Sisters dog

[Esther95]

My sisters cockapoo is still very bitey at 7 months old. Can't stroke him without being bitten. She can't put his harness on or put his lead on, or brush him or anything without him biting. It really hurts now his adult teeth are in. She says he will grow out of it. Or does he need to be trained out of it? She is already part of Facebook training groups and has had online sessions with a trainer but nothing has helped. Is it normal to still be very bitey at 7 months?

Thanks

Thanks

My 7 month puppy doesn’t bite at all, still a bit chewy on things but I wouldn’t tolerate actual biting putting on a harness etc. She used to bite at shoes and laces when we were putting them on to go out but now gets a toy and bites that instead. I imagine a firm no bite command and then giving them something they can bite like a toy and praising them would help. I would worry it will get worse. Has the vet checked to make sure they are not in pain?

They grow out of it because they're trained out of it, but also because they're no longer teething. It's not something that happens by accident!

Has the vet checked to make sure they are not in pain?

Yes he's been checked, no sign of illness or pain

My Tibetan terrier was still very bitey at this age, so I think it is well within the bounds of normal behaviour. My opinion is that at this age dogs like this need training/firm boundaries, but my focus would be on teaching to 'sit', 'stay', walk nicely on the lead etc rather than focusing on the biting itself. This naturally progresses to sitting nicely before harness put on etc and he will hopefully become less excitable with age.

As a long haired breed he needs to work on getting him used to grooming - little and often - use rewards and/or distraction. If he bites the brush could use a second brush or toy to distract.

They don't just grow out of it automatically, you need to train them.

What desensitisation training has she done? At seven months, they shouldn't still be biting when you put a harness on or brush them.

Mine is the same age and doesn't bite anymore and hasn't for a while.

He was a bitey fucker at first though, we would say 'owch' firmly and turn away from him when he bit so he came to realise biting = play/attention over.

She needs to be really consistent with training and not just let him do it. Always have a toy handy to divert him when he goes to bite hands etc. Theres loads of good resources out there to stop puppy biting but I wouldn't like to assume he will just grow out of it.

Get that sorted ASAP. It'll only get worse! You do not want an adult dog biting like this.