| Deal with it humanely!
Mario:
1) If you say NO BITE, which you must do consistently EVERY TIME she bites or even starts to bite, do it correctly. First, do not raise your voice and yell it. Say it in a normal volume but in a low-toned voice in an ominous and distinct way. When I say this, I point my finger right at the dog's mouth--just inches away--as if daring it to bite again. Hold the finger still and say NO BITE with emphasis, slowly and seriously, but not with high volume. It may be just me, but the finger thing seemed to accellerate the NO BITE learning and compliance greatly. If it works, you will be able to say nothing and just point the finger at the dog's mouth and it will stop. You will have developed a visual cue.
2) Do not shake the dog by the scruff, whack it in the nose, hold its mouth shut, or pour bitter chemicals down its throat! Don't touch or hurt it in any way! First, this is not a necessary or humane way to deal with any behavior. If you think you need to hurt or upset or scare a dog to death to correct it, you must be reading training books written 50 years ago! Second, there is a theory that the more drastic response you make, the less likely it will work and the more likely the dog will repeat the behavior. (Ever raise a teenager!)
3) Some people swear by the "OUUUUCH!!!" technique, and I have had good success with it, and with combining and rotating it with the NO BITE command. When the pup bites, (and now the advice is exactly the opposite of my first suggestion--totally different technique and theory) scream as loud as you can "OUUCH!" or "OOOW!" Pull your hand away quickly like you've been hurt. Then walk away. Igonore the dog for a few minutes. Then start with a clean slate and return to your normal self. Repeat for each bite! People are opinionated about this one, but I have made it work several times with several pups, Rotts and other breeds.
4) The most humane and easiest and possibly, depending on your dog, the most effective, is totally ignoring the dog., AS soon as the dog bites, say NOTHING. No scolding, no action, no punishment. Just get up and leave. Go in another room and leave the dog behind. Wait no more than 5 minutes. Then clean slate. Leave your isolation and go on with life. Repeat as necessary. I should have placed this suggestion first because it is probably most likely to work. You see, your dog wants your attention. It needs you presence. When you disappear after it does something undesireable, you are depriving the dog or your presence. This is what's called a negative punishment--a punishment in which you don't do something to the dog, but deprive the dog of something it expects.
5) I wouldn't suggest a time-out for biting--the opposite of the last one (#4) where you put the dog in an isolated room for five minutes. That's because to do this you must give the dog a lot of contact, commands, and attention, so it defeats the whole purpose. Although it gets isolated for a few minutes, it also gets your immediate attention for a minute or two first! You should disappear, not remove the dog.
6) Finally, regarding time, any timeout or period of time that you disappear or ignore the dog should not be more than about 5 minutes. After that point, the dog has no idea why it is being punished. It is just mean and cruel to lock up a dog for 20 minutes or an hour! The impact of the negative punishment is felt in the first minutes. After that, the dog becomes more and more vague about what's happening and probably does not remember what it even did to deserve it!
I have raised 2 Rotts, and now have a 3 /12 month Rott pup. I have raised a dozen others because my wife and I routinely rescue dogs from shelters. We currently have five. I've studied asnd taken courses in NILIF, clicker training, and other obedience methods. Believe me, I don't care what the age, size, or breed, you get nowhere punishing a dog with any physical force or restraint, or by yelling NO. (The only yelling that I would use is in that one "OOOW!" technique because the idea is for the dog to be a bit shocked and think he hurt you. Believe me, he does not want to hurt you! That's why that method often works.)
One last comment to help pursuade you why these more peaceful methods tend to work. A typical and well-functioning Alpha dog does not keep the pack in order by biting, growling, and punishing ever other memeber. True Alpha dogs are not aggressive and scary, they are quiet, confident, and laid back. They use subtle signals to say, "I am the boss," or "Stop that," without having to usually resort to any major display of aggression. They are aloof and when they give their attention to another dog, it is a welcomed gift. When they withdraw their attention and ignore a dog in the pack, it is a terrible slight to that dog. So if you want to be perceived as the Alpha, the one in control, stop acting like someone in the middle of the pecking order. Those are always the most insecure and aggressive dogs in a pack.
Again, that "Ouch!" method may seem to defy this advice, but in that you walk away after being bitten, it does deprive the dog of your much wanted attention.
Lats advice: If you are not doing some type of regular training with your dog--an obedience class, or just working on sit, stay, etc. yourself, or teaching an agility activity like jumping...something that puts you in the role of teacher and rewarder and the dog in the role of student, you should do this. Don't work on biting in this training. Work on other things... Just the general practice of getting the dog to enjoy working with you and following commands will helkp all aspects of your relationship.
Hope something above is of help to you. I have given several methods because some will work better with one dog than another. I'd personally begin with suggestion 4 first, and give each method a chance for at least a week. If you see NO change in a week and you've been doing the method consistently, then try a different one.
Barry  |