Puppy Biting

[john doe iii]

I know it's natural for puppies to always want to chew on things ... but my puppy likes to put my fingers or hand in his mouth and kind of bite down on them. (which doesnt hurt at all).... Is this normal for puppies also? I have been trying to train her not to but was wondering if this is something they get over when they get older or if its too early to teach a pup not to try and put my fingers/hand in her mouth. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Mindy Miller]

DON'T LET YOUR PUPPY BITE YOUR FINGERS! Even if it doesn't hurt. Give her something that's okay to chew on. If you let her do that, she will see it as an okay way to play. It's easier to break habits before they start.

So, give her something that's okay to chew on and tell her good girl. I stop petting the dog, and put her on the floor with a chew toy.

 

[RedyreRottweilers]

Do a search on Bite Inhibition, and pay particular attention to the material by Ian Dunbar. It's very important you work on this, right away. If you can't find what you need, let me know. Meantime, do not encourage this behavior.

 

[PFC1]

I know it's natural for puppies to always want to chew on things ... but my puppy likes to put my fingers or hand in his mouth and kind of bite down on them. (which doesnt hurt at all).... Is this normal for puppies also?

No, normally it hurts. Puppy teeth are usually really sharp.

Seriously, though, it is entirely natural what the pup is doing, but what others said about working on it now is correct. It won't stop overnight, but its not too early to start teaching. They will generally get better about it as they get older. Unless they are ill tempered, they come to appreciate that biting can be painful.

 

[roisindubh]

Do a search on Bite Inhibition, and pay particular attention to the material by Ian Dunbar. It's very important you work on this, right away. If you can't find what you need, let me know. Meantime, do not encourage this behavior.

Wow! I know this is a bit older thread, but I just joined the board, which I found while looking for info on just this subject. I found several articles by Dr. Dunbar, and they're great. We got a yellow lab pup from the local pound last week. As usual with a pound puppy, we don't know anything about her background, but, from some of her behavior, we suspect she was taken from her mom too early. She might not have had the chance to play and socialize much with other pups. She's friendly, smart, very nearly a puppy angel, but her play bites are just a little too hard and a little too frequent -- and when a big puppy bites hard, you know you've been nipped! -- so I hope we can put the suggestions in the Dunbar articles to work. Thanks so much, RedyreRottweillers! I second his advice to search out the good doctor's articles, John Doe. (It seems to me that learning about why puppies bite in the first place can't help but make the nips easier to deal with.) If you haven't found any yet, here are a couple of links: Bite Inhibition and The Bite Stops Here.

 

[BullyLover]

Thanks for the good links.

 

[bubbatd]

Where are you today ??? I know my goldens liked to " mouth " things, but didn't bite. Those that did, were corrected . But some pups just did it as a loving thing.

 

[Kaleigh'sAdrienne]

Adrienne did this all the time.. but I taught her not to by saying NO BITE and pulling my hand out of her mouth. She eventually learned what NO BITE meant and she hardly does it.. and if she does I'll say it and she'll stop. Hope that helps. Good Luck