# Puppy Mouthing - Ouch!



## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

It's a phase! A very common one. I believe the technical term is "Land Shark Phase." :laugh:

My best recommendation is to check out After You Get Your Puppy, by Dr. Ian Dunbar. That link is to a full, free (legal) PDF of the book. What you want to read is Chapter 5: Learning Bite Inhibition. It starts on page 79.

Your best defense right now is to keep loads of yummy chews and fun tug toys at arm's reach at ALL TIMES. Carry them in your pockets if you have to. Every time your puppy bites your hands, say "Ouch!" or "Oops!" or something similar and then give her the chew or toy. Once her mouth closes on it, praise praise praise. The idea is you're not just telling her what not to bite - you're telling her what TO bite. It's much more effective.

But yes, it'll take her a while to get through this. Make sure you read the chapter from the book I linked! Ideally your puppy should first learn to bite softly - and only after that should your puppy learn to stop biting altogether.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Yep, every spoo puppy goes through this phase. What worked with both of mine is yelping just like they do when they are hurt. They get it and they stop immediately. Then redirect with nice, chewy rubber teething toys. 

Train your pup to always greet you by sitting. Get her to sit when greeting the neighbors. Keep her on a leash to help her be successful. Give her plenty of treats and praise. Don't yell or punish--those methods don't work and aren't fair. Keep the bandaids on hand, and know that this won't last more than a few months, thank God


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I agree with the advice above with the caveat that each puppy is a little different. Squealing an ouch didn't do much with either of mine. With Lily it seemed to work better to just fold my arms in front of me and be like a tree (in other words ignore her) until she settled herself at which time I could interact with her by feeding treats for calm interaction. Peeves destroyed toys rather than putting teeth on hands. Javelin is still mouthy when he gets excited. He has hardly ever broken skin, even with those puppy needle teeth, and has never left a mark on anyone since he dropped the deciduous teeth. I have taught him to lie down as a way to give him a time out. I don't release him until he offers eye contact. If he goes into pure excitement mode (think bouncing and bouncing) again he goes back to his down. It takes many fewer interruptions now than it used to to get him back to work.

Yes to Ian Dunbar! 

If you need an aversive stronger than those already suggested or tried by you, we have used tabasco sauce rubbed on the back of our hands to goo effect. If you go that way, just be careful not to accidentally rub your eyes, nose or mouth with it. Javelin has never even licked when he smelled the sauce on one of us. The smell has been enough.


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

I trained my 3 puppy to stop mouthing by, very gentle flipping them on the nose, and loudly saying NO. It only took about 5 or 6 times, and when they would try I would put my fingers in the flip position and say NO. They would then lick instead of bite, I know it is not the correct way to train, but it worked quickly and has not effected any of the personality of the dogs.


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## hickoryriver (Sep 4, 2016)

Thanks to all who have offered encouragement and tips. Just wasn't sure this was a phase or a lack of respect towards us, but I felt much better after reading your replies. I think time and patience on our end will bring good results.

She is such a lovely puppy, so happy and full of life. We just love her!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

In addition to some time and patient, also make sure you are consistent in your expectations. It will help to get the message across to keep the criteria for her very clear.


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## WinnieJane (May 6, 2016)

It's a phase, and it may last a while. Our 5 month old spoo is finally showing signs of improvement, as she loses her puppy teeth. Her trainer says the two often go together. (She said it isn't necessarily that the dog is play-biting because she is teething; it may be that the two just happen around the same time developmentally.) The trainer says over-stimulation is the usual culprit, and she expects the play-biting to fade by 7 months.

Our pup does not care if we "yip" in pain, or yell No. What works best is to recognize her over-excited times and keep her on a leash at those times, even in the house. When she gets out of control, we stand on the leash, giving her just enough slack to relax and sit. While she is calming down, we "be a tree" -- stock still, not engaging with her until she sits.

Sometimes she is simply too het up to control herself, in which case she goes into her pen. This is not a punishment, just a chance for her to regain control. 

It is very daunting, and at times around the 3-4 month mark I was near tears contemplating our horrible biter. But it gets better! One thing that kept me going was knowing that our pup never bit in fear or anger. In fact, I've seen her hold herself back while I was grooming her. If it's good-natured play-biting, don't worry too much.


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## Myleen (Apr 30, 2016)

*A purple welt ... another bite.*

My sweet lovable Toby does one thing that frustrates me. Bite when playing, or wanting to play. He is 10 months old. I've done the yelping and leaving...redirection --- again the past couple of days I've gone in search of an answer as all things I have tried did not work. I came across a very good article to share. 
Play Biting/Mouthing
Managing Play-Biting
by Lisa Lafferty
Something hit a cord with me when I read this.
_The yelping/OUCH method sometimes work, but only with pups of a shyer or softer temperament. Bolder pups can take it as an exciting “squeak” and become more excited which of course leads to more, harder mouthing. _
I will reread this many times to see what else I might be missing.
Although I had believed I was doing all...I can see that in Tobys case he is so very comfortable with us and he gets overly excited when I come home from work...that excitements continues on and off thru the evening as he wants my attention and wants to play. 

I recommend reading this article --me? I am going to read it a few times . 
He bit me through my sleeve when I came home from work today. and left another little purple welt above my wrist. He has started jumping up a bit to bite my cloths in getting my attention. I need to figure out a solution and act on it.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Myleen I feel your pain literally, not just figuratively! I took Lily and Javelin to an agility private this morning. After having spent 9 days wearing a donut cone with some sutures Javvy was a wild man. Much of what we did at first was impulse control through training two on two off contacts at the A frame and the dog walk. He wanted to fly off at first. To get him to focus I repeatedly have to put him on sit or down stays. Yelping has never worked with him. He is a bold and dominant type, not a shrinking violet by any means. He put teeth on me more than once and tried to jump all over and put his mouth on Stefanie. It took a while but he finally got with the program. For him the down stay seems to be the key to interrupting his jumping and mouthing. As long as Javelin hasn't gone off the deep end I can get him to interrupt him in his jumpy greetings with an order to a down. Try it, I hope it helps.


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## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

Subbing for a tug toy helped with Archie. Even now when he's really riled up, I can just say "Nope!" or "Where's your toy?" and he'll stop attacking and go hunt down his rope toy instead.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

lisasgirl said:


> Subbing for a tug toy helped with Archie. Even now when he's really riled up, I can just say "Nope!" or "Where's your toy?" and he'll stop attacking and go hunt down his rope toy instead.


After Javelin and I finished his agility work this morning he was rewarded by tugging and even was thoughtful enough to let go when I told him to do so.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Myleen said:


> My sweet lovable Toby does one thing that frustrates me. Bite when playing, or wanting to play. He is 10 months old. I've done the yelping and leaving...redirection --- again the past couple of days I've gone in search of an answer as all things I have tried did not work. I came across a very good article to share.
> Play Biting/Mouthing
> Managing Play-Biting
> by Lisa Lafferty
> ...


I guess I am lucky that both of my dogs have a soft temperament that responded to a cry. I can also imitate a dog crying pretty darn well.  I don't scream "ouch!" That would only excite my dogs, and it's not in their language.

Okay, I didn't read the article yet, but let me pass along a tip from my training class: have a leash at the door, so the minute you walk in you can put it on Toby. Step on it so he can't jump on you. Also, you can redirect his attention to the ground by throwing treats down.


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## Myleen (Apr 30, 2016)

zooeysmom said:


> I guess I am lucky that both of my dogs have a soft temperament that responded to a cry. I can also imitate a dog crying pretty darn well.  I don't scream "ouch!" That would only excite my dogs, and it's not in their language.
> 
> Okay, I didn't read the article yet, but let me pass along a tip from my training class: have a leash at the door, so the minute you walk in you can put it on Toby. Step on it so he can't jump on you. Also, you can redirect his attention to the ground by throwing treats down.


Thank you zooeysmom - I think excite..is the main reason. He gets overly excited. lol 
All things work for a time...but I can not tell him sit/stay continuously or give him treats continuously. lol Tonight I gave him a time out in the corral. 

I also think his adolescence is in high gear - he is quite the handfull


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## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

Sometimes a time out is the best thing. Give them (and you) a chance to reset. Archie got many, many time-outs when he was younger and crazier. Basically he'd get a certain number of chances to change his behavior or redirect (offering toys, cuing behaviors he knows, etc.) before it became clear that he just wasn't capable of calming down. Then he got a little time to himself to chill out.


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## Myleen (Apr 30, 2016)

lisasgirl said:


> Sometimes a time out is the best thing. Give them (and you) a chance to reset. Archie got many, many time-outs when he was younger and crazier. Basically he'd get a certain number of chances to change his behavior or redirect (offering toys, cuing behaviors he knows, etc.) before it became clear that he just wasn't capable of calming down. Then he got a little time to himself to chill out.


Thanks lisasgirl,

What do you think is a good time frame for a time out...5-10 minutes?


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## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

Myleen said:


> Thanks lisasgirl,
> 
> What do you think is a good time frame for a time out...5-10 minutes?


Yeah, you want it to be pretty short. Definitely no longer than that. With Archie, I'd just wait until he seemed like he'd redirected from hands and wasn't attacking everything in sight...usually took just a minute or two.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

My time outs are really short, just a minute or two and they have to start withing just a few seconds of the offending behavior. I use a down in place and when the dog spontaneously offers a good solid look without me asking, I know it is ready to reconnect.


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