Puppy started biting us

[Cazzie1979]

Good morning, we got our 13 week old miniature dachshund when he was 9 weeks old. He’s obviously going through the teething phase and chews/bites everything he can but in the last couple of weeks he’s started to bite us (our hands, feet, clothes etc) and it can be really painful, last week he bit my thumb and I couldn’t get him to release it immediately. It’s starting to get a bit aggressive now and I know it’s putting my children (age 7 and 10) off playing with him, which they usually love to do. When he bites, I give a yelp, firmly say no, redirect him to a chew toy but he just comes back to bite again. I remove myself by getting up fully on the sofa (he’ll bite my feet if I don’t put them up) but then he whines as I’m not playing with him. I’m not sure what other methods might work or if this is just how it is until the teething phase is over, any advice would be appreciated. If relevant, he hasn’t had all vaccinations yet but will be able to go out for walks from next Thursday.

This is what puppies do, he’s teething. It’s painful. Many, many chew toys are in order. Cold things. And maybe some wellies until it passes 😂

You might not be walking him but you can tire him out at home - training, loose lead walking in garden, even a few mins at that age are tiring. Mostly though they’re just horrid little sharks for a bit.

Also recommend looking up adolescence now to get prepared…

He is mouthing, normal puppy behaviour.
Does he go to puppy classes op?

Could you also try a more dramatic withdrawal of attention. When he bites, say nothing at all but immediately turn your back on him and walk away. If he tries to win back the eye contact, keep turning your back on him, and keep being as boring, low-key and quiet as you can. (EDIT: Obvs only do this for the short period during which he can associate the withdrawal of attention with his action of biting at your hand)

When he is calmer, resume quiet calm interaction with him, but repeat the process as soon as his teeth make contact with you.

Never allow any play at all where that contact happens, even when it is gentle.

It may well be entirely non-aggressive biting, just an excitement at the idea of grabbing and pulling. I have a terrier who I needed to be firm with in this respect. It really annoys me that my husband plays a game with him that essentially encourages him to play-bite at his hands. The mixed messages were very unhelpful

Going through this (long) phase as we speak. Sounds like you’re doing the right things. If our pup gets carried away with us or our tolerant older dog I just pop him into the kitchen for a few minutes (we have a baby gate) until he calms down then re-direct him to the toy box. (He’s a lot bigger than yours.) It’s like having a baby- hard going and you wonder many time why you did it but way worth it in the end when they come through it. And there are some crazy funny moments too!

Yup, perfectly normal. This was us last summer.
Wear long sleeves and thick trousers.
It will be like this until the adult teeth come through then it gets easier.
Obviously give permitted chewing items, for hard teething try carrot sticks, a cold wet cloth or rag, (wrung out) to bite on.

While I know people do recommend the yelp, it can overstimulate some puppies and make things worse. Some pups, like mine, are better for a calm, quiet "no".

I recommend dog gates to keep the children safe; when the overtired biting frenzy starts they can retreat. Calm is the way to go, overtired and overstimulated puppies are little monsters, but I appreciate that young kids do want play. Just keep the games as calm as you can.

It will probably get worse before it gets better, but once you are able to distract with a 5 or 10 minute lead walk it gets a little easier. I found that my pup settled and slept better after a walk. Sleep is vitally important for pup and for your sanity!!!

Ah he's probably tired as well as teething. Puppies should sleep about 20 hours per day. Frozen carrots are a great soother.

I put my dog when he was a puppy in a playpen for a couple of minutes so he could calm down. I’d tell him no biting then put him in there. I did this after all other attempts failed and he started jumping up my back to bite my hair!

He’s not being aggressive, he’s being a puppy.

We stopped all attention and play the second our beagles’ teeth touched our skin or clothes. No eye contact, no saying “ouch”, no verbal correction - nothing. They need to learn that teeth on skin is an absolute NO.

The internet is fond of the yelp/turn away advice, but it made my spaniel puppy extra hyper and just made him bite whatever bit he could reach instead. I ended up putting him outside the door of the room when he did it for 30 seconds, letting him back in, then if he bit me again putting him out for a little longer. He hated being separated from me so it was the only thing that worked. Redirecting to a toy only worked sometimes.

This stage is horrific, I feel for you. I never believed anyone when they said it gets better but it truly does. It’s just puppies being bloody puppies. He will get over it soon enough. Power on! You’re doing all the right things.

I’d love to see anyone not reacting at all when a whirlwind with fangs pounces on you and nips you on the bum as you turn away. I think that one’s a hiding to nothing.

We have a trainer friend who suggested a spray bottle with a firm no. It worked wonders and now we can just say no and she stops.

**we have a 14 week PomChi. Cute but good god the teeth!

My puppy was a ferocious biter until he was about 10 months old. Even now he likes to very gently chew on fingers.

I had to leave the room every time he bit. Doing the yelping thing didn't work and just made him excited. He hated being left so I just left the room over and over until he moved on to something else.

Agree with @CoubousAndTourmalet the yelp advice is really bad.

I’d also say that puppies can look incredibly vicious when they bite - some even curl their lips. Twatsdog (one of mine) did. People use to assume he was aggressive. Nope. He was just a twat.

It’ll pass OP. But it’ll get worse before it gets better. Strongly recommend you take the cold rag advice etc.

Please don't follow this advice. It is an aversive training method and there are far better, kinder ways of dealing with the issue.

Avoid any trainers who use aversive methods. Look for ones who only do reward based training and don't talk of punishments and corrections.

Don’t yelp. Don’t spray with water.
make sure pup doesn’t get overtired. Redirect when biting. Provide plenty of good things to chew. A bone or a collagen chew provides an instant distraction here. Or a filled and frozen Kong.
Join Dog Training Advice and Support on FB.

No yelping!

It’s a Dachsie…their prey drive and excitement over squeaky things is off the scale

Agree with others this is normal puppy behaviour.

I used to sing Baby Shark to my Lab when he was a puppy.

The good news is it normally stops after their baby shark teeth fall out and the new ones come in. If it doesn't, that is the time to seek help but for now...just wear long sleeves and keep your hands and ankles away from those snapping teeth.

Absolutely do not spray your dog with water when they're in pain and teething :( terrible advice. Yelping, as others have said, can also just make them more excited.

This is entirely normal land shark teething puppy behaviour. Invest in cheap "house wellies", long sleeves, and never go anywhere without a chew toy in one hand to deflect those teeth away from skin.

I've never tried it, but I have heard an old tea towel, soaked in water, rolled and tied and then put in the freezer, is a lovely cold chew for those sore baby teeth.

It sounds to me like the yelping thing can work for some puppies and not others.

I’ve had 2 Lab puppies and they have both stopped biting when I’ve yelped and looked at me in surprise. They probably thought I was surprisingly fragile compared to their litter mates.

But - other people say it doesn’t work or makes their puppies more excited. It may be worth a try but won’t work for every puppy.

Moonbones, puzzle sticks and make sure he’s getting 18 hours a day sleep

Do people not do any research when they get a puppy?

A bitey puppy is a tired puppy. They get over tired and mouthy but will fight sleep so just put them in a crate when they start mouthing and leave them 10/ 15 mins. 99% of the time they will be asleep

The crocopup stage can be painful! The 'ouch' or yelp might work with some but it only served to get our pups even more hyper and bitey. We found that a very firm 'No' and putting them out of proximity worked best. Usually behind the baby gate into the hall, and only for a short time.
Chew toys, especially those you can put in the fridge or cold carrots to gnaw were a good distraction, too. Also sleep! If you crate, and we did for the first year, tiring them out with short training sessions and games makes for calmer times.

You've had some really good advice on here apart for the awful idea of spraying with water, which is not training it's just teaching a dog to be fearful of the threat of being sprayed.

However, you can take your puppy out for a carry before he's had all his jabs, just as long as he isn't put on the ground and doesn't have interaction with other dogs.

It might give him a bit more to think about and ensure he gets some distraction and socialisation even if you're just sitting on a bench on the corner of the road watching the traffic go by or looking at people passing by.

t's always good to start socialisation with his surroundings as early as possible.

Ah, there might be a different yelp.

Theres the natural human “oof! Oh!” kind of Yelp, and then there’s the deliberately mimic puppy litter mate yelp our dog trainer once did. Our pup was across the room attacking a toy, she did the mimic, he sprinted over to lick her to say sorry.