Puppy Biting Hard

[hanabb]

Hi! Zoey is almost 3 months old and is really playful. She loves to bite our hands and feet, but she does it hard enough to nearly bring tears to your eyes. My children have actually cried and my 4 year old doesn't even want to play with the puppy anymore. We have been trying the technique in The Bite Stops Here but it almost seems to encourage her to bite even more. We try to convince her to play with her chew toys, but she would rather chew on the hand that is holding the toy. My husband is the only one tough enough to handle the biting. I would love to sit in the floor and roll around with her but anytime I do I end up in pain. We have been taking her to the park and my daughters softball games to get her socialized, but I am afraid now that she will try to play with a child and bite them. Please offer any advice that you have.

 

[joeys mom]

joey had a pertty good bite also when he was a puppy-VERY sharp teeth. we were actually very fortunate to get him because of this. his first owners (family members) who had a 7 year old child had him several weeks and knew he was too much for the child who was becoming afraid of him. once we got him we had to work alot with him by telling him "NO" everytime he bit our hand or foot, but still continued to play with him. we used one of those cloth ropes that have a knot in the middle while playing with him and encouraged him to bite it and not us. once those baby teeth came out all was fine!

 

[gmacleod]

Biting is good It may not seem (feel) like it, but it's an extremely important part of the pup's development. You should not inhibit it by just telling the pup no To do so would bypass teaching one of the most important lessons of a dog's life (very likely THE most important lesson for any dog that is going to be around children). The lesson you need to be teaching is bite inhibition - that is, teaching the dog how to use her mouth gently, how to inhibit the force of her bite, and how incredibly fragile human skin is. You cannot teach any of those things if you just try to stop her biting. And it doesn't take too much imagination to figure out what disaster is waiting to occur with a dog that isn't taught all that (you can bet money that someone, sometime in the dog's life will inadvertantly step or fall on it, pull it's ears, frighten it or shut some body part in the door... and you'll be pleased then that you spent the time teaching the dog about the power of its jaws )

Here is an excellent article on bite inhibition - how to go about teaching it (it's a process, not a 5 minute lesson), the stages you'll go through - and why it's so incredibly important that you do: http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm

 

[joeys mom]

i love that you are always very thorough on addressing issues like this so that people understand to the fullest the correct actions that should be taken and why. i should correct myself that i didnt dicourage the bitting itself but like you said , just when it was too hard. we did still allow him to bite and still do at one and a half years old. we just tried to let him know when it was too hard. maybe we shouldnt have used the word "NO" but he seems to be ok with it and will calm it down a notch when told. i think you all do such a great job of guiding people in the right direction on all issues. i have learned so much since joining BW, i wish i had found you closer to the time i was blessed with my Joey.

 

[tinaharold]

I just watched "Its me or the Dog" with trainer, Victoria Stillwell. This particular episode showed a great dane that was always biting and jumping on people. Stillwell said that the dog didn't stay with his litter when he was a puppy long enough so didn't learn the lesson of biting too hard. When puppies play, they bite and wrestle etc. ...but when one of the puppies bites the other too hard, the puppy bitten will cry to let them know that you are playing to rough. So Stillwell showed the dane owner to make a cry sound and then turn their back to the dog every time he does this. The dog will eventually get the message and think you are boring to play with. Now, a puppy might be more challenging with this because this is their natural instinct and it might be hard for children to follow this technique. Hope this helps you.