Known Member
agree...and when he growls at you or your husband let him know that is unacceptable. a great big NO or OY who the heck do you think you are? a very firm voice, no yelling, no tapping needed but a good old I DONT THINK SO MATE wouldnt hurt. You are the boss, not the fluff butt. LOL. Just think about it like raising a kid who is pulling a strop, its not acceptable. You dont hit your kid but uinless they know you will not put up with crap they will walk all over you.
 

KarenZ

Member
My EM is 14 weeks old, and just last week, bit me on my face. She was playing, but she got a bit too big for her britches! I felt that I needed to remind her gently who the boss is, so I put her into immediate "submissive" training....I sat on the floor and held her firmly in my lap until she completely submitted to me. It took about 30 minutes. She whined, yelped, barked, squirmed, and let me know she didn't like it. Every time she calmed down, I praised her, but kept her firmly in my arms. I didn't let up until she was totally calm for a few minutes.

Since then, she'll play rough with the other dogs, but with humans, she's as sweet as she can be!

I'm sure I'll have to repeat this from time to time, and I don't know if this is the right method, but it has worked for me.
 

KristinandCianna

Well-Known Member
My female was dominant like that with me, she was a little older though, 15 weeks. But she growled at me once, I picked her up by her scruff and told her NO very firmly, I held her up there for about 10 seconds. She submitted and I put her down, after that she was very submissive and good with me. The next time, she bit me in my ear, because I picked her up after playing,she wasn't kidding either, when i got back in my car there was blood all down my neck lol, I still have the scar. I grabbed her by the scruff and said NO, she growled and squirmed, I just held her there until she stopped. I haven't had another problem with her as far as being aggressive dominant with me. She of course pushes her luck at times, but nothing as far as growling or biting. I agree with the keeping your kids off the same level as your pup, and, as I'm sure you already do, I'd supervise all interactions with the kids and pup. Good luck!!
 

Kate Williams

Well-Known Member
I use the scruff with Hank. He acts like we're killing him when he gets scolded. I still play rough with him from time to time but we have an understanding. I let him know when it's time to stop. A sharp no and a little scruff shake won't make him mean. That's not even on their radar. Dogs just need to know how to treat the pack. I agree on not letting the kids on the floor with him and I would correct any property guarding against the children quickly. The kids should be able to reach into his bowl of food without so much as an eyebrow raise. Good luck with him.
 

Misfit36

Well-Known Member
We are having the same issue with our 11 week old female. She gets in this state where she bites and growls usually our pants or shirts. We have been way to inconsistent with dealing with it i.e growling back, redirecting, poking, loud no, removing and ignoring, alpha roll/pinning (I know I know, but it was suggested by our breeder) and I think the problem is we get frustrated and that negative energy transmits to her. Back to the alpha thing, my breeder (who I trust very much) told me in convos about this behavior that you can't treat a CC as you would say a Lab because she is very confident and determined to continue this behavior. She has used this technique on all her CC and has never had an issue with fear, etc. She also said that many people frown upon this type of method but it has worked for her. Of course I watched the Michael Ellis video on why not to alpha roll but I thought about it, not every dog is the same and as he states in his vid he actually had to use "physical force" on one of his dogs because he wasn't responding to anything else. So all in all I think every opinion needs to be taken with a grain of salt. And consistency is key. Sorry about the long response but its an issue we are having as we'll and if we could "help" each other, everyone's better off. Good luck!
 

Luckshire

Member
We never played rough with our Corso... we did with a previous Corso thus learned the hard way. He is never allowed to bite flesh, if he gets in a bitey mood, shove a toy in his mouth instead. If he does make contact, say OW so he knows you are hurt, and shun him until he learns that gentle play will be reciprocated. It's hard not to wrestle and play with a puppy but when he is 100+ pounds it is a different story.

That is what worked for us, it was a slow process but the key is consistency.
 

DennasMom

Well-Known Member
I agree with a lot of the recommendations above - and would add, that while keeping your daughter safe is #1 - I would let her also be the 'boss' for your puppy. She should be able to sit on the puppy's bed or on the floor and not get growled at or 'attacked'. She should have the tools to handle it, too (assuming she's mature enough). Make sure she knows what to do - yipe when puppy bites too hard (or at any nip or bite), and if the puppy growls to make the daughter move off "his" bed, I would stay calm and say "no" in a low voice, and make sure the puppy did NOT get on the bed. I would remain calm, and say "MINE" in a firm voice. As soon as the puppy 'gives up' the bed (stops growling, sits, goes to lick your hand submissively) then he can join you on the bed... puppy zen 101: "you must first give up the treat to get the treat". :) If puppy won't 'give it up'. I'd remove him and put him in his crate (calmly, not as punishment, just as a removal from the 'treat' of being with family). And... yep... consistency definitely helps!
 

CeeCee

Well-Known Member
I don't know if this will help, but I taught my guy to have a soft mouth. I purchased a hand puppet and mouth wrestled with him. Any time he got too rough or forgot himself I would say "ow" in a high pitched voice and stop play for a bit. Now he is great. The nano second he feels flesh you can feel him stop the would be pressure.