HELP!! She bites alot.

[katw]

My puppy is 7months old. I can not seem to break her from the biting and jumping on us. I have tryed ignoring her and she jumps more. I have tryed giving her time out but she comes right back for more. What is the best way to deal with this on the spot? She is doing great with her other training, just the biting and jumping, I am at my whits end.

 

[gmacleod]

If you've got a really persistent biter like that, then you probably need to escalate the ignoring to leaving the room. Putting the dog in a time out works for some cases - but to do it, you've still actually got to give the dog some attention Thus, what can actually be more affective is to remove yourself instead. The dog jumps/bites - you can indicate your displeasure with a sharp "Ah!!" and turn away, crossing your arms and examining the ceiling. But if the dog persists, then just walk away out the room and shut the door. No speaking, no eye contact, just walk away and leave her isolated. About 5 minutes should do it, let you collect yourself, before returning for another go. And every time she bites, you get up and leave her.

Thing is, the dog is trying to get your attention and play. She's not trying to drive you out the room (so she doesn't "win" anything by you leaving, she actually gets what she wanted removed).

Here is a short article about training bite inhibition. Your pup is well over the age when she should have learnt many of these things, but it's still useful in that it sets out the process for you. As with all learning, it takes place in small steps. http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm

 

[Chiefsmom]

If you've got a really persistent biter like that, then you probably need to escalate the ignoring to leaving the room. Putting the dog in a time out works for some cases - but to do it, you've still actually got to give the dog some attention Thus, what can actually be more affective is to remove yourself instead. The dog jumps/bites - you can indicate your displeasure with a sharp "Ah!!" and turn away, crossing your arms and examining the ceiling. But if the dog persists, then just walk away out the room and shut the door. No speaking, no eye contact, just walk away and leave her isolated. About 5 minutes should do it, let you collect yourself, before returning for another go. And every time she bites, you get up and leave her.

This works very well! My MIL was so impressed while watching the doodle-bugs a few weeks back. She said that if they stepped on her or nicked her with a tooth or anything.... and she'd say "ouch"... They'd stop and walk away giving her the I'm sorry puppy eyes! We practiced this exact method to get them to stop biting... and the end result was wonderful! They realize quickly that it's undesireable when you get up and leave; and they start to associate the leaving with the word ouch. Good luck!

 

[billbgh]

For the jumping, if Apollo would jump on us, I would command him to sit. (I do all commands with two snaps of my fingers: SNAP! SNAP! SIT!) When he sits I tell him GOOD BOY! He obeys because he is rewarded. Also, I have found when we have company, we tell them not to say hello to him and to not make eye contact. When he is seated(he does automatically now), they can acknowledge him. If he gets worked up and tries to jump, the command is issued, he obeys, and he gets loved on by the visitors. For the biting, we gently push the muzzle away and say NO BITE! If that does not work then we get up and walk away and ignore the dog. Usually we'll get an apology. Hopefully that helps!

Erin

 

[katw]

thanks for the advice. i notice to the "snap" then sit seems to work with my puppy. as far as rewards(treats) what kind and how many should i give? i give her milk bone and she LOVES them and they work great for training. i just get nervous to give her to many because they are kind of big. Any suggestion, on training biscuits?