Closing his mouth shut...

[coolhandkev]

Hello everyone. I read the great thread that is stickied that has lots of advice on how to deal with puppy biting. The author suggests to close the mouth until the puppy yelps, then to redirect it to something it can chew on. I have an 18 week old puppy right now who loves to bite and I do just as listed above. When I shut his mouth closed he gets very angry and when I let go he snaps. Is this normal? Should I take a different route than closing his mouth like I am currently doing?

Thanks for any insight.

- Kevin

[brunie's mom]

Stop shutting his mouth! Some dogs get even more riled up and bite even harder. Give him the toy, chewy, rope,etc. and shake that to attract him and rile him up instead. I've never even attempted to try shutting a puppies mouth...and would not advise it.

Your puppy should be getting better soon, after teething even better.

Also don't forget to praise when you put something in his mouth...and say "good bite" or whatever phrase you want to use.

Gina

[coolhandkev]

Thanks. I was trying to follow the other thread but yeah I am going to stop doing so. He has been better and better as the days have been going on. I know it takes a lot of time and I have plenty of patience so I'll just keep being patient!