How do I stop the biting?
Ignoring him kind of works but then I'm afraid he's not getting enough attention because I have to ignore him so often to get him to stop biting. Is it ok to ignore him as long as I attempt a game a few times a day and he's getting his walks in? |
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| Congratulations on your new puppy! What did you name him? I went through the same challenge (biting) back in May & June of this year. It was 2 months of hell. I don't have any words of wisdom, I'll leave that to the folks who are great trainers, but I can say in my case, Howie's biting has ended. He is a joy to live with now at seven months. I remember one evening being alone with Howie when he was 3 months old. My arms were bleeding, he was full of energy bouncing around, I sat on the couch and cried. I thought to myself "What have we done to make this pup be so aggressive?" I had wanted a Sheepie for so long and to get chewed everyday was really upsetting. Puppy classes and getting out for lots of exercise has helped Howie become a sweet yet still bossy boy without the biting. Hopefully others can give you some strategies for reducing the biting. peg |
| Ignoring is a good tactic. It punishes the puppy by removing the reinforcement of your attention. Even negative attention, such as saying "no" or tapping the puppy on the nose reinforces the behavior because he is getting attention and may even perceive it as play. I recommend that when he starts it you "make like a tree". Cross your arms stand still and look up at the sky or away from him until the unwanted behavior stops. During playtime with Ecco, if she began nipping us instead of the toy, we dropped the toy and silently walked away. Playtime was over. Five or ten minutes later we would resume play. If she nipped again, drop and walk away. Along with your training, do remember, however that puppies need to chew to some extent. They are teething and they will WANT to put their teeth on something. Make sure he has a chew toy that he likes. If he's not absolutely ga-ga over the chew toy, try a different one. Every dog has a different preference. Good luck! And post pictures! |
kerrym wrote: Ignoring is a good tactic. It punishes the puppy by removing the reinforcement of your attention. Even negative attention, such as saying "no" or tapping the puppy on the nose reinforces the behavior because he is getting attention and may even perceive it as play. I recommend that when he starts it you "make like a tree". Cross your arms stand still and look up at the sky or away from him until the unwanted behavior stops. During playtime with Ecco, if she began nipping us instead of the toy, we dropped the toy and silently walked away. Playtime was over. Five or ten minutes later we would resume play. If she nipped again, drop and walk away. Along with your training, do remember, however that puppies need to chew to some extent. They are teething and they will WANT to put their teeth on something. Make sure he has a chew toy that he likes. If he's not absolutely ga-ga over the chew toy, try a different one. Every dog has a different preference. Good luck! And post pictures! This can be the answer. You're removing yourself when the puppy is naughty but you're only gone for 10 minutes or so. There's still plenty of time for play and socialisation. It's also worth remembering that puppies actually need a lot of sleep or they get ratty. So maybe you're trying for too much socialisation too early. Your puppy might need more time out to sleep so he'll be more calm when he is with you. |
| I agree the ignoring the pup, I guess that really is what we did with Howie. It was challenging having him biting our bums when we turned away. It worked like I said before Howie is no longer biting! Mim is totally right about SLEEP. In hindsight that was our biggest mistake not providing enough or long enough nap times. I think Howie was overtired (& so was I), then we both became edgy. Everything I read stressed socialization at a young age. But after going through those first two months I think lots of sleep should be priority, so the pup can be rested and relaxed when socializing. Hope you are getting lots of sleep too. peg |
| Though I'm a total novice, based on my limited experience the past month with our sheepie puppy, I completely agree with the sleep comments too! When Mika gets nippy and she's already done her business, we always take it as a cue that she's sleepy. We give her a puppy kong with a few kibble in it, pop her in her crate and she falls asleep within moments. The first week with her, she was nipping at our pant legs, trying to bite us instead of toys and being generally mouthy... but now that she has long naps (often two to three hours at once!), the teeth don't make an appearance. I was also surprised by how much focus is put on socialization in books and online resources. Nowhere do they stress how much puppies need to nap and nap and nap! Mika is such an angel sheep when she's had a good zzzz session. (I might live to regret those words!) Good luck! |
| I made the mistake when I got Ozzy at 6 weeks old to let him chew on my fingers because it was cute and he was teething. Big mistake!!!!! I went thru 2.5 months of all out hell, but he's now 5.5 months old and has lost all his pup teeth and growing his adult ones and isn't the chewer like he was before. I can only suggest to nip it in the bud immediately!!! |
| our puppy shadow was the same , i wolled a news papper up and as soon as he started to do any niping i bange the papper on a chair, 2 weeks on and he has almost stoped, it worked with othere thing i did not want him to do, i hope this helps. how old is he ?. |
hurtados wrote: We just bought a new puppy and I realize he's very young but I want to start introducing him to people often so he can be friendly to everyone and social. But he has this problem with biting. He can't seem to play without biting, I try to get him to play with a toy and he just throws it aside and goes for my arms or hands. Also, when people come in he latches on to their clothes and will not let go! How do I train him to stop behaving this way? Ignoring him kind of works but then I'm afraid he's not getting enough attention because I have to ignore him so often to get him to stop biting. Is it ok to ignore him as long as I attempt a game a few times a day and he's getting his walks in? We just went through this over the summer. What worked best for us was to yelp high and loud, as if you are a dog being hurt, when the puppy nips you, the ignore for about a minute. Do this each time he starts to get nippy. You don't want to ignore him for a really long time--he's just a baby and doesn't know what he's doing wrong. Also always have a toy in one hand when you are petting the puppy.When he is mouthing or nipping, take your hand/leg/shirt out of his mouth and stick the toy in his mouth. The toy that worked best for us was the Kong Wubba--the "Snugga Wubba" version (it looks a little like a fuzzy octopus). It doesn't squeak, and you can get a small size for a puppy. Other than that, as people have said, remove yourself from the situation, let the puppy rest in the crate for a while if he is overwhelmed (NOT as a punishment), or take the puppy outside and kick a ball around for him. The biting will end. It's just rough for a couple of months. |
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