Puppy Aggression

For puppy aggression problems, my vet recommended I review a pamphlet the office circulated especially for such issues.  There were two important points the owner of an aggressive puppy was supposed to keep in mind at all times:  1) Assert dominance over your puppy by making him obey commands before he gets a snack or a meal, and 2) Exercise your puppy.  Having already started my puppy on the commands before treats program (sit, stay, lie down, come), I came to the happy conclusion that exercise would probably be the magic bullet that would solve my puppy's aggression issues.  Therefore, I purchased a leash and collar, and prepared to begin walking my puppy a mile every day, through the park located by my home.

Unfortunately, Prince's reaction to our new program was the last one I would have expected.  He immediately came to the realization that while I was walking him, I was as much a captive of his as he was of mine, thereby affording him the opportunity to nip me with impunity...and without pause.  He joyfully attacked my ankles each time we reached the border of the park, and continued to do so sporadically throughout our walk.  By the end of the week, every pair of pants I owned had holes in them.

Frustrated (and bruised), I decided to consult my local humane society's dog advice column next.  This informed me that puppies all bite, and all puppies need to be taught not to bite...by doing the exact things I had been doing.  They had no further advice as to what to do in the event these options failed.  So I decided to consult my puppy's breeder, thinking it was perhaps an ingrained response of a herding breed.

"Every time I walk him, he nips my ankles," I told her.

She told me that it sounded as if he were trying to get away from me (!) and the only thing she could recommend was walking him on a shorter leash.  I therefore wrapped the leash more tightly around my hand the next time I walked him, so that he couldn't reach my ankles.

In response, he went after my legs, instead.

Our walks began to take twice as long as they should, primarily because we spent at least half the time involved in altercations in which he would repeatedly nip me and I would shout, "Prince, No! Prince, No!" to no avail.  I therefore decided to consult a dog behavioral professional at a different veterinary office, whom the receptionist assured me would be able to assist me in eliminating my puppy's aggressive tendencies.

The following day, at a scheduled appointment time, I called Tim, the training specialist.