Biting on Walks

[FirstSchnauzer]

Hi everyone,

I'm guessing a first post asking for help is not uncommon, so here is mine

I have a gorgeous MS puppy who is just coming up to 16 weeks old. He's my first schnauzer (and first dog). The majority of the time he is sweet and affectionate but over the last few weeks (maybe 3 weeks) he has started to growl and then lunge and bite at my legs when we're out on a walk. He sometimes does this to my partner too, but I get it more often as I'm with him more.

I'm sticking with 2 x 15minute walks a day and will shortly move onto 2 x 20mins as he will be 4 months very soon. I've tried to work out if there's a trigger for the behaviour or if it's happening at specific places/times, but I can't find anything. It's like something switches very quickly and he just decides that my legs are getting it. I'll be honest, it hurts a lot, and he has drawn blood a couple of times. Saying "no" and/or "yelping" hasn't made any difference.

Someone told me to try distracting with a toy when it happens, so I carried a rope toy on walks just incase. It does seem to distract him and then we have a game of tug in the street mid-walk, but it only works temporarily and I don't know if encouraging this on walks is a good idea.

I'd be so grateful for any advice or to hear if anyone has experienced this in the past cos I feel really alone with it. He sounds really aggressive when he's doing it and if other people are around then it's a bit of a spectacle

Thanks in advance!

[Dawnspell]

Hi and welcome

A few extra questions
Does this happen when you are both walking or when you are standing still?

Does it happen at anytime during the walk?

Does it happen more or less times on the second walk compared to first walk?

Will he accept treats on a walk?

[FirstSchnauzer]

Thanks for your reply!

It can happen both when walking and standing still, perhaps a little more when walking. When he goes for my leg I then tend to stand still to see if this helps but I generally need to hold the lead at a distance then.

In terms of when it happens, he sometimes tries to do it on our way to the front door of the building and I wonder if this is just excitement at going out. Other times it can be in the middle or towards the end of walks. I realise this might be tiredness, but I do keep walks short and allow him plenty of nap/rest time during the day.

This morning we took him to a new park and he actually didn't try to attack our legs for what seems like the first time in ages. Could he be getting bored of our local neighbourhood, even though I vary the routes slightly each day?

He will accept treats, yes. I often use treats to gain his attention, to get him to check in, to practise random sits with distraction etc whilst on walks.

[Dawnspell]

Hes a puppy and everything is exciting and hes still learning about the world so he can get excited and overwhelmed with the world finding it a bit too much.

If he's doing it before you even go out then its almost guaranteed he will do it on a walk. Hes already not able to control himself. I would start working on that by acting as though you are going to go out but dont. You can do this at any time during the day make it a non event. If he does do it when you are about to go out try doing some sits, downs etc to get his attention on you and see if he can listen to what you are asking. if he cant do it in the house then there is no way he will on the walk.

Its good he will accept treats on a walk this means hes not overwhelmed by the situation hes in. If at anytime he doesnt accept treats thats normally a sign they're a bit stressed out with where they are so take him out of the situation. If he will accept treats when hes biting as a distraction then you can just scatter a few on the ground for him to hunt out. Sniffing has a calming effect. You could also try teaching him how to catch treats. This will get his attention off the ground/feet area and focused up on you. If hes not a natural catcher they can be taught but it does take a while.

I've never walked mine twice a day just the one walk in the morning. Instead of second walk we'll go in the garden and play games or do mental stimulation games in the house.

[wisbeech]

I wouldn't worry about it too much, mines was a biting wee shark of a dog for a while, ended up getting a pair of wellies, we knew it as the night time crazies. It passes, but you will need coping mechanisms because it does get very wearing and annoying.

Invest in a pair of wellies, when the pup goes for the legs turn to your side and raise you leg up so the legs don't suffer.

Try to ignore it, or do what we did, we let ours out in the garden and watched for the "crazy eyes", once they appeared we disappeared behind a gate and left him to rampage about till it passed.

We tried the toys, the flesh crazed wee hooligan wasnt interested, but we did have some joy with training treats, he could be placated with them.

Its a stage, it passes, you just have to be patient and consistent.