Joined
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6 Posts
Hi All,
Really quick story. Had a puppy cocker spaniel when I was a kid, easiest dog in the world. Brother was allergic, had to rehome her, never got another dog out of respect for him. Now my kids are almost teenagers and with Covid, I have to admit I caved. Got the green light from my brother who still lives near me at Thanksgiving 2020. Five weeks later, I drove 5 hours to pick up a Bernese puppy with no clue what to expect. First off, thank god the dog is healthy. We've had her for 6 weeks now, she's 3.5 months old and she looks great. We feed her on a schedule and she inhales her food, which I think is good. Second, she fully grasped ringing the bells and becoming house trained in less than three weeks. I wasn't counting on hearing the bells every 45 minutes, but whatever - she usually really does have to go. Third, she's sweet as can be with my wife and two daughters. She wags her tail like crazy and gets very upset when they leave the house. Now we come to the problem:
This dog has been chewing my clothing and my arms and legs since she walked in the door. She's destroyed two jackets, three pairs of boots, two pairs of pants and at least 4-5 shirts - all dad's (mine). She starts by approaching me, I pet her, then she gets a hold of my sleeve. For a 4 month old puppy, she has one heck of a grip. Then when I start to battle her on the sleeve, she starts on my palms and forearms. She may have broken the skin once, but otherwise it's just pokes from puppy teeth that really hurt. This started the night I brought her home and it's still going on. I have read countless articles and tried countless things, absolutely nothing has worked. The more I correct her, the more riled up she gets. We've had a few rounds that ended up with growling and biting that got a little more than playful. Even when I don't correct her, she can get riled up on her own and bite harder. Here's the kicker - when the family is all together in a room, she seeks me out and plops down next to me. I wonder if this is because I'm the only one feeding her and taking her out every 45 minutes, but it's a small victory until she starts biting. I've tried the Alpha "No" routine, I've tried noises, I've tried grabbing the collar, I've tried making her sit with the house line, I've tried encouraging nicely, I've tried switching my arm for a chew toy, I've tried treat bribery, I've tried begging...you name it. I'm not going to smack the dog, no matter how hard she bites. Absolutely NOTHING works. As soon as I get her to go to the bathroom outside, she starts chewing on my boots and legs. Half the time I'm limping to the door with her still attached to my leg.
There's no way this dog is going back. She's been here 6 weeks and she gets nothing but love, my ladies would kick me out before the dog. I'm looking for something weird I haven't read about or tried yet. After 6 weeks, I'm having a hard time believing this behavior just goes away. If anything, it's worse this week than the night we got her.
Oh yeah, this dog laughs at that nature's miracle crap that you spray. It doesn't faze her. She bites right through it.
Does anyone have a secret method? I am currently reaching out to individual trainers - her first class was a waste of time and the trainer wouldn't cover biting. I know Bernese aren't supposed to be stubborn, but I've never seen a more stubborn dog than this one.
Really quick story. Had a puppy cocker spaniel when I was a kid, easiest dog in the world. Brother was allergic, had to rehome her, never got another dog out of respect for him. Now my kids are almost teenagers and with Covid, I have to admit I caved. Got the green light from my brother who still lives near me at Thanksgiving 2020. Five weeks later, I drove 5 hours to pick up a Bernese puppy with no clue what to expect. First off, thank god the dog is healthy. We've had her for 6 weeks now, she's 3.5 months old and she looks great. We feed her on a schedule and she inhales her food, which I think is good. Second, she fully grasped ringing the bells and becoming house trained in less than three weeks. I wasn't counting on hearing the bells every 45 minutes, but whatever - she usually really does have to go. Third, she's sweet as can be with my wife and two daughters. She wags her tail like crazy and gets very upset when they leave the house. Now we come to the problem:
This dog has been chewing my clothing and my arms and legs since she walked in the door. She's destroyed two jackets, three pairs of boots, two pairs of pants and at least 4-5 shirts - all dad's (mine). She starts by approaching me, I pet her, then she gets a hold of my sleeve. For a 4 month old puppy, she has one heck of a grip. Then when I start to battle her on the sleeve, she starts on my palms and forearms. She may have broken the skin once, but otherwise it's just pokes from puppy teeth that really hurt. This started the night I brought her home and it's still going on. I have read countless articles and tried countless things, absolutely nothing has worked. The more I correct her, the more riled up she gets. We've had a few rounds that ended up with growling and biting that got a little more than playful. Even when I don't correct her, she can get riled up on her own and bite harder. Here's the kicker - when the family is all together in a room, she seeks me out and plops down next to me. I wonder if this is because I'm the only one feeding her and taking her out every 45 minutes, but it's a small victory until she starts biting. I've tried the Alpha "No" routine, I've tried noises, I've tried grabbing the collar, I've tried making her sit with the house line, I've tried encouraging nicely, I've tried switching my arm for a chew toy, I've tried treat bribery, I've tried begging...you name it. I'm not going to smack the dog, no matter how hard she bites. Absolutely NOTHING works. As soon as I get her to go to the bathroom outside, she starts chewing on my boots and legs. Half the time I'm limping to the door with her still attached to my leg.
There's no way this dog is going back. She's been here 6 weeks and she gets nothing but love, my ladies would kick me out before the dog. I'm looking for something weird I haven't read about or tried yet. After 6 weeks, I'm having a hard time believing this behavior just goes away. If anything, it's worse this week than the night we got her.
Oh yeah, this dog laughs at that nature's miracle crap that you spray. It doesn't faze her. She bites right through it.
Does anyone have a secret method? I am currently reaching out to individual trainers - her first class was a waste of time and the trainer wouldn't cover biting. I know Bernese aren't supposed to be stubborn, but I've never seen a more stubborn dog than this one.