Bitey Puppy

[G.S.P.S/K]

Hey guys,

I have a nearly 5 month old GSP pup and he is extremely bitey! He's my fourth pup and I've never experienced anything like the biting he does. We've tried telling him off, ignoring him and standing completly still and recently moved to spraying him with a water bottle. He still bites though- in fact when we spray him he then defiantly bites the air or attempts to bite the water bottle! When I let him run free in an enclosed park- he gets so excited he jumps up and bites my arms, trousers, and backside! You can imagine my concern- one day he may jump up and bite a person.

I realise he's a puppy, and that he's teething, and that he's a gundog (and therefore loves having things in his mouth), and he gets chew treats and bones every day, not to mention has tons of toys of differnt textures to play with... so I dont know what else I can do.

[persephone]

Hi..and OUCH!

What training does pup get ?

Do you go to an obedience /puppy school?

What were his littermates like - was he the most active/outgoing?

have you ever tried N I L I F ?

[Dame Aussie]

My Aussie was like this although she had stopped by about 4 months.

Have you tried holding his mouth and pressing down on the bottom with your thumb? That can work sometimes.

Also just what perse has suggested.

Good luck I hope you get some more advice!

[Salukifan]

I realise he's a puppy, and that he's teething, and that he's a gundog (and therefore loves having things in his mouth), and he gets chew treats and bones every day, not to mention has tons of toys of differnt textures to play with... so I dont know what else I can do.

Stop making excuses for his behaviour and get tough. Now!!

He's been biting for 2 months? It's now ingrained behaviour and you'll need to give him some aversives to break the habit.

He needs to learn some self control. If he bites use the 'press on the mouth' technique or grab the muzzle and apply pressure.

What formal training have you done with him? He needs to learn that he cannot behave like a pork chop when he's offlead around people.

Get a trainer in or take yourself off to training before he becomes any bigger.

Sorry if I sound a bit harsh but you need to get on top of this. GSP's can be hard headed buggers - he needs to learn that no means no and a water spray isn't cutting it.

Edited July 19, 2012 by Haredown Whippets

[Nekhbet]

I totally agree with haredown whippets. You need to nip it in the bud and he needs to learn where the boundaries of teeth on people are.

Honestly, recently I had a conversation with a few people, if a dog kept biting it used to get a good old fashioned slap to the face or a good scruffing - so why are we now so afraid to touch our dogs at all when they're in essence terrorising us?

[persephone]

if a dog kept biting it used to get a good old fashioned slap to the face or a good scruffing -

ours get scruffed in no uncertain manner ..however ,it is something which needs to be learned , and tailored a bit.It does work ..

[G.S.P.S/K]

thanks for the replies guys.

Thanks persephone- currently reading boiut N I L I F.

Alsoi will try the scruffing of the neck. (Ive already been pressing down on his mouth too).

Further info- He went to puppy school from the first week we bought him home. He now attends obedience school. I also train him every day. He knows "sit", "come", "drop", "stay", "leave it", "give" -(dropping whats in his mouth), "heel", "free" (meaning he no longer has to sit, stay, heel etc), "finish (after he comes and sits in front of me he walks around behind me and sits ready to heel again) "shakehands", "on your bed" and many more.

He gets plenty of exercise and games every day and due to me working shift work, he doesnt have lots of long days on his own unlike some dogs.

Haredown whippets i wasnt trying to make excuses- merely acknowledging the reasons he may be so bitey. I am a knowledgeable and responsible dog owner- not some novice idiot. As i pointed out, out of 4 puppies over the years, I havnt experienced biting like this before thats why i posted about this.

Edited July 20, 2012 by GSPSTAFFKELP

[koalathebear]

Hi there

I feel your pain and totally sympathise.

I had a similar thing happen with my dog Elbie when he was a puppy. He was a mouthy little monster - complete menace. Thread here. For us the water bottle stopped him but there are a bunch of different things you can try and you just have to find the one that works for you. Maybe there are some suggestions in that thread that can also help you. I found it very upsetting/not helpful when people kept telling me: "But this works for me, it should work for you" :D

I have a pair of PJs that still have tiny rips from Elbie's puppy teeth and they make me laugh because he's come so far and stopped being mouthy - thank goodness. My second dog is not mouthy at all so it is sometimes just the luck of the draw. If I'd only had my second dog, I'd be wondering what all the fuss was about but because of Elbie I TOTALLY know what it's like. It doesn't make you a bad owner - it just means that you haven't found out the right thing that works with this puppy yet.

I hope you can find a suitable technique soon because it is VERY frustrating when you want to cuddle your cute puppy and all he wants to do is attack you like a demon. :laugh:

Edited July 20, 2012 by koalathebear

[Alfie02]

Hi,

I can 100% relate to your situation! My Ridgeback puppy was very very bitey and it was sooo frustrating. It just so happened when he was about 4 months old we had to go over to New Zealand so he stayed with his breeders for the week. Well when we got back, his biting had completely stopped! :D He was there with 10 other dogs of different ages, so I assume he was put in his place by the other dogs.

So maybe your pup could spend a couple of days with your breeder, if they have a few dogs? As this worked really well for us :) .

Good luck, and dont worry, it will get better!

[sheena]

You could try a hand held ultrasonic device available from Ebay. I have used them effectively to stop barking & other unwanted behaviour, like bashing the door down to get in. Carry it with you & be ready to press the button everytime he makes contact...he will soon stop & my guess is you wont have to press the button very many times.

[Guest english.ivy]

Not a puppy but when my Belgian is being naughty and not listening to verbal commands, she gets a quick whack on the snout and she stops immediately and her hearing returns. She will rarely do what she was doing again.

Same as what a top dog would do, I see my Belgian grab my younger Pointer around the snout when he is being really annoying and he stops right away.

I do the same to our male Labrador. He is huge and a whack to his snout makes him listen and show respect.

No way am I letting my dogs walk all over me, I'm the boss! Even if two of them weigh more than me.

[Salukifan]

Haredown whippets i wasnt trying to make excuses- merely acknowledging the reasons he may be so bitey. I am a knowledgeable and responsible dog owner- not some novice idiot. As i pointed out, out of 4 puppies over the years, I havnt experienced biting like this before thats why i posted about this.

Every now and again we get a pup that rewrites what we know about puppy raising. My guess is you've got one of those.

I never implied you were an idiot. However you DO need to get this under control because the clock is ticking on teaching him bite inhibition and it won't run for ever. You are running out of time.

Time for some tough love. But you know that now. He's going to be a big powerful dog and self control will be a vital lesson for him.

What happens when he's offlead and jumping around biting you and you tell him to "sit"?

[juice]

Sheena, can you pm me the device please?

My BT is very bitey and she is nearly 4.

I didn't get her till she was almost 3, kennel dog used to breed from.

She gets bitey when she plays, and when she wants your attention.

I have used the water pistol method, will try the pressure, but a BT's skull is like concrete, so not sure it will have much effect.

I use NILF with her, and it has made a difference she is not as bad.

[sheena]

Sheena, can you pm me the device please?

My BT is very bitey and she is nearly 4.

I didn't get her till she was almost 3, kennel dog used to breed from.

She gets bitey when she plays, and when she wants your attention.

I have used the water pistol method, will try the pressure, but a BT's skull is like concrete, so not sure it will have much effect.

I use NILF with her, and it has made a difference she is not as bad.

This is the one I just bought Ultrasonic Dog Repeller I havn't used it yet on my young guy as I need to get a battery for it. I had one when my other girl was young I found it very good for stopping unwanted behaviour.

[BC Crazy]

Hi Sheena, this Ultra Sonic gadget from ebay sounds like something which would be handy to carry with you if you were out walking & came across an aggressive, loose dog. Thought it may just deter them. It is my worst fear.

[Zug Zug]

My standard poodle puppy was a bit bitey at that age - he is now 8 months and has stopped thank goodness. He was nick-named the alligator for a little while. Like your dog he was playing and didn't know any better. We had to make it very, very clear to him.

We did the things you've described (stop moving was the most effective of these) - he was doing it in play and all the fun stopped and I stood still with my arms crossed. If we were in the backyard and he kept trying to play, I would just walk inside and leave him there.

I was also doing these things:

- I kept my arms close to me while walking around when he was excited - no swinging arms while he was learning how to behave

- if he did grab my arm (which he did a couple of times, although he didn't bite down hard it was very unwelcome from my perspective) I would hold his head and push my arm deeper into his mouth (not hard enough to hurt him, but I kept it there longer than he wanted and he would have been uncomfortable, which was the idea) and not release until he has stopped protesting

- if I saw him opening his mouth near me I would say 'ah-ah' and when he closed his mouth it was 'good boy' and a nice treat

- I carried tug toys that he could mouth on all he wanted, and he was invited to do this frequently (not too close to my hand)

- I taught him to fetch - which is a game he loves and gives him a good outlet

- and perhaps it's obvious but just in case - absolutely NO tolerating him mouthing in play or as part of a game. None at all. Ever.

I would suggest you keep him on lead around guests - you can't expect them to know what sets him off and you don't want him biting someone.

He did bite me on the bum a few times (!) - generally when I was bending over to pick something up. When this happened he got a very big piece of my mind. On one occasion, he just rolled onto his back in apology. Not cool. (Mind you the rest of my family found this pretty hilarious, but it wasn't their bum getting bit...!)

Anyway hang in there. Do take it seriously but also you can expect to change this behaviour if you stand your ground. You just need to be more stubborn than your dog. Which can be hard but needs to be done, if you know what I mean.

Good on you for posting and getting hold of all the ideas you can. Now is the time to sort it out. You don't want him doing this too long or (as Haredown Whippets has pointed out) it starts to become an entrenched habit.

[sheena]

Hi Sheena, this Ultra Sonic gadget from ebay sounds like something which would be handy to carry with you if you were out walking & came across an aggressive, loose dog. Thought it may just deter them. It is my worst fear.

Yes it would BC Crazy. Of course your own dogs would cop it as well, but at the very least it could break up a fight & I think if your dogs were beside you & you extended your arm out pointing it at the oncoming dog, the other dog would get most of the blast as it is fairly directional. It is also very good for getting rats out of the walls at night, when they get behind your bed & start chewing :laugh: It has lots of uses, including dogs that jump up on you. They used to be a lot more expensive, but now they are quite affordable.