Hi, my husky is 9 months old. I adopted him from a mutual friend about 4 months ago.

I take him on two long walks/runs everyday. He's often left home alone or with my mom during the day as I work long hours and my commute is far. During weekends, I get to spend more time with him obviously. I work on the "Nothing in life is free" concept, meaning every time I pet him or give him a treat/food, he needs to do something.

Pretty much since I got him, he would throw these "tantrums" where he would bite my hand during our walks and if i move my hand away, he would jump towards my face. If I turn around, he'll jump on my back and bite my clothes and even skin. This happens several times a week. At first I thought he wanted to play (kinda like how dogs wrestle with other dogs), but it is clear that I am unhappy about it. I tried ignoring him, yelping, being more strict, telling him to 'sit' or 'down'. Sometimes telling him to sit will stop him for a moment, but sometimes he'll still jump at me and either way, it would only stop him for that moment. It's been several months and the behavior still exists. He's getting to his full size by now and real strong... since it's during walks, it's very hard for me to control him and frankly, it's a little embarrassing.

For the most part, I only punish him when he's jumping too much or if he peed in the house (potty training is over though). For all other training I try to use positive reinforcement. I also make sure to praise him for good behavior even when we're not training. What am I doing wrong...?

I don't think you're doing anything wrong per say. Some dogs are just more "strong willed" than others, lol. I used to have this problem when I first adopted my husky- he was 8 months at the time, and up until I got him he was spoiled rotten and feared by his previous owner just because of his looks (stupid people,) so you can imagine how "strong willed" he was! lol. He still to this day (he's now almost 4) will grab the leash and tug at me- but only if he doesn't think we've walked far enough, or if he wants to go farther. The mouthing/jumping has completely stopped and he's turned into the SWEETEST dog I've ever met. My question is this; how long are his walks/runs? and does he get to run regularly? I play ice hockey and love to rollerblade. When my husky was going through this- I started taking him rollerblading, (he even uses the treadmill and loves it!) He LOVED to run. It let him go his own speed and get that burst of pent up energy and frustration out. THEN I would walk him- armed with FANTASTIC treats, and I even used to make him wear a back pack! His behavior changed tremendously! Also, I don't know your situation with his size/yours/what you use to walk him/etc. But if you're having a real hard time controlling him you can also try a gentle leader, or halti. It goes around the dogs mouth and clips on the back of the head. The can still eat,drink,play ball, etc- but it would ultimately give you more control walking. It's like leading a horse Just food for thought! Good luck and let me know if you have questions!

This is normal at this age. He is testing how far he can go right now. Now it is on you to set the limits

Our husky likes to jump up on people too. Our trainer said to stand on his leash when you think he's about to try. Once he willingly sits down and isn't jumping anymore, then treat him and reward him. Be careful though! Gus is 10mths old, and nearly knocked me over because he jumped so hard when i was standing on his leash haha.

I walk him for about 40 minutes in the morning with a backpack. Some days, we'll go to my backyard and play some fetch or a good game of tug. In the evening, I'll walk/run him again for about 1 - 1.5 hours, sans backpack. We often only walk... I want to run with him, but 50% of the time, he'll bolt too fast or run in circles or get so excited, that he'll jump on me and start the "tantrum" again. Then I'll need to stop running since that throws me off balance. I'm worried about biking with him, etc because if he does anything other than run next to me, I'll have less control.

I use a no-pull harness where it clips in the front, similar to this:


Walking him is usually fine, but the harness doesn't help one bit when he jumps at me.

I'm kind of a small girl. I'm athletic so I'm strong enough to hold him back and stand my ground, but it's getting increasingly difficult. If this behavior is normal, which way is the best to approach it? He doesn't give me any signs as to what I'm doing right or wrong. The next time he tries to bite me, should I yell at him? Should I ignore it until he stops? Some other dog owners have told me that I need to make sure he goes all the way down with his head on the floor, but he's not going to do this willingly and I don't think force is the answer?

Oh also, when he's in this jumping mode and someone approaches him, he'll jump and try to bite their hands too... It doesn't seem aggressive, but it can be VERY scary. I don't want people to get the wrong idea or get hurt.

I think most people would probably tell you that he is too young to be running for that long anyways. It can be quite harmful to their joints as he is still a growing boy. Same with the backpack. I'm not sure what the general consensus is with backpacks when they are not full grown. But i would be cautious about making it too heavy too.

To be honest, it kind of just sounds like he is too hyper and lacking exercise. Not saying that you aren't trying though. But he might just be a really high energy dog. What kind of training do you do with him right now? If the only time that he is bad is when you are going on a walk, maybe try training him outside while on a leash. Just the simple sit, down, stay commands. And then move onto leash walking. For example, just hold a treat down at his level, and start walking. If he walks nicely, and doesn't jump, then treat him. Do this in really short intervals at first so he understands that he's being treated for walking nicely. Then maybe you can move on to introductions to people approaching him. If he jumps up, turn around and walk away. He doesn't get to say hello unless he is behaving and sitting nicely.

With the mouthing, my dog knows that "ah-ah" means he's doing something bad. So i usually say ah-ah to him, and he will stop. Although i kind of allow it sometimes because he is very very gentle when he mouths, and he only does it when we get home and he is really happy to see us. He ONLY mouths people he really loves and is excited to see though, so it's not as much of a problem for us. Mouthing strangers would be a no-no for sure. I'm not sure what you mean by head all the way down on the floor. But at this point, I don't think you'll get him to do that anyways haha. Definitely do not use force, that might just reinforce the behaviour because he might take that as you are playing back now.

We use the same harness. And I'm only 5 feet tall so I understand the small girl part haha. Gus, although very skinny at the moment, is quite long and tall for a husky at 10mths old. So when he wants to stand up on me, he is face-to-face with me! Hence, being good on a leash while we are outside is kind of a mandatory thing for me! We did loose leash "bootcamp" with Gus when we got to a point where we were super frustrated with him. At least 3 times a day, for at least 20mins, we would practice walking on a leash nicely. No jumping, no pulling. It helps if you feed him his meals that way. He will be more motivated and focused and you don't have to worry about giving him an upset tummy from too many treats.

For now, running has been kept at a minimal since he makes it SO difficult to, and the backpack is pretty light, I just want to get him used to it but if he's acting up because of lack of exercise... yet I shouldn't have him running for too long... how can I accommodate him?

Training—he knows sit, down, paw, roll over (sort of), stay (sort of), and come. I tell him to sit and down randomly while walking and always try to have him walk next to me on my left side. He's PRETTY good at it when he's not going crazy. I always make sure I praise him when he's walking next to me. I'd say "Heel" and give him a treat. He doesn't know what 'heel' means yet haha but I think he knows that I generally want him walking next to me.

Having him sit and wait for people/other dogs to approach him is near impossible! I've been working on it, but the most he'll do is sit for a second and lunge the second they take a step forward.

My main concern is that he really bites a lot along with the jumping. Saying "no" firmly seems to make him more active. He's ripped many sweaters and jackets, and it's getting so hard to deal with. It's reassuring that I'm not the only one who's gone through this and it might even be "normal" behavior, but I'm wondering if there's anything more I can do... or do I just need to wait it out? It's really discouraging cause it seems like he doesn't love me! I knew he would want to test me, but I didn't think it'd be every week for several months...

What do you mean by loose leash boot camp? I mean, every time we are out on a walk, I try to practice making him do just that—walk. I'm not sure if he's getting it though.

haha it sounds like you're doing everything right! You just have a strong willed husky. But then again, aren't they all?

For the exercising, I find that training him will drain his energy a bit. I'll play some fetch with him on grass or at home. I understand your frustration with trying to exercise a hyper puppy while not overdoing it! It's tough! Gus prefers to play with other dogs, so we bring him to the park a lot. We also have a dog walker come twice a week and he brings him along with some other pups to the beach for some wrestling and swimming.

Also keep in mind that he is 9mths old right now, which is teenage territory! Gus was an angel up until he hit 7-8mths, then all of sudden, he was a little terror around the house, AND with other dogs! Then we neutered him at around 9mths. And i wouldn't say that the neuter is what did it. I think it was mainly that we did not back down and we didn't let him get away with anything. And eventually he just got the picture that this behaviour wasn't acceptable. I forgot to ask, is he neutered?

He loves you! He doesn't do these things because he hates you or because he wants to torture you. He's just being a young annoying teenage husky haha. I think a lot of people on this forum can sympathize with the terrible teens

haha when i say bootcamp, i just mean that we really stepped up with our leash training. We didn't just do it during potty breaks. We made it a point to go outside and ONLY do leash training. And the frequent shorter intervals of training helped i think. If you train for too long, he can get frustrated and then act out. If you don't do it often enough, then he might forget. So we wanted to set Gus up for success and just trained for as long as we thought he could take. If we noticed he was starting to get frustrated, we would end it off on a good note, and then stop.

I say keep at it! Don't back down! He will get the picture eventually. He's just an extra stubborn one He is really cute. I love the red and whites!

It honestly sounds like you are doing a fantastic job with him, whatever you do don't give up he will get there.

I have a teenage husky as well and I have found the most effective thing for draining his energy is training. Forcing them to concentrate in a situation where you are clearly "she who must be obeyed" really seems to take it out of them
I take Orion to Rally Obedience (structured obedience working towards competitive obedience although we won't compete) and a tricks class/pre agility every week. It has done wonders for our relationship, he is much more responsive to me so I've found when he is being a brat and I tell him enough he reacts well. I don't take him to classes because I want to compete in obedience or agility I take him purely for the mental stimulation it gives him.
The other thing I have found brilliant is calming training. I never realized how much the way I conducted myself affected the way he behaved.

Loose leash walking is a difficult one, I have clicker trained Orion since he come home so I worked on leash training with a clicker and 95% of the time he is great and will trot along beside me nicely. The one thing I have found is I absolutely must get the zoomies out of him before I start walking him otherwise the walk will be a failure! So I spend a good 10 minutes chasing him round the yard at a full sprint then let him settle and off we go. If I just put a leash on him and start walking he will pull, lunge at people, roll round on the ground at corners etc and I end up really frustrated trying to get him to behave. Personally I wouldn't attempt to use a backpack or go running with your dog at the age he is, usually running etc isn't recommended until they are 12-18 months.

If he jumps how do you get him to stop? What punishment do you use? I know it is controversial but my mother was recommended by a trainer to bring her knee up when her dog tried to leap on her so essentially the dog leapt into her knee. I know that sounds awful but my mum is a tiny woman and her dog is a briard who weighs nearly as much as her and he was really hurting her leaping on her. It really did work it only took a few times and he caught on that jumping was not acceptable. She previously tried turning her back on him, yelping, using the sit or down command etc nothing worked - he needed a more obvious consequence. Also mum uses a canny collar to walk her dog. It is a head collar like a gentle leader or halti but instead of clipping to a leash under the muzzle so the head is pulled to the side when the dog pulls, the leash attaches to the back so when the dog pulls or lunges the muzzle is pulled downwards.

Does he get playtime with other dogs? Doggy play dates do wonders for working out pent up energy!

Thank you SO MUCH for your input!

Yes, Brick was neutered about 3 weeks ago. This hasn't quite impacted his behavior or energy level as far as I'm concerned.

Olivia, what do you mean by "calming training"? Is it okay for me to chase him around at full speed? What's the difference between him running around the yard and going jogging with me?

He gets to play with some dogs. I made another post about this no-fench off leash dog park in my area: https://www.itsahuskything.com/t11765-off-leash-no-fence-dog-park
This is the only dog park near me, but there's no fence Sometimes I'll let him play while I'm holding the leash, but sometimes the other owners aren't happy about that if their dog is off leash. I really want him to go on more doggy playdates, but I had bad experiences with a couple dogs attacking Brick... I only trust him playing with a few dogs in the area, but they're not always available.

I've tried a lot of different methods when he's jumping on me since none of them seemed to work... at first I was startled so I would push him off and say a firm "no." He was a bit smaller then so it was manageable. When that didn't work, another dog owner said that I needed to make him go in the down position with his head down, even if that meant grabbing his collar and pulling it down. I tried it once, but it didn't seem like a good idea, so I tried yelping and turning my back on him. Yelping didn't work and he just jumped on my back when I turned around. I always try to tell him to 'sit' when he gets this way, but it's near impossible for him to focus on anything other than biting me.

Do you think this canny collar will help with the jumping AND the pulling? I've bought so many supplies for him that I can't afford any more trial and error supplies if you know what I mean...

I will consider taking him to a trainer or an obedience class, but for now, how should I proceed? Keep ignoring him? and when should I really start worrying if this behavior persists?

Input is what we are all here for

Sorry I should have explained calming training a bit more! Calming training is essentially training a dog to settle on command. It is not something that can be definitively trained like "sit" for example because it is not exactly an action. You have to shape the behavior you want and desensitize the dog to situations that they react to - in bricks case the leash. I am using the book click to calm healing the aggressive dog. Now Orion is not aggressive so don't be put off by the title! Orion is very reactive to new anything lol - dogs, people, places, smells etc and he will just go into a hyper state where he is incredibly hard to manage. I would really recommend the book, it is really easy to follow and implement step by step.

The difference between sprinting round the yard for 10 minutes and going jogging is just time frame and surface really. Jogging for an hour on a hard surface (pavement etc) is subjecting growing joints to repetitive impact which can cause injury in growing dogs. At 9 months old the growth plates won't be closed yet so there will still be "soft" area's in his bones. A quick sprint round on squishy grass isn't going to be prolonged enough to cause damage especially being on a soft surface where the impact is reduced.  It is enough to take the edge off those zoomies though!

I understand the dog park issue - I am the same! That's one of the reasons why I love taking him to classes - all the other owners there understand I can't trust Orion off leash so they are fine with me putting him on a long line for after class play time. Is there any local husky groups or anything you could sign up for? It's always easier with people who understand and unfortunately not all dog owners will. You might find that just taking him to higher people traffic area's might tucker him out a bit. Anywhere that is new and exciting is a great for using up energy!

I personally wouldn't grab his collar. A collar grab during a correction can make a dog start to associate you touching their collar with bad things and they can get a bit nasty. Not to mention the fact that if they ever get away you need to be able to call them back and grab their collar for safety - which they won't allow if they think they are going to get a correction.
Have you taught him the gentle command? Also it might help to teach him to target. I taught Orion to target on my closed fist so when we were out walking and he started focusing on another dog ect I could break his fixation by getting him to touch my hand with his nose. It is a really handy little tick just to get them to focus.

I know exactly what you mean about supplies! I have a whole cupboard full of supplies for Orion and very few of them are used! To be honest I don't think the canny would do much good for jumping, it works by exerting backward pressure when they pull forward but backwards pressure is going to do nothing to counter him going upwards.  Have you tried walking him on a flat collar and a traffic handle? If there is no length to the leash then I don't think he could leap without being brought up short... not sure though I'll try it

I think if it was me at the moment I would grab a clicker and start working on basic training. Just to get him used to focusing on you in controlled situations. I know you said he knew basics but it'll start him off well with the clicker. Once he's responding well with the clicker start shaping better behavior such as making eye contact when he sits etc. Reinforce a gentle mouth by hand feeding, only giving food when he takes it nicely no snapping. Also you could try tethering him to you around the house etc and click and treat when he is calmly trotting round with you, the more positive experiences  he has doing the "right" thing on the leash, the faster you will get results. Rather than just ignoring the jumping on walks, try turn sharply so it jerks him round he'll have to be on a short leash for it to work) this will break his fixation on jumping on you, don't say anything though - even bad attention is still attention that will encourage behavior. When he is good and not jumping, chat away to him nicely etc so hopefully he will realize jumping equals a short sharp jerk around and no attention - and nice walking equals happy attention from you.
Honestly if he is showing no improvement after a month or so of shaping his behavior I would be worried. It will take awhile for him to catch on if you do decide to go down the route of shaping a behavior rather than asking for something specific but if you are patient and consistent it is amazing the changes you can achieve

Sorry I don't mean to presume that you will clicker train either! It is just my preferred method, you do what ever you are comfortable with

So I tried some of your suggestions during my walk last night and this morning. I've been trying to train him to walk next to me for a long while, and for the most part he's really great at it unless there's a distraction. Nevertheless, I would continue praising him everytime we're walking on a loose leash and every now and then I would say 'sit', 'down' and 'roll over' with treats afterwards. He was doing great so I wanted to let him play with a few dogs in the park, but of course, he must sit first. He completely ignored me and bolted towards the dog. I told the other owner not to approach us until he sits. I tried this with two dogs (one of which he already knows and is friends with), but after I kept holding him back, he started biting my hand and arm and back... anything he could reach. He didn't break skin and he wasn't growling, but it was definitely a rough grip. Even when I turned around, he just jumped on my back and kept biting. I said "sit" a couple times but clearly he wasn't going to do it so I didn't say anything and just turned away. When he calmed down, I tried making him sit again, but then he started biting my hand again. This happened a couple more times before he finally sat down. Then I gave him a treat and proceeded to walk.

I know the behavior is "normal", but should it get that bad?

I think you're doing great! You definitely have a lot of patience haha. Gus does this too when we're approaching the park. He is MANIACAL! He won't jump and bite as much as your husky does though. But he does sort of try to bolt forward, pulls A LOT, and does little hops. Boy does he HOWL and TALK though! It's that hyena yelling. It sounds like i'm torturing him, when all i am doing is standing there waiting for his tantrum to pass. What i usually do is turn around and walk in the opposite direction. It can sometimes take us 20mins to walk just a couple metres to the park. I think what you're experiencing is "normal" given our pups and their age, and just general excitement for playtime. Gus understands that jumping is generally not accepted with us, and his mouthing is very gentle so it doesn't really bother me that much. So that might be why he doesn't jump as much. But i think that as Brick (that is his name right?) learns that jumping is not acceptable, he will do it less often. Just be patient and keep doing what you're doing

I have been meaning to walk Gus near the park more often to get him used to it. I can only imagine what kind of battle my dogwalker must be fighting everyday! Aside from proximity to the park, he is a good walker.

As for what Olivia mentioned, we did clicker training with Gus too. And it works well with him especially when i am trying to teach him something new. Once he understands and knows the command, i don't really need it. It's just a matter of whether he feels like ignoring me or not haha. Stubborn teenagers!

What if my backyard is concrete?

I don't think we have any local husky groups in my area, but I think I will look into going to training classes.

I have not taught him the gentle command. The best way to do this is to touch my hand to his nose and praise, right? I tried teaching him eye contact, but I kinda got lazy with it.  

I haven't used the traffic handle, but I usually hold my leash that way anyway... the loop on my right hand, then i hold the middle of the leash on my left hand, and he walks beside me on my left side. (IDEALLY, of course!)

I sort of tried turned sharply, but it's actually very difficult when he's trying to bite me :\ I think turning away is the best thing so far, even though he'd still jump on me... but he'll generally stop eventually. I just hope that I'm sending the right message by doing that.

Maybe I'll try out the clicker... but learning new tricks isn't really the issue. He used to be stubborn with 'down', but for the most part he'll do the tricks. It's only when he's excited or distracted...  

My patience is running so thin! I have so many bruises from him D:

I also have a 9 month old and I understand how your patience can run thin.

This may not be the best idea, and will probably be embarrassing to do in public, but if my pup was doing it to that level of intensity where he was just completely zoned in, I would probably just step on the leash so he couldn't jump up, and just stand there ignoring him until he calmed down. I'm sure the first time you try it, he'll throw a huge hissy fit and get really stressed, but you've changed the rules suddenly, so its to be expected. Then as soon as his attempts at jumping or concentration on acting like a nut broke, I'd command a sit and quietly reward him. I say quietly because giving a big exciting reward in this situation will just restart the whole excited jumping thing.

Also, expect it to get worse before it gets better. You're trying to change the rules on him, so he's going to push until he realizes you won't put up with that crap anymore.

edit - it might also be a good idea to find his reactivity threshold, as in, how far do you have to be where he notices the other dog, and where he starts to lose his cool. The slowly work on riding that threshold. I've been working on a similar issue with my pup, and got some great advice on this thread: https://www.itsahuskything.com/t11686-ocd-anxiety-fixation?highlight=fixation

Just throwing in my two cents here, but be careful on the timing of your rewards! You don't want to inadvertently reward him for the jumping/biting. I agree with the others- if I was in your situation I would have calmly turned and walked away. When he is responding to you asking him to sit, reward him. Move closer- as long as he is responding and remaining calm, continue the rewards- if he throws a tantrum, turn and walk the other way. Just my thought on that particular situation. It'll suck in the beginning, but remember- practice makes perfect! Stick it out! You'll make it through this!

So I've been trying out the traffic handle idea for you and I have had some success but I also have so reservations, here's what I did...
First of all Orion's normal walking collar is a martingale but for this I put him on a normal flat collar.
I put the collar on him up high so it sat right behind his ears, firm enough that it would not slip down, D ring to the top of the head. I then hyped him right up to zoomie stage (where he tends to leap all over me) then put him on a traffic handle and walked him.
I found that if I kept my hand down firmly by my side he could not jump or mouth.
Since the traffic handle is so short (literally a handle and clip there is no leash part) he had no leverage to jump on me, and since I had the collar positioned where it was I had control of his head so he was not able to turn and lunge and mouth me - but I did have to keep my hands firmly down. It was like frog marching him down the road by the collar lol
Now the reservations I have with this is the confinement. Some dogs do not like being held so firmly and will literally fight to have there own way, If Brick was to throw a tantrum when you have in such close proximity I'm not sure how things would end up. The other thing is that this is by no means a long term solution but it may offer you some relief while you work with him and resigns himself to the new rules.

In regards to the gentle command, there are a few ways to do it. I put a soft treat in my hand (hotdog etc) and held my closed fist out to Orion. At first he gnawed on my hand to try get the nice treat (I wore gloves to help) but when he gave up I opened my fingers keeping the treat tucked under my thumb. I then let Orion lick and nibble the treat out of my hand while praising "good gentle"

Jen is right it is absolutely going to get worse before it gets better, it is kind of like a last ditch effort on there part before they give in. Don't panic though you already sound like you are doing fantastically!

Thanks for testing that out for me! According to your description though, I'm not sure how useful the traffic handle would be for me. It seems like he won't even be able to put his head down to sniff the ground, and besides, I usually hold the leash close anyways, thus giving him little slack. I give him more freedom if he's calm and walking beside me on a loose leash. I'd hold it tight and close if he's pulling or trying to walk ahead of me.

I've been trying all of your different methods and while I can't just "walk away" because this usually happens when we're out on walks, I can turn my back to him and that would usually stop him more quickly (even though he'd still try to jump on my back a couple times). While sometimes this does happen seemingly at random moments, I noticed that it occurs when he gets too excited (either when he sees another dog and I'm holding him back or even if I'm trying to jog with him).

Thanks for sharing that thread, Jen. Brick also has this "fixation" issue on other dogs. If I'm far enough, sometimes he'll notice the dog but still listen to my command, but he KNOWS the dog, forget it. He'll completely ignore me. I'm working hard on telling him to sit before play, but it's really tough and other dog owners don't have much patience to wait because sometimes it'll take us 5-10 minutes to finally sit... by that time, they would have probably walked away... so Brick's interaction with other dogs have been pretty limited

Hello! okay so it's been about a week and I've wanted to update.

Brick's behavior hasn't really changed. In fact, I think he's a little MORE mouthy now. He listens to my commands more, but his tantrums have gotten longer and a bit more rough. He even bit my neighbor last night and it was extremely upsetting. I've been stepping on his leash and ignoring him when he starts jumping so he jumps less now (because he physically can't), but he will continue to bite... I'm considering using a muzzle, but I'm not sure how he will take it or if it will in fact lessen this mouthy behavior. Do any of you have any experience in using a muzzle or have any suggestions?

Hmmm... at least the jumping has improved right?

For mouthing, does he bite down hard? Or is he doing it in a playful way to get your attention? Gus can get pretty mouthy when he is really excited, and likes to put our hands in his mouth. But he is super gentle about it.

When he was younger though, I really did not like it or allow it. We would growl at him haha. I know that sounds weird. But it's really just making a loud growly noise at him. When we did that, he would stop, and kind of look up at you. It's hard to growl, so i would really just say, "HEEEEY!" in a low tone. That eventually stopped working though. Now, he knows that "ah-ah" means bad, and he will stop if we ah-ah him.

I think others would suggest redirecting him to a toy or something. But that might be difficult and just out of place if you are going on a walk. What happens if you cross your arms and ignore him?

Is he biting in a mean aggressive/frustrated way? Or just being playful and doesn't know how hard is too hard?

^ Maggie has really good questions! I would try a gentle leader or halti rather than a muzzle. The GL or Halti goes around his muzzle and clips behind the back of his head- it looks like a bridle for a horse. But, it gives you COMPLETE control over his head- and mouth They still allow the dog to eat,drink, put a ball in their mouth, etc. Maybe consider this rather than a muzzle? I wouldn't recommend the muzzle- esp with exercising. You don't want to compromise his breathing or anything. Just my thought lol Keep us posted!

Hm.. I wouldn't really say the jumping has improved. If I wasn't stepping on the leash, he would jump just as much. The biting has really gotten worse recently. A month ago, I would have said it was definitely play. He jumped and nibbled and his overall stance seemed playful. However recently, his mouthing has become a real issue. Sometimes he would bite my hands/wrists and wouldn't let go. I try to step on the leash, but sometimes I'm not quick enough and he'll jump on my back and bite the back of my arms when I turn around. Last night, it got so bad, I felt scared for the first time since he wouldn't let go of my hand and it started to really hurt. In fact, a car even pulled over to ask if I needed help and a few passersby were staring, seemingly concerned. I wasn't sure if we would make it home and we weren't even that far away.

I'm still not sure if this is aggression... I'm sure he doesn't MEAN to hurt me, but the fact is that he IS hurting me. I've tried turning around to ignore him, but like I said, he'll just jump on my back and bite my arms. After he stops, I'll tell him to sit and sometimes he'll listen, but he'll continue to bite. When I think he's finally calm, I'll continue walking and it'll likely start all over again.

I do carry a rope toy around, and although I'm sure it will get him to stop biting me, I don't want to send him the message that he's doing something good and I'm rewarding him with a toy.

I was thinking about a muzzle that looks like this:


so he can still eat and drink with it. I guess it'd only be used for walks, and I can take it off when we exercise. (Besides, he's not very good at running with me because every time i try to run, he just bolts in front of me and starts jumping on me again)

I would get a basket muzzle if you're going to get a muzzle, it allows the dog to pant properly. You will need to desensitize the dog to it.

Is this only during walks? Does he have any other exercise outlets? Dog parks? Enclosed places where you can let him run? I think the training would get a lot better if he was more tired before trying to show him what you want from him.

Is he food motivated at all? You could consistently drop food on the floor, even kibble, piece by piece as you walk to keep his head down and body moving instead of climbing all over you while walking.

These times when he grabs your hands, what is happening before it? What do you do? What does he do? If you can paint a clear picture we may be able to help more. If it mostly occurs when you're outside and there's a lot of stuff going on- it could be an over stimulated response. If it's when you're just trying to get him to walk it could be more frustration. Or even boredom.

You can also try a long line. Secure it to yourself (preferably around the waist or around your ankle) and reward for any behavior that includes his 4 feet on the ground. You can also teach and greatly reinforce "gentle" which may help combat the biting. There's nothing wrong practicing this with gloves to protect your hands as well as a heavy coat. What you don't want is to in any way reward the jumping behavior or the mouthiness. Sometimes that will mean ignoring and distracting.

I'll consider other types of muzzles and the gentle leader, but I think with the gentle leader (and similar harnesses) can still allow him to bite...

Yes this is only during walks. He is fine at home. Sometimes he'll nibble, but he'll stop if I say so and it wouldn't be hard. He also rarely jumps indoors.

As I mentioned earlier, his exercise includes: one 30-40 minute walk in the morning and a 1 hour walk in the evening. Non routinely, but I'll try to do one of the following everyday: play a good game of tug or fetch in the backyard. We have no dog parks in the area, only one that isn't fenced in, but I know a few dog owners who allow their dog to play with Brick. so this happens every so often when I see them. During weekends, I'd spend more time playing with him.

He is food motivated. I'll give him plenty of treats when he's walking on a loose leash next to me. He does this very well unless there's a big distraction (another dog, squirrel, etc).

Most of the time it is seemingly random. We would just be walking and suddenly he'll try to bite my shoes. I'd stop walking and tell him to sit. Then he'll look at me and bite my hands. I turn my back to him and he'll jump on my back & biting my coat. He'd usually stop and start sniffing the ground or something and that's when I'd take the opportunity to tell him to sit. If he sits, I'd pet him or give him a treat. Sometimes, he'll sit, but still bite me if I reach down to him. OR he'd jump back at me. This is random.

Recently, I started stepping on the leash as per the advice given here. This helps me, but I'm not sure if it's changing his behavior. His biting has gotten harder and less manageable. I try to take him to new places, but basically I take him to two parks. I also noticed that he'll start jumping/biting when he gets overly excited. Such as if he sees a dog and I'm holding him back from playing with them. For the most part, I want to let him meet as many dogs as possible, but ONLY if he can sit and meet them calmly (not all dogs are puppies & not all owners like when their dogs play rough). If he doesn't sit and continues to jump (pretty often), I have no choice but to walk away without him meeting them. Then he'll jump on me because I'm holding him back. Another example is when I try to run with him. I'll jog slowly two steps and since he sees that I'm moving faster, he'll bolt at full speed. Clearly I'm not that fast and will end up holding him back, so he runs in front of me and jumps towards me.

I would love to give him more freedom and play time, but he's making our walks extremely difficult and other owners don't want to let their dog come near him when he's out of control.

Here's another thing, he KNOWS that biting is bad. When he takes a treat from us, no matter how small, he'll only use his lips and be very gentle about it. Also, if we purposely try to put our hands near his mouth, he'll close it and move away. It's ONLY during these "tantrums" when he seems to zone in and really bite us...