Help! Puppy Biting Becoming A Issue

[Marley'z Mum]

Hi all

I have 11week old bitza, who has starting biting and snap'n at my kids during play....... kids are girl 14, boy 12, girl 8.... with me and OH Marley is reasonably well behaved, usually a short sharp "uh uh" or growling "NO" will stop him doing what he is doing, but there is the odd occassion he grabs my hand when playing and wont let go and I have to resort to a tap on the backside to get him off, but that doesnt happen often, with the kids however it is really becoming a issue for them and for me as I am getting tired of hearing "muuuuuuuuum" lol when he is playing with the kids he can tend to get a lil snappy, or even bite, not hard that would hurt me but the kids are finding it a issue, if I am in the room and give a loud "uh uh" usually he stops depends how excited he is, there are times he will bark at me for telling him off, anyway I would really love some idea's.... I realise this is probably perfectly normal puppy behaviour, but I can't be around the kids and the dog or within "uh uh" distance all the time...... so how can I stop the barking at me when he is told of? do I need to? and mainly I would like to know what the kids can do to stop the biting and snappy??

[Cookiez]

Hi all

I have 11week old bitza, who has starting biting and snap'n at my kids during play....... kids are girl 14, boy 12, girl 8.... with me and OH Marley is reasonably well behaved, usually a short sharp "uh uh" or growling "NO" will stop him doing what he is doing, but there is the odd occassion he grabs my hand when playing and wont let go and I have to resort to a tap on the backside to get him off, but that doesnt happen often, with the kids however it is really becoming a issue for them and for me as I am getting tired of hearing "muuuuuuuuum" lol when he is playing with the kids he can tend to get a lil snappy, or even bite, not hard that would hurt me but the kids are finding it a issue, if I am in the room and give a loud "uh uh" usually he stops depends how excited he is, there are times he will bark at me for telling him off, anyway I would really love some idea's.... I realise this is probably perfectly normal puppy behaviour, but I can't be around the kids and the dog or within "uh uh" distance all the time...... so how can I stop the barking at me when he is told of? do I need to? and mainly I would like to know what the kids can do to stop the biting and snappy??

I was told to yelp or ignore my dog if he puts his mouth to my hand when playing but it never really worked. He doesn't bite hard but my dog is also very mouthy and I can see how this would be a problem.

He also does this when he gets really excited and tries to put his mouth to my hands. I usually pull my hands away and use a toy instead. Whilst he seems to get it, it hasn't really fixed the problem as he still likes to go for our hands when he wants to play.

I also do the same as you with uh ah or no, and I get a fairly good response- though I would like to know how to stop him wanting to use his mouth on me all together. A couple of times he's jumped up and nearly gotten me in the face, and I don't ever want to have to be nervous to have him around other children/people either!

[Marley'z Mum]

A couple of times he's jumped up and nearly gotten me in the face, and I don't ever want to have to be nervous to have him around other children/people either!

same, a couple of times Marley has jumped at mine and the kids face, and the same as you I dont want to have to be nervous with him around my kids or anyone else's for that matter, and I dont want him to be one of those dogs where I am constantly saying, don't put ya face near the dog...... not that ya should have ya face in the dogs face... I just don't want it to be a problem, so yeah some idea's would be great as yeah the yelping hasnt really helped me either lol

[nicolatu]

Have you guys tried to stop playing with your puppy when they mouth you? Stand up and walk away when the puppy's mouth touches you. It takes a while but they will get it My puppy learns that if his teeth touch my hand, the game end so he learnt not to mouth me. He will turn his head away from my hand if my hand is close. Hope that helps.

[Cookiez]

Have you guys tried to stop playing with your puppy when they mouth you? Stand up and walk away when the puppy's mouth touches you. It takes a while but they will get it My puppy learns that if his teeth touch my hand, the game end so he learnt not to mouth me. He will turn his head away from my hand if my hand is close. Hope that helps.

I must admit that I have stopped playing with him if he bites, but I have never physically walked away.

Sometimes if he's on my lap when he bites I gently push him off me and stop playing... He doesn't seem to get the point though.

He has never bitten me hard- it's really more just mouth to skin... But cos he's lost all his puppy teeth and his new ones are so hard sometimes it hurts cos he head butts me!

Would love more suggestions on this!

[Sandra777]

Some pups are way more mouthy than others and with a bitza you've got the problem of maybe different inbred instincts - heeling types like ACD's have the instinct to round up and "heel", herding types want to just do the rounding up, terriers can be mouthy because they have the instinct to bite prey and the bull terrier types can be mouthy because I swear they just like to use their strength (I own Staffords, mouthy puppies HURT!)

What sets the puppy off? Some get excited by movement, some by squealing, some don't need much excuse at all

Getting up and walking away can stop the behaviour, but allows a pup who wants to herd or chase the chance to do this (and maybe finish up with a bite, which is self rewarding)

It's a difficult problem because the pup will probably quickly learn not to do it to adults, but may continue to do it to children which is a worse problem IMO.

Personally I don't think redirection works all that well with a pup that nips out of excitement. The smart ones figure out pretty quick - if I bite that hand I'll get to play a great game of tug. With these ones totally ignoring the behaviour helps but that's hard for kids because many of them don't seem to do the really firm ignore very well.

If the pup is otherwise very outgoing and happy I'd go with a sharp adversive for this specific behaviour, a squirt bottle, a sharp buzz on an airhorn, whatever the pup reacts to without fear (because that just causes other problems). The instant the pup stops ask for a sit or down or some trick (maybe teach the pup to shake hands?) and give a low-key reward.

This works for me and I reckon it's because the pup is getting an adversive which shows it the behaviour isn't appreciated, then expected to do something before getting a reward, you're not rewarding it by the instant transfer from biting people to biting a toy.

Edited July 1, 2010 by Sandra777

[aussielover]

I have also tried redirection to a toy (which works when i have a toy nearby),stopping play, walking away (useless as she bites my ankles!). If I stand still she thinks its great she can tug on my shoes or pants!

I am seriously considering using the spray bottle!

She is atcually not too bad with me now, but with other people she is shocking. saying no has no effect.

[W Sibs]

Emmy is going through her bitey phase now... and she has razor sharp teeth. I have cuts, scratches and dents in my hands and wrist to prove it..

It's a firm UH HUH and a gentle push away and getting ignored for a few seconds... then I give her a toy for her to chew on. Or, I give her some ice, just in case her gums are sore (because she is teething). Emmy sees ice and thinks it's her birthday.

With kids, once the puppy get excited... get them to stop playing. Get all the kids to stand up, cross their arms around their chest and look at anything but the puppy. Then ignore. Tell them to be calm, because once the puppy realise that no one is playing with it... it will calm down too.

Play with puppy when it's calm. Ignore puppy when it's excited and bitey.

This is how I teach my friend's kids when Emmy gets excited playing with them. My friend's 4 years old, is the best at it. When Emmy just using her mouth in play, he stands up and tell her 'uh huh.. not playing with you'.. cross his arms, looks in the air and stands very still... till Emmy quits being crazy. Then makes Emmy sits, and pick up a toy and throw it, so Emmy can fetch.

[Marley'z Mum]

thanks everyone, really helpfull hints.... He is a very mouthy puppy, sandra777 i was told he was a staffy x ridgeback but when postd a pic on here was told possibly kelpie in there, so now i just call him a bitza, my lovable bitza, accept when he is biting everyone lol, i think i can stop him biting me its more a prob for the kids, have told em to stand an ignore when they tried it this morning he just barked at em, i told em to ignore that to..... Hopefuly we have some success may have to resort to water bottle, hope not..... Thanks again everyone

[persephone]

may have to resort to water bottle, hope not..

Why do you 'hope not" ?

It works - it surprises the dog, and lets him know that nipping produces something quite unpleasant. That's how it should be

Have you seen what happens when a youngster nips an adult dog ... esp. if the adult dog is a bit narky,,, ? They usually only do it once!! They get a good growl or aq snap, or a nip in return ... or the adult may physically push them, hard!

By all means use the water bottle- as everything else- each time you say 'stop' and he bites... then he knows you don't mean it!

I have never had a nippy pup.They learn at a very young age NOT to put teeth in a human- ever.

[KumaAkita]

We had issues with Kuma being bitey - especially when he was teething. His teeth were sharp needles!

When we talked to our puppy class instructor, she mentioned that we need to ignore him and suggested that when he got too excited and mouthy we put him in time-out for 10 minutes. Once we started doing that and putting him outside for 10, it would only take a couple of times for him to get the picture and is pretty good...

Now, when he wants to go outside, he taps our hands and leads us to the door! We're working on that challenge now...

[W Sibs]

We had issues with Kuma being bitey - especially when he was teething. His teeth were sharp needles!

When we talked to our puppy class instructor, she mentioned that we need to ignore him and suggested that when he got too excited and mouthy we put him in time-out for 10 minutes. Once we started doing that and putting him outside for 10, it would only take a couple of times for him to get the picture and is pretty good...

Now, when he wants to go outside, he taps our hands and leads us to the door! We're working on that challenge now...

haha. that's cute!

[aussielover]

Is nipping the same as mouthing?

My pup is very gentle with kids which is strange because she can be quite roughwith adults

[nicolatu]

My puppy thinks that squirting water at him is a game. So i never used that. My puppy also bites my ankle when i walk away but once i stand still, he stopped. After a while, he got that mouthing = no play.

[whiskedaway]

My puppy thinks that squirting water at him is a game. So i never used that. My puppy also bites my ankle when i walk away but once i stand still, he stopped. After a while, he got that mouthing = no play.

I can't use the water thing either for the same reason. I ignored her if she bit me when we first got her, and she stopped. As she started teething a few weeks back, she went back to biting me again, but that's pretty much stopped now too. However, she's never stopped biting OH because he lets her do it and continues the game. He doesn't get it that he's teaching her bad habits.

[sas]

My personal opinion on biting....some people may not appreciate.....just opinion...

Go through all the soft methods i.e.

1) Yelp

2) Walk away and ignore

3) Spray bottle

4) No bite spray

5) Time outs

6) Re-direction

And when those methods fail as they do on some of the harder dogs be prepared to give the dog a correction at the level that will stop it biting....not in anger and not in frustration but as the diciplinarian. You don't have to over do it, you know your puppy so you will know the level of correction to give and if for some reason you don't, have a session with a Behaviourist

Good luck.

Edited July 2, 2010 by sas

[sas]

thanks everyone, really helpfull hints.... He is a very mouthy puppy, sandra777 i was told he was a staffy x ridgeback but when postd a pic on here was told possibly kelpie in there, so now i just call him a bitza, my lovable bitza, accept when he is biting everyone lol, i think i can stop him biting me its more a prob for the kids, have told em to stand an ignore when they tried it this morning he just barked at em, i told em to ignore that to..... Hopefuly we have some success may have to resort to water bottle, hope not..... Thanks again everyone

It's hard to ignore a dog that is biting you and hurting you.

[Cosmolo]

What Sas said

[dancinbcs]

My puppy thinks that squirting water at him is a game. So i never used that. My puppy also bites my ankle when i walk away but once i stand still, he stopped. After a while, he got that mouthing = no play.

I can't use the water thing either for the same reason. I ignored her if she bit me when we first got her, and she stopped. As she started teething a few weeks back, she went back to biting me again, but that's pretty much stopped now too. However, she's never stopped biting OH because he lets her do it and continues the game. He doesn't get it that he's teaching her bad habits.

Try using the water spray on the OH then.

[Genabee]

We had a bit of a problem with nipping/mouthing also.

I found timeout in her crate seemed to calm Genevieve down rather quickly. I also looked for other possible reasons, like was it meal time, did she need to toilet, were her toys accessible etc. If I knew all the other boxes could be ticket (she had been fed, toileted and nothing was preventing her to get to her toys), I would give her time out. She learnt pretty quickly that she wasn't winning any points by getting nippy!

We notice now she is most like that just before she is due to be fed. When we are playing with her we try to have a toy in our hand if she looks like she might want to mouth. That way we can shove the toy in her mouth when she goes for the big chomp! I have to watch that she doesn't go for my engagement ring though. Now that she is a bit older and can be walked, I think that has helped too.

I am probably wrong, but I have interpreted nipping to be more like biting (often in an attempt to get attention), where as mouthing is where they are playing with you as if you were a toy.... it might not necessarily always hurt (us bigger people) or be deliberate, but I guess it encourages them to have human skin in their mouths. We try to avoid it as much as we can, as we don't want her biting our kids, or perhaps worse still, other peoples children.

I too would be interested to know other peoples thoughts/interpretations on this, as like I said, I think I have interpreted it wrong.