biting

[brak'sdad]

ok so i have had my puppy for a couple of weeks and he's doing very well in potty training, sits lays and recalls on command but i cannot for the life of me stop the biting. i have read a couple books and i have tried the "yelp " method, where you yelp when they bite you and then walk away showing that play time is over but he just comes along biting my toes leg and hands when they are at my side. i have also tried giving him something else to bite/chew on like a bone or a tug or kong but still nothing.any other suggestions?

 

[gmacleod]

Well, if the "yelp, retire 'injured' and ignore" method really isn't making any impression at all on his biting then you may have to go a little further and start thinking about 'time outs'. That can be achieved two ways - either by removing yourself so the pup is left all alone to think things over, or by putting the pup in another room on his own for a few minutes. Actually you can even use his crate as a time out place, but if you go that way you need to be careful that you don't end up making the puppy hate his crate.

Anyway, I'd continue with the yelp/ignore method and escalate that to time-outs when necessary. That way your pup gets a fair warning and in time should learn first to cease when you yelp, and later simply not to bite at all. Good luck - and be persistent. Some puppies are more persistent than others, but they're all perfectly capable of learning bite inhibition eventually

 

[Lennox_ATL]

we've been having some problems with Lennox also. We did the yelping at first when he was very young with mixed results. He isn't too bad, but get carried away especially when you play with a toy with him. It's like instinct takes over and he thinks the hand is fair game or part of the toy. Also ignoring/isolation hasn't worked so well because he doesn't have a delimited area we can isolate him in. If I turn away and ignore him, he just trots off somewhere else and finds something else to amuse himself. If he gets out of hand I'll occasionally place him on timeout and he calms down immediately.

One method if you don't mind him licking you is to teach your boxer the "kisses" command. If ever Lennox gets nibbly and bites me, I say "kisses" and he'll switch to licking my hand and I can praise/treat him, and then maybe give him a toy. I'm sure not everyone would enjoy that, but you may consider it if you are having real problems. It allows you to use a positive reinforcement instead of negative (yelping, isolation...). Perhaps I will regret this once I have a 70lb drool machine, but for now it's working pretty well

 

[jessie30]

I had the same problems when Jessie was a puppy, she would constantly hang on our clothes with her teeth, nip at our hands, feet and especially shoe laces. we did everything, yelping, time out, freezing her toys. What it came down to was that she was teething and we just kept stuffing her toys in her mouth whenever she's in nip mode. I always made sure i had an extra toy on hand besides the one we're currently playing with that way when she did start the nipping, I would just grab it and put it in her mouth. she finally stopped when she was about 6 months old and now she wouldn't even think about nipping. when we play rough with her, the minute she feels your skin, she'll automatically give kisses. I wouldn't worry too much being that he is a puppy. Just make sure he has LOTS of toys with different textures so it keeps him enthused.

 

[Bogey&me]

What I've done with my little monster is tell him HEY! in a firm voice, and when he stops for even a second I'll hand him one of his toys and praise him when he starts in on the toy.

There are times when it won't work and he just looks at me give me a little growl and puts his butt in the air like he's ready to keep playing. When that happens I'll put him down or walk away from him.

Also, depending on when they start teething, I've goten some adivce to get a washcloth soak it in water, then wring it out and put that in the freezer. Once it's gotten a little frost on it and it's cold give that to him to help with teething and it also has the teture of a raw hide bone, (for a while anyway). Has anyone had any experiece with doing ths?

It seems to work pretty well for me.

 

[ps_etc]

Shoelaces definitely a problem!

I've been having the same issues with Heidi, now 10 weeks. She goes nuts for shoes with laces (especially when on my 8 year old son's feet!). I do yelp, and she'll pause for a second, but then it seems that she takes that as an invitation to play and spin herself up even farther with the growling and biting.

One thing that also helped to interrupt this shoe attack is that I shake a can with pennies in it. Then I'll have just enough time to try and distract with a toy. Of course, I can't always carry the can because it always jiggles a little.

When we're in the house, I do take toys to keep stuffing in her mouth. I need to try the washcloth method and also the ball on a string thing.

Still working on it.....