Biting Again

[pipppy]

Billy is nearly 5 mths, he has a lot of tooth action happening, some falling out and lots seem to be comming through, cant get over how quick they sprout.

It all looks OK (for what I would know), but we have noticed a little bit of blood on his chew toys, I am assuming this is normal?

I have been giving him his normal lunch frozen, also ice cubes and frozen stock water during the day (and in the heat) and he usually has a good bone going to chew on also.

Anyways, he has started nipping at us again, I am assuming he is wanting to test out some of his new teeth, or do they sometimes regress a bit on the biting and we have to start all over again with the yelping and dicipline associated with it? At the moment a very firm NO is working but he seems more determined this time around to get a good grip, and usually has a couple of goes before he stops, even when given a diversion toy to chew on he will still try and have a go at us first.

[Flying Penguin]

The blood is normal dont worry

Sam was the same but is barely mouthing at all now some of her adult teeth are coming though. Ive noticed she gets quite nippy though when her mouth is sore. I give her some crushed ice which she loves.

[tommy15]

i think that the teeth are only part of the reason pups bite. id say its got more to do with the dog learning about its surroundings and feeling its way around, they dont have hands after all.

i let my girl bite as much as she wants while she was little. i felt as though its important to let them do that, and that they will stop as they reach adolescence. she is 8 months now, and she scarcely bites anymore, and when she does its gentle. actually since she got her adult teeth, thats when she started learning to inhibit her bite pressure.

like you, i make sure shes got plenty of stuff to chew. and i dont muck around with bones, the beauties i give her take half the day to get through !

[pipppy]

Thanks for your comments, dogs teething looks so brutal, everyday there is something gone and something new in his mouth, and the poor little guy always seems to have a bit of blood somewhere, still continuing the ice and making sure he has lots of different things to chew on, poor fella even had to suck on the ice the other day, he seemed to not be able to chew he normally chews it madly but just mouthed it until it melted, and he went off his kibble a bit also But back to normal frantic chewing now though so all is good.

His nipping seems to have settled a bit again...and i have noticed its not as hard now, but it feels like he could do more damage than before if he really wanted to, LOL.

Tommy,yes, I have read before about people letting the pups bight to learn bite inhibition, its an interesting idea, and seems to work for many, and youre right their mouths are a main way of exploring, we just dont feel confident enough to trust he will know when to stop, especially when at one stage last week you couldnt even walk past him without him having a nip, the little devil And maybe if it was just me and hubby here - and not 3 teenagers also, we would of let it go but the 13yr old has a fit when he nips her and gets very scared, and you know her arms start flying around and she starts pushing him away which tends to wind him up even more, and as she is harder to train than th dog its best just to not let him do it at all at the moment, but hey thanks for sharing what works for you.

Sort of on the same topic i was brave enough to cut his nails the other day and even though i had been handling his paws and nails everyday in anticipation of cutting his nails he had a bit of a go at me.....so i managed to get a few done, and am back to playing with his paws and nails and stopping him from bighting me whilst playing with them, as soon as I touch them now he instantly has a nip.....I will give it a few days and try and finish the job, it doesnt help that i fuss a bit trying to make sure i dont hurt him.......same problem with ear cleaning which he needs regularly, he lets me play with his ears, and have a poke around in them but as soon as he sees the drops he starts his nipping.....I assume i am doing the right thing getting him use to it but he still has a bit of a spaz attack as soon as its the real thing......any suggestions or am i on the right track?

Thanks again.

[BT-Argo]

Just to ask ... A puppy that 5-6months old Its ok to give them icecubes and kongs iceblocks etc??? it wont damage their jaw/mouths? or make their new teeth crooked or break them????

What are the tricks to sooth their teething??

(I.e for kids we use Bonjelo)

Edited November 28, 2006 by Curious

[pipppy]

Just to ask ... A puppy that 5-6months old Its ok to give them icecubes and kongs iceblocks etc??? it wont damage their jaw/mouths? or make their new teeth crooked or break them????

What are the tricks to sooth their teething??

(I.e for kids we use Bonjelo)

Curious, we give our pup ice cubes and i even freeze his kibble in a small container with enough water to cover it, i also freeze water with a bit of stock cube in it and fill his kong with penut butter and kibble and freeze that also.......compared to chewing on bones i would think ice isnt much different, gees i have never thought it could harm his teeth, just sooth his gums, maybe someonelse with a bit more experience could comment as to whether it could do damage?

As for teething gel, i have no clue, we have not used it, chewing chewing and more chewing on suitable toys ( and frozen stuff) seems to help our little guy.