My Darling Littl' Puppy

[rooster78]

Our puppy is growing at about 1kg a week. He is getting quite tall and just today discovered he is big enough to jump up on the couch what is the best way to stop this? I have been telling him to get down - which he doesn't, so I lift him down. I did see him jump off one time but because we have tiling throughout the house he skidded along and I think hurt himself a bit. He is a lab and I don't want to encourage to much jumping at this age...

Also, he is doing my head in with his biting.

Ignoring doesn't work - he will just follow me and keep doing it.

Distraction - with treats usually works unless he is having a manic episode. However if I used treats to distract him he would be treated ALL day - because he bites almost all day!

Alternatives - such as teddies and squeakies toys are usually pretty successful but only for a while.

Time out - I put him outside for a bit and then let him in after a while and if he does it again I put him out...I am wondering if this is avoiding the problem rather than addressing it?

Any suggestions to help? Or is it really that he is a 16 week old pup with teething pain and he will grow out of it??

[♥Bruno♥]

Bruno is only just growing out of the biting phase, and he's 5 months old!

I tried everything, I was at the point of despair, even crying once because I thought I was a failed parent as I'd never had a dog that bit me as much as he did! Eventually the thing that worked for me was isolation. He hates not being near me when I'm home, he's like a shadow. So every single time he nipped me, I would march him out the door. Yes, it got harder as he got bigger (he's 30 kilos now, sheesh Im glad he's stopped!) and I ended up having to literally push him out the door sometimes. but after about a week he finally got it. Now if he gets out of hand, I just point to the door and say OUT and he sits down and behaves. I reckon you're on the right track with Time Out, just be consistant and put him out every single time he does it. This is just what has worked for me, others on here would have a lot more experience and advice on the issue.

[Danois]

Hi!

I am not an expert but you could try carrying a water pistol with a little lemon juice in it and give him a squirt when he bites - that way too it seems like it is coming from somewhere else and not directly from you!

[R00]

As Bruno said.

In addition and I am sure DOLers are getting sick of me posting this. Your dog does not live in a democracy and nor does s/he want to.

Dogs want to lead by a confident, trusted leader who is consistant in their own behaviour as well as consistent in what they expect from them, so that they know what is expected of them. (make sense )

Be a leader , a fair leader and lay down some rules that are not negotiatable, you will be amazed at the response, especially at his age. They just want to please and do what is right so set parametres that the dog can operate in. Not only will he respond he will gain in confidence and get a better understanding of what is expected of him.

Also there are a number of opinions on this, but I rarely use treats, if ever really. Especially not for general behaviour issues.

[Tonymc]

Roo, well said Buddy!!!! Tony

[miccar96]

We used a water squirt bottle.(after trying almost everything as well ) That really worked for us ,only plain water though, no lemon juice. we found it was more that our little biter got startled that something actually came out of the bottle, than what was in it. when we got his attention we also said no biting in a deeper voice.

[rooster78]

We visited a friend tonight who said she used to squirt their staffy with a water bottle when he was biting. Her OH reckons she has scared him for life though as when ever they pull out a water bottle, like for ironing, he bolts... my guy is a lab and loves water - if i squirt him will it not put him off water?

[DistinctivelyTish]

Going through this too! I've found with my pup that a stern, sharp voice will do. I've had her a week and now she stops biting/drops the out-of-bounds-object-in-her-mouth when I tell her to "Leave it". When I started out I had to stand over her and glare whilst telling her. But then again, being a Brittany spaniel mix, maybe she's just sensitive, lol. You need to make sure that she knows you're the boss though. My girl views my boyfriend as a playmate and doesn't obey his orders... poor guy cops a lot of nips throughout the day.

I tried squirting with water, it only seems to have a short-term effect. Plus, she tries to get away with things if the bottle can't be seen. Maybe try squirting the body/neck area instead of face to avoid them becoming bottle-shy? It achieves the same results usually.

[FGM]

My puppy is doing this too and sometimes driving me insane.I have to use time out and or a sharp growly ah or no as she thought the water was a great game.It is really hard work and I find when I am feeling frustrated I put her in her bed for awhile for time out from her.

Like Roo said you must try to be consisitent,if you have other people in the house explain the rules so they do the same thing,also if someone visits.Just remember it will all be worth it.

[Monah]

I think Brunos idea is great too. This worked well for one of our dogs but another practically tore down doors when isolated so tried very stern, loud ARGHSSSS every time she mouthed/bit our hands and this worked for her. Have also tried the water spray, again, worked for some dogs not others. The main thing is to stop it asap and find the method that best suits your puppy. Good luck. :rolleyes:

[First Time Puppy Owner]

Benson too! I say ahah, in a stern voice and if he still wants to bite my hands I blow my breath up his nose and he hates that! I can't use water either cause he would just want to play!

GOOD LUCK!!! :rolleyes:

Edited April 19, 2007 by First Time Puppy Owner

[king]

i agree with roo you just have to be consistant and repetitive so he knows the boundaries...dont keep changing the punishment the pup needs to understand that this is the consequence of proforming this action whether it is time out, a stern "naughty" or what ever...definetly dont treat otherwise he will think if he persists for long enough with the biting that he will eventually be rewarded for his behaviour.

[kermat]

Our pup is doing this too and its driving us nuts. Persistence and consistency are the key I think!!

[blacklabrador]

We visited a friend tonight who said she used to squirt their staffy with a water bottle when he was biting. Her OH reckons she has scared him for life though as when ever they pull out a water bottle, like for ironing, he bolts... my guy is a lab and loves water - if i squirt him will it not put him off water?

I don't think a puppy would associate a surprise squirt to the face with a water gun with a pool or the ocean.

Are you at obedience training? If not you should be. It's a good way of establishing leadership and having him follow commands. They will teach you a lot of the basic stuff you need to know.

RE the biting. Have you tried just telling him "No" in a firm voice?

Edited April 20, 2007 by blacklabrador

[Rhi*Jak*Ed]

I have to say that it is such a relief to find others who are going through the exact same thing that I am!

Up until last week Jak was biting me all day every day and I too was at the point of despair and would just sit on the couch crying, wondering why I had picked myself such an evil puppy when she seemed like a good one haha.

If she bites me when we're playing, I get up and walk away. Game over. If she bites me when we're having a "quiet moment" on the couch, down she goes, no more cuddles. Stern no's are also provided by me (I have the sorest throat!).

She does however latch onto my pants and has already ruined three pairs. This is when I use the water bottle filled with just water. She doesn't let go straight away, probably takes her a few squirts, but she does let go.

I never thought I would make it through my first 2 weeks with her, but I am already seeing improvement and just realised that she didn't bite me at all this morning :-)

[rooster78]

We visited a friend tonight who said she used to squirt their staffy with a water bottle when he was biting. Her OH reckons she has scared him for life though as when ever they pull out a water bottle, like for ironing, he bolts... my guy is a lab and loves water - if i squirt him will it not put him off water?

I don't think a puppy would associate a surprise squirt to the face with a water gun with a pool or the ocean.

Are you at obedience training? If not you should be. It's a good way of establishing leadership and having him follow commands. They will teach you a lot of the basic stuff you need to know.

RE the biting. Have you tried just telling him "No" in a firm voice?

sure have! he just ignores it - on occasion when he does stop and take note he only stops for a short time.

We will be at obedience shortly - he just finished off with puppy pre-school and had his 16 week vaccination today.

I tried the water squirt thing and it stops him momentarily before continuing...

[First Time Puppy Owner]

Honestly Rooster if your at your wits end with it I would firstly say ahaha then blow up the pup's nose - they really don't like it!

[snarferama]

We're having horrible problems with Hermes's biting. We've tried everything but the blowing up his nose. Nothing's worked for us. Hermes actually drew blood on O.H's hand a couple of weeks ago. He bites when he gets excited he bites if you make him do something he doesn't want to do (bring him inside when he wants to play outside). He bites really bloody hard and it's driving me nuts.

You can't walk away from him because then he just bites the back of your legs. If you put him outside he just flips out barking and when you let him in when he quietens down, give it 5 mins and he's back at it.

We've tried the loud "AGH". He completely ignores any verbal reprimands. We've tried water- he completely ignores that. Distracting him with toys will work for 30 seconds. We've tried turning our backs on him and completely ignoring him that just makes him bite harder.

He was all worked up yesterday and bit me on the face- what if that had been a child??

Any more suggestions?

-Elise

[Vickie]

I am pretty firm with this one. I don't let puppies bite me from Day One & they learn really quickly.

My first option is to scream "ouch" & be upset. This will shock most pups, it's pretty similar to what puppies do to each other. But if the pup is already in a habit of biting it may not be as effective.

If that doesn't work, I push my hand into their mouth when they bite. Not hard & I don't hurt them, but it is unpleasant & makes them think twice about it the next time. I would do this a number of times before I would move to the next stage.

If that doesn't work, I scruff them, look into their eyes & say NO! I have only ever done it to one pup who was extremely persistent. This is about the harshest I would get with anything but I am consistent & they do learn quickly. I can't afford to have pups biting with children around...and I don't like it much either.

Pups that bite can turn into dogs that bite.

[brothers_in_fluff]

I am pretty firm with this one. I don't let puppies bite me from Day One & they learn really quickly.

My first option is to scream "ouch" & be upset. This will shock most pups, it's pretty similar to what puppies do to each other. But if the pup is already in a habit of biting it may not be as effective.

If that doesn't work, I push my hand into their mouth when they bite. Not hard & I don't hurt them, but it is unpleasant & makes them think twice about it the next time. I would do this a number of times before I would move to the next stage.

If that doesn't work, I scruff them, look into their eyes & say NO! I have only ever done it to one pup who was extremely persistent. This is about the harshest I would get with anything but I am consistent & they do learn quickly. I can't afford to have pups biting with children around...and I don't like it much either.

We're doing much the same with our baby boys... a few 'scruff'n'growls' over the first week has drastically reduced the how often they try to chew on fingers, etc. and how hard they bite too. When they're in this sort of mood though I always try to put a toy in their mouths and have a tug of war or something like that.