brainstorming anti-biting tactics with puppies
Ok, so my pup is 9/10 weeks now and full of energy. He's a king of the crate and makes it through the night...all things are going well BUT the nipping. It's normal I'm told and from what I've read, but it still hurts! Any new (or old) ideas of bite inhibition? So far I've tried "yipping" like a hurt puppy when he nips and doing a 'ppshhh' like the dog whisperer. He does stop after both of these reactions. But ten min. later he's back and nipping. I'm wondering if this is just status quo for the first year??? It's just normal puppy behavior? Thanks in advance! |
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| At my puppy kindergarten class the instructor mentioned that when they bite the hand just take your hand (the middle part) and push it back into the mouth of the puppy. Since the hand is pushed back they can't bite it well and they really don't like it. Then keep your hand in that position for about a minute. I have tried this with Edgar as the screaming like he killed me wasn't helping a whole lot. This has helped some.
As for the rest I don't know.  |
| gallatea, I think you are using the right method, especially if he stops. He is just a puppy and it takes time for it to really sink in. Are you praising him when he stops? |
| Not that i'm accusing anyone on here of this...and i CERTAINLY understand the first year of puppy nipping (walter's almost 11 months)!!
I guess it's more of an observation: I don't really have problems much anymore with nipping. He does it while we're playing - especially if it's a little rougher, or there's a toy involved - which i totally understand. The other time that he seems to get really nippy is when he needs to be let out. I was thinking the other day that it might be his version of the pee-pee dance? My other point is that friends, etc who meet him are often overwhelmed by his friendliness (nipping, licking, jumping). He's gotten much better, but we've still got a long way to go. A few days ago, however, my friend complained that Walter had nipped his hand - so I looked over, and sure enough, my buddy had his entire hand in Walter's mouth...leaving it there, almost allowing it to happen. Which is something i've noticed over and over again...if you don't want to get bitten, don't stick your hand in a dog's mouth!!! come on people!!! again, i'm not saying anyone here does this - i suppose i'm provinding my commentary on society. anyway, keep with it...it takes time. he'll learn quickly, especially if a bite means that play-time ends. |
| Yes, I have noticed that if I wander off after yiping like a hurt puppy, he stops. If I stick around or praise (any kind of continued attention) he'll start biting. I found that putting my back to him as if 'play time' is over and I've had enough works. This is what a trainer told me. So praising him the minute he stops doesn't work.
I've noticed with people meeting Jasper that they want to pick him up, hold him, kiss him - it's amazing. Even examining his paws. It's sweet for a while, but they actually get to his level and hug him and oh boy is that asking for trouble. I think they think because he's fluffy, he has no teeth. Then they feel a tooth. Ouch. He practically ate my friends braids the other day. He loves to chew hair. I take him away when he behaves like that, but people tend to seem to want more or want to keep hugging him. So it could be more than a year before the bitey-bitey at anytime stops. My last OES never bit and was never bitey even in rough play, but then she was 3 years old when I got her. So I just have to wait it out. Jane |
Walterthedog wrote: ..if you don't want to get bitten, don't stick your hand in a dog's mouth!!! come on people!!!
anyway, keep with it...it takes time. he'll learn quickly, especially if a bite means that play-time ends. Good observation. Hands should be the bearer of all good things...food, leash for walks, scratches, patting etc. A dog that is head-shy (moves away from an approaching hand) may be harder to collar, and even become defensive when hands are concerned. This is not a good thing. Keep up with the yelping and stopping the playtime. Just remove your hands or legs or whatever whne the biting starts. Replace with an abject he CAN chew and bite on. Be consistent and you may even want to start massaging your puppy, so he gets into a relaxed mode when be patted. This may take a while for him to learn, but he will if you remain calm and consistent. Good luck. |
| Would it be better to smack them with a rolled up newspaper instead? |
| Actually, for my older two girls it only took a week or two to get the nipping to stop.
Panda never did it. |
| How about getting someone else to sneak up behind the puppy and scare it to death every time it nips. Either that or how about a can of coins? |
can of marbles works great  |
We are currently in the middle of this with our almost 15-wk old. He is a NIPPER!  We do the push-back into the mouth which works well to save your hand and we are kings of the "stuff-it" technique. He always has his mouth open ready to chew, so we stuff and then pet. He still tries to come after us - after all we are living and breathing and the toy isn't - but it truly is a great distract-er and then we aren't always telling him to "stop". |
| ...or gravel......anything to make noise inside the can. |
| If you were also a dog, the puppy would be nipping/chewing on you. And you'd growl or yip or some other way let him know it wasn't acceptable behavior. This is one of the valuable things about having puppies around other dogs: they learn bite inhibition.
At his age, he's teething--which means he will put his mouth and teeth on anything and everything. It's partly to relieve his gums, partly how he plays, partly how he explores the world. What you are doing is right, and will work, but not as fast as you want it to. My puppies finally lost their puppy teeth (very sharp!) and are replaced with their much duller adult teeth. They don't nip any more, although they chew on each other relentlessly--but not hard enough to cause a yip from either. Also they chew on ARchie as much as he tolerates. They also chew on shoes, if they can get them (mine are preferred), and sometimes things that are more valuable than shoes, if they can. They love sticks and anything forbidden, but this is puppy behavior. It does settle down. When you yelp, you are teaching him it isn't acceptable to nip people. Also, forcing your hand into his mouth so that it isn't comfortable works. The other thing is to simply refuse to engage in the play anymore. If he nips, you stop whatever game it is and walk away, ignoring the puppy. He will catch on that nipping, which he enjoys because he is a teething puppy, results in something he doesn't enjoy: unpleasant noise, uncomfortable sensation in mouth, cessation of play. You're doing it right--it just takes more time than we'd all like. (Yes, I'm reminding myself of this re: potty training, which, btw, and knock wood, is really improving.) |
| What does everyone think about the newspaper ? Do you think that's teaching him to be aggressive? I used to do that when I was about 5/6 and my Grandmother's German Shepard would chase me around and nip. It stopped her from doing it - you bet and she was not aggressive after it. But I'm not sure if it would work on Jasper as most things like that seem to push him further. He was a little monster tonight. He's drawn blood on me a few times. I really wish it would stop. He snaps at my face very hard if I'm near him face-wise. I don't trust him with kids unless it's just an introduction. He's sweet if he doesn't know someone. But once he knows them he snaps at them nonstop. It's horrible. I want to introduce him to everyone but not if he's puncturing every human he gets to know.
My boyfriend's kids come out in a week and this will be there first exposure to him. They are 6 & 8. They are out of state so don't come but once a month, but I am thinking I am going to disappear for the weekend - this is not going to get it and I know he's gonna bite them. My boyfriend would not accept that. I'm really sad about this. I'm going to the vet next week, so hopefully she'll have some tips. I tried spray bottle tonight and he snaps at that too - not afraid of it. |
| If Jasper is jumping at and nipping you in the face, or hard enough to draw blood, I think you really need to talk to a vet to get in touch with a good trainer. Perhaps, given that you have children who will be visiting soon, maybe you should see if you can get some one on one training with Jasper.
You don't want him to be afraid--that will only lead to more biting. Personally, I wouldn't use a newspaper to hit him, or anything else. |
| He's definitely not afraid, his behavior appears to be pure play. I think yiping and ignoring is probably best and recommended but most.
Most of the trainers I've met only do classes for 4 month old dogs. It's so annoying. I'll keep looking though. There HAS to be something else to make it livable and at least safe. My friend just got a Dachshund puppy at the beginning of summer. She had the same scrapes and damage that I had on clothes, shoes and body, so I want to think this is normal. |
gallatea wrote: What does everyone think about the newspaper ? Do you think that's teaching him to be aggressive? I used to do that when I was about 5/6 and my Grandmother's German Shepard would chase me around and nip. It stopped her from doing it - you bet and she was not aggressive after it. But I'm not sure if it would work on Jasper as most things like that seem to push him further. He was a little monster tonight. He's drawn blood on me a few times. I really wish it would stop. He snaps at my face very hard if I'm near him face-wise. I don't trust him with kids unless it's just an introduction. He's sweet if he doesn't know someone. But once he knows them he snaps at them nonstop. It's horrible. I want to introduce him to everyone but not if he's puncturing every human he gets to know.
My boyfriend's kids come out in a week and this will be there first exposure to him. They are 6 & 8. They are out of state so don't come but once a month, but I am thinking I am going to disappear for the weekend - this is not going to get it and I know he's gonna bite them. My boyfriend would not accept that. I'm really sad about this. I'm going to the vet next week, so hopefully she'll have some tips. I tried spray bottle tonight and he snaps at that too - not afraid of it. I have a Jasper too. Good luck with the nipping. Jasper just seemed to outgrow his. |
| My Ziggy is driving me nuts. He even does it when we are outside now. He just jumps up and bits the back of my legs and sometimes even dangles from my pants. He got caught on his leash today and almost choked and not even that stopped him. Afterwards if I cry like a puppy, he stops for a while. Help! I never had puppys just kids and this is hard work! |
| Ah the nipping and biting stage. Winnie is now 15 months, but for the first three months after we got her (at age 8 weeks), I thought I was going to have to return her to the breeder. She nipped and bit all the time. Came after me, and nipped at anything I was working with - like stove, refrigerator, dish washer.
She finally out-grew it, but here are a few things we did to encourage her to stop: 1) Yelp LOUDLY. Then ignore the pup. This works a few times. 2) Always carry a soft toy and stick that in the mouth instead of a hand, etc. 3) Remove yourself or the pup. We used a half bathroom beside our kitchen for a 2-3 minute time out for the pup. Or we would leave the room for 2-3 minutes. 4) Make sure the pup has something else to chew on. There are some good puppy chews out there (NOT rawhide) that would give relief from the teething pain and/or give her something besides me to chew on. 5) Also make sure the pup is getting enough sleep. I cannot overstate this. I didn't realize that young pups need about 18 hours of sleep a day, mostly to develop their little pea brains. We found Winnie was nipping most when she was tired. So, we developed a schedule of exercise, play, and naps (in her crate). (This also gave ME a break from the energetic little beastie.
6) Likewise make sure the pup is getting enough exercise. A tired puppy is a good puppy.
7) We started training early with a trainer who came to our home (thus we could begin working with her earlier than most puppy classes allow). Mental stimulation for an OES pup is important, too. Those are a few things that worked for us during the "nippy" times. We all survived and tho we still deal with some "quirks" from our young OES she is now a doll and sweetie (most of the time). |
| My vet told us to make it uncomfortable for the biter. Say "No Bite!" and :
If our fingers were in the mouth, wiggle them around, nails to the roof of the mouth (light pressure only) or nails to the tongue (same light pressure). If it was a body part caught in the mouth, go against your instincts and push further into the mouth. And finally, if you can hold the nose nose of the biter and not let go for 60 seconds (it's a long time for a puppy). When we got licks (kisses), we made a big deal about it. :Kiises!" said in a happy voice. Then combine the two and progress to "Kisses, no bite!" The key is consistency by everyone in the family. It has never taken more than two weeks to get the puppy stopped. And that includes my son's rescued Cattle Dog (nipping is ingrained in her). |
Chauncey was quite the little nipper. We not so jokingly referred to him as our furry alligator  For months I was afraid to go to the doctor for fear Bob would go to jail for spousal abuse. His paws were as bad as his nips. We tried all of the mentioned corrections with limited success.
The only advice I can add is....IT WILL GET BETTER. Maturation was the key for Chauncey. Also, when frustrated ( either you or the puppy ) a time out is absolutely okay...I felt guilty about putting him in his crate when pushed to the limit. I found it helped both of us to have a time out. |
| It's a difficult balance at best with a young pup, I am not sure their cognitive skills are up to speed in the memory stakes for human acceptable behaviour, they are after all an animal don't forget that. How would an adult dog control an over enthusiastic nip monster? they wouldn't use human methods that's for sure, I obviously I didn't chastise when we were playing, dogs play rough and use their mouths a lot.
When it was him nipping for nipping sakes I nipped back mostly with the hand and occasionally with my teeth yes you did read correct, accompanied by a deep growl, whilst holding him down on the ground, on the soft scruff area of the neck, and accompany it with a firm NO, normally he'd role on his back and lick me to death, he'd occasionally then run off and retaliate with another nip or so I never lost my temper with him he was just playing and wanting my attention, which obviously worked  I would re-enforce the correction.
The best method to avoid him getting to this undemanded state was for me to tire him out (if that is possible) with lot's of play and exercise also grooming helps.. Your pup will get better - it may not seem like it but it will happen, you just have to be consistant and not give up |
| Tonks and Luna were very serious nippers; often breaking the skin (on us and each other) when they'd "play". We did the puppy yelping method; and were advised that when the nipping started, all play time ended. Yelp LOUDLY, stop playing, get up and leave. My girls learned pretty quickly that without bite control there'd be no play time. To this day people comment on how gentle they are with their mouths. I say stick with the Yip and Leave method; it may just take a little time. |
| This conversation has been so helpful. Sully is now 14 weeks old, and nipping like crazy. Until last week I always brought him to drop off and pick up my kids from school. It was great socialization for him, and all the kids loved him and pet him and generally ate him up. Now I can't bring him anymore because I'm afraid someone will get a nip that's just a little too hard. We are pretty much doing most of the things suggested here, and it's just a relief to hear that it does indeed pass. Miraculously, he does this least with my youngest. They wander the yard blissfully together and usually the worst he does is nip at her clothes occasionally. |
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