HELP!! Puppy biting DD

[mckenzie]

Woody has been with us nearly 2 weeks and on the whole has settled in nicely. He's nearly 12 weeks.
He gets excited sometimes, as expected, but today it's got out of control and he has been biting DD (9yrs old).
On the whole she is great with him, playing, feeding, helping with lead training etc. She knows to stand still, cross her arms, turn her back on him etc but he got his teeth into her pajamas tonight, twice, and she uderstandably squealed which I know would have made it worse.
Any tips please? I put Woody in the utility room while I calmed DD. Was that the right thing to do?
He's had two walks today. One short and all on the lead and the second one a little longer and 5 mins off lead playing with a 1 yr old dog.
He's also had play time with me and also calm brush time with me.
TIA.

[mckenzie]

I've just spoken to the trainer whose classes we are starting in January. She is going to come tomorrow and give DD some specific things to do with Woody so that he shows her more respect.

[muttynutty]

I am very worried about your trainers language - if they did say the puppy needs to show more respect - cancel and look for another trainer.

Puppies do bite and nip - they also get very hyper at times. Watch carefully when the puppy becomes like this- usually when they are tired and try to prevent it so if puppy goes crazy in the evening then manage this time carefully.

Maybe give the puppy time out before the crazy time or have calm times.

If the puppy does nip at DD immediately say nothing but remove the puppy as you did.

I would be encouraging tuggy games with the puppy and only let the puppy play with the tuggy - of they make contact with you or your clothes stop playing.



The following is copied from Sally Bradbury Dog training advice and support from Facebook - this would be worth you joining for excellent advice

Biting is a normal puppy behaviour. Puppies investigate the world through their mouths. If it is within reach, it will probably be picked up and chewed! If it is exciting and moves fast it will definitely get bitten. Dogs play by using their mouths because they don’t have hands.

Puppies need to bite and they need to play. What he/she is doing is simply trying to elicit play. Play is by far the best way to bond with your pup and is a great way to reward him during training.

Use tug toys that he can bite. Old knotted towels or a favourite toy with string attached. Unwanted dressing gown cords are ideal. You need to encourage him to bite one end of the toy whilst you hold the other end. Then you can have a great game together without getting bitten.

Ensure your tug toys are long enough and soft enough for your puppy to happily bite. Your toy should touch the floor whilst you are holding the other end. This allows you to animate the toy and keep the game low to the ground and not encourage jumping up. It also puts distance between teeth and hands.

Keep these interactive toys out of your pups reach whilst they are not being played with. It will keep them more novel which means the pup is more likely to want to bite and play with them when given the opportunity. Plant toys around the house and garden (out of puppies reach) so you have them easily accessible and as much as possible, take the game outside.

Rotate chew items that you leave on the floor to also keep them interesting.

Do not play with your puppy unless you have a toy for him to grab. Don't let anyone in the house roughhouse with him or roll about on the floor with him.

Start by animating the toy on the floor and saying 'getit' every time your pup grabs the toy. You hold on to the toy and let him grab it and shake it. Let go of the toy sometimes so that puppy is encouraged to come back to you to get you to start the game again.

Also teach a word for letting go. To do this you simply stop the game by putting a finger in pup's collar and keeping hold of the toy, release the pressure on the toy so that it becomes boring. As soon as pup lets go say 'thank you' and immediately invite him to grab it again with a 'getit'. He will quickly learn to let go when you stop playing in order for the game to start again and eventually the word 'thankyou' (or your word of choice) will become his cue to let go.

Once your pup is getting the idea of the game then you can start to add in a 'sit' 'are you ready' before the 'getit' and before you know it you have a dog sitting and waiting patiently for the game to start.

[mrslaughan]

I would have thought he is getting over excited and a time out is what is required? Is he crate trained? I would be trying to give him a break in his crate before he gets over excited.

Honestly - talking about respect - and while I do think animals need to respect people, it's is more about managing a puppies behaviour, it is a toddler essentially and if you wind it up and don't give it calming breaks, you will get "tantrums" or that frantic undesirable behaviour that can result in a child getting hurt.

Also remember a puppy is not a plaything for your child.....it is like a baby and it needs it sleep. Rewarding calm interaction is really important (calm from both of them) and distracting it with something else, or re-directing it when it starts getting wound up.

[SpicyBear]

I am also concerned by your trainer's language. This is nothing to do with the puppy showing your daughter respect - that is a human concept. They are just behaving like a completely normal puppy and you need some positive strategies, as outlined by nutty, for teaching more appropriate behaviour.

I would be quite worried about how this trainer will teach you to make the dog 'respect' you as it doesn't sound as if they have a science based approach.

[mckenzie]

Thanks very much for the posts. I'm wondering if I have misquoted the trainer. I was half listening to her while watching the puppy and DD so it's quite possible. She talked about giving DD specific things to do with him and showing her ways to play with him that were safe for both of them.
I must admit, we do just have his toys spread out over the loynge but I shall happily put them away and give out on a rota when I'm ready to play with him (then I might not trip over them as much)
And DD is getting a new dressing gown for Christmas so there's one long soft toy straight away (the belt of her current one).
Hsi favourite toy is a pink squeaky pig and I can't see how I can attached anything to it. Ditto his ball. So do they just be toys that he plays with by himself rather than with us?
I shall print out a copy of your full post muttynutty and start using your 'getit' etc tomorrow.
Thanks again all of you for your posts.

[muttynutty]

I wouldn't be using a squeaky toy at the moment when you have an excited puppy - it will only stimulate more hyper behaviour.

Quiet toys that you can move would be better

[mckenzie]

ok. I'll remove them. Pet shop visit tomorrow me thinks for some extras to put on the rota.

[mckenzie]

Muttynutty, would you mind taking a look at my other post about feeding? Just in case you think there might be any link?

[muttynutty]

ok i'll look now

[muttynutty]

Oh you needn't spend too much money an old knotted teatowel works well for many puppies. An old sock stuffed with other old socks also is great.

[mckenzie]

Thank you. He's got DD's old blanket and now he can have an old muslin!

[daisydotandgertie]

I've commented on your other thread.

I've two thoughts. 2 walks for a 12 week old pup is MASSES. How long were each of the walks?

And I think that hunger will be having a significant impact on his behaviour - hungry, over tired, over stimulated puppy = frantic, awful, nipping, leaping behaviour.

[mckenzie]

Thanks for both your posts daisy. They were both only short walks. 15 mins, 20 at the very most.

[Dancingyogi]

My puppy used to go nuts at ds, who panicked, moved around, waved his arms - he couldn't help it. Puppy eventually grew out of it, ds eventually learnt to walk away or stay still...it was a trying time but those nutty fits died away thankfully. Puppies are very cute but they are a bloody nightmare at times.

[mckenzie]

Thanks DY. That's exactly what DD did at lunchtime today! Suddenly jumped up from her chair and ran to the cupboard squealing as she had just realised she had forgotten her advent calendar chocolate. And then she was suprised when Woody ran after her and jumped up too.
It's a learning curve for all of us.

[daisydotandgertie]

A useful guide for how much exercise a pup can take is 5 mins per month -'so for your 12 week old pup, 15 mins each day is about right.

Pups don't have an off switch so will keep on and on and on. And then on some more. They run on adrenaline. They need careful managing to ensure they don't learn to behave like irritating fools!

[mckenzie]

That's what the breeder told me Daisy.
I do sometimes have to steer the puppy towards his crate when I think he's tired but he is still playing. Just like DD really

[Dancingyogi]

I thought it was 15min for one session and I thought it was continuous exercise like on a walk, so you could do a couple of sessions a day without causing harm to their joints. it's hard to insist a pup only exercises for 15mins in total a day - does that include a run around the garden because that's what our visits to the park were like - a romp around the garden.

[mckenzie]

I was told by the breeder that romping around in the garden is different as they are on home turf, comfortable and can stop when they're tired whereas a walk out, on the lead or in strange surroundings, should be limited to a guide of 5 minutes per month of age, twice a day.

[Dancingyogi]

I'm not convinced that everyone who says things must be done on a certain way with regards to dog rearing has actually based them on anything other than gut feel - until they prove to me otherwise.
I understood the reason for the limit in activity per session was simply to do with avoiding excess repetitive pressure on the joints before they had matured to cope with the body weight.... New experiences exhaust any dog....but will have little affect on thier joints, might affect their mood though.

[daisydotandgertie]

The five minute guide is both a guide and a reminder. It's not just about joints.

It's a useful guide to physical exercise and a useful reminder about how easy it is to over stimulate a very young puppy. By being aware of the very short amount of time suggested for exercising a very young pup, one is also aware of the other limitations of such a young creature.

Exercise refers to any activity where the pup can't self regulate - so mostly lead walking, but it's also worth including playing with other dogs where excitement will keep a puppy racing about beyond the point of tiredness.

It absolutely does not mean that a puppy should not get to be a puppy - I am not one for wrapping my pups in cotton wool but I do manage them very carefully when they are very small. They get to play, they get to leap about and chase each other around the garden, but I regulate the amount of time they spend doing it.

The 5 minute guide was thought up as a useful tool to new puppy owners to remind them of their pups limitations. It is not a rule. At the outset (it originally referred to labradors) it was 5 minutes of exercise per month of age, once a day.

I am hoping my experience with puppies may help the OP manage her puppy's behaviour. I am certain that the behaviour posted at the beginning of the thread was down to hunger, over stimulation and tiredness and have suggested some strategies to help manage that.