What If No Doesn't Work?

[LucNesbitt]

Moab's 7 weeks old and we've had him for a week now. He's doing as well as I would expect for a young pup ... minimal accidents, does pretty well in his crate (no messes, just cries at night when we put him back in it from going outside) but now that he's figured out his surroundings, nothing seems to get through to him on what is bad behavior. He consistently wants to bite our ankles and feet and nothing seems to deter him. I've tried making a loud growling noise at him or telling him no sternly. I've moved him away from my feet and given him one of his chew toys instead but nothing seems to work. I've even used a spray bottle of water combined with telling him no to disciplne him. He seems to think that I'm playing no matter what I do and he's back to biting again in a matter of seconds.

Any suggestions would be helpful. My patience (and my hands/feet) could use a little soothing!

 

[CesarsMOM]

puppy games

Oh, the joys of puppyhood ... He IS playing a game with you!!

I had similiar issues when my Cesar was a pup. He was a very good boy but was exploring who was going to take the "alpha" role in the house. My breeder suggested that I take a proactive approach to teaching him "good" and "bad" behavior by focusing on what is good behavior instead of constantly saying no to bad behavior.

We would have 10 min. training sessions through out the day where I would teach him some basic commands. Very short periods of training, followed by lots of love and play. Lots of repetition, too, so I had plenty of opportunities to heap on the "good boys".

Cesar learned very quickly and I was able to establish who was in charge in a fun, positive way.

Good luck!

 

[Checkers]

As soon as he starts biting at your feet, either walk out the door and shut it behind you, or stand on a chair and completely ignore him. He will learn that if he bites, playing stops and he gets ignored

 

[JulieM]

"No" generally doesn't work, because it doesn't mean anything to puppies - it's just another noise to them! You can use "no" as an interrupter, and then redirect the puppy to appropriate behavior and praise heavily, or you can drop "no" completely and focus, as was mentioned, on getting the behavior you want and ignoring the behavior you don't want.

Biting is typical puppy behavior, and it's important at this stage to teach bite inhibition (rather than no biting at all) - this is a very good article on just how to do that effectively:
http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm

 

[LucNesbitt]

Thanks

Thanks JulieM for the article! I'm sure it will be very helpful!

 

[justus7.]

I really enjoyed the article, and I hope it helps you. All three of my little ones really get a kick out of telling Bandit "No you bully, that hurt!" and walking out of the room and slamming the door. Bandit is catching on and is a little bit easier with them. When we first started he would just wait at the door and when they came out attack their ankles again. But things are getting better.
Jewel

 

[Me+Em]

What a great article JulieM. Thanks for the link.

Simone, who will be 3 months tomorrow has began being more mouthy and bitey as she is getting older. She wasn't so much until she hit 9 weeks. It was really, really overwhelming until we got a little more informed. This article helps us gain even more and for that we are appreciative.

LucNesbitt : Patience, patience, patience! It is the one thing that has been getting us through the moments that are a little more challenging. I understand the frustration that can arise. Puppies just want to play and they play with their mouths. Hang in there! I'm sure that Moab will begin to understand that if he uses his mouth he will lose his playmates.

GOOD LUCK!

And THANKS AGAIN for the article JulieM.

CHEERS!

kne'ke

 

[SteveISU]

I'll either ignore Mia when she starts getting too nuts, or if she's hit the point of no return (growling/biting....that one track mind), I'll give her a brief 5min timeout in her crate. After 5min of alone time, she's calmed down ALOT. She'll come out of her crate and usually chew her bone or a toy. I know alot of people think putting her in her crate is punishment and think she will begin to associate her crate with being bad. On the contrary, her crate is her safe haven and the punishment isn't being in there, it's the lack of attention she's getting.

 

[luvmy2boxrs]

I miss the puppy days!!
When we would play with Bailey and Zoey, if they would start to get too rough we would say no and stop playing with them. (Get up and go to a different room) Of course they didn't like that at all! They learned pretty fast that they need to play nice or no play at all!
Good luck!