"bite stops here"

rambosaur

How long does this usually start having any effect? It's been nearly two weeks now, and my arms are still torn to shreds.

If anything, he's biting harder. Maybe he's pissed because I keep ditching him in the middle of "playtime".

Everything else is going smoothly. He learns tricks in a heartbeat. His potty training seems to be going okay, I can now set him down at the bottom of the stairs and he'll hop along to where he is supposed to go on his own. He just won't stop biting.

Pasofino

Not sure what you mean by him being "pissed because you ditch him during playtime"...

But if you are talking about a puppy, then if he bites you, he won't understand why you are "ditching" him..he has no related ideas...they cannot reason.

So, if he bites you, just take your arm away saying NO and holding his mouth shut for just a few seconds... replace it with something acceptable to chew, as in a toy or Kong. Then let his mouth go.

Do not let him bite you, he won't like his mouth shut and will start to think that when he bites you, his mouth gets held closed for a few seconds...and when he is free, he gets to chew on a good thing..

Soon he will learn,.

rambosaur

He is a puppy. The thread here says you are supposed to say "Ouch" and leave the room when he bites, and that will "teach him" that biting hurts. Argh. Won't holding his mouth shut make him afraid of me?

Curbside Prophet

rambosaur

I realize that it's going to take a long time for him to learn, but like I said... he's getting worse instead of better. Is that normal? It's a bit distressing that every time I come back to the room, I have to leave immediately because he bites again. I'm just worried that it has turned from play biting to aggressive biting without me realizing. I don't think I've done anything to make him scared of me. While he bites everyone, he doesn't bite nearly as hard as he bites me.

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Curbside Prophet

Did you read the link on extinction burst? Yes, it can be normal and an indication that the method is working. How loudly are you yelping? Loud enough to get a startle? Do you call him an foul mouthed cur as you leave the room?

rambosaur

Yeah, after I posted I realized that's what you were saying, haha. I've tried quietly yelping and everything inbetween to very loudly. Nothing startles him, he's too brave. If I outright bark at him, that gets his attention... but I don't know if that's giving the same signal as yelping... assuming yelping is doing anything since he doesn't react. :P I call him a "jerk" as I leave.

klip

I had a similar problem - if I understand you correctly. My Anna was very mouthy. Ignoring alone did not work, and yelping or saying ouch also not. She would nip me if I was holding her and confining her movement because then I would leave the room and she got out of being held . Whining or indicating hurt did not work.

I think she needed more than "i must not hurt mommy" and was beyond "i want mommies attention". She wanted to BITE me because that feels GOOD. She did not care if it hurts me, and did not care if I ignored her. Biting was a reward in itself. She loves learning something new though, so this is what worked for me:

I knelt next to her and confined her by hugging her gently but firmly from the side so she had difficulty getting to me with her mouth. I did this when she was calm. Also, during this process I did not speak to her, or praise her, or pat her. She struggled and tried to nip. If she made contact somehow, a firm but unexcited "no". And she only got to go free when she stopped struggling. This way I achieved two things, I got her to accept that she has to control herself - she has to calm herself down. The second one was a clear link for her that biting is "NO" in a calm situation where she is more likely to listen than in a game.

Then I used tug play to get her to focus. Played with a tug toy, but did not get her too wild. Kept the play moderate. Say "let go" and offer her a treat. She quickly learned that if she lets go, she got a treat. Then she's only allowed to take the article again on command. So - firm but gentle "no" (not an angry reprimand) and remove the toy out of reach until I say "take it". She may take it, tug a bit, and then "let go" again. If there is ANY tooth to skin contact I stopped play and walked out. This worked for me ( I think) because it was a more structured sort of ignoring. And she had to learn to listen while being excited.

And the rest of the time, any time she nipped or mouthed me, a very firm "NO" and an ignore. The kind of "NO!" that means "you do NOT do that. That is WRONG!".

I know that many people feel a reprimand is not apropriate, but if you have a dog like mine - very driven and focused and excitable you cannot rely on the "absence of praise" or ignoring method. I tried those methods and in the end the only thing that worked was a good old "NO you DO NOT do that" vocal reprimand.

Poly

Depending on the breed and the indivdual, this can take literally hundreds of corrections. Complicated also by the fact that during teething, it frankly feels good - for your puppy, not you - to bite on something. Two weeks is not a long time by any measure.

Patience and consistency are essential.

Also, it helps to have special toys that are only brought out for interactive play and then are put away when play time is over - not left with your puppy. Leaving some hard chew toys and some balls around is fine, but the special toys should really be "special". Many dogs like rope toys - especially during teething - and if your's does, these could be the special ones.

Actually, I know what happened. Your puppy is mad because you dissed him on a public forum and now his peeps are making fun of him.

Seriously, dogs don't reason this way.

Appreciate the positives and don't dwell on the negatives. Puppy training is rarely a straight line.

diggler86

some things ive been doing which seem to help (although he still runs after me looking like a gator on the chase during play, i think its minimized the biting while im sitting down during normal times). most of these are suggestions ive read elsewhere here. no words have had any effect on him. leaving the room - im on the fence about.

soon as i see the 'look' in his eye, give him a nice aggressive full body massage for a few minutes. this seems to calm him down and distract. and maybe fill some need for attention.

always have a toy ready for immediate replacement, nylabone is a nice string one he likes to chew. also i found a good one at petco that is yellow, looks like a dumb bell but ribs on the end. i put peanut butter inbetween two of the ribs and this keeps his busy quite a while licking and chewing it out. im convinced the kong is just too easy for him.

ive been doing commands with his food (giving him 5-6 pieces every time) instead of him gobbling it down in 20 seconds. i do sit, stay, shake, down until the bowl is gone. he learns fast, and now if he starts to act up, i just stand there, look at him, and he sits down. i guess the one who controls the food is the one in control! i think so far this has made the biggest difference.. bc there is now some obediance in place, and its an easy correction just stand still and he sits down. also, instead of NO, OUCH, etc, i can just say SIT! and it works bc it stops the behavior in progress. then praise him for sitting and being good.

last resort - when he is really riled up, is the squirt gun laced with a little white vinegar. ive only used that about three times. now i dont even have to shoot it and he backs off.

i thought perhaps it was spending too much time in the crate, but this weekend i was home with him all day, and he napped most of the day sweet little puppy, and sure enough exploded with energy as usual at about 7pm.

gillywilly

I think it depends on the dog's personality how you would respond? With May-Z, she doesn't really nip at all unless she really gets frisky and playful, and I tried both methods to see which one she responded the best to. With the hold the mouth closed and stuff, it just seemed to make her even squirrlier (sp? LOL) but with the yelp, she immediately released and then started licking me as if to say, "sorry". Well, that's how I'm interpreting it anyway.

cshellenberger

DO NOT DO THIS!!!!!

How are you responding? How quickly (it HAS to be instantly and consistantly) Are you walking away from him and TOTALLY ignoring him?

rambosaur

I wasn't planning on it. That's as bad as hitting them, goodness.

I respond as soon as he bites, usually causing him to bite down harder and not let go, so it takes me a second to be able to walk away.

He got ahold of my neck a bit ago while we were playing and didn't let go. It hurt pretty darn bad.

Are you sure? I caught him using my computer the other night... looked pretty upset and didn't speak to me.

I hope he didn't read this post.

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