not sure if this is common...

[the OG]

... but when i firmly tell my pup to stop mouthing/nipping it only excites her more and makes her nip more. when it escalates to the point where i need to pull her away from my toes or my hands or the hem of my shorts she goes crazy. she'll sometimes hunker down like she's ready to pounce and start barking.

I try the whole ignore her and walk away or leave the room but as soon as she sees that im going she'll turn her attention on chewing the couch which she knows is off limits.

She is 16 weeks old and is probably just trying to test her boundaries and see how far she can push her luck haha.

If any of you have any suggestions or encouragement that things will get better quickly it'll be much appreciated. I'd also like to hear if this behavior sounds familiar.

Thanks in advance

 

[Gatorblu]

Try yelping instead of saying no. Puppy's don't speak english so you have to speak puppy. By yelping it signals pain. If you do this and walk away the puppy will know she has hurt you. Once it starts sinking in you can yelp and then say "no", and she will learn to put the two sounds together. I have a slightly high pitched voice (I' sound rather young. I've actually had a telemarketer ask if my mom was home, I was about 35 at the time) and sometimes I have to conciously drop my tone and give a command to make my dogs listen.

 

[SnowDove]

I'm having the EXACT same problems with my 15-week-old. In fact, I just put her up because she bit the heck out of my finger :(

I tried the yelping, which got her WAY too excited - she would try to jump up and nip my mouth/face when I yelped. The firm "No" works about one out of a dozen times with her; otherwise it excites her more and she starts snarling and jumping.

The ignore method doesn't work because she'll start biting my arms/legs.

The walking away method has not yet had any impact, as she'll just continue to nip when I come back. We did this back-and-forth for HOURS the other day, and it never seemed to "click" with her.

Currently I'm putting her in her playpen as a "time out" when she nips (started yesterday). I know other people on here have warned against that for various reasons, but I am hard headed and need to learn for myself, I guess (you know - like a Boxer!) So, whenever she bites, I am firmly saying "NO bite", picking her up, and then I place her in her playpen for 3-5 minutes. I'm also going to decide what sign I want to use for this, as my girl responds best to training with signs. Hopefully she'll pick it up, because I have cats and she NEEDS to learn bite inhibition! (Plus, my hands/arms/feet/etc. make me look like I have some savage beast in my house.)

Let me know if YOU find anything that starts working well for you!!!

 

[elgerdes]

Have the same problem with Zoe. She gets way too excitable and just attacks more. I know she isn't being aggressive, just a puppy. But there is nothing I can do. If I'm outside, I pick her up and set her aside. I try to ignore her and turn away, but then she bites the underside of my arm- which hurts like no other!!!!!

Inside, I would put her in a time out, but she would probably pee all over.

Will be watching this thread closely for ideas!!!!!

 

[SnowDove]

I try to ignore her and turn away, but then she bites the underside of my arm- which hurts like no other!!!!!

SERIOUSLY!!! How do they KNOW that that is Such a tender area?!?! Little devils! hahaha

Do yours also latch onto your pant legs? Daisy is HORRIBLE about that!

 

[elgerdes]

Pant legs are such fun for our monster! She also loves socks, but only when you are wearing them. Clean socks, dirty socks, if they are on the ground she doesn't bother them.

But only white socks! If I were my black work socks, she won't chase my feet. If I'm wearing my everyday white socks she attacks!

If we are lying down or even sitting, she digs at our sides. Anyone else have that happen?

 

[HugoVonDoom]

Thankfully this is one of the problems that solved very quickly with Hugo and I, however it's a big puppy thing and I've gone through a few litters. The simple advice I have that's always worked is:

Don't put them in the crate/play area/time out for nipping!! They'll associate that area with being bad very quickly and you'll have trouble in crate training later, which at some point you'll need to do I'm sure. You don't want them to think they're being "bad" if you have to put them in there later and they haven't done anything wrong! It will break your heart when that tail drops and they think they're being punished when they didn't do anything. Poor babies.

If "No!" firmly and loudly doesn't work, yelp. If the yelping gets them excited for some reason (Which, it did for Hugo too!) try another loud noise until you find the one that makes them stop! Hugo and I went through 5 different loud startling noises I made until I found the one that concerned him and he stopped nipping at me. It went from the noise to a word command. Now, all I have to say is "easy" and he wont hurt me 99.9% of the time. Every once in a while he's too excited hurts me but hey, he's only 8 1/2 months old, we're still working on it.

 

[Dieselsmom]

Something you might want to try is a coffee can with pennys in it. Since the yelping and no aren't working, shake the coffee can to distract them. It worked on Diesel, it was enough to startle him and make him stop nipping. I would then get a toy and avert his attention to that.

 

[harrisor]

Glad I found this string, cause I have a very similar problem with our 9 week old pup. A trainer at PETCO mentioned that if you hold them down by their collar on their back they will fight for a bit and then reach the "calm and submissive state." Now I don't personally agree with this technique, but has anyone heard of this style? Is it good, it doesn't sound good at all.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Robert

 

[BostonGeorge]

Glad I found this string, cause I have a very similar problem with our 9 week old pup. A trainer at PETCO mentioned that if you hold them down by their collar on their back they will fight for a bit and then reach the "calm and submissive state." Now I don't personally agree with this technique, but has anyone heard of this style? Is it good, it doesn't sound good at all.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Robert

Please dont hold your dog down...it will only teach them to fear you. There are much better ways to go about correcting this!! And if thats the kind of advice the trainer at PETCO gives you....I'd find another trainer too!