Whiskey is bad!!! Please help!!!

[BADWHISKEY]

My gf just called me that whiskey is acting up. He launched at her foot ant took a good bite at her. He is only eight weeks but he is growing up fast. She yelled no whiskey and he would just keep launching at her. So she put him in his crate. What can i do to get this taken care of? Please help out guys!

-robert

 

[Cami]

Crating as punishment for NORMAL puppy behavior isn't going to help. It might actually do damage!
You don't want him to dislike his crate so putting him in there when he is "bad" isn't a good thing.
He also doesn't understand human language so you can tell him NO till the cows come home and he won't have a clue as to what you are saying or what it means.
When we yell or speak to them in a loud voice it only riles them up more.
Read up on puppy biting/mouthing and all the various things that can be done to teach him to stop mouthing and or to have a soft mouth.
He is only 8 weeks old. This behavior is going to last for many more months.
My girl just turned 6 months old.....dealing with it myself and with patience and persistence it does get better.

 

[rrboxer]

Lacy started doing that behavior @ 10 wks so you do want to read up on bite inhibition as well. Also, tell your gf not to get excited and make alot of movements with her body & arms this makes her so much more interesting and fun to your puppy like a Big Fun toy...look I can make mommy move if I bite her! I kept squeeky toys in my pockets to distract Lacy from my shoes, my shoe laces and she loved to pull at the bottom of my jeans (oh my gosh she was terrible). Also, I started putting in a short term confinement area and playing with her and when she attacked my shoes, or bottom of my jeans I immediately left the short term confinement area. I could still see Lacy thru her gate and I left her alone for about 2 min then I returned to her safe area and played with her then if she went for my shoes or jeans again I left the area again. It took about 3 wks for her to learn. I kept calm & she got the idea but it took some time. Pls don't put your puppy in the crate as you want your puppy to love the crate. I always feed Lacy in her crate & sometimes when we play with her ball I'll throw it in there and she runs and gets it and I give her treats in her crate as well. Lacy is now crate trained and is very well behaved in her crate when I have to leave her to do errands. Its imp to get your puppy to liking her crate when they are puppies because when they get older like my dog (she is 7mos) I can put her in her crate for a short time to do errands. We never used it to discipline her or anything like that. Its important to have a safe short term confinement area for your puppy when she can't be watched. Oh, another thing you can have your gf spray bitter apple on her ankles its a smell most dogs do not like - it acts like a repellent. (most dogs don't like it). Good Luck!!

 

[BADWHISKEY]

i was reading here that it's just part of them learning bite inhibitation, however i've also read many other post where there are techniques to stop this. e.g. ignoring him, putting him in time out for a short period of time ect. what should i do. let him learn how to bite gently or practice these techniques?? im very knew at this and i'm lost and a lil confused. how do you let a puppy learn biting inhibitation? do i just let him bight my hand??? my foot??? or what?? i was told to buy him a whole bunch of toys so he can chew and i did and he does chew at them pretty hard!!! but i'm guessing that won't teach him how bridle human skin is... what advice can you give me. any opinions and experiences are very welcomed and appreciated, thanks!

-robert

 

[gmacleod]

i was reading here that it's just part of them learning bite inhibitation, however i've also read many other post where there are techniques to stop this. e.g. ignoring him, putting him in time out for a short period of time ect. what should i do. let him learn how to bite gently or practice these techniques??

DEFINITELY you should train bite inhibition, which is to say, teaching him how to use his jaws gently and how fragile human skin is PRIOR to teaching him not to use his jaws on human skin at all. If you skip that step, then the dog will not ever know how to use hhis jaws gently - and it doesn't take much thinking to realise what a disaster waiting to happen that is.

As for techniques to stop it, yes, ignoring his biting is kind of one. More correctly, you need to shriek in pain - a loud OUCH!!! - when he bites with any pressure, so that he can learn that biting hurts. THEN you ignore him for a few minutes whilst you "lick your wounds" and then return to play. If you just ignore him without the feedback on his biting hurting, he's not likely to understand what the problem is (and if he doesn't understand that, then he isn't likely to stop it). As for time-outs... again, sort of. The most effective "time out" is that YOU (or whomever the present human is) leave the room for a couple of minutes, as you can do this without giving him any attention at all. Putting him in a pen is a poorer alternative of the same thing (poorer because you can't do it without some interaction).

A further technique is distraction, but I'd only use that one when you can't stand another round of ignoring/leaving the room. Distraction only distracts, it doesn't teach - so this one is more for when your sanity means you need a break from the biting monster. When you can stand it though; it's best to continue with the bite inhibition training, as this is what is going to get you (eventually) to the point of having a dog that understands that he must only ever use his jaws very gently on a human, and only when invited to.

 

[Davedbd]

All the above are great recommendations and we have used them all with success with Tiara. We got her @6weeks 5days old which is young by most opinions...but better than where she was. Anyway, just keep at it. She is 13 weeks and the improvement is incredible. She still wants to eat my 8 year old son, but that's his fault for being..well...8 years old. Its all about consistency. Redirect the bite onto a toy. Now that Tiara is a bit older, we are being even more stern with the teeth at all on flesh. She gets it, but its just too much for her sometimes. You can see her jaws trying to NOT bite down, like she knows she shouldn't but nature takes over. She never "bites down", but you know what I mean, she does the sharp teeth puppy nibbling.
Saying "ouch", and than turning away really works. I have used time outs when she gets too nuts with my 8 year old, she gets this Kujo look and just wont stop grabbing his clothes. I put her in the bathroom alone for 30 seconds. And man o man does she come out like it was a 20 year stint. I also have been giving her a very very light tap on the snout with one finger and saying NO BITE!. She is getting better every day. He is involved with her feedings and training, so slowly she is accepting him as a superior rather than a litter mate. It is a work in progress though.
There is hope. It does get better, trust me. Use the sound advice you find on here, read a couple puppy books and soon it will happen less and less.

 

[BADWHISKEY]

Thanks for the advice, all this is very helpfull and encouriging to keep on going.