Gettting a puppy to stop biting

[Ursula Parenteau]

I need help getting our 10 week old Beagle puppy to stop biting us and everything in site. Today he tore through my jeans and I am getting frustrated. We have tried the bitter apple spray on us and it doesn't seem to work. He is well exercised and is fed enough, has enough toys and we are constantly interacting with him and giving him lots of praise when he isn't biting. I understand that puppies need to mouth alot but if I could get him to stop mouthing myself and my 3 year old I think my fustration level would decline dramatically. Thanks in advance for the help,

Ursula

[Melissa Brunoehler]

Hi Ursula~

Everytime your puppy bites you, you need to withdraw your attention from him & IGNORE him. If you interact with the pup at all when he nips you it becomes a fun game to him. Also try to get him some "play dates" with other puppies- it will help teach him bite inhibition & social skills. For even more info, here's a great article on puppies http://www.doggiebagonline. com/articles/article.php?articlei d=24

I need help getting our 10 week old Beagle puppy to stop biting us and everything in site. Today he tore through my jeans and I am getting frustrated. We have tried the bitter apple spray on us and it doesn't seem to work. He is well exercised and is fed enough, has enough toys and we are constantly interacting with him and giving him lots of praise when he isn't biting. I understand that puppies need to mouth alot but if I could get him to stop mouthing myself and my 3 year old I think my fustration level would decline dramatically. Thanks in advance for the help,

Ursula

[Amber]

What I did to stop Precious from biting as a puppy was every time she would bite, I would tell her "No" in a stern voice and give her a toy that she could chew on. When she started to chew on it, I would tell her "Good Girl!" It didn't take her long to understand what I wanted! Precious doesn't quite understand the whole ignoring thing...that may not work with all dogs. Then again, I'm not an expert.

[Suni Brown]

My 12 week old Gwen is going throught the same thing. She bites everything that moves (including my nine year old). It will get better, I promise!! We have had Gwen since she was 8 weeks and she was horrible at biting. I couldn't pet her cause she would bite if I did. She is 110% better. try these things.....
1.) If you are walking or sitting and he starts biting you, completely freeze (don't yell, don't say no, don't even move). Puppies bite for attention. When you do not give them attention, they stop. One thing though. Your puppy will realize biting is not working and may resort to barking, jumping, anything to get your attention. Again, a few seconds of ignoring this behavior and your puppy will stop. When he stops and moves on to something else...PRAISE HIM! On a side note, your three year old will be able to do this when sitting on the couch. Have your child sit far back on the couch and give no attention to the dog.
2.) Make sure to use the same command each and every time. We use "No Bite" in a stern voice with Gwen. She is "getting it" and now when she starts to chew on something she is not supposed to (mainly my toes) we say "No Bite" and she backs off.
3.) last but not least is Time out. I know your dog will get frustrated and I know how upset you will get (trust me, I had to walk away several times in fear I might accidentally hurt my new "baby") . If your puppy is just being completely unruly and you can't get him to calm down, place him in time out for 10-15 minutes. Dogs are pack animals and hate being away from you. If the "crazy dog" phase (and you know what I am talking about right???) doesn't pass after "no Bite" and ignoring him, place her in time out. This will give him a chance to calm down (and also give you a chance to calm down). He will soon start to realize Bite = no play.
I know EXACTLY what your going through right now and I know that it is a hard, frustrating, painful time for you. It will get better! Any time you just need to Vent, let me know! I am with you in this!!! I hope this helps!

[Ursula Parenteau]

I am definitely going to try everything. I had my first puppy kindergarten class today and he should us how to try and deal with biting. As long as I am consistent in doing 7-10 times per day I think we can over come this nipping thing. I really don't want to lose another pair of jeans:)) Thanks again everyone

Ursula

[Melissa Irr]

We had a problem with our dog biting when he was a pup and we started yiping at him (like a littermate would) and turning away. We also sprayed hands and pants with bitter apple...so that when he bit, he'd get something that didn't taste very good.

It eventually worked and he grew out of it!

[Eric Vecc]

We also used the 'yelping' with much success. Do it in a high pitch tone and immediately stop interacting with him. Don't push him away - thats attention. Just take yourself away from him and ignore him. Turn your back and don't even look. When he loses interest and walkls away, engage interaction again. And when his teeth touch skin again...repeat steps. With a very mouth puppy, you will need to start out slow. Only yelp when the bites are hard and actually DO hurt. Then start to get less and less forgiving. Eventually, you should do it the moment his teeth touch your skin - even if it doesn't hurt. Once he knew what we were doing, we exchanged the yelp with 'NO BITE'. He got it pretty quick.

[Ursula Parenteau]

We are really getting frustrated with the biting. He has plenty of toys and plenty of exercise along with plenty of training and play time so we are at our witts end trying to get him to stop. We have tried the spray bottle along with every suggestion possible but it just seems he treats it as a game and bites even more. If we ignore him he gets even nippier whichmakes everyone very unhappy. My husband who is normally calm is really starting to lose it with Buster and I am afraid he is going to ask us to give him up. If any one can suggest other things it would be greatly appreciated. thanks,
Ursula

[Daniela Jantzen]

We are really getting frustrated with the biting. He has plenty of toys and plenty of exercise along with plenty of training and play time so we are at our witts end trying to get him to stop. We have tried the spray bottle along with every suggestion possible but it just seems he treats it as a game and bites even more. If we ignore him he gets even nippier whichmakes everyone very unhappy. My husband who is normally calm is really starting to lose it with Buster and I am afraid he is going to ask us to give him up. If any one can suggest other things it would be greatly appreciated. thanks,
Ursula

Ursula,
if you have tried everything but really seem to get nowhere, please contact a local trainer working with positive reinforcement methods only. Please ask the person for a one-on-one session at your house.
Sometimes it is only something small like a minor detail in ones body language or two people using two different approaches which might cause all the problems.
Don't give up yet. I know this is a very frustrating phase right now and I am really glad you hang in there.

Danny

[Jody Hayes]

Ursula we went through the same exact issue with our beagle and it lasted way to long. Even drew blood with those sharp little teeth wripped my jeans, skirts, and some of my daughters clothes. We stuck with the yipping and redirection but then we got another dog and he trained him! I am not saying to get another dog but maybe you know of someone w/ a puppy that could teach your beagle a thing or two. Mine figured out that when he bit the other dog he would get punished by him. So he quit doing it to us then. We have had some issues with our beagle chewing us and everything else in sight. It's hard to be patient when you have to be around the terror 24/7, but hopefully he/she will outgrow.

[Ursula Parenteau]

It's good to hear that our Buster isn't completely psycho. I was really starting to wonder. My sister has a lab cross puppy(same age) that is quite docile but they are playing at least once a week just so that Buster will learn a little bite inhibition as well as being put in his place. My sister's dog already out weighs him by 20 pounds so I am hoping that her dog will get a little more aggressive with our dog and teach him a lesson about his biting. I guess with time he will hopefully improve. I just hope that it wil stop soon as we will be having a baby in September and our Buster will be almost 6 months. Jody if you have any tips or tricks that could help us with training and such of our beagle please feel free to e-mail or PM me. Again thanks for letting me know we don't have a little Cujo on our hands.

Ursula

[Daniela Jantzen]

....
I just hope that it wil stop soon as we will be having a baby in September and our Buster will be almost 6 months.....

Ursula,

in the dogs and kids-section of this forum, Renee P. posted a great link which might help you with lots of info and tips in this issue:
http://www.doggiebagonline. com/forum/showthread.php?t=114 9
Always a good source of information and a great contact info if need be is this page by Jen Shryock:
http://www.familypaws.com/
Jen used to be the advisor in the dogs and kids section in the old doggiedoor-forum and she is marvellous in her job.
Also llok up the article section of our forum: you might still find a few good suggestions there. :)
All the best for all of you.

Danny

[Suni Brown]

Ursula-
I know right now the last thing you wanna hear is "be patient and keep working with him".....Trust me, I was absolutely convinced a month ago that I would have to get rid of my than 2 month old Lab. I was going insane. She would be on the go non-stop. I would get up to get a drink and she would bite, my 9 year old son would sneeze, she would try to bite him. My Fiance would try playing with her and have to stop cause she would bite. Gwen is now 3 months old and 110% better!!!! In one months time, she has matured so much. We did a bunch of the things suggested on this site and they all seem to work (in time.....key words). We took Gwen to two cook outs this weekend (two different sets of people including kids!!!) and NOT ONCE did I hear anyone say "No Bite". I am truely enjoying my puppy for the first time since we got her. Your pup will get past this stage and it will be so much easier to train him on not biting, sitting, everything. Just keep it up. I am behind you all the way. If you just need to complain, let me know!!!!

[Ursula Parenteau]

We are doing some aversion training along with positive reinforcement and it is looking like it may help. He seems to go for his toys now rather than our pant legs, hands or whatever seems to be dangling at the moment. We have started puppy kindergarten which I am hoping will help too. My son seems to be coming around somewhat which is a BIG help. He now tells him "No Biting" and will ask for help if he is getting nipped at too much instead of freezing up. I know that it will take time, and a lot of it, I just wish I could convince my hubby of this too :) I will definitely keep the post updated as to new breakthroughs and such. Thanks again for all the wonderful advice and support this site really does ROCK :-D


Ursula

[Ursula Parenteau]

;) I think we may have a had a possible break through with Buster and his biting. He has been seeing my sister's monster dog once a week for the last few weeks and I yiped at him today and he actually stopped biting me and looked up to see what was going on. Yay for small break throughs

[Jody Hayes]

Thats great Ursula! Keep up the great workf\!

[Renee Premaza]

Hi Ursula!

Let's tackle this problem by getting a lot of information about when the dog begins doing all this biting, what is going on in his environment when he's biting, who is interacting with him when he's biting. Do you find that the biting happens before exercise, after exercise, in the morning, afternoon, or at night?

This is typical puppy behavior, but sometimes pups that are overly mouthy are so because they were removed from their litter before 8 weeks, or they were singleton puppies. At what age did you bring your puppy home? Do you know how many were in his litter?

Very often, I find that puppies start biting because (1) they're really tired and just need a nap!), (2) someone is playing with them waaaayy too long and they get over-stimulated, and (3) they're bored.

One way that I find very effective to stop puppy biting is to tether the puppy WITH A HARNESS to something strong, safe and in the same room where his people are. If you want to play with puppy, do so, but as soon as he starts biting or mouthing your hand, tell him "timeout" and walk away and out of the room where he can't see or hear you. Come back about 20 seconds later and you can begin to interact with him again. If the biting starts up, repeat your timeout. Your pup has to learn to associate biting with making you disappear. It IS very important to react to various pressures of those bites to teach him FIRST to have a soft mouth, vs. teaching not to bite entirely right away. If you teach your pup first to have a soft mouth before you stop the biting altogether, he'll never do any damage if he's ever provoked to bite someone during his life. Remember that all dogs have the ability to bite, and we never know if someone could come along someday and provoke your dog to bite. If he does, you want him to not use pressure!

Please read the PUPPY PACKET that is in the articles section. It does talk about teaching bite inhibition. I'll look forward to hearing your answers to those questions I've raised.

We are really getting frustrated with the biting. He has plenty of toys and plenty of exercise along with plenty of training and play time so we are at our witts end trying to get him to stop. We have tried the spray bottle along with every suggestion possible but it just seems he treats it as a game and bites even more. If we ignore him he gets even nippier whichmakes everyone very unhappy. My husband who is normally calm is really starting to lose it with Buster and I am afraid he is going to ask us to give him up. If any one can suggest other things it would be greatly appreciated. thanks,
Ursula

[Ursula Parenteau]

We got Buster at 8 weeks but the people who actually got him from thhe breeder got him at 7 weeks. I do believe that there were at least 5 in his litter. I have noticed that he tends to bite most on two occasions 1)When he is over excited 2) when he seems to be bored. He also always is biting at my 3 year old and I figure that is becaause he thinks it's play time all the time with him. It is definitely getting better but anything I can do to help teach him proper manners with respect to biting is greatly appreciated. We try to alieviate his bordom with plenty of chew toys such as bones, ropes and stuffed animals but I think that he sometimes prefers the feel of skin. I am not sure how to handle the over excited thing as it is becoming a problem during our puppy kindergarten. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

thanks again,
Ursula

[Renee Premaza]

Hi Ursula!

>>I have noticed that he tends to bite most on two occasions 1)When he is over excited 2) when he seems to be bored. He also always is biting at my 3 year old <<

(1) Avoid letting him get to this point. You know the occasions that would trigger this, right? If anyone is playing with him, try to keep play on a lower-key and don't rev the dog up by screaming and running around. Keep play periods short - even if that means he has to have a break every 5 minutes or so.

(2) Boredom and lack of exercise gets more dogs into trouble than anything else. Puppies are full of energy and excitement. If your pup is crated too many hours a day, make sure someone is letting him out for potty breaks and play/exercise breaks at least 2 to 3 times/day for about 1/2 hour. Sometimes a good choice might be to take the puppy to a doggy daycare even if it was for 1/2 day a couple days a week. Trainers have an expression: "a tired dog is a good dog!"

(3) Toddlers and young children get nipped and bitten more often than anyone. They are small and puppies and dogs seem to think of them as littermates. One thing that gets puppies overly stimulated is when a child sits on the floor or lays down on the floor with the dog. Immediately, the pup will pounce on the child (as he would with a littermate). Children should only play with the puppy while they're standing or sitting on furniture. If the child is a bit older and taller, that child can kneel down. But... a 3 year old child is fair game. Keep your child at a higher level, tell the child not to play rough games or to use his hands as chew toys. Kids love to put their hands over the pup's head, so pup winds up jumping up and nipping the hands. Children that squeal in excitement get dogs all excited. Try to engage your 3 year old in teaching the puppy to sit. YOU get the pup to sit, and have your child offer the puppy a treat (while being supervised). Place your hand under your child's and don't let the child jerk his hand away with the treat. Teach the child to say, "SIT!" You'd be surprised how well that works. It's really cute to see a puppy sit when a little kid tells him to.

On this same note, I find that when a child wants to play with a puppy, it's very helpful if the puppy is tethered (with a harness - not a collar). That way, if puppy bites, the child can get up and walk away from the puppy and puppy can't follow the child. YOU have to supervise that this happens, but it will teach the puppy that nipping and biting the child (or anyone) makes the child (or anyone) leave him. Be consistent though, and your pup will learn by making that association.

BTW, you mentioned in an earlier post that you're using some aversion training. What are you doing with that?

We got Buster at 8 weeks but the people who actually got him from thhe breeder got him at 7 weeks. I do believe that there were at least 5 in his litter. I have noticed that he tends to bite most on two occasions 1)When he is over excited 2) when he seems to be bored. He also always is biting at my 3 year old and I figure that is becaause he thinks it's play time all the time with him. It is definitely getting better but anything I can do to help teach him proper manners with respect to biting is greatly appreciated. We try to alieviate his bordom with plenty of chew toys such as bones, ropes and stuffed animals but I think that he sometimes prefers the feel of skin. I am not sure how to handle the over excited thing as it is becoming a problem during our puppy kindergarten. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

thanks again,
Ursula

[Ursula Parenteau]

Hi Renee,

1) I never thought to watch how and when he gets over excited as I just assumed that it was a normal puppy behaviour. I will defintiely figure this one out and start getting it under control.
2) I walk him at least 3 times a day for 20 minutes, try to do at least 3-5 short (5-10 minutes) training sessions throughout the day and play with him as much as I can in between. It's true what the trainers say about a tired dog is a good dog. I usually do not crate him during the day as I am a stay at home mom. If I need to go out I pen him up in our small hallway which is about 3 times the size of our crate and put his towel, some toys and a pee pad in there so he has room to move and play by himself should he want to. He takes naps throughout the day on his own when he is tired.
3)we are slowly getting Our son involved in the training side of Buster. He is some what reluctant as even standing Buster treats him as a littermate and thinks that it is play time. We have him on a harness when we train him so that it is easier for us to handle him and Maxmillian is starting to become more assertive in pulling Buster off. The two of them are never left alone together as I can never predict what either will do to each other. But you are very right in that Maxmillian will try to go around Buster's head with his hands in an attempt to get him off or make him move which just excites Buster more. I will definitely be putting a stop to that one.

I have to thank you very much for all the wonderful advice and insight you have given me on this. Sometimes it's the little things that you aren't aware of as in case #1 that may contribute to the bad behaviour. If there is anything I am lacking in doing or that you feel may be done bette by all means let me know I am so on al earning curve with this one as I have only ever had older dogs.

thanks again Renee your advice and help is very much appreciated

Ursula

[Andre Mendizabal]

Hi Ursula, well, I have a beagle of my own and I share with you and Jody the nipping, biting, chewing, destroying issues. Mine was like that when she was a young pup, she was taken out of her litter at 8 weeks but she still had a lot of nipping issues, anyway, I tried EVERYTHING everybody here suggested, since I went to Doggiedoor a year ago with the same issue, it was tough but finally she calmed down. She still has some issues, like she likes to destroy any kind of paper and sometimes still eats the plants of the garden, she even chewed to pieces one of my bra's not so long ago. Its kind of a beagle thing, every beagle I know has or has had some chewing-destroying issues. A lot of her improvement had to do with Molly, my other dog, she helped me a lot to train her :D
Anyway, just so you know you are not alone and we all know were all that frutration is coming from... the good part is that it gets better with time!!!!
:-D
What a joy a beagle is, isn't it???
:shock:

[Renee Premaza]

Hi again, Ursula,

>>Maxmillian is starting to become more assertive in pulling Buster off.<<

If you were to tether the puppy, Maxmillian could just walk away from him, and the puppy could not follow him. That is a great way of doing a timeout (also known as "negative punishment," which means taking some valuable away from the dog). Here again, management helps a lot and winds up teaching the dog a more appropriate behavior - not biting! Puppy gets to learn, as he did with his litter, "when I bite Maxmillian too hard, I am making him disappear from me. Oh, I better soften my mouth to keep him nearby."

Maxmillian could pull him off from now until he's 35 years old (lol), but that's not what will teach the puppy not to bite. It might make him even more excited.

>>If I need to go out I pen him up in our small hallway which is about 3 times the size of our crate and put his towel, some toys and a pee pad in there so he has room to move and play by himself should he want to.<<

It's good that you're leaving him alone, and you should teach him to be alone for longer periods of time as he gets older. Even if it means just going upstairs to read a book while he's down in his little area for a few hours. Pups that are never left alone often develop separation anxiety.

Now... about that wee-wee pad:

Are you planning on teaching him to potty 100% of the time outside? Those pads actually teach the pup to pee on the floor in the house. Sometimes the dog misses and you still have to clean it up. I would attempt to do away with the pads if you possibly can.

Have fun!!

Hi Renee,

1) I never thought to watch how and when he gets over excited as I just assumed that it was a normal puppy behaviour. I will defintiely figure this one out and start getting it under control.
2) I walk him at least 3 times a day for 20 minutes, try to do at least 3-5 short (5-10 minutes) training sessions throughout the day and play with him as much as I can in between. It's true what the trainers say about a tired dog is a good dog. I usually do not crate him during the day as I am a stay at home mom. If I need to go out I pen him up in our small hallway which is about 3 times the size of our crate and put his towel, some toys and a pee pad in there so he has room to move and play by himself should he want to. He takes naps throughout the day on his own when he is tired.
3)we are slowly getting Our son involved in the training side of Buster. He is some what reluctant as even standing Buster treats him as a littermate and thinks that it is play time. We have him on a harness when we train him so that it is easier for us to handle him and Maxmillian is starting to become more assertive in pulling Buster off. The two of them are never left alone together as I can never predict what either will do to each other. But you are very right in that Maxmillian will try to go around Buster's head with his hands in an attempt to get him off or make him move which just excites Buster more. I will definitely be putting a stop to that one.

I have to thank you very much for all the wonderful advice and insight you have given me on this. Sometimes it's the little things that you aren't aware of as in case #1 that may contribute to the bad behaviour. If there is anything I am lacking in doing or that you feel may be done bette by all means let me know I am so on al earning curve with this one as I have only ever had older dogs.

thanks again Renee your advice and help is very much appreciated

Ursula

[Ursula Parenteau]

We are definitely going to phase out the pee pads. My only concern is when we are in the basement for quiet time that he will choose to go on the carpet. Which really isn't that great but we don't want to replace it just yet. We are doing the potty party and it seems to be helping as he has only peed once in the house today and hasn't even pooped once. Which is a great improvement from the like 10 times a day any where but the pee pad he was doing. We do leave him a towel to lie on in his crate and in the hallway which sometimes he does pee on but we wash it and it isn't that often anymore.

I am definitely going to start the harness training with Maxmillian. Tomorrow should be a very interesting day for both my little boys. One thing that bith my hubby and I have noticed is that Buster isn't biting or nipping as hard as he used to. I thought that you might want to know that Buster will now come to Maxmillian when called and he sits automatically for him prior to getting his treat. He is on a lead when doing this but it seems that Maxmillian is getting more confidence in the 2 days that we started getting him to train Buster. We will be working on the sit/stay and the down commands over the next few days so that Max can let Buster understand what he needs to do.

Thanks so much Renee for all your help it is already showing wonders

With much appreciation,
Ursula

P.S. Do you have any help for training husbands ;)