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Original poster

Boring Puppy Nipping thread

25 replies

notimefortv · 21/12/2009 18:14

I have read loads of threads on this already but still - grrrrr. Puppy (Bichon Poo) is 14 wks old and I just want to play with her and stroke her loads and cuddles etc but she seems to constantly want to mouth your hands, or toes as I am now sitting typing, or heels as you walk round the house (which is the worst).
There are, of course, lots of times she does sit at your feet etc.

Am really trying to do the whole fold arms, turn away thing, wait til she stops then really praise her but I guess I just need a little encouragement as can't see her stopping this! Does it get better with age anyway? Saw friends puppy today (lab x) and she says she doesn't have that problem at all.

Mother-in-law insits I need to tap her on the nose which I am not prepared to start doing!

Also, should I put her in another room, say, when I am getting the baby dressed as I can't then react properly to her nipping as am doing something else?

Would love to hear from an experienced 'mum' that I will look back soon and say 'remember when she used to nip all the time'

Really took the pain earlier and totally ignored her whilst she tried to get me to play by nipping my hands so I could really fuss her when she stopped - she still doesn't seem to get it tho.

My trainer told me NOT to offer her a toy at these times (as loads of books say) as she won't learn properly.

OP posts:
BellasSparklyBaubles · 21/12/2009 18:46

'Really took the pain earlier and totally ignored her whilst she tried to get me to play by nipping my hands so I could really fuss her when she stopped - she still doesn't seem to get it tho.'

Ouch! You need to tell her it hurts. Have you tried a sharp 'Ow!' when she does it, and pulling your hand away?

BellasSparklyBaubles · 21/12/2009 18:49

Here's a little video for you (who needs the X factor, eh? )

puppy biting help

Original poster
notimefortv · 21/12/2009 20:24

thanks for video - is an easy way to see how it's done - yes have tried the ow and ouch and taking hand away - guess I just have to keep going. What about when she is hanging off my socks as I'm walking?!

OP posts:
LuckySalem · 21/12/2009 20:28

Do the same.

When puppies are little they test their bite (something or other I'm sure bella will say in a min) that says how much they can bite when playing with their litter mates. She's doing it with you.

If she is biting you and you don't want her to say ow and move away and ignore her. Same with feet, ankles ANYTHING.

If your playing and nipping is ok but she then nips too hard say Ow to THAT bite.

HTH - I'm still learning.

BellasSparklyBaubles · 21/12/2009 20:42

Very good, Lucky

What they're learning is bite inhibition.

It does take time.

I take a zero tolerance approach and don't allow any mouthing at all. Remember that in a few months time they will have big teeth

NellyNoKnicks · 21/12/2009 20:43

When my dog got into mouthing/nipping, I used to use a sharp intake of breath (like if you stub your toe)but it needed to be quite loud to distract and then obviously move out of the way so he couldn't carry on with what he was doing.

HTH

LuckySalem · 21/12/2009 21:12

Im having a thing at the mo with NO biting at all but when she gets older and has learnt I may allow it - NOTICE THE MAY.... depends how sharp her teeth are! lol

The only time she's kinda allowed is when we're playing tug and she catches my hand by mistake. I still say ow but I dont stop playing cos its a mistake.

Original poster
notimefortv · 21/12/2009 22:15

Sorry been away -waiting for my family to get home safe in the snow -long story was horrible waiting but dh and 3 dc home now.

Trouble is if am playing with her and she nips my hand I may say ow then turn my back on her then she bites my feet. Cheeky pup.

OP posts:
LuckySalem · 21/12/2009 22:22

Do'nt just turn your back. Get up and leave her. If she follows you turn around and in a stern but not loud/nasty voice "bed" then keep walking. Shut the door behind you if you have to so she can't follow you.
The idea is you've been a bad girl I'm not interacting with you if you do that - kinda like the naughty step for dogs

LuckySalem · 21/12/2009 22:23

Oh and glad your family's home safe

Original poster
notimefortv · 21/12/2009 22:58

Thanks all. I will keep going with it.

OP posts:
Romanarama · 22/12/2009 08:18

OK, prepared for flaming here, but mine (golden retriever) does this, and the vet and trainer both said to grab his muzzle and squeeze it so he whines whenever he bites, while saying something like 'no biting'. I've been doing this since last week and there's been a huge improvement. You don't have to squeeze much - I think it's unpleasant/scary rather than painful.

I've been using the clicker to stop the jumping up. I yell say 'off!', and click and treat as his feet touch the floor.

Being very strict has been pretty effective in lots of ways. Now if I say his name sternly he sits or lies down straight away when he's doing something naughty, so I think he kind of knows what I don't like. He's 10 wks.

MakkaPakkasWilly · 22/12/2009 08:20

I have a cocker, he was TERRIBLE for mouthing and nipping, he even drew blood a few times - keep up with the 'OW's!

When they bite, yelp, and yelp good! It does take time but they will learn.

MakkaPakkasWilly · 22/12/2009 08:23

Romanorama - well as long as your vet endorses methods that are unpleasant/scary rather than painful.
Much better

I'm sure a 10 week old pup will thrive on that discipline. Lucky little woofer.

BellasSparklyBaubles · 22/12/2009 09:09

I'm not going to flame you, Romanarama - takes s lot for Bella to get her blow torch out but I do want to point out that all your pup is learning with your method is that if he nips, you will hurt him. Adult dogs will not, generally speaking, hurt pups. They understand that pups have to learn and will tolerate more than they would from an adult dog.

As for using his name sternly - well that's just teaching him fear. He lies down to show you fear and submission. Some of us do not want to build our relationships with our dogs on that basis - we want trust and respect. Oh, and love.

minimu · 22/12/2009 09:42

Notimefortv my penniesworth! It does sound like your puppy is generally getting very excited which is resulting in the nips. It sounds like you are doing just the right thing when she does nip.

Maybe it would be an idea to try and get calmer behaviour generally from the puppy - with the hope that he gets less excited and hopefully less nips!?

When you treat the puppy I would put the treats on the floor this will take away some of the excitment from your hands.

Do not stroke the puppy if she is gigging about wait for a pause and when she is sitting as still as she can then you can stroke her . The minute she jumps about and lifts her legs stop and be calm and then when she is still again storke her.

Another thought is what games does she like to play? I guess if she is nipping you and feet she likes soft toys so maybe you can teach her with the toys what is sensible play. So do not get her too hyped up when playing and reward her for the still behaviour at the end of the game.

I am aware that this can take ages but hopefully she will learn that calm behaviour gets rewards. Do not be put off if this gets worse first though. Her way of getting attention is to jump about and nip so if it stops working she will tend to jump higher and nip more for a bit. The penny will eventually drop.

LuckySalem · 22/12/2009 11:44

I think Bella was pretty reserved there Romanarama. That sounds absolutely horrible. That puppy is like a baby. Would you endorse someone biting their baby cos they bit them?

Sorry but thats cruel don't care if the vet says its ok.

MakkaPakkasWilly · 22/12/2009 12:06

Some people don't deserve dogs.
There are so many better ways to train than to squeeze a TEN WEEK OLD puppy by the mouth until it whines. Poor little sod.

purpleduckUnderTheMistletoe · 22/12/2009 12:16

I agree with the loud "OW", or whatever.

Is she getting enough to chew on?
I don't understand why your trainer said not to give her a toy...

I understand that you shouldn't reward her for nipping you, but what about doing the "OW" or loud squeek or whatever, then giving her something more appropriate to chew on when she has stopped?

Romanarama · 22/12/2009 13:33

He's not a baby, he's a dog, and he loves me and I love him. And he's stopped biting me altogether, which is a real improvement on 3 days ago. And he will stop eating the Xmas tree/the children when I say 'leave it', which can only be a good thing. And we spend loads of time playing, and he's very happy and thriving. So I wouldn't balk at the muzzle trick if you're sick of the biting. It's about 1/2 a second btw, not counting to 10 or anything. I'd guess it's about as not-nice as a weeny piece of hotdog is nice, so if you give him the hotdog when he stops too then you're doubling the incentive.

I should maybe add for clarity that my 10-wk old puppy is no toy dachsund. He can jump onto the kitchen table already, and onto the table that the xmas tree is on (to keep it out of his reach ). When he's up on his hind legs he is as tall as my 3.5yo, so time is of the essence here.

slushy06 · 22/12/2009 14:52

Actually Romanarama me and my friend got a puppy at the same time saw the same vet and the vet advised us both to do what you said too.

I haven't tried it I turn away and ignore my friend did and his dog does not whimper and has stopped nipping where as mine is still doing so.

The vet said it is not supposed to hurt just that as puppy's usually nip when over excited it is hard for them to hear you saying no but that calms them down so they hear you say no.

His dog does not whimper or show any sign that it hurts him I thought he was just holding his mouth shut to stop him biting like if a child is hitting you you hold their hand to stop them hitting you. Maybe I am wrong though but it really didn't seem to be hurting him.

Romanarama · 22/12/2009 15:04

I think it may be hard for a pup to connect the walking away to his nipping, as after all they do get walked away from a lot for no particular reason other than that we have other things to do than play with them. My pup is deffo not scared of me anyway, he's crazy about me

Original poster
notimefortv · 23/12/2009 00:36

Purple - trainer just said that if every time they nip you and you give them a toy they think this is how they get your atention to get a toy. He says that most books will say to offer a toy but he thinks not to in this instance. Don't know much more than that.

She does have quite a few things to chew - it was even when she was snuggling up on my lap she would constantly turn her head to nip but this has got a little better and we have managed to have a few calm snuggles.

OP posts:
midori1999 · 23/12/2009 11:51

Try not to worry about it, puppy play biting is perfectly normal and healthy, it is how puppies learn bite inhibition, and it is when you have a puppy that never play bites, you need to be nervous.

I agree, their teeth are like needles though!

This article explains about play biting, why it is important and how to deal with it. If you stick to this method it will definitely work.

community-2.webtv.net/@HH!FB!19!A0EAEC53A166/CRATEXCAPE/CRATEXCAPE/page2.html

UndomesticHousewife · 29/12/2009 09:13

When my dog was a puppy she used to bite, at the time I read somewhere that this is how they play with their puppy brothers and sisters and to get them to stop you give a very high pitched squeal whenever they mouth which is supposed to be just what the other puppies would do when they get hurt.

It worked brilliantly and she stopped within a couple of days.

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