I think I am the only person with just one dog and maybe that is a problem for Clyde. He is playing too wild with me and I don`t know how to stop this, I think he is treating me like I would be also a dog.....If I get angry he is growling and biting me, not agressive but a little bit too much for human skin....
Maybe anybody can give me some tips how to handle him.
I hope my bad English is no problem, I speak German and try to do my best..

Hi, How old is Clyde ? Deerhounds do seem to go through a stage as they grow up where they like to nip and be a little inappropriate with their humans. I have observed this behaviour even when there are other dogs to play with, although they do seem to be a lot rougher with the other dogs than they ever do with humans.

If Clyde's behaviour is becoming unacceptable , then getting another dog might help to expend some of his energy. There's no point getting angry with him, they don't understand. You need to be firm with him without shouting. It's hard to advise how to correct him without seeing exactly what he does and in what situation. You could try yelping like a puppy next time he nips, make him realise that he is actually hurting you. That can sometimes work, and they get an almost horrified look on their faces when they realise what they have done.

Good luck!

Dont know about D/H's but with other dogs we have always given time out if they have gone ott,
as there so large it would be hard to use crate, but you could use another room, or when he starts off walk out of the room and if you can shut the door, leave him for a few minuties and then go back in carmley with out speaking and carry on as normal, it will take time for him to get the idea, but most dogs do, or try and find some local dog owners who are willing to let you walk your dog with them, we do a group walk every weekend, its good for the dogs to scocalise - they get to have fun and chill out, plus we get to natter,
all of the people i walk with - i meet on the internet, and i have made some good friends out of it, at the end of the walk our dogs come home muddy, wet and sleep for the rest of the night.

jane

Norbert (4 m) is also a bit to hard for me to play with sometimes, but I take him in the neck-skin and tell him to stopp, and he hold on a sekond and then we can play again, until next time:huh:

He is also very hard to my schipperke and he is screeming but then Norbert let go of him imediately.
But he is snarl (don't know if it is the same as growling? in lexicon it says snarl about what dogs do when they are angry but they can also do it when they play) when he play with Ludde and they both sounds like they is very angry but I don't think they are it is just a way to play. He did not do like that with me, but once he snarl on me when I was moving him to another bed. I just ignore that and he stoped.

Can't you find out some dogs that he can play with outside?

I too have found it very effective to yelp loudly even if it doesn't hurt they will generally back off instantly and contritely. Also we found it helpful to reinforce the idea that we humans are pack leader especially when the dog misbehaves. As the american dog guru Caesar Millan teaches. "Exercise, discipline then affection. Ignore the behavior! Dogs seek attention from you. By paying them that attention during hyperactive outbursts, you’re reinforcing the very behavior that you’re trying to eliminate. The next time your dog is jumping or nipping at you in an overexcited way, give it a try – no touch, no talk, no eye contact – and see how you fare. You might be surprised how quickly the dog settles down."
www.cesarmillaninc.com/ti...hyperactive.php Good Luck it will get better.

Thank you so much to all of you giving me some good advices.
I think I will really try to ignore him if he is behaving bad, I know he is a big baby and I will invite all people with dogs I know so he can play with them.
Maybe it will also getting better when he has got his new teeth.

Hi Clyde,

we have had similar problems / behaviour with Skippy. ( 4 1/2 months)

He gets very lively during the evening when indoors and only seems to want to rough play, in particular biting hands and sleeves . We usualy distract him with his rubber chicken which takes of with and thrashes round the room. he will eventually settle and chew on that for the rest of the evening. He also likes to chew on a shin bone form the butchers or similar which keeps him quiet for a bit.
When he gets really rough, he will snarl and growl and bare teeth. I dont think he's being viscious but is seriouslly spoiling for a game. We tell him loudly to stop and can get him to sit ( held lightly by the collar ) for 30 seconds or so. After this if he starts again he is banished to the out house for 2-5 minutes. He usually settles down and sits on the wash basket. He is not allowed back in until he quietens down.
If he does this out in the fields , we will make him sit and put him back on the lead, if he does it again its sit and back on the lead till we get home.
From the day we got him we have trained him to sit and stay above all else. I found it really helps to use bits of broken digestive biscuit to keep his interest during training.
Skippy is an only dog at the moment but does get to meet others in the week. When he has a a dog day he seems to be better behaved for a while.
He is also teething at the moment and seems to want to bite more, I,m sure this must be uncomfortable enough to affect his mood. He has taken a small log into his bed and also chews this a lot.

They certainly seem to be lively pups!

Dave & skippy

Thank you Dave and Skippy
It is good to hear that other deerhound and their owner have the same little problems, make it much easier.
Conny+Clyde

I also give the loud " yelp "/shriek - as this is , what puppies and adult dogs do - and , I stop playing with them immediately , just become passive , at times also turn away . Works like a charm . When too rambunctious , you can try growling at them - works better than any " no " .
The " dog guru " is , imo ( and many other , more psositive /modern trainers , who call him " the one who must not be named " - for any Harry Potter fans out there ), a huge setback and usually just manipulates/domintaes dogs , doesn't really interact with them other than domination - I would not recommend his methods , especially not for dogs as sensitive as deerhounds.

Most and foremost : do enjoy your pup !!!!!

I would defer to someone with much more experience with deerhounds than I have, however IMO you have not characterized C. Millan correctly. While I agree that deerhounds are more sensitive than most, I think we can all agree that they also can be stubborn and you should begin as you mean to go on in a firm, calm and gently assertive way. No one methodology will work as each of us and our hounds are unique. Love and enjoy your pup above all. I am always mindful that I am privileged to share my life with my deerie. Barb

Depite causing mischief and mayhem and requiring a firm hand,
our Skippy has brought huge enjoyment and loads of laughter.
He really is a prize clown at times, will always outwit you.
and has sent life in a new direction..

This is exactly how he/ Skippy looks , mischiefious and very creative and quick witted/funny - what a sweetie !

Hi Clyde, I find it very difficult to yelp like a puppy,and my approach is to not get them too excited to start with. This nipping,etc is normal with D.H. puppies and also with some adults and can be part of normal play with humans. When it needs to be curtailed this is easily done by ignoring them,turning you back on them,pretending to be interested in something else etc etc. I NEVER consider crating an acceptable option to counter difficult behaviour and wearing a jacket with extra thick sleeves helps as it DOSE NOT get easier when they have finnished teething.

I find the best way is to ignore them when they get silly turn your back and walk away,i get mine started on the training as soon as they have settled in and teach them a "settle down" command. also if your pup is food orientated its amazing how they will learn to do what you want for a treat and it can take their mind off silliness and do something constructive.Happy owner happy hound!!!

Ignore them! Dont look or speak to them! They hate this and quickly realise that good behaviour = attention and unwanted behavuior = no attention. I adopted this method very early on with Murray and have had no problems at all with him. The same applies to jumping up. When I got Murray that was the one thing that I was determined to teach him - no jumping up! He is far too big and apart from anything it is rude and bad mannered.
Barb - I totally agree with you about Caesar Milan - I have used some of his methods and principles with my dogs with great success but then each to his own

My Dileas loves people so much she could swarm all over them and lick them to death. I can't be having with licky dogs jumping up uninvited, so she's learned that if you want a fuss and a cuddle, you have to stop prancing about like a thing possessed, skid to a halt in front of your Sid and sit at her. That makes you officially a Good Dog and therefore you have to be rewarded by being made much of. It's worth teaching a 'stop what you're doing; do something good instead and you'll get a reward' type of thing. Works on kids, too.

Thats what I find , too - give them something else to do and make it positive/active - better than any " NO " without an alternative . Clients of mine taught some of their " jumpy/barky " dogs some neat tricks to greet visitors ( like sit and stretch out a paw or a little " dance " and then a sit or similar )- that was much easier on their dogs and their own nerves and amuses the people who come to visit than forcing the animals into a sit stay/down or whatever.
As to my opinion on CM , I had to think wether to write once more , as this is a deerhound forum and , of course , we all have our own approaches - but , just a few words from my point of view . I do not like his methods for any kind of dog ,it has nothing to do specifically with deerhounds ( though sensitive dogs are more vulnerable to harsh/dominating treatment ) - and , I do not consider myself very
" deerhound experienced ", I had/have a bunch of deerhounds for somewhat over 8 years now and have followed the breed for some more years - I am learning every day ....
I have been fanatic about dogs from birth on basically , had dogs of my own for some 38 years , bred a few litters and have been into many groups and clubs all around dogs , always very interested in behavioural science and also became a Tellington TTouch Trainer ( for anything but horses , mostly dogs ) . All of this brought me - over many years - to a fairly positive , interactive and respectful approach of dealing with dogs/animals - and , in my work ( as a Tellington TTouch Trainer and my other job , in the local SPCA ) I do work usually with dogs( and cats ) who are aggressive ( or extremely fearful, which is often the very same in the end )and have seen amazing results with a friendly , cooperative approach . It might take a tad longer to get the results/changes you want to see , but , they are lasting and really fun to achieve , as they are build on total respect for both sides , owners and animals . Methods like C's are not always lasting ( or , better , rarely lasting ) -at certain points animals who are forced into a beahviour will just snap/break as they do not really learn how to cope with stressors/ "bad" situations in their lives , they usually rather just learn how to avoid pain/punishment . It is not to say that I do not have " No's " and rules for my girls here - just all over I really try to cooperate rather than dominate/ manipulate - one wonderful, newer tool is clicker training - which my girls love , the little that I have done with them . Especially Mawu and Hermione , the puppy , are into it and it is a great joy to see them try so hard to understand what I want and do it as quickly as they can - very , very different from the old school , where the owner was active/giving commands and the animals passive /submissive basically.

'Nough said - it is something very close to my heart though and thus the long sermon.....

Verena

Very well said, cooperation and mutual understanding is what its all about.

I acquired a clicker, left it lying around and Tavish killed it. 'Nuff said!

Murphy will be 4 this May and is still prone to jumping on me in the field and having a good chew on my arm. I just say "enough" if he gets rough and that stops him, you can usually tell when it is going to start as when you go to stroke him, he ducks and that is how his game plan starts. I wear a coat with thick sleeves too Alan! it has bite marks on it.
My problem is teenage son who thinks it is a game to play rough with him, then he thinks he can do it to me. Kids are worse than dogs, you train dogs easily, but not teenagers with a teenage brain!!

I think they all go through this stage, all dogs do, but a DH puppy grows so fast it becomes more of a problem, thank heavens he isn't a wolfhound!!!

Ignoring them is the best, tell them NO and carry on your walk, they soon get the hint, but it is normal. Murphy has never snarled though or growled at me, he did once to my son, but it was sons fault by bothering him when he was asleep. The dog was still punished though (as was the son!) as you can never let a dog tell you, its the other way round, next time he might just get a bit beyond himself and bite. Prevention is better than cure.