Biting Help Needed Please

[HopeRosie]

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Ok Evie is now 11 weeks and Ive taken her everywhere to see as much as possible. We play in the garden - she sleeps all night in her crate and Ive started taking her on short walks now shes had all her jabs - weve even got her feeding sorted out. But tonight Im missing my Rosie, my boyfriends away and Im feeling pretty down and I seem to have hit a problem with Evie over the last week or so which I dont know what to do about. Im sure this would have been easier if there had been Rosie here to give her the dog rules

Shes always been pretty mouthy, and weve always said "no" in a consistent way and given her plenty of other things to chew. The children who are dog savvy have never wagged their fingers at her etc. BUT Evies now upped the ante. When we are playing in the garden she will run directly at your legs and jump and nip your trousers (occasionally just bare legs or my bare toes) and we came back from a calm walk (in the rain) and as I was taking off the lead she went for my hand. Its not so much of a snap, more of a moving her head quick and making to bite me, she does make contact - not extremely hard but enough to hurt and make deep dents. She will also snatch treats and graze my fingers. She will jump up at my youngest (hes seven) and get his fingers, but hes learnt to hold his hands up by his face and turn the other way, but then she starts on his t shirt. Hes a bit scared of her now to be honest because shes hurt him. Tonight we had been playing in the garden and she layed down on her side a couple of feet away from me. So I went over to stroke her belly, I crouched down and wasnt leaning over her, she had her eyes open, I gently stroked her belly and spoke to her softly and she went to bite me again, but didnt make contact. She doesnt growl or bark, and I know shes in A1 health. It doesnt seem to make any difference if shes been out for a walk or not, or if shes tired or not. I live in a calm household, my children are 13 1/2 and 7 and both of them have had dogs as long as they can remember so scratching my head here. Ive even squirted her with a water pistol but she tries to bite that too.

HELP - what do I do? This feels a little more than play biting, which shes never stopped doing, it just seems to have got worse and tonight Im just feeling so down about it - I love her to pieces but shes definately Evil Evie at the mo.

 

[Seraphina]

I am sure it is just a play biting. In the circumstances you describe there is no suggestion that it is in any way aggressive. She just does not understand she is hurting you. As soon as she does any of the things you describe you need to to stop her dead in her tracks. Growl at her, stop playing with her, ignore her, possibly crate her (although you do not want her to see a crate as a punishment). You can hold her still while talking to her in calm voice stern voice (but do not cuddle or make it a game) until she calms down. :luck: :luck: :luck:

 

[Jessr123]

We had a dog who would do something similiar if he got overexcited. Everytime he did we said no in a deep firm voice and moved slowly and calmly away from him, refusing to make eye contact or give him any attention. Initially this made it worse but he soon got the picture that biting meant no fun (I think it took about a month for him to stop fully). Don't know if that helps.

 

[Trish]

sorry to hear your having a problem with evie the best thing to do is ignore her completely when she does these things,if she still continues i would put her in a different room for a short while,then bring her back into the family and if she starts again remove her again ,keep doing this and she will get the message.

also turning your back and folding your arms on her will show her your not playing them games :thumbsup: .

you could also try a bottle with a few stones in it,when shes biting you shake it,she will soon stop .

hope you get ontop of it soon janice,im sure she will improve over time :thumbsup:

 

[Seraphina]

Forgot to ad that she will be loosing her baby teeth soon and will need to chew and bite to cut her new teeth. So make sure she has plenty of things to chew on.

 

[jostler]

Just to encourage you - all the advice is brilliant and I have done variations of them all with my gorgeous puppy who is now 13 weeks old. He had really hurt at times and I have puncture marks to show but it was when he got over-excited or tired and his poor gums hurt. He's now so much better just because I've walked away, or when he's really beside himself put him very calmly in the crate for a few minutes. I've also tried the homeopathic remedy Chamomilla (which is recommended for teething when they are thrashing about with it) GOOD LUCK

 

[Janimal]

Sounds so familiar.....Archie is now 15 weeks and just the same. I give him lots of things to chew....balls...chews....chicken wings....fresh bones...

when he comes into the bed with me - I get chewed to death...till he falls asleep... :lol: my hair...arms.... :blink: :lol:

its just a puppy phase...and as long as its not aggressive and nasty.....it does soon pass - honestly... :thumbsup:

 

[littlenell]

Sounds so familiar.....Archie is now 15 weeks and just the same.  I give him lots of things to chew....balls...chews....chicken wings....fresh bones...
when he comes into the bed with me - I get chewed to death...till he falls asleep... :lol:   my hair...arms.... :blink:   :lol:

its just a puppy phase...and as long as its not aggressive and nasty.....it does soon pass - honestly... :thumbsup:

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:- " I thought you said you didnt let Archie on the bed (w00t) now he's IN the bed!!? :lol: (Im not going to read that bit out to Ozzy)

Tina

 

[Janimal]

Sounds so familiar.....Archie is now 15 weeks and just the same.  I give him lots of things to chew....balls...chews....chicken wings....fresh bones...
when he comes into the bed with me - I get chewed to death...till he falls asleep... :lol:    my hair...arms.... :blink:   :lol:

its just a puppy phase...and as long as its not aggressive and nasty.....it does soon pass - honestly... :thumbsup:

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:- " I thought you said you didnt let Archie on the bed (w00t) now he's IN the bed!!? :lol: (Im not going to read that bit out to Ozzy)

Tina

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:lol: :lol: :b I lied.... :b :lol: :- "

 

[HopeRosie]

Ive had a terrible day today - I took her out for a walk today, she got a leg over the lead, so she went to bite my hand as I gently lifted her leg over it. I bought her back home, gently held her collar to take her lead off and she bit me. I played with her in the garden, she jumped at my leg and bit me hard through my trousers. my youngest son has been in tears as she hurtled through the kitchen and slammed into him, she then proceeded to bounce off the sofas and nipping and jumping, so shes now confined to the kitchen diner (which is seperated from the lounge by the stairgate). My eldest son wont hold her on his lap anymore as she bites him too.

What is going on? It seems to be random, doesnt seem to matter if shes tired after a walk, or overexcited or calm. Sometimes she "air bites" and its like giving me a warning, other times she makes contact. Shes not growling, but she bites in combination with jumping. She has rules, we go through doors before her, she sits before she gets her meals, shes crated overnight etc. Im treating her the same way Ive treated my others dogs (2 x cavaliers, 1 x JRT rescue with brain damage) - so what have I done wrong?

No one else seems to be having biting problems?

I adore her - but this is begininng to become a big worry - if she does this at 12 weeks, what is she going to be like in another 12?

 

[jostler]

Ive had a terrible day today - I took her out for a walk today, she got a leg over the lead, so she went to bite my hand as I gently lifted her leg over it.  I bought her back home, gently held her collar to take her lead off and she bit me.  I played with her in the garden, she jumped at my leg and bit me hard through my trousers.  my youngest son has been in tears as she hurtled through the kitchen and slammed into him, she then proceeded to bounce off the sofas and nipping and jumping, so shes now confined to the kitchen diner (which is seperated from the lounge by the stairgate).  My eldest son wont hold her on his lap anymore as she bites him too.
What is going on?  It seems to be random, doesnt seem to matter if shes tired after a walk, or overexcited or calm.  Sometimes she "air bites" and its like giving me a warning, other times she makes contact.  Shes not growling, but she bites in combination with jumping.  She has rules, we go through doors before her, she sits before she gets her meals, shes crated overnight etc. Im treating her the same way Ive treated my others dogs (2 x cavaliers, 1 x JRT rescue with brain damage) - so what have I done wrong?

No one else seems to be having biting problems?

I adore her - but this is begininng to become a big worry - if she does this at 12 weeks, what is she going to be like in another 12?

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Honestly, I don't think you need to feel you've done something wrong or that this is anything to worry about. Your confidence seems to be flagging and perhaps your little dog senses that you're confused about what to do and are upset and this doesn't help. It's surely quite common with teething puppies - I've had this with my beloved 13 week old male. He has moments of high energy biting, and bouncing on and off sofas, growling, leaping up etc - he does it to both my husband and I but we remain as calm and authoritative as possible, don't get excited/angry as that seems to fuel the energy, and always have something for him to bite, because "air biting" is when they really are desperate to bite something to relieve the gums, I believe. If I'm tentative with him it makes it worse. We don't let any children into the room if he's in this kind of mood because their behaviour just adds to the excitement and we leave the room for a few minutes if he doesn't calm down. He's so much better than a few weeks ago when his mad half hour happened every evening. Now he tears around the garden instead. But it's interesting how it comes and then suddenly goes as quickly and there you have a wonderfully friendly, calm little dog again. I'm sure other much more experienced owners will help with better advice, BUT it sounds to me like you've lost your confidence in how you handle her and need to relax more and take the longer view. In 12 weeks time she'll be quite different, and not worse. GOOD LUCK

 

[Nicola]

Don't lose heart. :huggles: Whippet pups can be different to other pups. I don't remember Stan biting much as a pup...he just hung on to trouser legs as a pup and we developed some odd gaits as we tried to move round the house.

Fred was very mouthy and bitey as a pup, and once bit me through the nose. He went to playfully nip me on the nose, and his teeth went right through and slit it slightly. When we had Jonah a year or two back, he pierced my husbands ear lobe and drew blood. Whippet pups have very very sharp little teeth. Your pups is pushing her luck but I'm sure she isn't being agressive. It won't stop over night,. You have to ignore her or or shut her out, as others have suggested, until she calms down. Whippet pups can get very hyper, and just don't realise how their teeth can hurt. Also plenty of things to chew to help her with those teeth and keep her distracted.

 

[HopeRosie]

BUT it sounds to me like you've lost your confidence in how you handle her and need to relax more and take the longer view.

You could be right there - I think Im just lacking in confidence full stop at the moment - in the just the last four months Ive been through a court case, moved 200 miles (on my own with the children), sold my marital home, got divorced, Rosie died four weeks ago, and this week I was diagnosed with depression......Its just biting isnt something that Ive dealt with before and I dont want to be unconsciously rewarding her for it, its not very nice handling a pup that wants to dig their teeth in to you.

 

[jostler]

BUT it sounds to me like you've lost your confidence in how you handle her and need to relax more and take the longer view.

You could be right there - I think Im just lacking in confidence full stop at the moment - in the just the last four months Ive been through a court case, moved 200 miles (on my own with the children), sold my marital home, got divorced, Rosie died four weeks ago, and this week I was diagnosed with depression......Its just biting isnt something that Ive dealt with before and I dont want to be unconsciously rewarding her for it, its not very nice handling a pup that wants to dig their teeth in to you.

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I'm so sorry you're struggling with such a huge amount of change and upset :huggles: no wonder it's all too much for you. you're right, when you're vulnerable a biting pup just seems like its personal and it's the last straw. I do hope you find things start to improve in your own life soon - and have confidence that your children and your new little pup will all be all right in the long run. ALL the best and GOOD LUCK with everything :huggles:

 

[Nicola]

Sorry to hear you've been having such a stressful time.

I expect Evie can sense your frustration and dismay at times, as you say. Just be consistently firm with her. Young whippet pups can be very trying (especially the bitches...but that's my personal opinion). Once they get past that pup and adolescent stage they are such angels.

 

[Janimal]

Have you tried some pull and tug games with her....to get rid of some pent up frustration....

and maybe giving her some frozen carrots or apples to chew on to relieve her gums and teeth , maybe they are just giving her some pain ...

just some suggestions..

 

[marielou]

hi

Im sorry you're feeling so low. We too have a new little bundle of teeth, he's adorable but those little teeth are soooo sharp. Im not saying this works all the time but we find it helps.

First try and keep your sense of humour

Next Cavvies and whippets are very different, my friends cavvie pup was cuddly and comparitively quiet but whippet pups are loons with energy to burn, so we try to channel it and tire puppy out. We get on the floor and play tuggy games, chase a bunch of socks (old ones) is a big favourite a bit of gentle wrestling on a big floor cushion. The good thing is if they play hard they tire quite quickly.

If Finlay nips I sceam like someone opened a vein and walk away from the game, this is what his siblings would do, if they are nipped to hard they will cry and walk away, this is a language they understand.

Lastly practise a low pitched growly "NO" :angry:

Enjoy the funny bits thats the best bit of puppies but remember you are the grown up and you are in charge

I hope things get better, and remember this too shall pass

All the best

Marie

 

[Jessr123]

You sound like you've been having a tough time. I had a thought - does Evie get to play with other puppies and dogs cos they will teach her what sort or biting is appropriate. Ellie has brilliant in teaching Murphy when to play and bite and when enough is enough so when he plays with us he seems to know the rules although he does still mouth at us.

 

[imperative]

Definatly think she would do well from meeting other dogs who could teach her bite control.Mother dogs do this with pups up to 12 weeks.If you got her at 8 weeks perhaps she will just need a top up )

P.S Well done for dealing with all you going through hun. Keep that strong chin up.You been through a lot.I am sending you hugs from all of us :huggles: (and thats a fair few hugs!)

God Bless xx :thumbsup:

 

[MrsT]

Hi, my dog Jake (now 5 and very chilled out), was a biting monster when he was about the same age. I had several t-shirts ruined by him leaping up and tearing the hems but he did grow out of it. One of the last times he bit, he snapped at the leg of my husband's shorts and caught one of his baby incisors, pulling it out - I think the surprise of that got through to him! Best of luck with this. :luck:

Emma