help with puppy biting

[kschmi1721]

A lap dog is not what I wanted or want! I have always had large dog and have never had issues like this. I don't pick him up to cuddle with him I pick him up to help him down the steps because as you know it takes time to learn how to go down the steps.

[kschmi1721]

Originally Posted by RottsNScotts

Have you spoken to his breeder? What did s/he have to say about the problem?

We have talked to the breeder and she told us a few different way to handle it and we are also trying those.

[harleychik66]

Originally Posted by kschmi1721

I got Pantera when he was 7 wks old.

Love the name. Sounds like he's going to be your little "cowboy from hell":)

It sounds as if the breeder is willing to work with you. I'm assuming none of the other pups are having these issues, however I'm pretty sure they are.( Not trying to contradict what you are experiencing) It really does sound like Pantera is just a normal little pup.

He may be a little bit more mouthy than normal, as he should have stayed with his littermates till 8 weeks. This is a critical stage when pups learn bite inhibition from their siblings. Since he was taken away early he didn't get to learn some of these things. You now need to work harder to teach him.

Redirect, redirect, redirect. This will become your new mantra. Keep at it and he will learn. Yes it will take time, but it will happen.

Good luck.

[lengel]

I understand that you are frustrated. However, I do think that you need at least one professional opinion from a behaviorist to give you peace of mind. The problem with having an unhappy relationship with a dog of any age is that it becomes difficult to interpret what is about the person and what is about the dog.

In my opinion, you really need a behaviorist to tell you that either you aren't crazy or that there are solid, proven methods of communicating effectively with your puppy. Please find someone to evaluate your pup as soon as possible. Your suspicion that your pup might have been born or conditioned to behave this way could well be inhibiting your relationship with him. We can't see the video you want to show us, so we can't be absolutely certain that there isn't an insurmountable problem here. If you respect your vet's opinion, follow up on his/her evaluation. No matter what, keep your puppy's best interests in mind.

[zorro13]

Your pup is also teething at this time. Use ice cubes, soak a cloth in water/freeze it, frozen hotdogs, and you can purchase a chilly bone from the pet store to help with this. I noticed you are from the same area as me, who is this trainer?

[FilosFolks]

Hello all,

Has no one mentioned exercise?

I have not seen one ounce of evidence this baby isn't just bored physically (i.e. normal). Except the chewing on humans should stop at 16wks or so, is this really abnormal? Would pup at this way if it were oh sooooo tired?

Ailee

[4zenuff]

I would recommend patience. It took my nottweiler several months to stop nipping/biting. I got him at 8 weeks from the shelter and the nipping/biting stopped at about 6 or so months of age. I would redirect, yelp and say "no bite" constantly. I too thought it would never end, but eventually it did and it will for you too.

Nothing is going to work instantly. Just be patient and give him lots of praise and love and the excercise advise is good too.

[Shelby427]

Originally Posted by FilosFolks

Hello all,

Has no one mentioned exercise?

I have not seen one ounce of evidence this baby isn't just bored physically (i.e. normal). Except the chewing on humans should stop at 16wks or so, is this really abnormal? Would pup at this way if it were oh sooooo tired?

Ailee

Although you're right that exercise is important, you have to be careful with puppies as young as 13 weeks. You cannot force too much exercise on them just yet as their bones are still developing. I don't like to suggest too much exercise at this young age, as a lot of members may not know that too much exercise is not good this young. They may try too hard to tire the puppy out and do damage.

[kschmi1721]

Originally Posted by Shelby427

Although you're right that exercise is important, you have to be careful with puppies as young as 13 weeks. You cannot force too much exercise on them just yet as their bones are still developing. I don't like to suggest too much exercise at this young age, as a lot of members may not know that too much exercise is not good this young. They may try too hard to tire the puppy out and do damage.

We do take him on short walks and he plays alot with the other dog.

This weekend was much better then the passed 6wks. I'm hoping he is growing out of this.

[kschmi1721]

Originally Posted by zorro13

Your pup is also teething at this time. Use ice cubes, soak a cloth in water/freeze it, frozen hotdogs, and you can purchase a chilly bone from the pet store to help with this. I noticed you are from the same area as me, who is this trainer?

I do give him ice cubes. He loves them. The trainers name is Pat Maloney he is a retired Penn Hills police officer. We have only gone to him once. He is at our local fire department. He has obedience classes that start in May. I would like to try and find a behaviorist in our area to see if there may be something wrong or this is normal behavior.

[alice's mommy]

Honestly, even though it might SEEM like your dog is worse than all of our puppies have been, believe me that we've all gone through the same things. I bet there's not one person who when their puppies were at this stage didn't think at one time, "how can this be?! this CAN'T be normal!". Redirecting the puppy to a toy doesn't mean that the puppy will then instantly sit down and start playing with that toy. This will LITERALLY have to be done HUNDREDS of times! My hubby and I had to "redirect" just to stop Arthur from destroying our flesh! lol! But, yes, it did pass. Yours will too. Stay consistant and don't worry.

On another note: are you crate training? Perhaps your puppy is having too much stimulation and time outside of the crate? When Arthur would get crazed (often!) he'd go back in the crate for a nap. A much "softer" Arthur would emerge. :)

Good luck! It WILL pass. :)

[kschmi1721]

Originally Posted by alice's mommy

Honestly, even though it might SEEM like your dog is worse than all of our puppies have been, believe me that we've all gone through the same things. I bet there's not one person who when their puppies were at this stage didn't think at one time, "how can this be?! this CAN'T be normal!". Redirecting the puppy to a toy doesn't mean that the puppy will then instantly sit down and start playing with that toy. This will LITERALLY have to be done HUNDREDS of times! My hubby and I had to "redirect" just to stop Arthur from destroying our flesh! lol! But, yes, it did pass. Yours will too. Stay consistant and don't worry.

On another note: are you crate training? Perhaps your puppy is having too much stimulation and time outside of the crate? When Arthur would get crazed (often!) he'd go back in the crate for a nap. A much "softer" Arthur would emerge. :)

Good luck! It WILL pass. :)

We are crating him and I've notice when he gets tired he gets really bad so he either goes and lays down by himself or we make him go lay down. We are trying to redirect and it does seem to be getting better.

Thanks

[Shelby427]

Originally Posted by kschmi1721

We are crating him and I've notice when he gets tired he gets really bad so he either goes and lays down by himself or we make him go lay down. We are trying to redirect and it does seem to be getting better.

Thanks

This is good, just like kids, when they get over tired, they can start acting up! You are doing right by putting him in his crate when he's over tired and just needs to relax a bit.

I'm glad to hear things are getting a little better. Please though, find a trainer that uses positive reinforcement, not bullying. You'll get better results and you'll feel better that you're teaching your puppy the right things by showing his what's acceptable and not bullying him.

[alice's mommy]

So glad you're crating! Puppies need a LOT of nap times. It's a lot of work trying to process the world around them while trying to learn to be civilized with our human world. :)

Just try and get through the next few months and before you know it you'll be seeing progress.

[mamamia1]

I hear what you're saying... I am in a similar position with a 12 week old pup, although I really wouldn't label it as aggressive behavior, the mouthing/nipping is sometimes incessant. With March Break this week I was able to spend a ton of extra time trying to help alleviate the problem, and believe me with a five year old daughter in the house, this is a problem. I can understand the concept behind the redirection, but I still believe that some correction is required. If I was doing something wrong and someone handed me a great play thing every single time, I really don't think that that would help me to understand that I was doing something wrong. I have tried some of the more "in your face approaches" and they really didn't work for me in the sense that it just seems to bring the energy level up too high very quickly. I have started regularly placing her in more submissive positions, sits, downs, and laying on her side to relax and make sure that she allows this without protest. This has not only helped with the biting but also with nail trimming and brushing. I want her to feel 100% comfortable and trusting of me no matter what position she is in. When she does begin to nip she gets a firm verbal correction "AHHH NO BITE" then a redirect, or if shes really wound up I simply remove myself from the situation. She can't continue to nip if I walk away or stand up. Also when she's all wound up, I have found it extremely helpful to deal with her with a closed hand. I know it sound simple, but when I close my hand into a fist instead of an open hand, out comes the tongue instead of the teeth. When she's gentle, super praise. "GOOD GENTLE"

Also it is a really good idea to make sure that your pup is getting enough down time with no stimulation. For the first week our pup growled and nipped constantly. I thought we had just adopted Satan. After talking to my breeder the first thing she mentioned was REST. That's when I realized she wasn't getting any good napping time in because we were either playing with her or taking her out to socialize. Once we allowed more down time the growling stopped.