My 17 week old boy bit me

[mamajamia]

My 17 week old boy just bit me tonight. We were playing tug of war (as I usually do numerous times throughout the day), and I turned around to tell my daughter something and he bit me on my back side hard. I am so upset about it because I NEVER hit him. Yell at him yse and kick him out of the house for bad behavior. After he bit me I tried to grab him by the collar to get him out of the house and he was trying to bite me again. EWventually he went out on his own but I feel very betrayed by him. I give him my everything and I've had him from 8ks. And he was EXTREMELY shy when I got him which concerned me a little but with TONS of attention and praising he's really come out of his shell. Does anyone have any advice for me? Thanks

[LOU2040]

first I would start by asking your breeder for advice on how to correct.

You were playing with a rottweiler pup and then- you turned your back on him. He wanted your attention -So he did !

I have a 14 week old male who I call mr. big stuff (thats not his name) . And he plays rough , -so I distract with a ball or stick .

Yes sometimes I do want to let him have it but I say to my self - Its a rott.

[jayneliz]

What was the dog's demeanor when he bit you? Could he still have been playing and nipped your a$$ to get your attention? Was his tail wiggling or did he otherwise seem playful?

What was bite like? A nip? Did it leave a mark, break skin or draw blood? Was he running from you like to play chase or was he tucking his butt and cowering?

Dogs don't "betray" people so don't feel like he has betrayed you. My first instinct is that he was still playing and just went overboard. When you became angry and tried to grab him, he reacted.

Is your pup in some kind of training class? How is that going?

[zorro13]

At 17 weeks old, you have a pup, a very playful one at that. I can't tell you how many times I or my husband have been bit on our behinds over the years, in fact, I'm not quite sure I actually have a body part to list that wasn't hacked at during play.

A couple things about play, dogs get riled up good, so it's a good idea to teach some kind of 'settle' or 'calm' cue, use the word as you stop play and be a statue, then praise the dog for settling down. Grabbing collars and yelling only excite an already excitable dog/pup thus raising the bar some more. When any dog/pup is in a 'drama/zoomie' stage, it is always best to meet that with a cool, calm head, adding your own drama to the situation is like 2 rams butting heads and locking horns, it just doesn't work.

Also, since you said your pup was shy when you first got him, learning new things and being in a class w/ positive training w/ treats and praise increase confidence by leaps and bounds, this is the best route for you and highly recommended to also learn about dogs' behaviors/habits.

[shimmer]

Thunder at 9 months still nips while playing, or will nip when he wants me to move faster. If you have been playing with him then yes he is riled up and will want to continue the play. You might want to slowly decrease the play and praise him. Lucky for me that thunder has never broken skin. At 17 weeks this pup doesn't know enough to play gentle. You can also when he gets rough start saying gentle or whatever word you choose. This has helped with us. I started when he would take my hand/foot in his mouth and say gentle. he is still a work in progress but with time your pup will learn what you expect of him. Good Luck.

shimmer

[NikoJ]

I tried not to smile out loud when I read this. My pup is 6 months old and does not like to ever end the tug game. I NEVER turn my back on him when he is wound up because he will definitely take a nip at my butt or try to grab my hand in order to keep the game going.

I have learned to transition from the rowdy games to a more calming activity such as walking around the block and throwing in some basic sits and downs for treats. By the forth or fifth down he has worked thru the crazies.

Many here will explain how to work on bite inhibition. At the discretion of our trainer we are not correcting the biting, but rather redirecting. Because we have chosen to let Niko have a go at schutzhund, we do not want to curtail his chomping down. Instead we want to teach him the importance of chomping on something other than my butt.

Wanted to add: When I went back home, my brother wanted to see all of my little puppy "battle scars". I wear them proudly as marks of my gained knowledge of this fantastic breed.

[Anne]

Yep, I had a couple of nips on the butt when my dog was a pup. I didn't assume it was a bite but that I didn't make it clear to the puppy that the game was over.
I've had a nip on the butt from a rescue dog for the same reason.

[mamajamia]

Wow, Thanks SOOO much for all these ideas and answers. ANd you are all ABSOLUTELY right. Yesterday I was shocked and hurt by his behavior because he did draw blood. And it freakin HURT! I have no fear of him or his bites and I have been bit A LOT but this was extreme. But I now realize that all of you are right. He was just trying to continue the play. He didn't want to end it so he bit. I will follow these ideas in the future and try to calm him down. He is my first Rottie and I am in LOVE. This forum is amazing for reasons such as this. Thanks to all of you!!! ps. I could swear that he is being EXTRA good today!?