Biting and snapping

[Marie1958]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

Hi Rosie is 17wks now and has more so this last week really started to bite and nip. Chewing her lead. and being aggresive when i tell her No. Is this maybe the start of her being a juvenile dog or is she just pushing boundaries?? How do i deal with this as my voice just goes high pitch when i tell her off lol
If indoors and shes a bit feisty i put her into kitchen behind gate until she.s calm down.

 

[JoanneF]

'No' is a difficult concept for a dog as we use it to mean stop biting, stop jumping, stop barking, stop - whatever - so the dog finds it hard to work out what you want. It's generally better to ask for an incompatible behaviour that you do want - like sit to stop jumping.

Specifically with the nipping, this is just an extension of the boisterous play she had with her littermates but she needs to learn this is not how to play with humans. Some people find a sharp 'ouch' works but it can just ramp up the excitement. Some people find putting a toy in the dog's mouth works, others find the puppy is still more interested in nipping hands. My preferred method is to teach her that teeth on skin equals end of fun. So as soon as she makes contact, walk out of the room for a few moments. As long as the whole family is consistent - do it immediately and do it every time - she will learn. You could use a house line to draw her away, which keeps your hands both out of reach and also keeps hands for only good things.

Another thing to mention is 'extinction burst'. This is when a behaviour that used to get attention no longer works for the dog so he tries it all the harder. This is good, because it means that what you are doing is starting to work!

 

[JudyN]

It's possible to train a dog well without ever telling her 'No' - in fact it tends to be much more effective, and it also avoids (as far as possible) tantrums in dogs who don't cope well with frustration. Whenever your dog is doing something you don't want her to do, think about what you would like her to do. If she's chewing your shoes, call her away from them, tempting her with a treat or her favourite toy if necessary, then put your shoes somewhere she can't get them (big lidded boxes can be invaluable), start training a good 'leave', 'drop' or 'bring it to me', and don't leave your shoes lying around until she's got the hang of these, and is less chewy and more mature.

I found training a really good 'indoors recall' was invaluable for when my pup was up to no good - he could really throw a tantrum if you just tried to remove him from whatever he was doing! Management is key too - my dog would get grumpy if he was 'precleaning' the plates in the dishwasher and I just got the tablet out to put in it as he knew I was going to shut the door. Telling him 'no' didn't go well so we just kept him out of the kitchen while the dishwasher was open and now he's mellowed, he'll actually step back when I get the tablet out as he knows I'm going to be closing the door - no 'no' needed.

Something else that will help is impulse control - have a look at a YouTube video called It's Yer Choice. This gives your dog the skills to deal with not being able to do what she wants to do right now.

I agree with @JoanneF about ending the play when she bites or nips - you do have to be really consistent though, even when you're so fed up with putting her in and out of timeout you'd happily let her chew your hand right off if you could just sit down for a few minutes!

 

[Marie1958]

'No' is a difficult concept for a dog as we use it to mean stop biting, stop jumping, stop barking, stop - whatever - so the dog finds it hard to work out what you want. It's generally better to ask for an incompatible behaviour that you do want - like sit to stop jumping.

Specifically with the nipping, this is just an extension of the boisterous play she had with her littermates but she needs to learn this is not how to play with humans. Some people find a sharp 'ouch' works but it can just ramp up the excitement. Some people find putting a toy in the dog's mouth works, others find the puppy is still more interested in nipping hands. My preferred method is to teach her that teeth on skin equals end of fun. So as soon as she makes contact, walk out of the room for a few moments. As long as the whole family is consistent - do it immediately and do it every time - she will learn. You could use a house line to draw her away, which keeps your hands both out of reach and also keeps hands for only good things.

Another thing to mention is 'extinction burst'. This is when a behaviour that used to get attention no longer works for the dog so he tries it all the harder. This is good, because it means that what you are doing is starting to work!

Thanks for that. When we are outside i bring her back indoors when she is biting etc then after 10mins i take her back out again (not got secure garden so on long leash to be able to run around etc)

 

[Mad Murphy]

I walked away from Murphy so often when he went through that bitey stage that Id done most of my 10,000 steps by mid morning he was a terror.
I tried distraction and of course stopping all interaction with him if he nipped.. I cant say any one single thing really worked and I did suffer serveral nasty nips that drew blood before one day he just stopped. It was as if someone had flipped a switch and he didnt see me as a chew toy anymore.

 

[Violet Turner]

Puppies go through this stage

 

[leashedForLife]

.

Please go to Dog Star Daily - there are fantastic free downloads there, & among the very best is Dr Dunbar’s how-to on teaching BITE INHIBITION or a “soft mouth”.

There are also downloads on socialization, habituation, leash manners, housetraining... one-stop shopping for most of the concerns in puppy rearing. . Best of all, Ian Dunbar will not suggest over facing, any aversives beyond instructional redirection (e-g, “Sit!” for a dog who is THINKING ABOUT jumping up), etc - no flooding, no punishing tools.

- terry

.

 

[Chris Mc]

It's possible to train a dog well without ever telling her 'No' - in fact it tends to be much more effective, and it also avoids (as far as possible) tantrums in dogs who don't cope well with frustration. Whenever your dog is doing something you don't want her to do, think about what you would like her to do. If she's chewing your shoes, call her away from them, tempting her with a treat or her favourite toy if necessary, then put your shoes somewhere she can't get them (big lidded boxes can be invaluable), start training a good 'leave', 'drop' or 'bring it to me', and don't leave your shoes lying around until she's got the hang of these, and is less chewy and more mature.

I found training a really good 'indoors recall' was invaluable for when my pup was up to no good - he could really throw a tantrum if you just tried to remove him from whatever he was doing! Management is key too - my dog would get grumpy if he was 'precleaning' the plates in the dishwasher and I just got the tablet out to put in it as he knew I was going to shut the door. Telling him 'no' didn't go well so we just kept him out of the kitchen while the dishwasher was open and now he's mellowed, he'll actually step back when I get the tablet out as he knows I'm going to be closing the door - no 'no' needed.

Something else that will help is impulse control - have a look at a YouTube video called It's Yer Choice. This gives your dog the skills to deal with not being able to do what she wants to do right now.

I agree with @JoanneF about ending the play when she bites or nips - you do have to be really consistent though, even when you're so fed up with putting her in and out of timeout you'd happily let her chew your hand right off if you could just sit down for a few minutes!

Very good advice. My pup is responding much better to 'ouch' than she did 'no'. Actually, I'm using "Owwww" but its the same thing :0)