Help - Puppy Biting Too Hard - Really Hurting

[jessie86]

Hi,

my beautiful Weim Pup, is now 9 weeks old, and is a very beautiful boy.

He is fantastic at night, sleeping right through the night, we put him to bed at 1030pm, after he had just done his business, and he wakes up at 630-700am.

Not sure if this is just a really good phase, but he's been perfect in this regard and has never had an accident in the house or laundry. He is also eating well, and can 'sit' and stay. He is a very happy and sweet pup. :D :p

HOWEVER - I know he is very young, but i got so upset with him today and I'm hitting breaking point in regards to his biting.

We have bought him every toy imaginable, however he is still going for our hands, faces, clothes, shoes, and really really hurting us.

He is drawing blood.

We have tried to teach him bite inhibition, and when he hurts me, i push him down and growl and say 'Nooooo' in a dog like voice, but it's not working.

He doesn't start puppy school for another 2 weeks, and any advice would be appreciated!

I want him to be inside with me at night, but he is going absolutley crazy every night before and after dinner, chewing and biting, and now all of a sudden he barks all the time.

What has happened to my pup? Or more importantly what am I doing wrong with him?

I am so upset with myself because tonight I tapped him on the nose tonight and yelled at him as he bit and drew blood on my arm, but I had reached my breaking point.

As I write this he is now asleep, As i isolated him in the bedroom area. is this normal puppy behaviour, and do I need to just grin and bear it?

All my other gun dog pups were never this wild with the biting, barking, and being completely out of control from 6-9pm.

We don't have kids, however I am putting off introducing him to kids until puppy school as he can't be trusted with biting at the moment.

I've even tried blowing on this noise and saying 'softly', this seems to work but only if i'm standing up. In fact if i stand up and hold him, he stops biting and barking and being feral, however when I then go to sit on the couch and put him on my lap he goes crazy again and bites and barks and scratches.

Any help or advice would be so greatly appreciated!

Edited August 15, 2010 by jessie86

[koalathebear]

hi jessie:

I'm new to all this myself so don't presume to offer advice but about the biting issue, when our puppy was 11 weeks, he was also biting like crazy. Never drew blood because he had little puppy teeth but it was very annoying and it was upsetting to us. I received lots of advice in this thread from people who are more experienced. Maybe you can find something helpful there? I don't know about your puppy's breed sorry, so have on idea if that sort of nipping is normal for weims (Elbie only attacked our jeans, socks and toes) - I'm sure someone in the know can tell you :D There is a weimaraner thread so perhaps you could consider asking there?

For us, we were at our wit's end because we really had tried sooooooooooo many things and we were getting frustrated because people kept telling us: "But it worked for us blah blah"

Elbie's six months now and no longer bites our clothes/us. He occasionally still attacks towels and his leash but that's something we're working on :p

Good luck ... having a puppy is such a challenging exercise! People keep saying it's like having a small child, for me it's like living with a strange little alien.

Edited August 15, 2010 by koalathebear

[jessie86]

hi jessie:

I'm new to all this myself so don't presume to offer advice but about the biting issue, when our puppy was 11 weeks, he was also biting like crazy. Never drew blood because he had little puppy teeth but it was very annoying and it was upsetting to us. I received lots of advice in this thread from people who are more experienced. Maybe you can find something helpful there? I don't know about your puppy's breed sorry, so have on idea if that sort of nipping is normal for weims (Elbie only attacked our jeans, socks and toes) - I'm sure someone in the know can tell you :D There is a weimaraner thread so perhaps you could consider asking there?

For us, we were at our wit's end because we really had tried sooooooooooo many things and we were getting frustrated because people kept telling us: "But it worked for us blah blah"

Elbie's six months now and no longer bites our clothes/us. He occasionally still attacks towels and his leash but that's something we're working on :p

Good luck ... having a puppy is such a challenging exercise! People keep saying it's like having a small child, for me it's like living with a strange little alien.

Thank you so much! Will check them out now, he is such a good boy it's only the biting and barking and 3 hours of crazyness. I'm home with him all day, and we play with him every day at 3pm for 2 hours, so he has enough mental stimulation, I've even tried yelping like a dog being hurt but it's not working!!!

I'll check out the thread now, I can only imagine the issues we are going to have with the lead!!!

I know exactly what you mean, As he is only 9 weeks and I've had him for only 1, I have to keep remembering to put it in perspective, apart from this, he already know his name and comes when called!

Thanks again.

[koalathebear]

I really, really sympathise. Elbie was quite bad for about two weeks and people were telling us to see a behaviourist and all that sort of thing. We didn't end up needing a behaviourist (for that issue anyway . For us, it just came down to finding the right thing for our dog. Everyone's dog is so different

1. Yelping/ouching/yipping or making other sounds works for some but other people say that any response like that is rewarding the dog. it didn't work for Elbie.

2. Saying: "no" in a firm voice works for some but did not work for Elbie.

3. Ignoring him - sinbinning him. This worked for many people but did not work for us because he would just keep gnawing on our jeans. That being said, because Elbie is a big sook, these days ignoring him IS our most powerful punishment. When we shun him, he knows he's been bad. We also tether him to the kitchen-railing for about a minute (all within view) when he's naughty and that works well. It wasn't something that we tried when he was biting though - alas.

4. Stomping our foot on the ground did not work and some people said that that was bad anyway because it could make your dog fearful.

5. We tried holding his muzzle (which works for some people) but that just pissed him off more.

6. We tried leaving the room and 'shunning him' - again, not an easy task when you have a growling puppy dog dangling from your jeans

Other people suggested biting his ear or nose but we just weren't even going to go there :D I really wish you the best of luck - it's always a bit freaky when your darling sweet little puppy goes all Gollum on you Our obedience instructor last term summed it up pretty well when she said that dogs came from wolves, we have brought a wolf into our house, a domesticated and modified wolf but still a wolf - it's always disconcerting when the dog displays some of those wolfish behaviours :p

Edited August 15, 2010 by koalathebear

[lovemesideways]

Great video on youtube about stopping puppies biting!

[jessie86]

I really, really sympathise. Elbie was quite bad for about two weeks and people were telling us to see a behaviourist and all that sort of thing. We didn't end up needing a behaviourist (for that issue anyway . For us, it just came down to finding the right thing for our dog. Everyone's dog is so different

1. Yelping/ouching/yipping or making other sounds works for some but other people say that any response like that is rewarding the dog. it didn't work for Elbie.

2. Saying: "no" in a firm voice works for some but did not work for Elbie.

3. Ignoring him - sinbinning him. This worked for many people but did not work for us because he would just keep gnawing on our jeans. That being said, because Elbie is a big sook, these days ignoring him IS our most powerful punishment. When we shun him, he knows he's been bad. We also tether him to the kitchen-railing for about a minute (all within view) when he's naughty and that works well. It wasn't something that we tried when he was biting though - alas.

4. Stomping our foot on the ground did not work and some people said that that was bad anyway because it could make your dog fearful.

5. We tried holding his muzzle (which works for some people) but that just pissed him off more.

6. We tried leaving the room and 'shunning him' - again, not an easy task when you have a growling puppy dog dangling from your jeans

Other people suggested biting his ear or nose but we just weren't even going to go there :D I really wish you the best of luck - it's always a bit freaky when your darling sweet little puppy goes all Gollum on you Our obedience instructor last term summed it up pretty well when she said that dogs came from wolves, we have brought a wolf into our house, a domesticated and modified wolf but still a wolf - it's always disconcerting when the dog displays some of those wolfish behaviours :p

haha thanks so much! Elbie and our pup Hunter, sound identical! in the crazy biting stages, I just have to try and not loose my cool and view the situation rationally and not emotionally as I get so upest when he hurts us.

The ignoring doesn't work for Hunter either as when we walk away he follows or just stays biting our jeans/slippers/feet/dreses antyhing and everything. Now if i get cranky at him he runs off and bites the couch instead, which to us is even worse as it's brand new! oooh the joys of puppy hood. Oh gosh I could never bites him! haha, It's nice to speak with someone who has gone through what we have and now has a non biting normal pup.

I just hope I haven't been to mean and gruff with him!

[sas]

I just hope I haven't been to mean and gruff with him!

Not from what you said, if anything not gruff enough if the puppy is still continuing with the behvaiour.

Some puppies you can redirect to toys and use little adversives....others need correction.

[Nekhbet]

go the thumb under the tongue technique. When the dog goes for your hand, place your thumb under the tonge and apply pressure. You'll get some squeaks and tantrum behaviour, ignore it. When the dog gives in remove your hand, say nothing and offer it again. If the pup doesnt bite then praise and even give a bit of food. If games get too rough, get up and walk off, if you're followed and tugged or bitten, a gruff ARRGGGG usually gets the point across, if not then scruff to extract pup from clothing and ignore them.

I just hope I haven't been to mean and gruff with him!

no but you do have to be firm and stop things before they snowball. Too many people feel sorry for pups when in fact you have the tast of shaping that dog for the rest of its life in the next couple of months. Well I can tell you a weim at a few months old still biting and being uncontrolled is an aboslute nightmare so lay down the law early. Never tolerate mouthing or biting from your dog no matter how old it is. Being firm is not being mean or cruel.

[aussielover]

I can't believe your puppy is drawing blood! You poor thing!

Mine was a pretty crazy biter when she first came home, but never drew blood or anything. Being a lab she does have pretty "soft mouth" though. If she put any pressure on me with her teeth, i said "ow" in a really high pitched voice and she stopped. If she did it again, I would get up and end any interaction with her. If she then continued to try to bite, she would be put in the laundary for 5 mintues (or until she stopped barking if she did start to bark).

So I was probably a bit too gentle- giving her three warnings before she was "punished" in the laundary.

She is alot better now (17 weeks) but still not perfect yet

[Dame Aussie]

Lili was SHOCKING with biting when she was little, drew blood on a couple of occassions.

She would grip onto us, our clothes, anything. She used to rush at you and try to bite your face

Squealing or yelping didnt work with her as it revved her up even more. We found turning our backs on her and walking away wrked best. We also put our thumbs under her tongue and squeezed.

At about 5 months she just stopped, thank Dog.

Good luck.

[Adza]

Tahli is still in biting stage, I'm sure for a long time to come.

I cannot remember who but someone posted on another topic to not make any noise or "No's" or "Ouch's" while doing it as can make them more crazy or make you seem like a squeaky toy somthing along those lines. Now I just don't say anything (even though sometimes she gets a good grip and it kills) I move her away and after the first go, she loses interest and I redirect with a toy, then praise her. She isn't as bad with the hands now, but the pants are still ongoing, unless I am sitting down.