Gretzky Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 My puppy is now 8 weeks old and we've had him since 6 weeks. He was very placid for the first couple of days until he found his feet (paws). We are crate training and that is going really well. No number 2's in the house and only the odd number 1. When he's tired he's also very loving and will snuggle up to you if you're lying on the floor. The only thing is he constantly bites. We playwith his toys and he goes for hands instead. We let him mouth us which is gentle at first and he gets a "good boy". He gradually bites harder until we do the yelp thing. However the biting has gotten worse over the last 5 days. He jumps at our faces snapping. Feet and trousers. You can't even pet him now without being bitten (unless he's tired). My friend who's a vet said to pick him up by the scruff (like his Mother would) and pop in on his bed in his crate. I tried it - hated doing it but it seems to work. He sits there and calms down but as soon as he's out........... chomp, chomp, chomp. I seem to be constantly telling him off and "no" has become my favourite word. Is this biting normal? I know I've only had him 2 weeks and hopefully as he grows up, he'll chill out a bit. Our fear is he'll grow up and still bite - any ideas? Thank you..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormchaser09 Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 'my opinion' telling good boy when he is mouthing at all might be giving him mixed messages. Turning away and keeping hands etc away worked for us although Storm was 7 months old when we got her and was very mouthy.I'm sure someone with little puppy experience will be along with better advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretzky Posted March 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 I will try that - no mouthing at all hope he stops soon, my hands are like a pin cushion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormchaser09 Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 I can imagine his teeth will be like little needles, but it is worse when they bite down hard with their big teeth. It took us a few weeks but its worth persevering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AttilaVikingsDemon Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 I'm going to bump up a post that will be a tremendous help to you on this very topic-its helped me with mine-he was tearing my hands and lower arms up, and the advice on there really helps alot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretzky Posted March 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Thank you Attila - I'm quite new to this, so where do I read the post? Any help would be appreciated and if it worked for you I'll give it a go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valkyries Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 agree telling good boy when he is mouthing at all might be giving him mixed messages, i used to just put my flat had in Odins mouth, then give a toy. if he continued i'd walk away and ignore him, he's just a baby yet ot will take time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valkyries Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 David his post will show up on the main page just click on it xxxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherZeman Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 With my puppy (who was extremely bitey since 9 weeks) I tried everything - pushing my hands into her mouth, yelping, I even tried other "submissive" styles like the one you mentioned...but it just fueled her aggression. There's a fine line between bullying and the alpha mentality, but she wasn't having either. No matter what methods I tried, it all seemed like a game to her and made her even more nippy with hands, faces, feet, pants...even put a hole through my lip once! What worked for my pup was that whenever she bit we'd say "ow" and then leave the room, showing her that when she bites she would lose her playmate. We put a divider up between rooms and when she'd bite we'd hop over the divider, fold our arms, and turn our back to her. Body language speaks TONS. It definitely was a LOT of work (not the lazy/easy method!) with having to get up and leave the room repeatedly, but it was the only thing that helped curb her persistent biting. Thankfully she seems to have outgrown it for the most part at 5 months, now that she is done teething and has been trained properly. I'm sure you'll find something that works for you! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AttilaVikingsDemon Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Thank you Attila - I'm quite new to this, so where do I read the post? Any help would be appreciated and if it worked for you I'll give it a go! Its by Magic Merlin called; Bite inhabition-the most important thing you can teach...Bite inhabition - the most important thing you can teach your dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 i give mine a firm AHAH and turn away from them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretzky Posted March 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Thanks guys for all your replies - I think it's a question of just sticking to one method and seeing how it goes. @Hellkitten - a hole in the lip?!?! Ouch..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draven Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Had the same problem with Nanook,our vet told us to rattle a tin with coins in it because he wouldn't like the noise and would stop but it just seemed to make him more aggressive. Yelping didn't work either. In the end all it took was putting a meat spread(bovril) or butter on our hands,then letting him lick it off to teach him our hands were for licking not for bitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tams Teeko and Keeta Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Just remember...he's only a baby. 8 weeks is teeny tiny. We got ours at 6 weeks too so he missed out on being taught bite inhibition by his brothers and sisters, its something we have had to do ourselves. He's now coming up 5 months and he has gotten the hang of it. He. Still opens his mouth when playing but he doesnt bite down at all. I used to just cross my arms and stick my nose in the air....like a huffy child haha....and refuse to play. They soon figure it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jroberts1 Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 i had the same problem with mine when she was between 12-14 weeks. we tried everything anyone suggested but she took no notice and nothing worked. however the only thing that did work was that we got her crate out of the car and brought it in. as soon as she went to bite we picked her up (don't talk to her, say nothing) and put her in the cage for about 2 mins. then let her out. she started straight away at first and so we put her back in again. then after about the third time the difference was unbelievable. i also noticed that after a few days she became calmer in herself as well. it will take about 2 weeks but less and less. our hands have stayed in tact since. we were all covered in bite marks and bruises and it was a horrible frustrating time so you have my sympathy. we now have a crate back in the car and she new the difference between naughty crate and good crate as it was in a different place. other wise as mentioned by another member about walking into another room and separating yourself is pretty much on the same lines (separating yourself when naughty). good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 At six weeks he's left his litter far too early and has missed out on two crucial weeks of social interaction and development with his litter mates that would have help teach him bite inhibition. I would get a small soft toy (something he can easily get his mouth around) and redirect him to play with that rather than with your hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jroberts1 Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 i had the same problem with mine when she was between 12-14 weeks. we tried everything anyone suggested but she took no notice and nothing worked. however the only thing that did work was that we got her crate out of the car and brought it in. as soon as she went to bite we picked her up (don't talk to her, say nothing) and put her in the cage for about 2 mins. then let her out. she started straight away at first and so we put her back in again. then after about the third time the difference was unbelievable. i also noticed that after a few days she became calmer in herself as well. it will take about 2 weeks but less and less. our hands have stayed in tact since. we were all covered in bite marks and bruises and it was a horrible frustrating time so you have my sympathy. we now have a crate back in the car and she new the difference between naughty crate and good crate as it was in a different place. other wise as mentioned by another member about walking into another room and separating yourself is pretty much on the same lines (separating yourself when naughty). good luck we got our puppy at 8 wks old, so i wouldn't say she was too young away from mum, but she was a horrer as i said but sh's much nicer now and we have been able to bond with her now, very difficult when she was biting chunks out of us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taz291819 Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 The biting is natural, don't worry about it. It may last a while, but he/she will grow out of it. Ok, well, not entirely, but it'll be different when it's an adult. My first sibe liked to bite ankles, and my current sibe liked to bite my wrist or forearm. Now that my current sibe is an adult, he still likes to play bite. Meaning, he'll clamp onto my wrist, but isn't biting as hard as he did as a pup. It's just play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damrod Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 http://www.ehow.com/how_2286246_stop-dog-from-mouthing-ones.html http://www.petfinder.com/pet-training/nip-mouthing-bud.html http://helpwithpettraining.com/dog-rough-play-mouthing.php http://www.aspcabehavior.org/articles/43/Mouthing-Nipping-and-Play-Biting-in-Adult-Dogs.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretzky Posted March 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Thanks again for all of the replies. We are trying the nauhty crate thing at the moment. He likes to go in there when he's tired and gets a treat when he finds his bed. However if he's biting and over excited, he gets put in there and ignored for 5 mins. Back out and try again. We also give him a toy instead of our hands. The frustrating thing is we want to play and bond etc, but it's made difficult. However, when he does begin to tire, he is much more licky and he actually snuggles up with us on the floor. He's only 8 weeks but he has actually started to scratch the door to go out!! He's a good lad really. I think because its our first Husky we were concerned and we were misreading over excitement for aggression. He had snapped twice and growled three times when we were taking shoes off him that he was chomping!! In the crate he went and he looked utterly disgraced. I guess it will just take time. The stories of you guys who had similar problems and now have none biters, really helps. Thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jroberts1 Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 nanook is 4 months now and still a nutter sometimes but she seems a little older in the head, things that use to attract her attention i.e ankles, socks whilst still on your feet,the hem of my dress or cardie.. just don't bother her any more, she still mouths but hasn't broken our skin in weeks. i think your pup will get better with time, ours was a pain in the butt when she was 8 wks right through till she was 15 wks but we hadn't started the naughty cage till then.. chin up it will get better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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