Hyper And Clingy Puppy!

[JackC]

I think diff breeds respond to different methods of blocking biting, for my boy a loud growl stops him immediately.

[oatmilk]

Thanks for all your suggestions guys! Good to know it's all normal puppy behaviour. I had no idea that biting would be my major issue with owning a puppy but I'm glad it is normal and will pass :)

[persephone]

I'm glad it is normal and will pass

it won't 'pass' ... it can be stopped with training of humans and pup ..or let go and become worse ....

Oh, and pups do not teethe until around 5 months old .. so teething is not a reason now ;)

[Cosmolo]

It will only pass if you make it pass. If it doesn't reduce and then stop quickly, it's likely that clarity or consistency is lacking.

Who on earth told you that pressure on his neck would cause syringomyelia? Using his scruff to correct can be appropriate- provided you are consistent, not rough and do plenty of gentle handling at other times so that the puppy does not become apprehensive of you reaching for him. Wearing a collar may also be of benefit so you can take hold of him more easily. However, i'd not recommend any techniques involving aversives unless you have been shown how to do it properly.

Be careful doing immediate toy or food exchanges- for some puppies this simply reinforces the behaviour. I prefer to stop the behaviour first (using a technique suited to you and your puppy) and then redirect.

[mixeduppup]

I own a dog here that never passed the biting stage because no one taught her it was wrong. It's much harder to teach an older dog to stop mouthing and biting than it is a young puppy and it's an ongoing battle but she is improving. You're getting some wonderful advice but the key is whoever's advice you choose you MUST be consistent and not back down. If you give dogs an inch they'll naturally take a mile and puppies need to know boundaries and what is acceptable and that takes time and dedication. Puppies are extremely vocal sometimes and yelping doesn't always mean pain, sometimes it's just a shout of disapproval or surprise. You have to get passed how you feel and your emotions so that you can focus on creating a well-rounded and polite canine citizen.

[oatmilk]

Don't know how to delete this double post oops

Edited June 27, 2013 by oatmilk

[oatmilk]

I'm glad it is normal and will pass

it won't 'pass' ... it can be stopped with training of humans and pup ..or let go and become worse ....

Oh, and pups do not teethe until around 5 months old .. so teething is not a reason now ;)

Yes I realised I worded that incorrectly after thinking back on it last night. I meant that it is solvable from training and most likely permanently ingrained in his personality or anything like that... Obviously I am not just going to let him continue biting me.. this post was to figure out ways to correct him!

Who on earth told you that pressure on his neck would cause syringomyelia? Using his scruff to correct can be appropriate- provided you are consistent, not rough and do plenty of gentle handling at other times so that the puppy does not become apprehensive of you reaching for him. Wearing a collar may also be of benefit so you can take hold of him more easily. However, i'd not recommend any techniques involving aversives unless you have been shown how to do it properly.

I'm not saying it causes it directly, but it may increase the risk so I don't want to take the chance. If you research Cavalier's, CM and SM, you would see the reason why people are so careful about their necks. I would much rather non-physical punishment, like time out (if I have to resort to punishment at all).

[persephone]

I would much rather non-physical punishment, like time out

Time out doesn't mean much to a puppy baby ....really ... if you don't want to use a leash/collar/harness ..you need to pick them up (reward) then place them somewhere ... and by this time puppy is confused as to why ....

Naturally .being a genetic disease ..it is already there when puppy is born, but growth then makes its effects obvious nasty thing .

Affected dogs are uncomfortable , and certain things like collars can then cause more pain .

If you research Cavalier's, CM and SM, you would see the reason why people are so careful about their necks.

D O L is an excellent place to hang out - there are discussions on all sorts of things :)

SM

SM

SM

you have been given some good advice .... here's a few more ideas :)

LINK

LINK

Edited June 27, 2013 by persephone

[Tilly]

Find yourself a good puppy preschool ... preferably one that is connected to a good dog training club that will allow you to continue on with more training.

Puppies are like children ... they need firm guidance/rules and consistency. Give them an inch and they will take it a mile.

It seems like only yesterday my youngest was a cute and tiny little baby puppy full of hyper energy ... now he is a 4yr old full of hyper energy :D

[PAX]

Sounds like a great puppy, find a good motivational trainer:)

[Wobbly]

I own a dog here that never passed the biting stage because no one taught her it was wrong. It's much harder to teach an older dog to stop mouthing and biting than it is a young puppy and it's an ongoing battle but she is improving.

I'll second this, I got my dog when she was about a year old, and none had taught her not to bite. It can become a very deeply ingrained habit, and it's not an easy one to deal with, since it's highly reinforcing for the dog, biting feels good. They have no way of knowing how much it hurts, all they know is that find it enormously satisfying. Even now that my dog has clearly understood it's unacceptable behaviour for over 5 years now, i would consider it to be what Susan Garrett calls an "Iceberg behaviour" - that is, a potential problem that must forever be navigated around. In practice all that really means for me is that while other people may be able to play with their dogs without intermediataries like toys, and others may be able to use say their shirt sleeve for a tug reward, or overlook a bit of mouthing here and there, I don't have that luxury. Nipping is something that was so heavily reinforced for her, so late in her development that it's an iceberg and I am always aware of the fact I need to navigate around it. Consciously aware of it. The fact that it's only playful nipping doesn't reduce the severity of the potential problem, if she were to resume the behaviour, and nip someone they may not see it as playful, and it could mean a dangerous dog order.

It's not something that goes away nayurally in my experience, since dogs intereact with the world using their mouth, so the urge to sink teeth in is very natural. It's something that you need to deal with, don't let it go on too long and let it become so highly reinforced it becomes an iceberg. Even though it's a playful non aggressive behaviour, it still has the scope to be problematic, bitey behaviour is simply not acceptable, and could get your dog into serious trouble regardless of the emotion driving it.

I don't for a minute think you'd let it get to the stage it got to with my dog, or MUPs dog, there's just no way any owner who regularly spends time with their dog would permit this kind of thing to continue into adolescence and adulthood, because it really hurts. But just want to point out that it can become a very difficult problem indeed, and the sooner you get onto it, the better really.

[corvus]

You don't have to use aversives to stop biting if you don't want to. I didn't. It probably takes longer and requires a little more tolerance, but I just redirected and redirected some more, mostly. I had a reasonably gentle but mouthy puppy and a not very gentle bitey puppy I did this with. I guess I was also very careful about not accidentally reinforcing it, which can be subtle. I have herding breeds, and both of them were biting to control movement, which means freezing when they started was reinforcing, and moving was exciting. Getting in before they started and redirecting then was quite effective. And rock solid sits meant I could stop them in their tracks before they got bitey and then reward the sit with a toy to bite instead.

[LisaCC]

Just thought I'd add my current experience. I have had Nova my 8 week old Aussie since Sunday afternoon. He is exploring everything with his mouth including me. What I've been doing (and what seems to be working) is "yelping" when he bites, which makes him stop straight away, then I praise and stuff a toy in his mouth. His attention quickly turns to his toy instead!

Today he was biting a lot less, but has started to bark straight at me. I've found two methods to stop him, completely ignore him, or a loud "UH" and once again, when he stops and he's calm, lots of praise!

I've also been working on getting him to sit, I can get him to sit now when I see him get that "I'm gunna put my mouth on you" look in his eye.

Hopefully my methods will keep working

Edited July 4, 2013 by LisaCC