# Nipping and jumping



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Normal puppy behavior, not teething (which won't happen for a couple of months). There have been a lot of posts on this topic recently and lots of replies on what to do so rather than restate here are links.









Puppy Biting - Help!


Hey all, I have a 5 month old standard poodle puppy, she is beautiful and has been really good for many weeks now. We’ve made good progress with her training and are attending weekly sessions but we are struggling with her biting. We tend to find she will be absolutely fine and then she gets a...




www.poodleforum.com













mouthing issues - DESPERATE!


UPDATES POSTED BELOW Hi all, My standard poodle (7 months) is a sweetheart, except when he gets in what I call "a mood." He mouths A LOT, and it can hurt. I've tried it all-- time outs, yelping like a hurt dog, firm no's, training collars, trying to switch energy to a chew toy or obedience...




www.poodleforum.com


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

Yes, it's totally normal. The land shark phase is what drives many new puppy owners to Poodle Forum, LOL. We've all been there!
It will improve over time, but of course managing both the kids and the puppy with produce a better outcome faster. There are many threads with advice. Welcome and happy browsing.


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## Oonapup (Oct 16, 2020)

Hi and welcome! There are lots of threads on this exact thing! Here is mine from back when our puppy was around the age of yours:








What are your zen/diffusion strategies when your puppy...


I will start by saying that Oona (11 weeks) is totally normal in her mouthy behavior, and we are working with her on it and seeing some improvement (with some predictable backsliding). She is worse with me and my kid, I think because my husband's deep "hey!" correction got her attention early...




www.poodleforum.com





I got lots of great advice but the strategy that helped us the most was ignoring/removing the fun (when possible) and the short crate time out when she couldn't be redirected.

The good news is, it IS a phase, and there's a lot you can do to manage and improve the behavior, which is a better idea than waiting it out. The bad news is that the "phase" can last a while, and even if there are overall improvements there can be relapses, which is something that we are going through right now with our puppy, who is 6 months and recently started nipping a lot at my daughter's clothes again.


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## Kaera (Jul 19, 2020)

It was the phase that made me say “I’ll never get another puppy.” My guess is they go after the kids more because they might get a more “playful” reaction. I would stop what I was doing and sit on the countertop until he sat and calmed down, then id give him a treat for obeying a simple command, like sit. I used simple training to curb a lot of the biting (sit, down, come). The best thing you can do is exercise his body or mind so that he sleeps and stops biting haha. As far as chewing on things, I use bitter apple spray. It’s never stained anything and it’ll drive your pup away real fast.


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

One thing to remember is that a bitey puppy is often a tired puppy. Just like little kids, they don't realize they are tired; they insist they are just FINE and want to keep playing. Meanwhile the impulse control and logic circuits shut down from exhaustion, and the puppy races around like a little maniac. A regular schedule structured around snacks and naps helps tremendously with toddlers of both the human and canine variety.


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## Michigan Gal (Jun 4, 2019)

Also realize that the puppy wants to play and this is how puppies play, but chasing and wrestling each other. 

I think it is in one of Jean Donaldson's books where she uses 'chase me'. Instead of the puppy chasing you, you chase the puppy. Once he has an object in his mouth, you give a cue, like "I'm gonna get you" and you chase him. I used this with my nippy border collie. He can't nip if his mouth is full. He can't jump on you if he is running away from you. You can then incorporate the toy into a reward for things like sit or down.


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## staci1114 (Nov 11, 2020)

Thanks everyone! We will try all these suggestions. We realized that when he bites at the couch it’s sometimes bc he wants to sit on it with us! And yes this puppy stage is HARD!


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## staci1114 (Nov 11, 2020)

Kaera said:


> It was the phase that made me say “I’ll never get another puppy.” My guess is they go after the kids more because they might get a more “playful” reaction. I would stop what I was doing and sit on the countertop until he sat and calmed down, then id give him a treat for obeying a simple command, like sit. I used simple training to curb a lot of the biting (sit, down, come). The best thing you can do is exercise his body or mind so that he sleeps and stops biting haha. As far as chewing on things, I use bitter apple spray. It’s never stained anything and it’ll drive your pup away real fast.
> View attachment 473715


Yes!! Puppy stage is hard! Good idea to do training when he gets like that tho.


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## staci1114 (Nov 11, 2020)

Oonapup said:


> Hi and welcome! There are lots of threads on this exact thing! Here is mine from back when our puppy was around the age of yours:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks! Yes we have started putting him in a pen when he gets super “crazy”


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## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

staci1114 said:


> Hi! I can use some advice. We have a 10 week old standard that we brought home a week ago. He is extremely nippy and jumpy, especially with the kids. If they walk by him he will try and grab their clothes. He will jump on them and wrap his legs around them. He does it with my husband and me as well, but worse with the kids. He also tries to chew anything he can find, loves my couch. Is this normal puppy behavior? Could he be teething already? Please tell me this is just a phase 😂.


Quite normal behavior. I had many a dogs in my lifetime and my standard was the worse. I often said to myself that surely I made a mistake getting this pup and I was fustratrated to say the least. I always said no bite and gave him something else to put in his mouth. Himalayan yak bones were great. Usually I held them and let him chew. When they get to where they can be swallowed, you can micro wave them and they puff up like a cheat puff. After cooling they can eat them up further. I have scars on my arms and many a torn tee shirt. One day he must have lost about 6 baby teeth , the following day more. After that it all got better. Still needed corrected but it was better. Today at 3 he has a very soft mouth and never puts it on a human. It will take time and crate him off when the kids play and he gets too wild. Puppies often act like toddlers when they haven't had their nap.


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## staci1114 (Nov 11, 2020)

Mufar42 said:


> Quite normal behavior. I had many a dogs in my lifetime and my standard was the worse. I often said to myself that surely I made a mistake getting this pup and I was fustratrated to say the least. I always said no bite and gave him something else to put in his mouth. Himalayan yak bones were great. Usually I held them and let him chew. When they get to where they can be swallowed, you can micro wave them and they puff up like a cheat puff. After cooling they can eat them up further. I have scars on my arms and many a torn tee shirt. One day he must have lost about 6 baby teeth , the following day more. After that it all got better. Still needed corrected but it was better. Today at 3 he has a very soft mouth and never puts it on a human. It will take time and crate him off when the kids play and he gets too wild. Puppies often act like toddlers when they haven't had their nap.


Thanks so much! Yes we have started putting him in the x pen when he gets crazy and he naps in there.


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## staci1114 (Nov 11, 2020)

cowpony said:


> Yes, it's totally normal. The land shark phase is what drives many new puppy owners to Poodle Forum, LOL. We've all been there!
> It will improve over time, but of course managing both the kids and the puppy with produce a better outcome faster. There are many threads with advice. Welcome and happy browsing.


Thank you!


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## SueNoodle (Feb 28, 2021)

Our puppy is also a spoo and 11 weeks.... Same struggles! I've started leaping over the baby gate I to the other room when Noodle nips. The kids aren't as good about it though. They get upset she is doing it but want her to magically stop without changing their behavior (like my daughter wears a long flappy nightgown. Flappy nightgowns are Noodle's favorite thing to bite.)


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

SueNoodle this sounds like a teachable moment for baby dogs and baby people. You are the person with the big girl panties, not your kids. I would spend time in getting your kids on board with training your pup, including putting the flappy nightgowns away for a while.


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## Oonapup (Oct 16, 2020)

SueNoodle said:


> Our puppy is also a spoo and 11 weeks.... Same struggles! I've started leaping over the baby gate I to the other room when Noodle nips. The kids aren't as good about it though. They get upset she is doing it but want her to magically stop without changing their behavior (like my daughter wears a long flappy nightgown. Flappy nightgowns are Noodle's favorite thing to bite.)


The challenge with getting kids to change their behavior is so real! Our puppy is almost 7 months and was doing so, so well until (I think) a disruption in her routine/teenage boundary testing has caused the bitey-ness to resurge. We did put the tempting furry slippers away, back when Oona was in the stage yours is now. Right now our struggle is with getting the child to manage her own impulse control in order to help the puppy succeed and also managing household chaos/transitions so one of the adults can be there to get out in front of the naughty puppy thing she's about to do. It's tough!


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## SueNoodle (Feb 28, 2021)

Lily, we are working on it! Takes time with both people and dog puppies


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Yes it does. I did not mean to suggest it was easy for any concerned, but we grown ups do have to take charge and be patient.


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