2 weeks and still nibbling and play biting

[WestiePupp]

I had my puppy for nearly 2 weeks and almost 3 this saturday and he still is nibbling and play biting. it seems when he play bites and i take my arm out to say "no" he will be more anxious and rowdy and try to grab onto the hand and bite a bit harder. when i see that, i'll get up only to see him grab onto my shorts to bite.

i still do what everyone has said and recommended to do. i have tried gettin up and walkin away for 30-60 seconds. tried playing with him at the crate with the door open so when he play bites i immediately say no and put him in there for 5 minutes then take him out.

i notice though, when he puts his mouth on me at times, its not biting; its more like hes trying to just push his teeth onto my skin. then when i try to fix that he bites harder (maybe out of play?).

one of the guys i asked at the vet said you can try to tap him on the nose gently enough to scare him to stop doing so. i tried that too but it makes him stop for a while until he forgets about it and does it again. i really dont like this method because its not positive and results in hand-contact for a fixing of a behavior.

what should i do? is 2-3 weeks still a bit too fast to ask for the change of behavior? i mean hes 9 weeks and almost 10 weeks if im not mistaken by the paperwork.

 

[Tazwell]

It's typical puppy behavior, and usually stops. What he wants most is to play, or cuddle, or do whatever he likes to do with you. So the greatest insult for him is for you to get up and ignore him when he bites you.

When he puts his mouth on you and applies pressure, immediately gasp, yip, or even say "Hey!" And stand up and leave. Completely ignore him. Don't punish him, or pay any attention. This teaches him that when he does bite, his favorite game stops, and his favorite person leaves him.

 

[Herschel]

I had my puppy for nearly 2 weeks and almost 3 this saturday and he still is nibbling and play biting. it seems when he play bites and i take my arm out to say "no" he will be more anxious and rowdy and try to grab onto the hand and bite a bit harder. when i see that, i'll get up only to see him grab onto my shorts to bite.

i still do what everyone has said and recommended to do. i have tried gettin up and walkin away for 30-60 seconds. tried playing with him at the crate with the door open so when he play bites i immediately say no and put him in there for 5 minutes then take him out.

i notice though, when he puts his mouth on me at times, its not biting; its more like hes trying to just push his teeth onto my skin. then when i try to fix that he bites harder (maybe out of play?).

one of the guys i asked at the vet said you can try to tap him on the nose gently enough to scare him to stop doing so. i tried that too but it makes him stop for a while until he forgets about it and does it again. i really dont like this method because its not positive and results in hand-contact for a fixing of a behavior.

what should i do? is 2-3 weeks still a bit too fast to ask for the change of behavior? i mean hes 9 weeks and almost 10 weeks if im not mistaken by the paperwork.

He won't be done nipping until he's 5 or 6 months old. You're also going to deal with teething, too. Does he have fun things to chew on, like Nylabones, bully sticks, etc?

Instead of reacting to his bite (saying no, walking away, putting him in his crate) why not just stand up, look away, and ignore him. It is very important that you don't look at him or give him any attention whatsoever. After a couple of seconds, distract him and start playing a game. As soon as he nips, stand up and ignore.

Different things work for different dogs. For some, any sort of reaction encourages them to bite. For others, they read it really well and understand.

You really shouldn't use the crate as punishment because you want it to be a positive place. Seriously, for your own sanity, make him as comfortable and happy as possible in the crate.

 

[mjb]

Ignoring the biting does work, slowly. I think the immediate reaction from the puppy when you first start trying the ignoring is that he's thinking you must not realize he's trying to play because you're not even paying him any attention. He probably figures he must bite a little harder or grab your shorts if you've stood up. After you consistently ignore him or walk away from this behavior, it starts to kick in. It takes awhile, though. It's not fast! I thought the little yelp or no before I quit playing probably got the message over a little quicker.

 

[Maxy24]

It will take some time, just stand up and ignore him as soon as he bites. He might think he has to bite harder to get your attention so just stick with it. I forget what it's called, maybe an extinction boom (something like that) where it's like when a child throws a tantrum and when you don't pay attention it will get worse and worse (since he's trying harder and harder to get our attention) and then it finally stops. He might do that with his biting, getting more and more rough before he finally realizes it won't work no matter how hard he tries (that's why it's very important you don't give in and pay attention or next time he knows that if he tries really hard he can get you to look so he'll hold out even longer and try even harder).


Remember he NEEDS to bite, he must. So make sure he has lots of toys to chew (not just soft/plush ones, Use nylabones and bully sticks and kongs and take a wet face cloth, tie it in a knot then put it in the freezer, when it's frozen give it to puppy, it soothes the gums). You CAN'T stop biting, you can just make sure he bites the right things.

 

[WestiePupp]

It's typical puppy behavior, and usually stops. What he wants most is to play, or cuddle, or do whatever he likes to do with you. So the greatest insult for him is for you to get up and ignore him when he bites you.

When he puts his mouth on you and applies pressure, immediately gasp, yip, or even say "Hey!" And stand up and leave. Completely ignore him. Don't punish him, or pay any attention. This teaches him that when he does bite, his favorite game stops, and his favorite person leaves him.

i have tried just this. im worried that im doing something wrong because it keeps happening but i notice that the bites are gettin less pressured but when he does think im playin he will grab harder and pull; resultin in breakin of the skin and me gettin cuts.

He won't be done nipping until he's 5 or 6 months old. You're also going to deal with teething, too. Does he have fun things to chew on, like Nylabones, bully sticks, etc?

yea herschel. i have given him lots of toys. from those squeaky toys with the twisted threaded ropes for him to chew on, thru the nylabones, the Kong too but he only licks the kong when theres puppy stuffin and never really does bite it (i have tried freezing it too)

Instead of reacting to his bite (saying no, walking away, putting him in his crate) why not just stand up, look away, and ignore him. It is very important that you don't look at him or give him any attention whatsoever. After a couple of seconds, distract him and start playing a game. As soon as he nips, stand up and ignore.

i have gotten up a few times and not say a word and he'll try to chase me and i'll just go on the couch or leave the room.

You really shouldn't use the crate as punishment because you want it to be a positive place. Seriously, for your own sanity, make him as comfortable and happy as possible in the crate.

he loves his crate but when i put him in there he whines if i walk away. otherwise he has no problem being in there when im around. i have tried a new method in training, hopefully it will work. i tried stickin my fingers while he was in the crate to teach him bite inhibition as if he bites too hard ill just yelp and walk away and i do notice he whines when i do that.

Ignoring the biting does work, slowly. I think the immediate reaction from the puppy when you first start trying the ignoring is that he's thinking you must not realize he's trying to play because you're not even paying him any attention. He probably figures he must bite a little harder or grab your shorts if you've stood up. After you consistently ignore him or walk away from this behavior, it starts to kick in. It takes awhile, though. It's not fast! I thought the little yelp or no before I quit playing probably got the message over a little quicker.

lol yea it seems to be taking a long time to fix but hopefully it will go away soon

Remember he NEEDS to bite, he must. So make sure he has lots of toys to chew (not just soft/plush ones, Use nylabones and bully sticks and kongs and take a wet face cloth, tie it in a knot then put it in the freezer, when it's frozen give it to puppy, it soothes the gums). You CAN'T stop biting, you can just make sure he bites the right things.

yep! ive done frozen toys to give him to soothe the gums and he doesnt do much but lick it and then leave it alone after 2-3 mins. he loves human skin more than anythin i can buy lol.

 

[squirtsmom]

that is still a pretty young pu ppy. Teething and mouthing is a pain, but they all do it. My Great Pyr pup, is getting better, but still forgets and will put her mouth on my bare feet when I am in the recliner, and it is not fun. I just ignore her, and she will go and get a toy instead.

 

[malmo]

IMO "bite inhibition" (teaching a dog how to interact with humans) is very different from chew toy training. It sounds to me like your work with bite inhibition is starting to pay off. He is putting his teeth on you, but sometimes not hurting you. That's good! That's what you want!

The "yelp and stop play" trick is brought to you directly by the puppy's litter. If you watch pups play, this is how they let each other know they are playing too rough. They yelp and then walk away. Play ends. The pup then learns how hard he can (or, rather, can't) bite without ending the play.

However, puppy's skin is much less sensitive than human skin. The "yelp and end play" ultimately makes the puppy think, "Man, these humans are wimps! They can't even handle a play bite!" You've noticed he's varying the pressure, and this means you're right on track. He's, in effect, saying, "Well, how about THIS hard?" and you let him know, "Nope, too hard still." Yelp, walk away. Don't resume play for at least 10 minutes. For my part, I yelped EVERY time my dog even accidentally touched me with his teeth. I never wanted to risk his idea of "good level of pressure" with someone else's idea of the same concept.

Teaching a puppy to put his teeth on someone gently will have HUGE benefits in the long run. My dog is very calm around children, but the one time when a VERY MEAN child hurt him, he reacted with a "bite." I put it in quotes because what he really did was more of a "tag, you're it" touch with his teeth. The child was startled but not hurt, and my dog was able to get away (his preferred behavior when children are becoming too much for him).

So, hang in there. It's working -- it just takes time.

 

[kidsanddogs]

Besides your pup learning bite inhibition from people, it could help him a lot to have him play with other pups his age (after vaccinations). Then when he does that behavior on puppies, they will let him know it hurts. He'll learn quickly. I would do a search for puppy kindergarten in your city. But yes, this will continue for quite a while, so hang in there!