Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 5:27 pm Post subject: Puppy biting
Hello everybody.
My name is Frances and I have been a lurker for a little while now.
I have an 11week old black puppy bitch called Megan she is really wonderful BUT she bites.
I have read the sticky notes about biting.
We are trying to do the "ouch you bit me" yell, but it seems to make little difference. We are removing all eye contact, where possible we are leaving the room, we return her to her crate for a timeout period when she is over excited, we are frowning and trying to give off non happy body language. She lunges at us biting flesh or clothes, she has made a real mess of a couple of my OH fingers. And on the whole she is proving challenging.
Someone with more experience will be along shortly but here's my 2p. Our first lab Honey was a sweetheart. She only ever chewed on trouser bottoms and was very cuddly. We lost her at 9 years last May.
Fast forward to Toby (now 7 months and 1 week) he was totally different. A real chomper. For what seemed like forever. I longed to cuddle him but you could only really do it when he was 'dog' tired. Saying "No" just wound him up. Looking back now I see that he was eager to please and he knew that noise meant he'd failed again.
What did work was "AAAhhhA AAHHH AAhhh" and a really theatrical pantomime-like turning away. That plus time. When he was teething for the first time he was particularly bad and the teeth were small and sharp and hurt like hell. By the time he had his 'proper' teeth through they were blunter so any accidents weren't so painful.
Another thing that worked was when removing fingers etc we always replaced them with something he was allowed to chew. At a particularly bad point we carried toys around so if he came towards us we could shove them in his mouth before he could get hold of a painful part of us!
The main thing that helped was reading on here that other people were going through the same thing - and loads of people do.
She'll grow out of it like Toby did I'm sure. He's delightful now.
Good luck.
Liz n Toby
____________ Liz and Toby the black lab pup.
Honey - the best dog in the world! 2001-2011
Run free baby dog.
For times when you are cuddling a teething toy or a rawhide chew can substitute hands (rawhide must be supervised). When playing keep a few toys handy, eg tuggy toys, raggers, soft toys. During free roaming time use "ahhh, ahhh" and remove the puppy from whatever she is doing. If she continues then time out may be the only way.
Remember to praise her when she is playing nicely.
She will grow out of it but when they are tiny playing with their mouths is all they know and they have to learn new ways of playing.
It does and will get better. Just before teething and during initial teething, Bella was terrible, and because of the sharp teeth, that just made it much worse. When her adult teeth came through, she continued with the mouthing, but it was a lot softer. Now we always have something handy to put in her mouth, which stops it. She has now got to the point where when she gets excited, she will seek something out to hold before greeting. She does still mouth & bite, but it is 100% better than it was and as it gets less, I expect it will stop altogether soon (I hope!)
____________ Owned by Bella, Shadow & Cats ....
Never forgetting Harry : 18/01/11 - 14/05/11 RIP
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 11:50 pm Post subject: Puppy Biting
Thanks for your supportive messages
We will have to try those suggestions. Each day is different. One day Megan is not too bad, the next we call her knasher.
You are right TobysMa all I want to do is have a cuddle, but I can't do that yet.
I recommend Dr Ian Dunbar's Sirius Puppy Training DVD - there's a really good section on bite inhibition with pups as well as it being generally really interesting, obviously puppy classes are great for the socialisation etc but in the meantime try the DVD I think you'll find it helpful.
Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 12:00 pm Post subject: Re : Wee'ing and Poo'ing Alot ?
Our Pup Bailey is wee'ong and poo'/ing alot at the mo, is this normal for an 8 week old Pup ? When he has a sleep in his crate, as soon as you let him outside of the crate, it is all hands to the deck i.e. grab the wipes, nappy sacks and kitchen roll LOL We are hesitant to take him outside until he has had his 2nd injection on the 9th of Jan 12, so are we being over protective by not taking him onto the patio and starting the Loo Training ????? Any feedback will be much appreciated :O)
We are hesitant to take him outside until he has had his 2nd injection on the 9th of Jan 12, so are we being over protective by not taking him onto the patio and starting the Loo Training ?????
Oh Heavens, yes. Get him outside now. If he learns that toileting indoors is the place to go, then he'll have to "unlearn" that before he can relearn where he SHOULD be going and that can take MONTHS.
Unless you have random stray dogs wandering through your garden, then there is no reason not to get the pup out there as soon as you get it home. In many cases, breeders allow their pups out in their gardens, long before you even collect them.
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