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pulling my hair out at bitey puppy

27 replies

gingerchick · 09/08/2014 20:23

I have a 12 week old cockapoo puppy who is lovely and affectionate but very very bitey of my DDS and me. He really goes for me and gets wound up and won't stop. The vet assures me that some puppies bite more than others and he will grow out of it but I'm panicking I have bought an aggressive dog. He bites my DDS age nearly 5 and nearly 8 and then an hour later is snuggled up like a baby in my arms. He is from a reputable breeder and I am starting puppy classes soon but it is making me really distressed

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ggirl · 09/08/2014 20:51

I feel your pain, we have puppy that has been very very bitey . She was relentless . The first thing we tried was ignoring and walking away , easy until they follow and bite your feet/ clothes etc.
We tried distracting with a toy , worked for a while but she preferred skin .
Her crate has been a godsend, we pop her in that when she's too worked up and excited , just making sure we wait until she's quiet and calm before letting her out. Regular time out for her has helped structure her day and give everyone a rest from the play biting.
It really is only playing, they explore and play by mouthing.
Got to confess ( will no doubt get flamed by doghouse for this ) but we succumbed to squirting her with a water spray to stop her , the last straw was her biting my dd nostril and causing a lot of damage.
I know not not the ideal but since we've used the water spray a few times her biting has reduced loads . She's also started to lose her baby teeth and is now 5.5 mos so hopefully growing out of the worst of it. I'm not suggesting the water spray as the first tactic but just letting you know how we've dealt with .
He's not being aggressive he's a baby doing what puppies do.

gingerchick · 09/08/2014 20:56

Ooh that's a fab idea! Have tried everything I can think of, and do crate him but he's spending lots of time in there which worries me. My littlest girl is so diddy and he just goes for her all the time. Thank you for reassuring me it isn't just my boy!

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hmc · 09/08/2014 21:02

Mine was like this - it's only really settled down in the past month (he has just turned 7 months), please don't confuse this behaviour with aggression - they know not what they do!

When pup bites try emitting a high pitched yelp - much as their litter mates would have done to communicate to pup that this is just too rough....and / or withdraw your attention from pup immediately. Both were effective for us (eventually)

gingerchick · 09/08/2014 21:05

Thank you so much you've made me feel so much better I love him so much and he is gorgeous!!

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Dinnaeknowshitfromclay · 09/08/2014 21:09

What HMC said and perhaps add in a quick 'nip' with your fingers to the pups neck. This emulates what the mother would do when pup is getting too big for his boots, a nip and a yelp.

RabbitRabbit78 · 09/08/2014 21:30

Puppy training classes! The trainer was great and helped us with tips for taming our bitey monster.

onedogatoddlerandababy · 09/08/2014 21:40

We also did the yelping thing when ours used to bite, she grew out of it fairly quickly thankfully.

Not sure you should be putting him in the crate when he bites though, that's sounds like a punishment and not what the crate is meant to be about iirc, ours has a crate but it's her 'hut' and doesn't even have a doesn't even have a door on it, never been used for training, just as a bed.
Apologies if I have that wrong Smile

nuttymutttie · 09/08/2014 21:42

Do get to a positive reward based training class asap. Good ones usually do a home visit before the puppy class.

DO not follow any advice re squirting water, yelping or pinching the puppy (unless you want more further problem behaviors as well)

Join Dog Training Advice and Support Facebook page here

Below is excellent advice by Sally from the above page

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.

SistersOfPercy · 10/08/2014 00:08

Mine have all done this, to some extent letting them bite teaches them how hard to bite, so a play bite is just that.
I followed the yelping technique. I'd let him mouthe and nibble but as soon as he put more pressure into it I'd yell.

We can play fight now, he'll "savage" my hands so softly he doesn't leave a mark.

gardeningmama · 10/08/2014 22:38

Was going to start a thread on this very same subject ... we have a 13 week old Collie/New Zealand Hunterway cross, and he puppy bites us all the time. We have followed the Dr Dunbar school of training (ignore puppy when he uses his teeth inappropriately and leave the room altogether if he persists, and we yelp, my goodness do we yelp!!) But he seems to be getting worse rather than better and as he is getting bigger and stronger, his bites are really hurting and breaking skin occasionally. He sees it all as a game: you yelp and turn away, he nips all the more to regain attention: you try to leave the room, he jumps up and bites and makes it impossible to leave with the upper hand. He in effect, chases us out of the room!

We had a 1:1 session with puppy trainer when we brought him home at 9 weeks and we start classes in early September but I made another appointment with the 1:1 as it's getting so bad we are all (me, dh, ds17 and dd13) becoming wary of him and resentful.

I just don't feel I'm "top dog". I wake up feeling as though there is an alien living in my house and I'm just not sure what the day will have in store for me!

Appreciate what you say upthread about not using a water spray but that seems a harmless approach I may try. Any other ideas?

aliasjoey · 10/08/2014 22:41

Our 6 year old dog still likes to have something in his mouth when he gets excited; I have learnt to quickly get a toy out if he's in one of those moods...

aliasjoey · 10/08/2014 22:45

He knows that people should not be nipped, but if there is nothing else he will go for the rugs instead. Give him an easily carried toy, but maybe only get it out when YOU choose.

gardeningmama · 10/08/2014 22:53

Sorry ginger, should have said - I really feel for you! It's quite stressful having to deal with this. And there's so much pressure to "get it right in these early weeks ..."

SpicyBear · 10/08/2014 23:00

gardening I would strongly advise you stop yelping and follow the Sally Bradbury advice pasted below by nutty. For a significant percentage of dogs yelping is very exciting and encouraging. A water spray might suppress the nipping but doesn't teach puppy what to do instead. As well as frustration, a sensitive pup may find it extremely aversive and become fearful of you. That will damage your bond. Some dogs that don't find it aversive actually find it quite a fun game to dodge the spray so you would again be reinforcing the behaviour.

Terrierterror · 10/08/2014 23:03

For some dogs the yelping actually makes things worse. I really wish someone had told me that when I had a furry crocodile in the house. Another thing no one told me is that clicker training can start really early. Positive reinforcement works brilliantly with young pups because they actually want to please you unlike arsey teenage dogs that want to ignore you and hump the world

Terrierterror · 10/08/2014 23:05

I don't mean the clicker training will stop them biting but it will distract them and tire them out when they're too small for long walks.

Terrierterror · 10/08/2014 23:07

Where was Sally Bradbury when my hands were raw? Before all my tops got holes in them?

gardeningmama · 10/08/2014 23:09

Thanks, yes we use tug and chew toys and use them as distractions. We will try and stop yelping (tbh, I don't think it has helped that dc's got very stressed by the puppy behaviour from the start and it just egged him on). I certainly don't want him to feel aversion to me! I already feel his is becoming wary of me (as I am of him).

Tomorrow is another day. Will start again with renewed determination. Smile

hmc · 10/08/2014 23:11

Sally Bradbury is no omniscient oracle of wisdom. It's like everything - dog behaviourist experts disagree. Who is to say which expert is correct.

gardeningmama · 10/08/2014 23:15

Oh and perhaps you can advise on how to teach/discourage pup from jumping up and putting paws on the table (we keep everything out of reach) but he is persistent?

Terrierterror · 10/08/2014 23:16

It actually sounds like great advice to me.

SpicyBear · 10/08/2014 23:17

To be clear I wasn't saying Sally Bradbury has all the answers. Yelping seems to work for a lot of dogs. But for a significant number it won't be the right strategy as they will find it reinforcing. That's what makes dog behaviour so hard sometimes - you have to work with the dog you have, their drive and temperament - and sometimes change tack if one approach isn't successful.

hmc · 10/08/2014 23:22

That's fair enough spicy bear - all dogs are different. What works for some, doesn't for others

SistersOfPercy · 10/08/2014 23:59

Yelping certainly worked with my boy, he'd look at you as if to say "oooh I'm sorry". My mum's shih Tzu though thought it all a big game and in the end removing all attention worked with him.
If he bit he was put on the floor and ignored completely.

gingerchick · 11/08/2014 01:24

The yelping does seem to be helping, today has been so much better especially because I have stopped panicking so much about aggression. I guess all dogs are different and lots respond to some things and others don't
Really appreciate everyone posting though, am feeling loads more positive today

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