I really want my puppy to stop biting

NeoBodhi

My puppy is going to by 12 weeks soon and I really want him to stop biting my girlfriend and myself. Both of us have arms that look like we play with barbed wire for fun. I have read that you should let puppies bite you so you can make sounds and motions to let them know when they are biting to hard. That works when the puppy is calm and just sort of chewing but when he gets excited and playful he can do some damage. I don't think he means to but at 20 pounds plus if he gets you when he is in motion, he tears the skin. This week he will have his last puppy vaccine so he will be able to play with other dogs very soon. So now, I would like him to learn from them how to "play bite" and stop using my girlfriend and me as chew toys.

kamsmom

How old was he when you got him? Most puppies learn bite inhibition from their littermates and really should stay with the litter until about 10-12 weeks old.
You and your girlfriend are now going to have to teach him. Your research is correct in that you should "yelp" or "screach" and turn away when he starts to bite. If you just flail your arms or walk away he thinks you are playing. It will be alot of work but it can be done. Good luck... by the way, what type of puppy?

NeoBodhi

We had the puppy for a day when he was six weeks, then I read that at minimum puppies should really be with their mom and littermates for at least 8 weeks so we spoke with the family we got him from and they agreed to keep him until he was 8 weeks. Since then my gf and me have really tried to teach him how much pressure is too much and he does pretty good when he is calm. On the schedule we have, he reaches his peek energy about twice a day and that is when the bites get out of control. The puppy is a mix of German Pointer and Lab according to the family we adopted him from.

At this point I want to have a no biting policy. Is that realistic?

TooneyDogs

Yes, it's realistic....it's the last step of the bite inhibition process...no biting allowed.

Now you stop the bites BEFORE they happen. You intercept, remove the bite object (arms, hands, feet, etc) and re-direct to something the pup can bite/play with.

Jennyfur

Redirecting is really the best thing you can do. Keep chewy toys on hand at all times, and put one in your pup's mouth when he gets his mouth open to nibble on you. I've had my pup since she was 8 weeks old, and she turns 16 weeks tomorrow. She doesn't nip or bite at all, but we spent the first couple of weeks doing nothing but redirecting her with toys. Also, I'd be curious what sort of interaction the breeder had with the pup. Our breeder was serious about not allowing the pups to bite or nibble visitors; maybe your pup had some early interaction with people who thought it was a cute habit. I hope you get it under control soon.

Labsnothers

The dog guide school gives us 7 week old puppies and expects us to immediately start teaching them not to bite at all.

Young Labs, which I know best, and other puppies tend to very bad about biting. You see a litter of them, and all the ones that are awake are biting another one or themselves. I am not even sure they realize that when they are alone, if they quit biting, they would quit being bitten. At 3 to 4 months they are getting their adult teeth, and it seems they spend every waking moment biting or chewing. One thing you can do at that stage is to knot and wet a piece of cloth. Then freeze it. The cooling will soothe the gums. Only let the puppy have it when you are there to watch it. I maintain a Lab's favorite chew toy is another Lab. Otherwise they settle for any person they can. They keep hoping to find one that won't yelp, jerk their hand away, and leave.

You just have to keep on correcting them, hundreds of times, not dozens. Provide sturdy, safe toys such as Kongs and Nylabones. Avoid things they can chew pieces off and choke on them. Keep them away from electrical cords. Crates are essential for most young Labs and other dogs.

The pet stores are full of toys that many dogs will quickly chew up into pieces they could choke on or cause intestinal blockages. If you are not there to watch, stick to sturdy stuff such as Nylabones and Kongs. Keep a close eye on chew toys and quickly discard anything that is coming apart in pieces. Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed. I don't trust any of the consumable chews. The dogs just gnaw them down to a dangerous size too quickly. These problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive chewers such as Labs.

Puppies are much slower to accept new things after they are 12 weeks old, which is why they need to be in their new home shortly after 6 weeks. The period between 6-12 weeks is a dangerous time. One sniff where a sick dog relieved itself in the last 6 months can bring on parvo or another life threatening disease. Fail to expose it to strangers, including men, women, children, noise, etc. and you could end up with a misfit you can't take out in public. They also need continuing contact with other dogs, but it must be limited to ones you know are getting good care. See http://www.apdt.com/po/news/docs/Messer_Nov06.pdf

mikedavid00

Hi!

It's not very popular with some dog lovers, but you can also try negative re-enforcement which is a natural, valid training method used by many pro trainers. That is another option if it's really a problem. Here is one of Florida's dog training experts on Expert Villiage showing how to do it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWSR1z15bcE

Here are the people that have tried it and what they have to say:

"i have a very snappy pup and even a smack on the bum would bring him back snapping at your hand. this method was very effective and the couple of times you use this method will save your puppy from getting continuous, unnecessary smacks which it doesn't deserve."

"thanks dude.. this really is working so far, my dog use to bite my hand every time i reach out to it but now it kinda stopped doing it XD.... "

"it work for my pit bull did it like 4 time in got peace of mind.... "

Try to seperate peoples personal opinions from valid training methods to correct problematic behaviors. Remember that mothers will bite and correct their pups through negative re-enforcement. It's not something I just made up

But I'm a new dog owner and my little guy doesn't bite at all.. I'm just saying what I would do if my puppy was biting because that's serious to me.. if you have a toddler he could bite too hard.

NeoBodhi

Thanks for all the advice guys and girls, much appreciated.

Thanks for the input, out of desperation I have tried the negative re-enforcement but have found that it quickly undoes the progress I have made with the pup if he can connect the negative re-enforcement to me. Loud sounds were working but he quickly got used to that and I ran out of clever ways to make even louder more annoying sounds (i'm sure my neighbors appreciate that!). The squirt bottle seems to be working now for other unwanted behaviors. I just have to be sure he does not figure out it is me that is squirting him

Labsnothers

Expert's village is one of the worst sites on the net, containing misinformation on a wide range of subjects.

mikedavid00

Hi!

The squirt bottles is actually negative re-enforcement and what we used to stop our cats from clawing at our bedroom doors at night.

The bottles though just might not be aggresive enough for this particular dog. Shock callars might work really well too! Same thing as water bottle method, but probably more effective.

I hate the way they split a subject into a million 1 min videos.

Cracker

Technically this is not negative reinforcement, it is positive punishment. If you want to use the terms it works like this:

Positive punishment: something added to the environment to decrease a behaviour..ie squirting with a bottle, stimming with an ecollar, leash correction, loud noises (aversives).
Positive reinforcement: something added to the environment to increase a behaviour..ie a reward, praise
Negative punishment: something removed from the environment to decrease a behaviour ie a time out, leashing a dog at the dogpark etc.
Negative reinforcement: something removed from the environment to increase a behaviour ie holding a stim on an e collar until the dog sits, then removing the unpleasant feeling or using an ear pinch or toe pinch to get a dog to hold an item in a forced retrieve.

If you are going to use the terms, please use them properly.

jasonm

I had trouble with my puppy biting at first. The first thing you want to do is teach them what "stop" or "no" means. As someone mentioned above you can try and use a high pitch but it might sound weird in public. I read somewhere that you shouldnt use his/her name when you are showing disapproval. Also be careful not to get into a tug-o-war situation because this will only encourage them and he will think you are playing a game. Get a toy/bone and any time she/he comes close to you with his mouth open hold the bone right in front of their face. Good luck

NeoBodhi

I hope you are being ironic.

Cracker

No, Neo he is not being ironic. I strongly disagree with his advice.

NeoBodhi

If anyone needs a shock collar it is me, not my puppy. I could probably use a shock everytime I am not training/teaching my puppy properly. Fortunately my puppy gives me pretty good feedback. He is training me as much as I am training him.

Labsnothers

Well, maybe a shock collar would be quicker. When, well maybe we don't talk that way here.