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How to stop puppy biting hands,toes fingers etc......

25K views 17 replies 14 participants last post by  kassabella 
#1 ·
Hi all ,
we have a beautiful 10 week old puppy max who when playing with us constantly bites and has drawn blood on a few occasions.Now ,I under stand that he is very young and that he is teething and what he's doing is playful to him but it's getting to the stage where my 11 year old can't play with him because he hurts.This is not a chewing,teething issue,it's him being playfull,but it's getting out of hand.We've tried ''no'',''no biting'' and a numerous other strategies
but nothing seems to work,I don't want this to get to a stage where something bad wiil happen,please help.
 
#2 ·
Immediately stop playing and then ignore the puppy when he does this. Don't play games to the point of such excitement (avoid pulling games entirely if need be). Also, you could try putting something on your fingers ..hot sauce? or stuff sold to prevent dogs from chewing on things [can't remember any brands right now]. Make sure you have things for puppy to chew - allowed things, not old shoes :smile:
 
#3 ·
You should get lots of suggestions on this.
(1) When it happens, Yelp! Loud!
(2) When it happens, yell NO BITE
(3) When it happens, direct to the crate.
(4) Hide treat in hand. Let the pup sniff. If the pup does not try to bite or claw, treat. If the pup does try to bite or claw, Crate.
(5) Some will try to wrap the dogs upper lip, muzzle, to the inside of the mouth between finget and teeth, let the dog bite down, and bite himself as a teaching method. Never worked for my, too clumsy.
Work with child to do the same thing. Consistency by all family members is critical to success. Human skin is not allowed to be taken into the mouth.

What you are dealing with is normal, you just have to be consistent in showing disapproval.
 
#7 · (Edited)
^^^^
a puppy can be placed in a crate for "time out" if they are getting out of control. This is the ONLY thing that worked with my Gracie, she was very mouthy and would play very rough....when she would get into that mouthy bitey stage, we would ignore, redirect with a toy, and then if that didn't work we quietly...NO SCOLDING involved just placed her in the bathroom (we didn't crate train Gracie, wish we had) a few minutes and let her calm down.

As long as you are not reprimanding the puppy and then putter her/him in the crate it is fine, just quietly and uneventfully place her/him in and walk away. Usually within a 10 minutes they come back out much calmer.

This behavior of biting is very normal for this age...my Gracie was a terror, good news...they outgrow it. Gracie is two now, she still gets a bit mouthy when she is extremely excited...but much, much better. Hang in there :)
 
#5 ·
The loud YELP or yell OUCHH really really loud then say no and walk away. My pup has gotten alot better with the biting. It's odd but since his adult front teeth have come in he's stopped biting so hard. Now he tries too but if I start to yell ouch before he nips he stops and walks away and grabs a toy.
Always replace your hand with a toy.
Puppy kindergarten teacher said if they get sooo out of control remove yourself from the room. go in the bathroom and close the door... wait a minute or so then come out and hand him a toy.
 
#6 ·
Wow I remember those days - seems like a distant memory now :) The best thing that worked was saying "No bite!", getting up and walking away (and not making eye contact), facing away and then going back to what we were doing. After 3 times I just went and sat in my chair (as opposed to the floor) and he went to sleep
 
#8 ·
Our dog trainer recommends putting in the crate as a 'time out' or calm down measure. As has already been said, no shouting; just silently place in the crate and walk away.

*Our Parson (Jack) Russell is far more trouble than Dinozzo ever was at this age. In some ways he's much quicker in others (house training) he's an absolute nightmare.*
 
#9 ·
Emmett is just coming out of this stage and it's been a real struggle.
I'm going to have to say that we never used his crate as a time out place, simply because my GSP hates his crate so much I just didn't want to risk it.
That said... I did everything, hell I bet Emmett thought his name was NO BITE for a good week.
We had to go to the extreme of shoving our fingers down his throat until he basically choked them out, that was the only method that actually worked on him. He is SO much better now.
Ignoring is another great tool not just for the biting but for any bad behavior, I think it works great because labs are such people pleasers.

How is he when you go to treat him? Be careful not to let him "bite" a treat out of your hand. They need to learn this now when they don't have the jaw strength just the sharp baby teeth.
 
#10 ·
nothing wrong with putting puppy in the crate to get a break. the important part is to put them in there CALMLY and with a treat if need be (i.e. do not throw them in there). It can still be a good/happy place AND provide the owner with a break.

I agree with the above, but pick a method and be consistant (ALL members of the family). It takes time, lab puppies are mouthy, it is unfortunately something all lab puppy owners have to go thru. very normal
 
#15 ·
I pretty much agree with HersheyK's Dad's suggestion. I also think the crate is a good timeout. My dog still loves her crate even though we have used it as a time out. We just make sure that it is overwhelmingly a positive experience for her. The thing I would add to the list is the use of bitter apple. Spray it on where ever your dog is biting that they shouldn't be. Don't forget to shake the bottle. If that doesn't work, then spray it in their mouth. We sprayed Layla like twice. Now all it takes is me picking up the bottle.

The thing that I think works the most is lots of training and lots of spending time with your dog. As soon as your dog figures out you are the leader you won't really need the bitter apple. I now just do the 'TSST' (cesar millan style) or if she doesn't immediately stop (like 5% of the time) I stand up and own the space (cesar millan style).

Layla is now 6 months old and we haven't had any biting/gnawing issues for a very long time.
 
#17 ·
If you check on my posts back in October or November you will see that I posted about 'shark biting.' We have our third (one at a time) lab puppy and we thought we were experienced. This one was the hardest ever. But with training and time she has turned into an angel. The biting stopped around Christmas time birth date was mid August. When we first brought the pup home - day one - it was fine and my three year old grand daughter thought the puppy was hers and was going to live at our house. It later turned into tears from the biting. Last weekend - pup is now just seven months - it made me cry to see them in the yard together chasing a soccer ball - best buds. Another hurdle crossed. Good luck.
 
#18 ·
Kassa was a terrible mouther and biter.Those razor teeth hurt. I raised my voice in a firm No. She soon got it. Erns was 3.5 when I got him and no one had taught him and didn't take him long to realise it wasn't good.

I used the crate as time out, but not punishment. I did find and still do with Gems if they are over excited they need crate time to cool down and sleep.
 
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