puppy won't stop biting/nipping

[cosmo'smom]

hi, i hope someone can help me. we have a 10 week old puppy, an australian shepherd. have had him for 3 weeks, and he won't stop biting on me. i have tried the strong NO, i have tried redirecting him to something else. i have tried everything all my friends that are dog owners have suggested and nothing has worked so far. it is getting very frustrating, not to mention the multiple bruises on my legs & scratches from his teeth on my arms. i'm pretty much at my wit's end and sometimes it's very hard to control how mad i get at him. he is not as bad with my boyfriend, but still not good either. i know that he is a herder and that they nip to help control the herd, but how do i make him realize that it's not acceptable to do this to me. i hope someone can help, cause i love the little bugger, but hate the biting.
thanks

 

[nedim]

I think all pups bite, maybe to test their boundaries. My Peanut loves to nip at me when we play, but she is 11 months old and knows her limits. When she does get a bit rough, I look her in the eyes and say NO or DOWN, in addition to putting my hand on her nose where she cant get a hold of it. Then I look her in the eyes again and just pet her. I know it sounds a bit complicated, but it works every time.

 

[Saje]

There are three things you can try.

1. When he bites you yelp and cry like he's REALLY hurt you. That's how puppies tell each other that they've gotten to rough.

2. When he bites stop everything you are doing and walk away. Ignore him completely for a minute. He's doing it for attention and if he's not getting it there's not point. This does not work for ankle biters who will just follow you nipping. So....

3. Whenever if nips pick him up and put him in a safe, separate place like the bathroom. It's a puppy timeout. Don't acknowledge him while you do it. It's the same idea as the one above - don't give him the attention that he wants.

I hope one of those work.

 

[cosmo_mom]

hi again, i had problems posting again, had to re-register. anyway, we have tried most of what has been suggested. the biggest problem is that once he decides to start biting, he won't stop. by that i mean i can't even walk through the room as he grabs onto my pants leg & won't let go. makes it hard to ignore him. and once i get him off & say NO, he simply jumps back on me again. he does this when we are either inside or outside, and unfortunately has puts lots of holes & rips in my pants. even ruined a pair of pants that i wear to work. i know he is a puppy, but i think we really need to get this under control before we can enroll him in any sort of obedience training. so does anyone have any other suggestions?
thanks in advance

 

[Fran27]

My dog is 5 months now and still does it - I've also tried everything. He doesn't bite much anymore when we play (I used a spray bottle and it worked some), but basically when he get too wild he jumps at me and starts biting (especially clothes, but unfortunately sometimes he grabs what's under it too), I just turn around and ignore him. He stops eventually, but while he does it, it's NOT fun. I'm just hoping that one day he will get the hint that it's not working to get attention.

 

[joce]

Put your thumb on his bottom palate and press holding onto the jaw with the rest of your hand. Everytime he bites do it. It might sound mean but I don't mean for you to break the dogs jaw,just pressure so he knows your not playing. Its the only thing that worked with our husky. Our vet and trainer told us to do it,but the vet also threw in biting back(which actually consist of pinching I think)! A lot of the mouthy dogs never learned bite inhabition the way they should of and they just dont understand what they are doing. Which if you have had him three weeks I'm almost positive that is the problem. You got him at pnly seven weeks?It is a huge deal and definately something you need to take care of. If you can not correct it get ahold of a behaviorist or trainer. ANd in the future leave the up with the mom as long as possible. Never before eight. My dobes breeder kept the pups till 12 weeks. I've never had the slightest problem with him.

I had a bunch of charts that showed where to pinch but i don't think I have them anymore. The pup just doesn't understand that he is hurting you. He isn't getting bit back so he doesn't understand how hard he can play without hurting.

 

[Fran27]

Haha not going to work, but thanks. When my puppy is wild enough to behave that way, there is *no* way to catch him, even less hold his face!

 

[Doberluv]

Using pain, discomfort or force normally won't work on most dogs or if it does can create an unpleasant association with their owner. Ending all play...taking away that very valued resource is removing a payoff. Replacing your body parts with an acceptable teething type chew toy is preferrable and praising for chewing on that. They will grow out of it when teething is over and if you give NO payoff for that behavior. Any attention is still attention, even doing things unpleasant with your hands, making noises, talking to them, shouting at them....it's all attention and a payoff. Seperate yourself from the pup the moment he starts biting you. Give another toy and walk away. When you see him chewing on that, immediately praise him and even give a treat.

 

[joce]

It isn't normal play though and it may not end with teething. It sounds like the pup never learned bite inhibition. This can cause huuuge problems in dogs later on. This is why people get biters an growlers when they are older. They will associate you with pain just as much as they would there littermates or mother. If you can't do it go to a behaviorist. I think you said this was a shepard. That could be a huge problem on your hands oin a couple years.


And you don't do it for pain really, but discomfort.

 

[cosmo_mom]

yes, he is an australian shepherd. and we are trying to get this under control sooner rather than later. and i guess out of ignorance, we really didn't realize that he should not have been let go so young, but that's too late now. we'll try some of the suggestions, will try to be more consistent with the ignoring, and the time out. we have a baby gate that we can use to separate him from us. hopefully, if we are more consistent we will start to see a difference. i know he is smart, he learned to sit after just a few trys.

 

[Saje]

The third thing I suggested for you would work. You have to be consistent about it. As Doberluv suggested your grabbing him and saying No or even just saying No is giving him the attention he wants and therefore rewarding him.

 

[showpug]

Don't think for one moment that this biting habit has to be "under control" before you can start obedience classes! Go now and get your puppy started! That is what the instructors are there for and they understand puppies. If you put all of your focus on this problem and wait for obedience classes then you will miss out on the "window" to get your puppy properly socialized with other dogs and strangers. Biting they usually grow out of, but a fearful or under socialized dog is a bigger and more dangerous habit to break!! Good luck and don't feel like you wont be accepted at puppy training school...problems like yours are what keep these people employeed. They will be happy to help you. Obedience classes will also help build respect in your puppy towards you. It helps them realize that you call the shots. Give it a try, you have nothing to loose, and everything to gain!

 

[Doberluv]

It isn't normal play though and it may not end with teething

Why do you say it isn't normal play? This is a 10 week old baby we're talking about, isn't it? Of course he hasn't learned bite inhibition yet. That's what we're talking about teaching him.

If there is consistancy with all who are interacting with this dog, the whole family....consistancy in removing the payoff for biting, this behavior will cease, not over night because it is normal for puppies to do this. But it is the "law" of animal behavioral science that any behavior will be repeated when there is a motivator present. Remove the motivator and the behavior will extinguish itself. It really doesn't matter what behavior or "brand" of puppy chewing/biting there is. It's a universal concept that most professional trainers impliment in training animals. The trick is....make sure you're recognizing what are motivators. We sometimes think we're not giving a payoff, when we actually are.

 

[Barb04]

We found with Kona that if giving her another object besides our hand to bite didn't stop her, we put her in the kitchen with gates for 10 - 15 minutes. Then she was allowed out. If she started again, she went back in the kitchen (had toys in the kitchen also to bite on). This helped. We also found that Kona has a lot of energy after getting up from sleeping so that's when she's more likely to bite. We learned to exercise/play with her a lot to burn off the energy and calm her down.

 

[joce]

Bite inhibition is how hard to bite not "just dont bite". A dog should already have bite inhibition when it leaves its mother and siblings. There was a dog in my first obedience class that never learned and he would just bite as hard as he could on any of the dogs whenever. Just playing(his version of it) he put a hole in another dogs ear. They kicked him out of the class and I dont think the lady ever took him to a behaviorist.

this is not normal behavior if the pup has no bite inhibition. If it does then its no big deal,but it sounds like the pup was taken to early. A dog with no bite inhibition will always bite to hard or to much. That means no playing with other dogs because why is it fare to them to get bit that hard. It is in no way the pups fault though. It just never learned. You'd also never want it around kids. Kids and dogs play but this dog won't understand how hard it is chewing or biting.

You can not just teach this dog to never put its mouth on anything. There will be times when it wants to play and it needs to learn how much is to much. I really wish the first trainer i worked with had a website but I don't even think I have the guys number anymore. I did hear recently that some shelters automatically euthenize pups taken too early though because of it. It is not a little deal.


"Any dog, no matter how stable of temperament, can be pushed into a
position where they feel they must bite to defend themselves. The
difference between the dog that administers a good hard pinch to the
tormenting six year old human and the dog that rips the six year
old's face off is bite inhibition."
http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/archives/bite.txt
Another website says it needs learned by four months but every trainer or behaviorist I've talked to said before leaving the mom.

"A dog's ability to control the force of his biting is called "bite inhibition." It's a critically important skill that every puppy needs to learn, the earlier the better. At first, they don't know their own strength nor how sharp their little teeth really are. Puppies learn to control the force of their biting from the reactions of their mothers and littermates during play and especially play-fighting."
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/bite2.html

A lot of these are just the yelp and back away but that did not work with my husky. If it works for you great,but just find something that works

 

[showpug]

I think the whole "bite inhibition" subject may be getting blown way out of proportion with this pup. If he left his mom at 7 weeks, that's not that young-we are talking a weeks difference from what is considered "normal." I do however agree that 8 weeks of age or older is best for a new pup to go to it's new home for MANY REASONS. I have had pups come home anywhere from 5 weeks (way too young!!!!) to 11 weeks. They all nipped and bit at us for a while. We taught them manners and how to behave and NEVER have had a dog that bites us or other dogs too hard in it's adult life. I think some of this negative talk about euthanizing pups at the humane society that have this problem is NOT what this puppy's owner needs to hear right now. It is NORMAL for puppies to bite and nip and it's our job to teach them that puppy/dog teeth are NEVER ok on human skin. Be persistant and stay calm. Take this pup to training and your pup will most likely outgrow this behavior and lead a normal adult life. Most puppy classes will allow your pup to play with other puppies and they will make good teachers for each other---the earlier the better!!!!!

 

[Saarloos Wolfhound]

Puppies in general have a very strong need to chew, some more than others. However, it needs to be controlled. But be sure you are providing a proper outlet for chewing, such as gumabones, etc. as you work on controlling the problem chewing.

I know that the technique, when your puppy clamps down, let out a very loud YELP in imitation of a hurt puppy to try and discourage him/her from biting.

It's helpful if you could enroll in a puppy class designed especially for young puppies in order to get the proper guidance, because it's sometimes difficult for a novice trainer to recognize when aversives should be escalated. If you are reading the puppy wrong, increasing aversives could actually make the problem worse instead of better.

Hope this helps

 

[joce]

This could be normal pup behavior and i hope it is but I'm just saying what i had to go through with my dog. I can't say if its whats wrong because i have never seen the dog. Don't ignore it is all I want to get across. If you think its a problem get it fixed. The pup is young so it is doable. I'm not going to say its easy when its not. We had to get a trainer/behaviorist to fix it and you may too. If its jut the puppy being a puppy then he should grow out of it.

 

[cosmo_mom]

hi again. read thru all the posts, and just to clarify, my puppy is in no way attacking me. he is just biting in play, even if i am not playing at the moment. we had a good day yesterday though, he played alot with myself and my boyfriend and seemed a little better about trying to bite my pants leg. what usually happens is when he bites my pants leg, he sometimes gets some skin underneath, and that is why i have such a problem cause he leaves little bruises ( i do happen to bruise very easily, just a little pinch is all it takes) anyway, the training classes around here won't enroll pups until rabies shots have been given. and he will be getting that in the next couple of weeks. and he has already been socialized with other dogs/puppies as well as lots of people and he is not aggressive, just very playful and nippy. we have started putting him in "time out" when playtime is over if he is still acting this way, so hopefully with some consistency, we'll see improvement. thanks for all the suggestions & i'll keep you updated. by the way, he was exactly 10 weeks old yesterday.

 

[Mollydog]

yes, he is an australian shepherd. and we are trying to get this under control sooner rather than later. and i guess out of ignorance, we really didn't realize that he should not have been let go so young, but that's too late now. we'll try some of the suggestions, will try to be more consistent with the ignoring, and the time out. we have a baby gate that we can use to separate him from us. hopefully, if we are more consistent we will start to see a difference. i know he is smart, he learned to sit after just a few trys.

First let me suggest that the dog needs to exercise more a tired dog is going to be less bitty in my experience. A well-exercised dog is a dog that is more likely to display better manners.

Next if he is not letting you ignore him then I suggest once he bites you make a hurt noise, and then place him in isolation for a 15 min. let him out if he does it again place him back in isolation. Let him associate that biting makes his people go away and not want to play with him. The reward will be that if he's playing with you and he doesn't bite he gets to keep playing. Just stick tough to it. Remember he must view that there is NO tolerance for this behavior. If he thinks that sometimes he may be able to get by with it he will try.

Most puppies bit naturally. They would bite their litter mates in play and will be ignored if they play to hard. This is how they learn about their mouths and what they can do with them and what is ok to bite. I see you said that he was taken away to young from which means he didn't get the time with his mother and litter mates to understand what biting means or what level it is expectable. Most of us say no level is expectable and that dogs should learn never to place teeth on skin but that depends on what you plan to train the dog for.

Keep us updated on your progress. GOOD LUCK.