# My poodle is biting...HELP!



## TracieSkaggs

I have a poodle that was born 2-2-10. She is a toy poodle, and was bought from a pet store. She bites like crazy. When I walk across the floor she is chasing me biting my legs, and she brings blood. I've smacked her backside and told her no, and I have to do that 4 or 5 times before she will stop. She only stops for a minute. She is vicious to be such a tiny dog. It isnt just me either, she bites my husband too. We cant even love on her without her biting.I thought it was her teething to begin with but now I dont think so. I dont know what to do anymore. My husband is talking about giving her away, I love the lil mean butt and dont want that to happen, but dont know what else to do. She has a vet appt in a week and Ill ask advice from him, but if anyone else has had this problem, please let me know what to do! Thanks for ANY advice anyone has.[/


----------



## Mister

Your Poodle is VERY young so go easy on her!!! Please dont smack your pup for playing with you, she is play biting its not malicious! When she does this give her a toy or a rubber toy to chew on. And seriously your going to give her away? She is only like 10 weeks and is a PUPPY and PUPPIES play bite. Im sure since she came from a pet store that means she came from an "out of state breeder" which really means she is from a puppy mill and was probably ripped away from her parents too young and wasnt taught the proper lessons from her or her siblings. 
You need to take her to a vet to be checked out a dewormed and to get another set of shots im sure, while your there ask about some good trainers and get into a training class! Puppies are alot of work and you need to do a lot of consistent training to have a well rounded well behaved dog. Even small dogs need training.
Sorry is it seems like im being tough on your but you bought this dog and made a commitment to her and now you need to uphold that promise and not fail her by simply giving her away.


----------



## flufflvr

Puppies are often just little fluffballs with needle-like teeth. One thing that worked well for us is that as soon as she bites, yelp with a high pitch noise like a dog does when it's hurt, and turn away, so that all fun stops, and they realize they just hurt you. They normally learn bite inhibition this way from the rest of their pack, but when they're pet store puppies they don't get that chance. She doesn't realize that she's hurting you. Hitting her won't help. It will just make it harder for her to bond to you, and give her reason to want to bite you. 

Also, when she chews on stuff, including you, replace it with something you want her to chew on like a chew toy or a bone or something. 

If she can't settle down with a chew toy, put her in her crate for a bit until she's under control. She's just a pup, she probably didn't spend enough time with her littermates and mom to learn about all of this stuff, so now you get to teach her.


----------



## flyingduster

if I remember rightly you got this lil girl at only 6 weeks old, right? This is why puppies are best to stay with their littermates until at *least* 8 weeks; they learn about bit inhibition and how to play nicely etc etc!!! I don't have much advice, and others will have better advice to help you anyway, but it's a good thing to be aware of for future reference; let the puppies stay until 8 weeks!!!


----------



## TracieSkaggs

The lady the pet shop uses for his poodles lives in the next town, he gave me all her info. She was 8 weeks old when she was brought to the pet store for me to buy. She spent only a few hours at the store. We do give her chew toys to bite on instead of us, but she will leave the toy to bite us lol. The pet store gave her the shots she was due, we took her to the vet to get her checked out the next day, and the vet redone them because he said the pet store used "cheap" shots. The vet even give her chew toys, she chews on the sometimes, but if she sees our feet or us walking, she attacks. When I smack her its more or less a lil spat, I could NEVER hurt her, but I want her to know its wrong to bite. Like just now, She just attacked my feet as I sit here, and made one bleed. Ive only had one poodle before this one, and Candi, my other poodle was amazing. She would only bite when played with, but would never bite me for any reason. I dont want to give her up, like I said I love the lil mean butt. I just wonder what kind of life she had before we got her. She has a vet appt and they are going to give her the next round of shots, and I will ask him for some trainers, and advice also. Thanks for all the advice from everyone.


----------



## TracieSkaggs

She was almost 8 weeks old when we got her


----------



## flyingduster

TracieSkaggs said:


> She was almost 8 weeks old when we got her


Oops, sorry, you told us she was just under 7 weeks when you got her!


----------



## TracieSkaggs

Thats what Syed, the pet store owner told me, but then he said he called the lady that breeds them and she told him Molly was almost 8 weeks. I have never bought a pet from a pet store before Molly, and I dont think Ill be doing it again because Ive caught him in several lies. I finally got her papers and it said she was born 2 2 10. If they are right she was almost 8 weeks old when I got her.


----------



## Birdie

How much exercise is she getting? How much does she like her toys? Get her something that's BETTER than your toes to nibble on.  A bone, a kong filled with yummy food, etc. 
Run her around a lot and play fetch with her, play fight with her, etc. Tire her out! She'll be less likely to try to initiate play in such an intense manner if she's tired from playing so much, haha. 
I really suggest using your hands a lot with her and touching her all over when you pet her/play with her. If/when she bites you, yelp like a puppy would and walk into the next room, leave her alone (or just turn away and ignore her if the walking away will make her bite at your feet). Do this over and over again until she makes the connection that biting = no more play time. I agree with Flufflvr that if things get out of control or she is too riled up, put her in her crate for a few minutes to calm her down. (Not as punishment!! Don't make her feel like she's in trouble when she goes in her crate, we want her to like her crate! LOL Just a few minutes to calm down) 
Also be sure to play with her with toys to further enforce the fact that your hands are NOT for biting, but her toys are. 

Good luck! I hope everything works out for you. As Mister mentioned, she's a baby!! Go easy on her, she'll learn.


----------



## Rockporters

The biting is normal, not acceptable, but normal. In addition to the training tips recommended here, bones are going to be your friend for the next few months. You might try giving a raw knuckle or marrow bone once a week. It's a great way to get some of the chewing out of their system. Be sure to have a lot of toys and such that she can chew on around.


----------



## plumcrazy

If Molly was born on February 2nd and you purchased her on March 24th, she was 7 weeks and 1 day old - still too young to take from her mother IMO... (and not _really _"almost" 8 weeks old, again IMO)

Is anyone else concerned that this puppy received two sets of vaccinations before they were 8 weeks old? And she has a vet appointment scheduled for the next set already? I just thought that was a little "much"...

As far as the biting goes, the advice given here so far is good... be firm, but fair - she IS just a baby after all. Redirect when possible, ignore her and stop playing if she refuses to be redirected (I've never had a puppy refuse a redirect, though - if I ever had a puppy biting me, I'd find a fun interactive toy and begin play with the fun toy and they'd almost always be happy to be redirected to something more positive than biting mom!)

She obviously didn't have the best possible start to life (being taken away from her mom too young, being sold in a pet store, etc...) but YOU can help the rest of her life be great if you get the help you need to help her become more balanced... It always confuses me when people give away biting or agressive animals... Why would anyone else want a biting dog?? I hope you can help her be all that she can be - good luck!


----------



## KPoos

Well I'm concerned that she's probably a mill dog and has no social skills. That would be my first concern. 

Tracey, I hope you never buy another puppy from a pet store again. Please search the internet about where these people get their puppies so that you never make that mistake again.

As far as the puppy, this is obviously a game to her. Do you have a crate? You've given her free run of the house and even though she's a little toy dog, you shouldn't have done that. She needs to spend time alone in her crate to rest and nap. She should be put on a schedule to be taken out, fed, watered, and played with, and put right back in the crate. Giving her too much freedom doesn't do you or her any good. You've got to take charge and start figuring out how to schedule her life so that you are in charge of everything she gets so that when you correct her with a verbal correction, she will immediately back off. Puppies teethe but when you say "no" or use a "ehh" sound to get her to stop, she should immediately do that. She won't if she doesn't respect your leadership, she will do what she wants.


----------



## TracieSkaggs

She gets plenty of exercise. I go to school all week, and my husband takes her outside and lets her run and play. We have to keep her on a leash but its a long leash. She tends to want to go to the road if not. She has lots of chew toys. Her vet gave her a cows hoof to gnaw on, she uses it but she has rather have flesh lol. I have got in the floor once and played with her, she was vicious with her biting, and made my arm bleed. We do put her in her little area when she acts up but it dont help. Im hoping within a few months she will calm down and stop the biting. My husband takes a wet wash cloth and rubs her teeth with it and she calms down for a moment but then she goes back at it. We went to sonic a few days ago, and this lady that brought us our food out about got attacked, and Ive never seen her do that before, she was really mad at her for some reason.


----------



## Harley_chik

You've gotten some great advice, especially w/ the redirect and crating/penning. Most toy breeders keep their pups until 12 weeks, 8 wks is for larger breeds. (I'm speaking of toy breeds in general not just toy Poodles.) Some breed clubs even include it in their code of ethics. If the breeder is selling her dogs through a petstore she isn't responsible and probably doesn't know jack about socialization. The "greeder" and petstore owner have already set this poor girl up to fail, please don't continue the cycle. Bouncing from home to home will only make her worse. Work w/ her and call in a behaviorist if you need to. 

Learn your lesson and don't ever buy from a petstore again, they are pure evil IMO.

I would also consider looking for another vet, his logic on vaccination is very flawed IMO. Do some research on vaccine protocols.


----------



## TracieSkaggs

Ok thanks everyone for the advice. Im going to try it all and see what happens. Thanks


----------



## wishpoo

There is a ton of articles on the net of how to deal with puppy biting (and yes... she just did not have a chance to be thought better by her mama-dog )

Do not even give a little slap - she just does not understand what is wrong, or what is causing you to slap her . Biting for a puppy is natural way of playing - BUT she must learn "bite inhibition" and the sooner the better.

Just Google "puppy bite inhibition" and you will find many , MANY articles with great methods. They vary very little , so choose any that looks the most doable for you personally. Start very soon, since by 4.5 months puppies have to learn it - later is somewhat harder ...

Best of luck !!!


----------



## frostfirestandards

IA with what everyone has said. From the time my pups decided that I was a chew toy (they were 4 weeks at the time) they got a soft, but firm muzzle grab and a low EHH EHH (sounds like a growl to a puppy) This is what a good, well rounded mother dog would do to them (and Jamie has) 

Again, this is why reputable, responsible breeders keep their pups longer than just "when they start eating hard food" 
Your puppy is not being mean, she just doesn't know the rules, because she didnt learn them from her mom and littermates. 

Why would you pass your problem on to another unsuspecting person? What if her biting progresses, and she bites a kid? would you like to have her PTS because she bit a kid? Didn't think so. 

In some states if you give away a dog, and that dog bites someone, even if you told them that it is "a biter" you can be held responsible, and have a lawsuit filed against you. 

Sorry If I am coming off rudely or harshly, but I do not tolerate biting of any kind. 


here are some articles on teaching bite inhibition. Please take your puppy to a socialization class. work on the things in the article, and take the advice you have been given. little dogs can live for 10-20 years, that a long time to be having your ankles and feet chewed to bloody stumps. 

Bite Inhibition Article


----------



## frostfirestandards

more articles


Teaching bite inhibition
Teaching Bite Inhibition | Dog Star Daily Puppy Biting: Teaching Your Puppy Bite Inhibition
Puppy & Dog Biting - Training Your Puppy or Dog About Biting


----------

