# Biting and mouthing



## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

I would hold onto his snout until he settles. Let him fuss it he needs to. His reward for good behavior is freedom and PLAY. It's important that you go back to playing (tug, fetch) afterwards.

Make sure he is getting enough EXERCISE and mental stimulation. He is learning at a faster rate now than he will at any time of his life. Teach him good behaviors - there is no limit to what he can learn. Don't wait for training.

Learn to play tug. It will help a lot and it's FUN!


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## Kozy's_Mama (Jun 22, 2012)

Thank you! I was reluctant to play tug with him, as I'd been told that it has the potential to make dogs more aggressive and believe that they are dominant.

Unfortunately, for the past few days our exercise has been confined to the apartment, as temps have been in the 100s. However, this problem has been going on for longer than that.


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

Kozy's_Mama said:


> Thank you! I was reluctant to play tug with him, as I'd been told that it has the potential to make dogs more aggressive and believe that they are dominant.
> 
> Unfortunately, for the past few days our exercise has been confined to the apartment, as temps have been in the 100s. However, this problem has been going on for longer than that.


Structured tug play is beneficial for training and bonding. It develops trust. At first, you let your puppy win every tug game. It builds excitement for the game and builds trust. It's the best way to start retrieve training, IMO.

Soon you teach your puppy to let go on command. You do this by holing the toy still against your body. Eventually he will get bored and let go. Immediately say "yes!" and start playing tug again. Only "out" your dog 1 out of 10 times. 

It does not take long for respectful, fun tug play. 

When you can't exercise indoors temporarily, you can make up for it with lots of mental stimulation. Try clicker training (google Sue Ailsby training levels). Try playing chase me games (he chases you and you reward him when he catches you). Teach him to go to a bed and a crate. Put them on opposite ends of your apartment and have him run back and forth between them.

I hope these ideas help you!


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

My toy poo pup is having the same issues...very mouthy. He has good bite inhibition for the most part (as in he doesn't bite down really hard) but I really don't want him to nibble me all the time. Right now, I'm pulling my hand/foot away with a "no" and all play stops until he stops biting. Usually he stops pretty quickly and sits, which is his way of trying to get what he wants, in this case, play. So far, it's working fairly well..I need to be more consistent about it though, as I tend to let him do it a little before correcting him. Which is a bad thing on my part. :embarrassed: I'm not sure this would work on your pup though, as he seems very insistent on biting. He's not being aggressive, he's being a puppy.  Tortoise gave some great advice about mental and physical exercise. They need both...if its too hot to walk during the day, go in the morning or late evening. I live in Texas, so far it's gotten up to like 110 here. You can bet we don't walk until like 8:30 or 9:00 pm!! But physical exercise is absolutely crucial. I never have been able to wear my dogs out enough to be calm with mental exercise, it takes both for them. Everyone gets a 1.5 mile walk, almost daily. Even Raven, my baby poodle. He doesn't necessarily walk the whole way, but he definitely comes along! Not only does he get exercise, he gets socialized to cars driving by, dogs barking at him, meeting other dogs on walks, etc etc. All that is important.  


As far as tug, Trev will work for a game of tug almost as hard as he will for a treat...it's a huge asset, I would definitely follow tortoise's advice there.  I've never had playing tug make my dogs aggressive or dominant. But then, none of them are super dominant...they prefer me to be the leader.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I found the shriek (a really loud one!) and ignoring worked over time, as long as it was used consistently, and the reward for stepping back and stopping biting came immediately. The trouble with holding the pup's muzzle, etc, is that it encourages him to fight back - and could have the potential for leading to real bites rather than just puppy play. Do you have an X-Pen where you could put him for a brief time out? Not his crate, if you use one, as that needs to have positive associations only, but in a studio flat a safe confinement area could be a great boon. Or perhaps you could puppy proof the bathroom, and use that?

Pups are pretty unfazed by the yelp/ignore routine - it is familiar to them from playing with litter mates - so wandering off and finding something else to play with is exactly what you would expect. As Tortoise says, tug would be an excellent way of playing together while keeping your hands away from those needle teeth, but do keep on with teaching him bite inhibition - it is an essential life skill for dogs, if they are to live safely and happily with humans.


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## dogs123 (Jun 14, 2012)

Welcome to puppy hood! 

My experience with all the dogs I have had is that they bite-play all the time.....some longer than others....I noticed that it usually subsides when they are aroung 4 months old, and the permanate teeth come in...

In the meantime, I would substitute a soft toy, or chew toy, not my hand or arm and play 'fetch' with them....most of my pups were purchased in the winter, and winter here is very cold, so outside play was limited, so lots of inside play was crucial for their energy levels.

It is very important for them to release all that puppy energy...so very early morning walks, or very late walks are important to get all the energy out.
I also used 'bully sticks' for their chewing habit....the bully sticks are digestable, and my dogs love them...it gives them something to do...I find mine at Bestbullysticks.com....

Hang in there....puppies are darling, but a lot of work...


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## Clicker (Apr 28, 2012)

Kozy's_Mama said:


> Thank you! I was reluctant to play tug with him, as I'd been told that it has the potential to make dogs more aggressive and believe that they are dominant.


Hey Kozy's Mama.

This may help.

Playing tug with your dog


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## Joelly (May 8, 2012)

Hi Kozy's Mama, I agree with the suggestion above, the one who suggested the bully stick. I have a toy poodle mix, Charlie, he loves his bullstick. Everytime he tried nipping at my fingers or toes, I will scream ouch then give him the bullystick. Now, he is 4 months old and my husband and I quite amaze how he stops nipping at us. He'd rather play with his stuffed toys or his tug. He has a small tug which he abuse daily. We also walked him at night, 8.30pm. We'll walk far and slow, this to give him time to pee or poo or sniffing at everything in sight.


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## fluffy buffy (May 17, 2012)

*play nipping*

My girl is six months old and she is coming up and nipping , and barking at us 
when I take her out to the toilet.
If you turn your back she nips your calf or bottom. 
I have tried NO and ignoring her but to no avail. I don't know what to do next .
He;[ some on as she is a standard so rather i:2in1:ntimidating.


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## Bobbi (Apr 20, 2012)

Bobbi sometimes does the same thing,we hired a trainer and so far she has done two visits.She started leash training and it's been working out..when Bobbi misbehaves out comes the leash we put it on and right away it's like magic he becomes an angel... You have to show them who is in control and the leash at this time does it.I usually find him to be rather timid during the day but as evening approaches he gets to misbehaving even though we take him out twice a day for walks in the park.


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## Shammy (Aug 4, 2012)

Biting is our biggest issue with Lia right now. She's only 11 weeks old so I do expect her to try to bite anything and everything. In the two weeks she's been here, since I'm home with her every day, she gets my stern "NO BITE" more often than not. But with my kids and husband, she is a terror! She goes after their shoes and if barefoot, their feet. If it's play time on the floor, then she goes after their hands. They're really not enjoying her right now, she is not paying any attention to their "NO BITE"! The kids (17 and 20) give up and walk away easily, my husband continues to try to work with her. She'll get it eventually, but it's very frustrating when you walk around with scratches and cuts all over yourself! Yesterday she got his ear, it was pretty bloody, someone asked him last night at work if he pierced it! haha! 

The worst time of day is about 8pm at night. Just as we settle down to watch some TV or relax on the couch, she goes into a frenzy. She wants up on the couch to be with us but then bites both of us, the pillows on the couch, the blanket, whatever. When told "NO BITE", she gets reallyyyyyyy pissed, she'll let out these crazy puppy barks - like she knows not to bite but she just HAS to, and she's mad that we don't want her to. She'll have a pillow in her mouth and be barking at the same time, looking at me sideways because she knows I'm not going to be happy with her. This has been an every night thing over the past week or so, same time of night. When she starts in, we'll put her on the floor, so she knows she can't be with us if she's going to act like that. When she calms down, we'll let her come back up on the couch, but she starts right in again. We do this routine a few times at least, sometimes she gives up and falls asleep on the couch, other times she just can't be up there. 

Any suggestions on this behavior? Not necessarily the routine biting stuff, we get that this is something she just has to learn isn't acceptable. But the crazed behavior each night when we just want to relax a bit?


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

Shammy said:


> Biting is our biggest issue with Lia right now. She's only 11 weeks old so I do expect her to try to bite anything and everything. In the two weeks she's been here, since I'm home with her every day, she gets my stern "NO BITE" more often than not. But with my kids and husband, she is a terror! She goes after their shoes and if barefoot, their feet. If it's play time on the floor, then she goes after their hands. They're really not enjoying her right now, she is not paying any attention to their "NO BITE"! The kids (17 and 20) give up and walk away easily, my husband continues to try to work with her. She'll get it eventually, but it's very frustrating when you walk around with scratches and cuts all over yourself! Yesterday she got his ear, it was pretty bloody, someone asked him last night at work if he pierced it! haha!
> 
> The worst time of day is about 8pm at night. Just as we settle down to watch some TV or relax on the couch, she goes into a frenzy. She wants up on the couch to be with us but then bites both of us, the pillows on the couch, the blanket, whatever. When told "NO BITE", she gets reallyyyyyyy pissed, she'll let out these crazy puppy barks - like she knows not to bite but she just HAS to, and she's mad that we don't want her to. She'll have a pillow in her mouth and be barking at the same time, looking at me sideways because she knows I'm not going to be happy with her. This has been an every night thing over the past week or so, same time of night. When she starts in, we'll put her on the floor, so she knows she can't be with us if she's going to act like that. When she calms down, we'll let her come back up on the couch, but she starts right in again. We do this routine a few times at least, sometimes she gives up and falls asleep on the couch, other times she just can't be up there.
> 
> Any suggestions on this behavior? Not necessarily the routine biting stuff, we get that this is something she just has to learn isn't acceptable. But the crazed behavior each night when we just want to relax a bit?


Take her outside at 7 p.m. and run her ragged. Not a walk, but crazy racing around the yard, fetch, tug - the fun stuff. Then take her inside and put her in a crate, play yard, or in a down stay on a bed (leave a leash on). Reward her for good behavior by tossing (super yummy!!) treats, ignore vocalizing. If you are doing a down stay on a bed and she gets up, silently put her back into the down.

Don't let her on the couch yet, she hasn't developed enough self-control yet.


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## Kor1029 (Aug 9, 2012)

*Kor*

my toy just turned 3 months and he is also very mouthy. with me in particular, he is doing very nicely, even though he will find the closest thing to me and chew on that lol. i'll tell him no, then he will flop down cock his head to the side and look at me with his big brown eyes, like he is the most innocent little thing in the world, then he will run off and play with his toys or his surrogate dad, my westie mix Jack,lol. but with anyone else he will not stop. he's not being aggressive no barking, no growling. his little tail is wagging and he is as happy as can be. even when they tell him no and ignore him. i'm training him, and i am amazed at how smart he is. i told Jack to lay down, and it just clicked for kor and he laid down too. anyway, what can i do for him so that he will respect other people more?


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I suspect the other people are being less consistent about yelping loudly when nipped, and then studiously ignoring Kor. He sounds a very bright puppy - I am sure he will soon stop when it is no longer as rewarding as playing a gentler game.


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