# Very mouthy and hyper



## Mephistopheles (Jul 23, 2013)

Hi I am new to the group. I have a black standard boy, dob 3-17-13. He is a great puppy, besides using his mouth too much. He likes to lick peoples feet and then start using his front teeth on them. Often when laying on the couch he will start licking and licking and licking, when I tell him enough he starts nipping at me. Sometimes when you tell him no he will start snapping his front teeth at you as well. Last night though after telling him no jumping on the couch, he got very nippy and jumped up on my anyways. When pushing him off of me while telling him no, his teeth broke skin on my forearm. When my children so much as walk by him he gets very energetic and starts nipping at their feet and hands.

Starting to believe I have a very stubborn Spoo who does not like to be told no. 

He is also very active/hyper. He needs daily brisk walks for at least 1 hour and we play fetch with him at least twice a day to help him burn some of that energy. I have tried roller blading with him, but its more of a hazard to my health as he likes to attack the leash and dash in front of me. He also gets very wound up after a session on blades and ends up using his teeth was too much.

He got neutered yesterday and we are having a very hard time keeping him relaxed enough to heal. The vet was trying to tell me no walks or playtime for at least 10 days and I had to laugh as there is no possible way. When the vet tech brought him out to me he was jumping/pulling all over the place and actually peed on my feet when he came to me. 

I need any advice and ideas on how to help him!

Thanks in advance.


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## gr8pdls (Jul 13, 2010)

Standard Poodles are notoriously mouthy at that 'teenage' stage. He'll grow out of it. Our year old bitch was very mouthy but she hasn't been nippy for awhile. Up until about 10 months old we kept her in an x-pen in the family room. When she was out, she always had a soft toy in her mouth. 

When she got too nippy with our older dogs, they'd express their displeasure with a severe growl and snap which sends the pup down onto her back. We do somewhat the same thing whenever her teeth are felt on our skin. Nothing cruel but quick and 'growl-ly' for about 2-3 seconds. And then forget about it. Get a toy and play with the pup in a more appropriate way.

Make sure your pup has a good variety of chew toys. Don't give them to him all at once. Rotate them in and out to give him something new to do. Enjoy your puppy's teenage stage. It doesn't last that long.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

He sounds pretty typical for a 16 week puppy - remember he is still a baby, and teeth and mouthing are his way of exploring the world. Have you been working on bite inhibition? It is very well described on Dog Star Daily, along with lots of excellent advice on raising a puppy - you need to open an account, but it's free and well worth it.

We recently had a discussion on running and other exercise with pups - the usual advice is 5 minutes walk per month of age, twice a day - which would be two twenty minute walks a day. Plus, of course, lots of free play and very short (max 5 minutes) training sessions. Too much repetitive exercise on hard surfaces too young can lead to joint troubles down the line - I'd be especially careful as he has been neutered while his joints are still forming, so his plates will take longer to close. 

You are unlikely to tire out a young poodle with walking alone in any case - lots of opportunities for sniffing, for meeting new dogs and people, and some "brain work" in the form of training and scent games are likely to wear him out much more quickly!


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## Mephistopheles (Jul 23, 2013)

Thank you guys so much. I have been reading everything I can on this site to reassure is he isn't an odd puppy. We had a mini for 9 years until his passing, we had rescued him as an adult, so this is our first puppy.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Puppies come as something of a shock, even when you've raised them before. Somehow one forgets each time just how much time and work and patience it takes, and catch yourself somehow expecting the new baby to know as much as the dog you have spent several years training...


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