New pup bites me, mouths everyone else

[LilLuna]

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Hi!

I've basically joined to get some answers about why my puppy bites me, but mouths everyone else. She's a 6 week old Labrador-Border Collie X. She's (naturally) quite intelligent for her age, goes pretty much on command when we go out to toilet, knows her name etc. But the issue is this: Everyone else, she'll mouth. Fairly gently. Me? She latches on with the grip of a vice, and even tries to shake my arm/hand around like a stuffed toy. She's ripped the skin off my hand multiple times. I have tried distraction techniques, she isn't interested. My hand is the best toy she has. I have tried ignoring her, but even if I CAN manage to get my hand out of her mouth, put it behind my back, and not even look at her, she will find a way behind me to the hand. I even resorted to squeaking in a short, sharp manner to show her it hurts, but it lost effect after 5 minutes. All I can do is press lightly on either side of her mouth long enough for her to loosen her grip, then get the heck out of dodge. And I don't want to do that. I'm concerned she'll come to associate it with negativity and get bitey if anyone goes near her mouth. I don't want to crate her, because she'll see it as a punishment and not a happy, safe space to sleep. But I'm running out of options when I am her owner, her primary care giver, her core trainer, and she seems determined to challenge me/push boundaries. Why is she only doing this with me and not everyone?

 

[gypsysmum2]

She is not challenging you she is playing! If you were a litter mate then she would do the same thing. You see it as "wrong" but she sees it as fun.

You nearly hit the nail on the head when you said you were squeaking and ignoring her. This is what her mother and litter mates would have done but they would have persevered for longer.

The "ouch" technique is very effective. Teeth touch skin or clothing then you "ouch" and withdraw attention for a short while. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Everyone she comes into contact with must do the same. Biting is never an "accident" it is a deliberate attempt to instigate a play session. If it fails to work the dog will find another way to instigate play. If the initial "ouch" stops working then you repeat but leave the room for a short while. Everyone else must do the same. If it is not possible then gently scoop her up and place her outside the room. She must associate the bite with the "ouch" and then with being ostracised.

Alongside this she should be encouraged to put her teeth on toys. If she does this then she can be sure to instigate a lovely game. It is very easy for dogs to find out that biting people gets them lots of lovely (if negative) attention but playing with toys gets them ignored! It should be the other way round. In our busy lives we tend to think that a dog playing with its toys can be left in peace but a dog using its teeth on people must be interacted with. It should be the other way around.

There is something called an "extinction burst" when training a dog to give up an unwanted behaviour. The dog has been getting attention for a certain behaviour but the attention is withdrawn so they try harder to make it work. This results in an escalation of the behaviour. This is when most people give up the effective method of training, thinking it is not working. It is working but the dog is going through an extinction burst just before giving up on the attention seeking behaviour. If we can persevere through the extinction burst then results come quite quickly.

 

[LilLuna]

I understand that she wants to play, and I play with her with toys very regularly, but it's just the fact she simply mouths everyone else, and she seriously sinks her teeth in to me that made me think she had other motives when it came to me! I will persevere with the noises and withdrawing attention, it's just hard when she reeeeally wants to hang on me haha!

 

[gypsysmum2]

She may see you as more tolerant of her behaviour. Perhaps other people have withdrawn from her when she has been rough with them?

If she is playing with toys and her teeth come off and catch your skin or clothing you should still use the "ouch" technique. It is easy to think "oh it was an accident" and let her off. She will be confused if you do that. Every single time her teeth touch you then she must understand that all interaction will stop.

Teaching bite inhibition is probably the most important thing that a dog learns. It may save her life.

 

[theanchorage]

I would say that 6 weeks is very young to have left home, at this age the litter mates are still playing rough and puppies are learning how hard they can bite, I think you might be giving her too much opportunity to mouth you after all your hands are well out of her reach when you are standing up. Yelping or ouching are effective and so is having a toy in your hand and making sure you are not giving her your skin, as gypsysmum says teeth touching skin is a no no, you could try gently scruffing her and holding her down for a few seconds which is similar to the telling off her mum or other adult dogs would give her.