Rowdy Pup

[way Dash jay]

Dash is 7 weeks old. He is quite the boisterous little pup. He is very mouthy. That's not so much a worry at the moment as is the lunging at faces while barking or doing his puppy growl. He also prefers hands, feet (any sort of flesh really), and clothing to his vast array of chew toys (nylabones, balls, ropes toys, those aimed specifically at teething pups etc)

We have been doing the yelping when his chewing and nipping is too rough. That worked for a short while but now it seems to drive him to be more rough. As for lunging at my face, we will turn our backs and ignore him. He seems to realize he's done wrong. I don't expect results immediately because that would just be silly, but is there anything else I can do? Anything seemingly more effective?

 

[Caney Creek]

You are doing the right thing yelling "Ouch" and ignoring. It will take LOTS of work and consistency. At 7 weeks old this is really only the tip of the iceberg... you have many months to go in bite inhibition training. Make sure he's getting plenty of mental stimulation and physical play each day, the key is to wear him out and he will be less rambunctious at home. If you find certain tactics aren't working, you'll just have to step it up a bit. Simply ignoring him doesn't work, turn your back; if that stops phasing him, leave the room and shut the door behind you, so he is forced to be alone. It can be a battle of wills raising a boxer puppy, just don't give up and he will eventually give in.

 

[Tuff Love]

we're going through the same thing right now with our 10 week old- it takes lots of patience and consistency. you're doing the right thing, just stick with it! don't forget, everyone ELSE also has to abide by the rules. make sure whoever else is playing with your pup is yelping, and ignoring, and re-directing the bad behavior. if they let the pup get away with it, it will take that much longer for him to get the idea and change his behavior. i know, i keep asking myself, "when will it STOP?!"... but i know the drill. can't get results overnight unfortunately

 

[ehayes21]

Great advice so far - keep in mind teaching your pup to use it's mouth properly does not happen overnight. Like Caney said, it takes months to train this behavior.

Here are a few good articles on puppy mouthing and teaching bite inhibition:

ClickerSolutions Training Articles --

 

[mrsrags]

My puppy came home at 7weeks and was the exact same way. He is now 10 weeks and doing a lot better. We have been putting toys in his mouth, and trying to teach him what "NO" means! Which I think he is finally starting to understand.