[esnvancouver]

Now I understand that all puppies bite, but I don't want my dog to carry any bad habits into adulthood.

I've been following advice on this board and from Ian Dunbar's book which explains that I should "yelp" and either turn around, walk away, ignore him, etc. I've tried this and he doesn't really seem to care about it.

I've also had a friend who recommend holding his muzzle and saying "no bite!" This seems too aggressive, and against what seems to be the current trends in puppy training.

Am I doing anything wrong? Does he need more time to mature? I don't mind him soft biting when we play, but at the same time I don't want him nipping at strangers, clothes, etc.

Oh and he's a 12 week old "cavadoodle".

thanks

[TooneyDogs]

It sounds like the piece of the puzzle that you're missing is the re-direction. The yelp and walking away interrupts the biting behavior and most dogs catch on that biting seems to be bad because the 'play' stopped. But, you have to show him what he CAN play with/bite on....a gentle game of tug, chase a ball, a chew toy. While those are good, what the puppy is really after is your attention so, don't just toss him a chew toy and walk away.....the chew toy is the 'lesser half' of what he really needs.