[ioreks_mom]

when i come home from work and let the doggies out of their kennels brom always jumps on me and bites at me and my clothes. i don't understand this. he will jump up and grab my shirt or pants or coat or whatever. he also tries to bite my husband's tie when he gets home from work. sometimes he will jump up and grab our coat or something and hold on.

why is he doing this? what is the best way to get him to stop? we always tell him off and ignore him until he stops.

[Terrie]

Lexi does the same thing, except she does it all the time not just when we come home. We do the ignoring thing and turning away doesn't work, she just goes for the ankles. We have to go somewhere where she cannot reach us, like on the couch or we have even given 30 sec time outs in the bedroom. We don't have a crate, Lol. Our bedroom is her crate basically. Either way, these things haven't really been working. I have no idea how to shake off the biting habit. Maybe we just need more consistency with these methods?

Does Brom bite all the time too? Like during play or other moments of high levels of excitement?

Also, whenever we play ball in the house, the balls always end up rolling under the couch and I have to get them for Lexi. Crouching down and putting my head on the ground to search for the ball is about the worse thing I can do. She immediately goes to bite my head/hair.

[ioreks_mom]

brom doesn't bite all the time. just when we come home or if he is REALLY worked up. sometimes, though, he will bite my hair or my dh's beard.

when he was a pup (he is a pup still but i mean a younger pup ) he would bite and we would say "ow!!" loud and he would stop to look at me like i was nuts. he stopped biting like that now, except like i said, when he is super excited! when he does that we will do the "ow!!" thing and stop all contact until he is calmer. he usually stops right away and puts his ears back and "sucks up" like we call it. it is so silly, i will say "ow" and look hurt and look away and he is like "oh, mommy!! i am sorry!"

[TooneyDogs]

They do it for attention, interaction/greeting and for play.

Telling them OFF only tells them to stop now....that's enough. It doesn't teach them not to do it in the first place. Same with ignoring and leaving the room....all after the fact.

If you want to stop the biting, you have to stop it BEFORE it happens....not after.

The usual tactics are holding out your hand like a stop sign (body blocking); invading their space before they invade yours; stamping your foot on the floor (this is how Mom teaches pups, "No!"); redirection to a toy, a ball, a tug, etc. And, the key move....lots of praise for stopping/not biting.

There is another element....teaching the dog what will get your attention and how to initiate play in a better way. Most folks teach the dog to sit politely for petting/greeting and to get a toy for playtime.

[ioreks_mom]

thank you for the advice. i will try that when i come home tomorrow

[nekomi]

The usual tactics are holding out your hand like a stop sign (body blocking); invading their space before they invade yours; stamping your foot on the floor (this is how Mom teaches pups, "No!"); redirection to a toy, a ball, a tug, etc. And, the key move....lots of praise for stopping/not biting.

This is the advice that helped me the most when I was having the EXACT same issue with Bandit. With him, I figured it was built-up anxiety and excitement from the time I was gone, all coming out at once. Invading his space was a great help and now he rarely, rarely does that routine.

[Mike778]

My dog used to go nuts and bit me anywhere she could. As soon as she did I would just pick her (this was when she was still a puppy) up and send her outside for 1 minute then let her back in. If she did it again, straight outside. Rinse and repeat. It takes consistency and patience but it worked for me in the end.

[ioreks_mom]

Originally Posted by nekomi

This is the advice that helped me the most when I was having the EXACT same issue with Bandit. With him, I figured it was built-up anxiety and excitement from the time I was gone, all coming out at once. Invading his space was a great help and now he rarely, rarely does that routine.

thank you i will definitely do this!

[Leroy&Lucy'sMom]

From what you describe it sounds like puppy excitement to me. You could grab a toy as you are letting him out and redirect his excitement/biting to the toy, this really helps him understand what is okay to bite. I agree with the body blocking too.

[newflute]

Yes They're excited from being confined all day and are basically protesting.
Change the subject as you would a child. Make them think of something else.
I don't know if holding out your hand would work and be thankful they are small dogs.

I used to make a very loud noise and feed my dog. It seemed to work. It's about hypnosis and it's different for different dogs.

[ioreks_mom]

Originally Posted by newflute

Yes They're excited from being confined all day and are basically protesting.
Change the subject as you would a child. Make them think of something else.
I don't know if holding out your hand would work and be thankful they are small dogs.

I used to make a very loud noise and feed my dog. It seemed to work. It's about hypnosis and it's different for different dogs.

my dogs aren't confined all day. they are in the kennel for 4 hours then i come home for lunch and then they go back in for 3 more hours. i would much rather take them to daycare or something but since i don't have that option anymore (no daycare where i moved) they are safer in their kennels.

also, they are not small dogs. iorek is 55 lbs (not the one biting) and brom is 30 lbs going to be ~ 60 lbs.

i don't understand making a very loud noise. it seems to be giving the dog mixed messages - scaring it and then feeding it??

i think that i will take my chances with the body blocking and distraction with toys.

[TooneyDogs]

Originally Posted by ioreks_mom

i don't understand making a very loud noise. it seems to be giving the dog mixed messages - scaring it and then feeding it??

The loud noise interrupts the action/behavior and gives you a chance to re-direct to something better. You're right that you don't have to scare the dog. Try the lower key options first.

[winniec777]

I remember puppy play biting - I had bruises and scratches on my hands and arms for months until we figured out how to stop it. Just like Tooney said. We distracted her before she started the biting. Didn't help that DH liked to let her play tug with his shirt sleeve (sigh...). He still does it but she's learned to be gentle and restricts her nips to a little mouthing now and then. I never knew how much damage a 30-40 lb puppy could do with their love bites until we had Poca!

[ThoseWordsAtBest]

All of Tooney's advice is great. I just wanted you to know I feel your pain. Magpie bites when excited, but unfortunately she also bites REALLY hard and some of her teeth are really sharp from being broken. She also is a ninja and you never hear her coming. One minute you're walking through the house, the next her big goofy butt is leaping on you and CHOMP.

[GottaLuvMutts]

I can't remember what breed Brom is. I wanna say GSD?

This won't help you in any practical way, but it might help you understand the behavior a bit better:

Herding breeds often nip when excited. Kit will do it to me if I let her chase me, or occasionally if she's all riled up when I come home. I think it's somewhat instinctual for some dogs, but that doesn't mean you can't train it out of them.

[ioreks_mom]

yes, brom is gsd x husky and maybe lab - who knows really!

i will get a super fun toy to bring with me to the bedroom when i open his kennel. i will play with him with that for a bit and see how that goes.

thanks for the advice, guys

oh no! magpie is an excited biter? how does a doggy that big sneak up? she must practice while you are at work!

[ioreks_mom]

Originally Posted by shreya

If you want to prevent and stop your dog biting, then the best thing you can do is start training ..

maybe you didn't read my post that said i do the "ow!" thing already. he only bites when he is excited. i am using the advice from the people on here to have a toy ready and it went well so far. i only just got home for lunch.

i think i am doing a pretty good job with the training so far.

[ThoseWordsAtBest]

Originally Posted by ioreks_mom

yes, brom is gsd x husky and maybe lab - who knows really!

i will get a super fun toy to bring with me to the bedroom when i open his kennel. i will play with him with that for a bit and see how that goes.

thanks for the advice, guys

oh no! magpie is an excited biter? how does a doggy that big sneak up? she must practice while you are at work!

I will get a video of her sometime, because she prances around like a pony. She's so light on her feet and her nails are finally a decent length that you can't hear her. It's adorable other than her body slamming me to the ground, and the bite this week that bruised a vein in my wrist Jonas has been a big help in being a little alarm clock. When she comes running, he barks at her.

[ioreks_mom]

ooh! i would love to see a video my 2 elephants clomp around here like they weight 2 tons. it would be nice to see a nice, dainty doggy