[AnmialLover]

I have a just turned 7 month old Huskita who 90% of the time is a wonderful, well behaved puppy. He gets along great with people, Children and other dogs (Not so much the cats) He is recently "fixed" (2 weeks ago). About a month ago (before he was fixed) He started to "Attack" me in the back yard as soon as I stepped off of the pavement. Ace is never allowed outside by himself because he will jump the fence and visit the neighbors so someone is always out there with him; however, what he does is it barks, jumps, bites (never has broken skin its more of a pinch then a bit either way it hurts!) and growls (His tail is wagging the whole time) This only happens to me no one else in the house. I have tired ignoring me, tell him no, making TSSSTs sound, pinning him down until he calms down, bringing him back into the house, umbilical cord training. I have tried everything I can think of and still he dose the same thing as soon as I step foot onto the back lawn. I am to the point where I wont go out there with him. About 2 weeks after this had started he started doing it in the house to me but it only lasts a few mins and he gets over it. Since Sunday ( three days ago) it has started that on our morning one hour walks he "attacks" me same behavior as in the backyard. So I shortened the walk thinking maybe its just too long no change. I use a "pinch collar" to walk him I have tried every collar under the sun. We have five different ones hanging in the closet :S. We go for two walks a day I take him for an hour in the morning and my hubby takes him for twenty mins at night. We finished puppy training at the top of the class he was the star of the class. We have just started the one step up from that this week. He listens to my every command and is a fast learner. He is a great dog minus this behavior. I have told the trainer at training about this and she gave me some tips and ideas and I have tried them however to no avail such as maybe its the pinch collar so I tried one of the other five in the closet no change, besides in the backyard there is no pinch collar involved as hes free to wonder, play in the backyard. I am not willing to give up! I have no idea what I am doing wrong .
Here is an idea of our day!
6 AM get up take hubby to work
7 AM start our walk we do structured and un-structured walking
8 AM FOOD TIME
9 AM I leave for 3 hours
12 PM Lunch time
1 PM training about 20-30 minutes This is him and I working on all his commands and a new one each week!
2 PM normally we go into the back yard for at least an hour
3 PM he does his own thing in the house well I do what I need to do
5 PM we pick up hubby from work
6 PM DINNER
7 PM 20 min walk/run
10 PM bed

I know this is really detailed but I noticed by reading the forums to see if there was something that was close to what I am dealing with that there are alot of questions because there was details left out. I hope someone can help!

[k9coach]

I noticed that no one has given any feedback as yet. Let me give you
a couple of common solutions.

When puppies are with their litter mates and mother, they learn to control biting types of "Misbehavior" as their mother and siblings let them know just how much chewing and biting is acceptable. When a puppy is playing and nipping its a litter mate, the puppy being bit will let the "Biter" know when things are not acceptable by letting out a loud YIP and moving away, no more attention.

Your dog seems to be having a lot of fun with you. Remember, even negative reinforcement is reinforcement. I don't think you need to use a choke collar, or anything else that is meant to hurt. So, the most suggested method is to give a loud "Ouch" and walk away a few paces, anyone else should also ignore the dog. Then you can call him and praise him. He will likely think that the praise is because he came to you. Repeat as needed.

If the above does not seem to work, then my suggestion is to NOT give a loud squealing yelp. Mama dog growls at the puppies. I suggest that you give a lower pitched "NO" or "NO BITING".

The fact that your dog is grabbing you is because it likes you and wants your attention and wants to play. Therefore, you will want to play with your dog often, but not when it nips. If it nips, play time is over, at least for a few minutes until the dog "Regroups".

Pay attention to what others do and don't do in your household. Also, notice what you may be doing to trigger the behavior. My best guess is that your dog just wants to play, especially since his tail is going gangbusters.
If you were not able to speak for a day, and you wanted to get someone's attention, how would you get it? You would grab an arm or shoulder. I guess you could also throw a dish or something. Anyway, you have a hand, your dog only has his mouth - as far as he is concerned anyway.

Also, if you simply cannot correct this behavior, and it continues to be bothersome, then checkout professional help. A good trainer (check them out first) can probably quickly change this behavior.

[lange]

Do you feel the behavior is playful or more challenging? The reason I ask is because Akita's can challenge authority once they start reaching adolescence. The tail wags can mean anything imo. The advice given will work with either situation (although at this age I would lean towards stern voice verse "ouch" or another high pitched noise) but if it's more challenging I'd also incorporate more nilif & not just obedience training.

Also, I'm not big on alpha rolls but on top of that, I really wouldn't alpha roll your dog if it's temperament is like a traditional AKita. They do much better with consistent firm, but fair, authority.

[AnmialLover]

Thank you for the advice so far. I have been doing the higher pitched OUCH and pull my hand/arm/leg/butt (Yes when I turn my back on him he "pinches" my bum) once I do that he lowers himself on his front paws (Bow) and barks. I try to remain as clam as I can because getting mad or frustrated seems to make him do it more. What is nilif? by Alpha Roll to you mean when I as pinning? I stopped doing that it didn't work anyway I was just trying out everything everyone told me to see what would work. I don't know much about Akitas around my area I have never seen one and had never heard of the breed until I got Ace, so I don't know what there temperament is like. My mom let me borrow her no bark bird house for outside I tired it yesterday it worked for about 5 mins on the barking lol and then it was like it didn't even faze him, besides the behavior was still there just without the barking for a few mins anyway. I love him so much and I feel like I am failing him because I don't know what to do. I try to be firm with saying No everytime he does it and walking away but much like a child in a tantrum he will follow me and continue. After reading the response and advice on here I watched my mom and sisters dogs play yesterday and by the looks of things he trying to do the same to me, but hes not a fetcher for more than 5 mins. He loves tuggy but gets board of it very quickly I have no idea what else do.

[lange]

I'm thinking he's more than likely messing with you than playing. If he only acts up with you my guess is that he doesn't take you seriously. NILIF means Nothing In Life Is Free. It's actually very easy & stright forward. Before you feed your dog he has to sit & wait for you to tell him to eat. Before you pet you tell him to sit. Before you go outdoors he has to sit & wait for the you to give a command for him to go out. If you incorporate eye contact (which I do) they will be attentive to you which means you are in charge. You make the dog work for everything in it's life. The dog should be calm and attentive to you whenever you give it what it want's. You play when you want not vice versa. You end the game when you want, not vice versa. Some dogs need this structure more than others it all depends on the temperament. This will help establish yourself as being in charge in the household & give you less problems (acting up) overall. Not everyone likes Cesar Millan but he is 100% right when he says dogs do best with exercise, discipline & affection. Obedience training may not always be enough discipline but NILIF helps them learn self control & their place/rules in your home. You can google nilif for more tips.

Akita's aren't your typical dog. They can be more work & challenging than the average breed. I realize your dog is a mix but I would suggest you still look into learning about both it's breeds so that you have a better understanding of their specific needs.

As for games to play sometimes you have to think out of the box. I play my own version of soccer & fetch with the dogs. I also play scavenger hunt (individually) with treats in the yard or house. Whatever keeps them moving or thinking works for me.

I think you;ll see improvement if you stick to the all the advice mentioned & are consistent w/it. Keep your cool and just be matter of fact about it.

[AnmialLover]

Thank you thank you for taking the time to reply and for all the information and advice. I do the sit and wait thing for going outside, eating, in the car, at all doors But I will keep at it and with eye contact I don't do that part I didn't know it made a difference. I will look more into both breeds I did some research when we first got him but I guess not as much as I should have. Its funny that you mentioned Ceaser I am reading his book how to be the pack leader, I do not like all of his methods however he has some wonderful tips and advice that I have used with him. I am going to try the soccer game you mentioned as the hunt one this weekend. I read that I should be having him pull something from 4 months and up we tried that even bought an expensive harness for it but he doesn't seem to like it much lol so we only tired it a couple of times.

[AnmialLover]

I spoke to the vet today when I had his lumps looked at about his behavior. I told him everything I have done and that I needed help coming up with something new to do. He has recommended as soon as I enter that back yard to start a training session even just a small one for 5 mins or so and then go into playing fetch etc. with him. He said that keep the treats in my pocket and if he starts the behavior to start another training session. He also recommended starting to use a clicker. So with this beautiful weathered Canada Day weekend upon us I planned on setting up my deck stuff so this will be a wonderful chance to give at least the training session stuff a try. I am going to talk to my trainer about clicker training and see about getting one.