Puppy biting driving me insane

[user1469050203]

Hi all, I've recently welcomed home a mini dachshund puppy. She's currently 10 weeks old and is very clever, she's mostly house trained already and doesn't whine at night. However her biting is really problematic - I can't really stroke her as she goes to mouth my hands, she continually jumps up and bites at clothing and ankles/shins etc. She hasn't been able to go out for walks yet as we've been waiting for her vaccinations to be all completed... Will her behavior improve with time/outdoor exercise or do I need to be doing something specific? I've been doing the yelping and time out routine for 2 weeks with no success whatsoever. Thanks!

[khaleesi71]

I feel your pain - we have a 11 week puppy and we're all showing visible signs of his teeth. We always have a chew toy with us and find a firm 'ahah' noise and down distracts him and then he's encouraged to chew on his toy. When he chews his toy we stroke and say good boy well done. If he continues to bite or growl or snap then he's isolated for a few minutes so that he can't see any of us. No words - he's just guided to the room we use for this. When we let him out he must sit calmly and then we start again. We've done this consistently for several days and it is making a difference. He is teething and remember this isn't spite or aggression - he is looking to you for calm clear and consistent commands. Good luck

[geekone]

10 week old puppies bite chew etc it’s what they do. When she chews you give her something else to chew on. Time out eventually works too but not for a while. She’s just a baby.

[whateveryousay]

It’s awful, but I promise it will pass!! Hang in there in the meanwhile.
Both my GSD and my Golden were truly awful puppy biters. Both improved dramatically around the 20 week mark.

[FrenchHen]

Unfortunately this is what puppies do, she is exploring the world through her mouth. Doesn't stop it hurting, puppy teeth are lethal!

She will grow out of it, in the meantime get her lots of age appropriate chew toys. Antlers and Yakkers are great. Never rawhide.

[GrimDamnFanjo]

Yay to antlers in our house!

[Bathandminttea]

Thanks all for the reassurance :) I don't mind it if it's not permanent! She loves pizzle sticks and frozen Kongs so will keep on giving those.

[AgathaF]

Our puppy is 20 weeks now and we're starting to see great improvement in the biting, so I think you have a little way to go yet. I can really recommend goats ears for them to chew on though. Ours has spent hours and hours chomping on his.

[MrBeansXmasTurkey]

One thing is the yelping part may not work with some dogs and just encourages them. So if that isn't working I would leave it out and just act disapproving in a normal but calm way. The timeout is more about withdrawing your attention rather than a punishment but obviously you can't ignore a puppy biting you so you have to remove her. Also give her lots of positive attention for doing something else rather than biting if you get in first before she can bite you with the chew toy, praise her for chewing it.

[SchoolNightWine]

I have an 18 week old puppy, who started biting a couple of days after we got her at 10 weeks. We put a few pennies in an empty coke can, taped up the top and shook it at her whenever she bit. Also used to throw it near her if she was constantly chewing something she shouldn't or digging. It startled her enough to stop her doing it, and we said 'no biting/chewing/digging' as soon as she stopped. She now rarely tries to bite and is very soft mouthed if she does. I only have to pick up the can if she's being naughty and she stops what she's doing!
I also found she bit more when she was tired, so took her away from any excitement and settled her down. Might be worth trying this too.

[AgathaF]

SchoolNightWine that sort of noise aversion training really isn't recommended any more.

[SchoolNightWine]

Well it worked fantastically with my puppy and she's a dream already, so I can only go by how well and how quickly it worked for us.

[Bathandminttea]

AgathaF Do you know why it isn't recommended anymore? I must admit it seems that positive training only just isn't working for me at the moment, so maybe a rattling noise would make it clear to her that it's an unwanted behavior?
SchoolNightWine I agree that tiredness seems to make it worse. She's really cute when she's just woken up and is all sleepy

[AgathaF]

Bathand I think there are a few reasons. One is that it doesn't show the dog what to replace the bad behaviour with, it just scares the dog into not repeating the behaviour. We were also told by our puppy trainer that it can lead to puppies/dogs being afraid of other noises in the longer term, which may set up separation anxiety if those noises are heard when the owner is away. I think this is because the dog learns that loud noise = scary thing, so then assumes other loud noises are also scary. She also said that it can change the bond between puppy and owner as the puppy learns fear from the owner.
Zak George has some good methods of trying to refocus the puppy onto other things during the biting stage. He has videos on YouTube and also a book.

They are definitely more bitey when hungry or tired or overstimulated.

[SchoolNightWine]

With good positive training, loads of socialisation and endless affection the rest of the time, none of the above negatives need to happen.
I'm sure it all depends on the breed and individual dog too. My dog isn't scared by the noise but intrigued by it (she'll carry the can off if she gets the chance!). It's just enough to startle her to stop the behaviour we didn't want.
Now off to check out Zac's videos on not pulling...we haven't mastered that yet

[glenthebattleostrich]

We have a tiny fury dictator too! She's also shoe and sock obsessed so regularly pounced on feet!

We give her a carrot to play with which helps her sore teething. Also lots of games and distraction if she gets too bitey (I almost permanently have a ball in one pocket and treats in the other!)

She's getting better with learning some simple commands and out trainer is certain she will improve as she is more mentally stimulated too.

But, like most awful kids phases, this too soon will pass. We put in the hard work for the first 18 months to get an amazing companion for years to come but (in my experience) puppies are kinda arseholes. Incredibly cute but little furry arseholes 😁

Although no matter how challenging Mabel may is during the day, when she falls asleep sucking my thumb all is forgiven!!!

[SlothMama]

Our puppy was a nightmare for biting, we tried distracting her with toys and squeaking but didn't work. Best thing we did was remove her from the room and put her in her puppy pen for a few minutes. It allowed her to calm down and taught her that if she was biting she didn't get to be with us.

She's 5 months now and the biting is a lot better if she does bite we turn around and ignore her.

[Bathandminttea]

Having said she was pretty much house trained, she has now gone and pooped on the kitchen floor never a dull moment!! We'll get there eventually...

[glenthebattleostrich]

ERM, think we need a puppy picture!!!

[Bathandminttea]

Here she is, in all her glory. I now know why nature made puppies so cute, they're a massive PITA! it's funny because I had a dog when I was a teenager, didn't remember it being so bad...I imagine my parents would beg to differ.

[glenthebattleostrich]

She is gorgeous. And yes, they are little monsters.

[Bathandminttea]

What breed is your pup glen? She has very soulful eyes and a lovely furry coat, I am jealous :)

[glenthebattleostrich]

She's a toy cockapoo (posh mongrel!!). She'd just been told off for stealing shoes there. She's a sweetheart really, I can say that at the minute as she's curled up asleep on me after being confused by guinea pigs. She just cant figure out why we keep some puppy sided friends in a cage and feed them with grass not meat 😁

[laurely]

Can relate to this . I have a 12 week old St. Bernard who is the sweetest puppy alive..... unless she is tired overexcited or hungry . If she’s any of those things she turns into a bitey nightmare . It’s very wearing and some days I’m not sure if I can cope with it! Especially when I see their may be another 2 months of this? Oh dear .

[fizzledays]

Shout out "OW" very high pitched and withdraw hands behind back and all attention. If very bad get up and walk away or stand with back to the pup. I have a 14 week old German Shepherd pup and 3 lovely new scars on my hand. This is the only thing that worked for me and after 2-3 days of consistency in my approach it honestly worked. He got much less stroking and attention.
Also taught him "nicely" when taking food/treats from me so he doesn't snap, and I use that word when I stroke him as well.
Good luck!

[fizzledays]

@laurely hahaha same! Hunter is bitey when he's tired, hungry or needs a poo!