# Aaagh! Owww! Help!



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

How old is she? It is a painful stage, but it does get better with perseverance. Have you tried redirecting to tug toys, preferably long ones that put some distance between your hands and that mouth full of needles? Might be safer than socks! (Sophy will still pull my socks off if every other effort to get me to play fails...)


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

No socks! Best case scenario, she'll learn to steal your socks and put holes in them. Worst case, she'll eat them and have to have her stomach pumped. 

I think otherwise you're doing the right things. I would add bully sticks to your list of ways to handle it. You'll get through


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## oshagcj914 (Jun 12, 2016)

I had good success with redirecting to an appropriate toy. If my pup still persisted, I immediately got up and walked away for a short time (this is where baby gates come in handy). I felt like I did nothing but get up and walk away from my puppy every 30 seconds for a while, but I was really consistent with it and it worked pretty well. He quickly got the message that biting means all play stops and the humans leave.


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## Malasarus (Apr 4, 2016)

No extra advice from me since you've received what I would have said anyway, I just want to say I sympathize with you right now! My boy Ripley is nearing 15 weeks and we've taken to calling him "Piranha" he's so nippy lately! Doesn't matter what I do at the moment, he just wants to eat fingers.


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

Carry a bully stick everywhere you go. Every family member needs one. If the puppy nips, offer the bully stick. If the puppy ignores the stick and bites, get the stick, turn around and leave the room out of sight. Count to 20, return and retry with the stick. Zero attention for biting. It's a phase, it won't last, but it sucks a lot. 

Make sure you have a variety of toys to bite and chew. Keep redirecting and praising good choices, or leaving and redirecting again, and try to be patient. I know it's tough.


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

It may sound harsh, but I stopped mine that were pups, by flicking their nose and saying no, not hard but they did not like it. Took about 3 or 4 times then when I put my fingers together and they would not take the chance.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

If all those wonderful and sensible suggestions above fail, put tabasco sauce on the back of one hand. If crazy bitey time doesn't break off with any of the other methods just offer that hand with your fingers closed and the back of your hand facing bitey puppy's nose. Javelin was always taken aback when he smelled the sauce on BF's hand. It made him stop to think and then it was easy to ask him to do something more appropriate.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Oh and I should have said this earlier be careful not to wipe the back of your sauced up hand across your face!


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## WinnieJane (May 6, 2016)

Thank you so much for all the useful suggestions. Mitzi turned 12 weeks yesterday, so we will probably be working through this for a while. However, we have made some progress. We now keep jump ropes hanging by the back door. When we go out with her, we grab a jump robe and trail it behind us as we walk through the yard, to give her something to catch instead of us. We made tug-of-war ropes for inside the house that we try to keep on us at all times. This has helped a lot -- and I am trying to get the kids to be stricter about ending play if the biting does not stop.

She had a play date with an older dog who did not tolerate her nonsense for a moment, and I think that helped her with the concept. Puppy kindergarten starts tonight, so perhaps she will get it out of her system for a few hours!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

The best thing about a well run puppy K is that there are plenty of play breaks where the puppies can run, tumble, bite each other, learn from that why you don't like it since they will be saying ouchies too.

It sounds like you have made good progress. Keep it up, especially the work with your children knowing how to play and when and how to get it to stop.


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

WinnieJane said:


> She had a play date with an older dog who did not tolerate her nonsense for a moment, and I think that helped her with the concept.


My grandson has a terror of dogs. He was 'nibbled' by a gang of GS puppies when he was little. Now spoiled forever(?) by nipping dogs.

Y'all know I don't deal with puppies. There's many reasons for that. But one is that I 'train' quickly and efficiently. Y'all might tolerate annoying behaviour, and take the time to train it out. But if I saw one nipping, it would be the last time it would ever 'nip' anybody. I'd be that 'older dog' in a hurry.

Other, older dogs will discipline puppies in one fell swoop. But y'all won't?? 

I find that overly sensitive...


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

I do think you have to put a NO on the behavior. "NO BITING!" preceded me leaving the room. Buck didn't care for bully sticks, so I carried a tug toy in my pocket to redirect. Also wore long sleeves and jeans. Not a fun phase at all!


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

Countryboy said:


> My grandson has a terror of dogs. He was 'nibbled' by a gang of GS puppies when he was little. Now spoiled forever(?) by nipping dogs.
> 
> Y'all know I don't deal with puppies. There's many reasons for that. But one is that I 'train' quickly and efficiently. Y'all might tolerate annoying behaviour, and take the time to train it out. But if I saw one nipping, it would be the last time it would ever 'nip' anybody. I'd be that 'older dog' in a hurry.
> 
> ...


Countryboy
I agree, I do not have the time or patients to tolerate bad behavior, and am quick to stop it. I get criticized often because I am strict, very strict with all my girls. But it has not hurt them, when I say,"what did I tell you", they do what ever I just previously said.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

The problem with banning all puppy biting is that it doesn't teach good bite inhibition. Without a pack of pups and dogs to help the puppy learn it is down to us human adults - hard work and painful for a few weeks, but with a lifetime benefit if you get it right.


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## WinnieJane (May 6, 2016)

Oh , the older dog definitely did not end the behavior on the first try. She snarled and went in for a nip, then Mitzi darted off, only to come back and try again, and again, and again! But the other dog consistently rebutted every attempt, and eventually M's tries were more half-hearted and further between. We are finding the same with us as we consistently redirect and withdraw.

I fear that any correction that could end an unwanted behavior for once and for all on the first try would have to be pretty extreme.

EDIT to add that I was bit on the face by a dog as a child, and I definitely take biting very seriously. With that in mind, a fearful dog makes me much more nervous than a spirited one.


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## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

With Archie, we put the command "Where's your toy?" with it every time. So the sequence went Nip - "Noooo" - "Where's your toy?" And then lots of praise for grabbing the tug toy (and some fun play). Within a couple of weeks, you could say "Where's your toy?" and he'd go get the toy for me and bring it back to play.

Of course, Archie was an older puppy when I got him, so there was a bit more brain development there. His issue was more general mouthiness than bite inhibition (he nipped softly, but he nipped A LOT). 

Cleo won't redirect onto toys as easily, and any kind of harsh reaction really freaks her out (bad start in life), so the only solution with her is to hide your hands (or toes) and then separate yourself from her.

By the way, I personally have had more success with a low-voiced, drawn-out "nooooo" than yipping or yelling "ouch!" It could just be my acting skills, but my high voice always gets the dogs more revved up while my low voice gets them to stop what they're doing and listen.


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## WinnieJane (May 6, 2016)

lisasgirl said:


> By the way, I personally have had more success with a low-voiced, drawn-out "nooooo" than yipping or yelling "ouch!" It could just be my acting skills, but my high voice always gets the dogs more revved up while my low voice gets them to stop what they're doing and listen.


We find this as well - especially with the kids. They sound like a squeak toy when they yelp!


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

I'm not really so harsh as I sound. I've been trying to perfect my snap-and-snarl for years. It's not very impressive still.  

For correcting annoying but harmless behaviour I like blowing hard in their face. They learn quickly that if they annoy me, I annoy them...

For a biter, the first thing I'd maybe try is a loud, startling noise. Every time they bite, they get the whistle, or horn. It's true that if I swat them with a newspaper they might come to associate that with me... and be wary. 

But a horn? THAT would become the 'bad guy'. A few good 'startles' and all you would have to do is wave the horn at them.


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## WinnieJane (May 6, 2016)

Countryboy, I admit I have gotten a bit snarly myself, but I am apparently not convincing. I did find myself blowing in her face at first, as I used to do that with my cats -- but she perceived it as a fun invitation to keep nibbling!

I may try noise, though I fear we've desensitized her too well (although she largely came that way). She doesn't startle at motorcycles or construction sounds ...


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

WinnieJane your puppy class should do a lot to tone down that behavior. I also agree with fjm that if you just make the pup not bite at all they may not ever really have good bite inhibition. It is really something that only puppies teach to other puppies. Even adult dogs don't have the same ability to tell a puppy to give an inhibited bite since their teeth aren't like needles. I worked briefly with someone who had a pug/pit cross that had no bite inhibition. the dog was relatively small, but had no manners whatsoever. It was winter so I always had long sleeves and never actually got punctured, but I did end up with bruises. It was horrible and unrelenting. I suggested that the dog either wear a muzzle or be rehomed since the owner's elderly and fragile mother was a member of the household.

Mouthy behavior from an adult dog is a totally different story.


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

WinnieJane said:


> I may try noise, though I fear we've desensitized her too well (although she largely came that way). She doesn't startle at motorcycles or construction sounds ...


If a cheap horn from some toy store doesn't work, I'd escalate the weaponry to one of those compressed air horns that we used to use racing sailboats. An empty house, some earplugs for yourself... I'll bet you could induce a startle. 

Best of luck!


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## aasteapots (Oct 6, 2013)

ok I will tell you all what put an stop to the puppy biting very quickly in our home. This is an "old school" trick and some find it mean but it works and Coal has the most gentle mouth even at 10 months she takes things so carefully sometimes I don't even realize she has her mouth on it. 

So here ya go.....

you know that puppy canine is sharp as a tack right? If the dog grabs your hand curl their upper "lip" over that tooth and press. Basically they bite themselves with a little help from you. Trust me they don't like it and it stops the puppy biting right quick. sometimes you have to give it a good press. No need to be brutal just enough to make them loosen up the grip. 
I hope it helps


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

aasteapots said:


> ok I will tell you all what put an stop to the puppy biting very quickly in our home. This is an "old school" trick and some find it mean but it works and Coal has the most gentle mouth even at 10 months she takes things so carefully sometimes I don't even realize she has her mouth on it.
> 
> So here ya go.....
> 
> ...


I have used that as well and it works quickly


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