Thalion Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 OK, Pup is going well, very smart but there are 2 things that are giving me the you know whats at the moment that I really want to fix. No 1: Or should I say No: 2. She eats her own poo constintly unless someone is there to stop her. When I catch her it is a firm "No" or "Uh-uh", then rediret her attention to something else. This works fine, but she will sometimes run behind the water tank, or under the stairs to go out of view. No 2: Biting. She has just drawn blood on me for the second time. She is just starting to teething, but also had this problem before this. She is a dominant dog, and plays quite rough with Dad's lab. This needs to be fixed asap. Any ideas/help would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ledg Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Hi there, i can understand your frustrations we are having quite a few ourselves with our little lab. With the poo eating thing there is a specific word for this and our vet told us that its a behaviour and if our dog started doing it then to tell them and they will give us the relevant advice. I think you need to ask your vet or trainer about this one. the biting thing is something i can hopefully help with. Our lab loved to bite so much and even when i had my boss over one day she left marks on his hand. When your pup does it you need to do a loud OWE and then ignore the pup so that they know that its not ok. Dogs rarely listen to no commands as its a human word, so if you do a yelp like what another dog would do if they were playing rough then they should respond to that. By ignoring them after they know that thats not the kind of behaviour that will get your attention. If your pup is still biting and you do the yelp give them a toy that they like and then praise them when they are playing with it. They respond much better to positives. Hope this helps a little. Good luck and i cant wait to see pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doghouse Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Have to agree with with last post the Poo thing needs to go to a trainer or vet. how old is your puppy With your pup what does she have to chew on? And is there an unlimited supply of this. Biting or mouthing is NOT ALLOWED. It has to be stopped immediately. A firm STOP or the DROP command can stop the thought pattern, I usually followed it up with a firm hand under the jaw, look into her eyes and super nannyish firm voice 'NOT ACCEPTABLE' , turn your back and ignore her.. she will feel excluded and should get the idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thalion Posted January 10, 2007 Author Share Posted January 10, 2007 Thanks for the suggestions. She gets her final shots next week (so is about 16 weeks) so will ask about the poo thing. The biting is annoying as (and yes even though she is still a pup) it is not on...staffords don't have a reputation of having a soft mouth. She has many toys, rope, soft rubber, harder rubber, as well as getting a rawhide/dentabone, and she has access to the thigh bones after teh other dogs have taken the meat off them. Hopefully it clicks soon. Have a few pics in the stafford thread on the general forum. Will try and post one here when I get the chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiahzen Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 I think that the poo eating is called 'coprophagia' ....... Usually caused from... dietary deficiency, a learnt behavior developed during boredom, and has been found in puppies that have had to fend for themselves, strays for example.... What are you feeding? Maybe change to a premium dry if you are not already feeding or change brands... I have heard that Nutro is really good and I feed Eukanuba and i think that is very good too... I usually feed it with other stuff... diced beef, minced chicken, sardines in live oil, egg yolks, natural yoghurt, lamb necks and chicken necks (Gourmet!! LOL) I think the other reason to change to premium dry food is because they are processed more easily and apparently not so appealing to eat after.... Some say adding pineapple or extra fible like green veg help too... Other than that im not really sure other than speak with your vet as is is apparently antisocial behaviour.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiahzen Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 With the biting we had the same issue with Diesel when we just got him (he is 14 weeks now so he has learnt a little) The only thing that we do when he bites is say NO BITING in a growling deep voice and then give him something else to chew a toy etc... He did used to get really excited and challenge you with biting etc and would not listen ans would keep biting... He would get quite dominant and agressive to try and tell us that he was the boss and would just keep at you biting harder the more he got into trouble... We ended up rolling him on his back when he was like this and leaned over him holding his chest to the ground so that he couldn't get loose or bite and growled at him and said NO BITING again... we said this and held hime there until he calmed down... once he stopped the nonsence we firmly patted his chest and said 'good boy calm down' in a very soft placid voice.... This has helped 100% with him and he is a very dominant dog but not so much anymore..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doghouse Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Thanks for the suggestions. She gets her final shots next week (so is about 16 weeks) so will ask about the poo thing.The biting is annoying as (and yes even though she is still a pup) it is not on...staffords don't have a reputation of having a soft mouth. She has many toys, rope, soft rubber, harder rubber, as well as getting a rawhide/dentabone, and she has access to the thigh bones after teh other dogs have taken the meat off them. Hopefully it clicks soon. Have a few pics in the stafford thread on the general forum. Will try and post one here when I get the chance. Our girls are both stafford crosses and the constant and persistent reminders of NOT ACCEPTABLE works well and our 6 month old never ever bites, despite being pushed to the limits by our 5 year old daughter. She dropped the biting habit by 14 weeks, despite shredding half a dozen of my daughters dressess and we had bite marks on our ankles. But nothing since.. We lavished lamb shanks for lunch on both of ours and that is their chew toy for the afternoon, then there are pigs ears and all their chew toys. Consitency is the key, remember you are the boss, you are the Alpha dog and what you say for the most part goes !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doghouse Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 We ended up rolling him on his back when he was like this and leaned over him holding his chest to the ground so that he couldn't get loose or bite and growled at him and said NO BITING again... we said this and held hime there until he calmed down... once he stopped the nonsence we firmly patted his chest and said 'good boy calm down' in a very soft placid voice.... This has helped 100% with him and he is a very dominant dog but not so much anymore..... BRILLIANT ADVICE We are doing the same and did the same with our 6 month old and now our 12 week old, and with the constant affirmations of 'not acceptable' worked an absolute treat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 (edited) . Edited June 6, 2009 by cavNrott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Staffies can and do learn bite inhibition, and they are quite good at it from their previous occupations. I originally wrote here to google bite inhibition, but I didn't like what it came up with so I have found some good sites for you! Clicker Solutions puppies and biting Ian Dunbar bite inhibition "Although the abrupt and total curtailment of puppy biting (if possible) offers immediate relief to most owners, it often reflects only a short-term gain and does not always augur well for the future. If the puppy is forbidden to bite, it will not have sufficient opportunity to learn that its jaws may inflict pain. Thus, if it is ever provoked to bite as an adult, the resultant bite is likely to be a hard one, causing severe damage. Certainly puppy biting must be controlled, but only in a progressive, systematic manner, where by the pup is taught to inhibit the force of its bites." "It may seem paradoxical, but puppies that are mouthing maniacs ad/or puppies that grow up with children are much more likely to develop gentle jaws and a soft mouth as an adult. On the other hand, shy, reserved and/or fearful dogs, witch often do not play as much and therefore seldom roughhouse or bite their owners, and breeds that have been bred to have soft mouths, seldom present much of a puppy problem to their owners and therefore do not receive sufficient feedback concerning the power of their jaws." It is much safer to teach a puppy of any breed to soft bite rather than punishing the biting full stop. Particularly if you do/want to have kids around the dog. What are you feeding your Stafford? Eating their faeces can be contributed to a few things and there are a number of possibilities to try out. Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thalion Posted January 14, 2007 Author Share Posted January 14, 2007 Staffies can and do learn bite inhibition, and they are quite good at it from their previous occupations.I originally wrote here to google bite inhibition, but I didn't like what it came up with so I have found some good sites for you! Clicker Solutions puppies and biting Ian Dunbar bite inhibition "Although the abrupt and total curtailment of puppy biting (if possible) offers immediate relief to most owners, it often reflects only a short-term gain and does not always augur well for the future. If the puppy is forbidden to bite, it will not have sufficient opportunity to learn that its jaws may inflict pain. Thus, if it is ever provoked to bite as an adult, the resultant bite is likely to be a hard one, causing severe damage. Certainly puppy biting must be controlled, but only in a progressive, systematic manner, where by the pup is taught to inhibit the force of its bites." "It may seem paradoxical, but puppies that are mouthing maniacs ad/or puppies that grow up with children are much more likely to develop gentle jaws and a soft mouth as an adult. On the other hand, shy, reserved and/or fearful dogs, witch often do not play as much and therefore seldom roughhouse or bite their owners, and breeds that have been bred to have soft mouths, seldom present much of a puppy problem to their owners and therefore do not receive sufficient feedback concerning the power of their jaws." It is much safer to teach a puppy of any breed to soft bite rather than punishing the biting full stop. Particularly if you do/want to have kids around the dog. What are you feeding your Stafford? Eating their faeces can be contributed to a few things and there are a number of possibilities to try out. Mel. Thanks for the web pages Mel, had a good read. Dad did bite inhibition with his lab which worked well, but they generally have a really soft mouth. Was interesting to read that you can also do it with staffies. May try along these lines instead... although after having an overly excited pup draw blood again I don't know how it will go. The really hard bites come when we are playing, and I worked out it is a result of how she has been playing with Dad's lab ie running and biting after a short stair off. I tried to limit that sort of 'playing' when I was with them. Food at the moment is Supercoat puppy. The vet recomended the Euca. Hopefully she will grow out of it. May start including a bit a fresh mince into her diet soon. Will talk to the vet this week. Cheers for all the replies peoples, have been much help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asal Posted January 18, 2007 Share Posted January 18, 2007 I think that the poo eating is called 'coprophagia' .......Usually caused from... dietary deficiency, a learnt behavior developed during boredom, and has been found in puppies that have had to fend for themselves, strays for example.... What are you feeding? Maybe change to a premium dry if you are not already feeding or change brands... I have heard that Nutro is really good and I feed Eukanuba and i think that is very good too... I usually feed it with other stuff... diced beef, minced chicken, sardines in live oil, egg yolks, natural yoghurt, lamb necks and chicken necks (Gourmet!! LOL) I think the other reason to change to premium dry food is because they are processed more easily and apparently not so appealing to eat after.... Some say adding pineapple or extra fible like green veg help too... Other than that im not really sure other than speak with your vet as is is apparently antisocial behaviour.... my vet gave entirely different reasons for it. one being they find it nice (yep not our cup of tea) that they get nutrient from it its not just in dogs, many young animals eat their parents to get their microflora for normal digestion. although not an apealing habit though the change of diet can make the difference although some like my sisters dog is still at it and now 6 their solution is fast with the pooper scoop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asal Posted January 18, 2007 Share Posted January 18, 2007 (edited) re the biting the person who recommended yelping is on the right track. friends had a puppy that tore open their nose, ears and hands,(they foolishly let her sleep with them) and when she woke up she went for faces and lips her dog was a terror, the yelps she made once they decided to try it, were in direct intensity to the bites and the puppy stopped in her tracks, horrified she had hurt them. and then licked them as if to apologise she stopped biting in days. a real eye opener. Edited January 18, 2007 by asal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted January 18, 2007 Share Posted January 18, 2007 (edited) . Edited June 7, 2009 by cavNrott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thalion Posted January 21, 2007 Author Share Posted January 21, 2007 I think i read somewhere that they eat thier parents for a similar reason as we breast feed as kids, ie pass on antibodies etc. She is getting better with the poo. The vet mentioned there is something we could try that makes thier poo taste terrible, and they shouldn't touch it. Will see once I go back to school as at the moment I am cleaning it up straight away. They biting is still going slowly. Are teaching bite inhibibtion. Anything too hard and a 'gentle' is moslty enough. If she goes hard again, I am yelping and walking away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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