Puppy Biting

[Eva1]

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Hey,

I’ve got a 10 week (almost 11) old puppy. She is a short haired border collie named Cleo. So far she’s been amazing, going to the toilet outside, learning commands fast etc. However her biting is getting too much. She doesn’t bite bite but she jumps and attacks and puts her mouth round hands, feet, clothing etc and it’s getting a bit much. I know she’s only teething as her teeth are coming in. I try distract her with toys which sometimes works but then she goes back to biting again. I would appreciate any help in stopping this. The biting can be sore at times but it’s not a proper bite and she thinks she’s playing I think. Other than that she’s the perfect pup in every other aspect. She hasn’t been allowed on walks yet as she is still due her second vaccinations so maybe it’s due to that and she needs out to get all her energy out I don’t know.

Any helps and tips to stop this would be great! thanks

 

[JoanneF]

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.

There is also something called ”extinction burst” that you should be aware of. This is when a behaviour that used to get attention no longer works for the dog so he tries it all the harder and it seems like things are getting worse, not better. This is good, because it means that what you are doing is starting to work.

 

[JudyN]

It's completely normal. Being able to take her out for walks might help, but then again all this new excitement could go to her head and make her worse... again, it's normal!

Some people find that giving a high-pitched yelp helps - others, this just gets the dog more ramped up. I found the best approach is short timeouts - the moment tooth touches skin, either put pup behind a stairgate or similar, or walk away and put yourself behind the stairgate. I prefer stairgates to shutting a door, as closing the door on her might seem a little scary, and you can't learn well when you're scared. Keep totally calm, don't say anything. Wearing old clothes you don't mind getting holes in can help with that.

I've just seen JoanneF has overlapped with me as usual, but I've started so I'll finish

You only have to leave her in timeout for, say, 5 seconds before letting her back in again. Don't be surprised if she goes straight for your flesh again, just quietly separate yourself from her again... and again... and again... Eventually, the penny will drop. But expect the odd relapse, because all youngsters have days when everything they've learnt goes out the window and they turn into demons again.

Knowing they shouldn't bite is one thing, having the self-control to stop themselves is another. Have a look for a video called It's Yer Choice on YouTube, for teaching impulse control. This can really help her learn to control her urges and use her brain instead.

 

[Eva1]

Thank you both for your response, we try distract he with toys which like I said does work but sometimes she gets even more interested in nipping and biting us. Giving a high pitch “ouch” unfortunately doesn’t work with Cleo haha, but I’ll definitely take on board the leaving the room method as we haven’t tried that so will be doing that from now on. We give her time outs when she has her mental moments for a couple minutes in her crate which usually calms her down but not always. But it’s normal puppy behaviour I feel which she will grow out off eventually I hope lol

 

[excuseme]

At 10/11 weeks your puppy will not be teething, she has all of her puppy teeth at the moment and will not start to change her teeth to adult ones untill around the 16 week stage. This begins with the tiny front teeth top and bottom. Her skull has to be big enough to house her only set of adult teeth, so you will have to wait a few more weeks before this starts
Is your puppy a show type, or working type Border Collie?
.

 

[Eva1]

At 10/11 weeks your puppy will not be teething, she has all of her puppy teeth at the moment and will not start to change her teeth to adult ones untill around the 16 week stage. This begins with the tiny front teeth top and bottom. Her skull has to be big enough to house her only set of adult teeth, so you will have to wait a few more weeks before this starts
Is your puppy a show type, or working type Border Collie?
.

She’s a working border collie but her parents before where not used for working neither have the litters her parents have been used for working. If she isn’t teething, what’s that stage like? Will the biting increase?

 

[JoanneF]

By the time she is teething, hopefully you will be well past this stage (mouthing).

But, she will have an urge to chew, so it's a good idea to have plenty of things she can chew on. A frozen carrot is good; or you can tear a tea towel into strips, plait it, knot it, wet it and freeze it.

 

[Eva1]

By the time she is teething, hopefully you will be well past this stage (mouthing).

But, she will have an urge to chew, so it's a good idea to have plenty of things she can chew on. A frozen carrot is good; or you can tear a tea towel into strips, plait it, knot it, wet it and freeze it.

Aww good, I have plenty stuff for her to chew on now so should be good. That’s good to know thou I’ve clearly misread it and thought she was teething with her baby teeth but she has them all now so unsure why I thought that lol, thank you though, her biting only seems to be the worst at night when she gets the zoomies so hopefully going walks will help and she can release some energy

 

[Hemlock]

One of mine was a real land shark, but the good news is that she grew out of it. The less good news is that she was just over a year old when it stopped!

 

[Rinkydinkydo]

They all do it,I've said before,I'd be more worried if they weren't using there teeth at that age.

 

[merlina]

Puppies should come with a leaflet..."In a couple of weeks these cute little bundles will start to bite. They experience 90% of the world by mouth ...YOU are part of the world ....so good luck with that! " It is natural, you can find ways to distract them...and it will stop.

 

[Finsky]

Puppies should come with a leaflet..."In a couple of weeks these cute little bundles will start to bite. They experience 90% of the world by mouth ...YOU are part of the world ....so good luck with that! " It is natural, you can find ways to distract them...and it will stop.

Lol....you've got the right idea with leaflet...tough I would make it even more scarier. I would not hurt if it would be written in extreme or slightly overly done descriptions so at least those who are thinking of taking on puppy, they cannot say they were not warned enough "pups....awww....how bad it could be? = BAAAAD!

 

[eingana]

Yep, I'm afraid that puppies and kittens alike experience the world through their mouths, which are full of nerves and sharp bits that they have to learn to use properly.

At this age, just squeal, turn away from her, tuck your arms away against you and refuse to interact until she's calmed down a little. They're learning incredibly quickly and will go through several different phases of mouthing, nipping and chewing, and right now if she learns that putting the unhairy creatures in your mouth means that fuss and play stops, it won't take her long to realise that she prefers the play and the fuss.

 

[CoCo2014]

Please do not squeal as this makes it a rewarding behaviour.

An adult dog will usually give puppies a lot of licence until they reach 6 months or so. When an adult dog wants the interaction to end it will ignore puppy & move away. This makes the behaviour unrewarding & the puppy learns to stop the behaviour.
I personally total ignore all puppy nipping, keep my hands out of reach & therefore my puppies never get the chance to reward themselves by getting a reaction from me. It has worked for me for the past 60 odd years of dog owning, including unsocialised/untrained rescue puppies who are still nipping over the age of 6 months. I was taught to do this by an elderly shepherd(human) when I was very young.

 

[Eva1]

An update...

So I’ve been sticking to the methods and she’s gotten better, she still had the odd day where she goes absolutely mental and barks then goes to bite. I feel she gets over stimulated at times. I never know how to calm her down she just goes crazy. She can now go on walks, so I take her on two 15min walks which she loves and when she comes home she’s exhausted haha. I don’t know if I play with her too much or she is given too much attention as the biting/nipping can get pretty bad. Should I maybe leave her more maybe. Being in lockdown it’s harder with being off work but giving her her own time in her crate more to chill and sleep?

 

[Tinytom]

What are you feeding her ...

 

[Eva1]

What are you feeding her ...

So she’s been eating what the breeder was feeding her so it’s dried puppy food, beef and vegetables.

 

[JudyN]

she still had the odd day where she goes absolutely mental and barks then goes to bite. I feel she gets over stimulated at times.

It's a balancing act. On the one hand, you want to use up their energy. On the other hand, they can get overstimulated and overtired, and are really hard to settle then. We used to spend ages on the floor at 'zoomy' time, rolling balls for Jasper... once he learnt what 'settle down on your bed' meant, we did end up saying it quite firmly at times and when he finally did, he flaked out. It's like bringing an overtired toddler home from a wild party where he's been eating crisps and blue Smarties all afternoon - they just don't know when to stop! But it is a phase, so don't worry

You might be able to teach her to relax and calm down more, and whether you crate her or not, you want her to accept that you're not always available. Check out this video:

Just be aware that she still is very young, and like human children, is going to have days when she is a complete PITA!

 

[JudyN]

So she’s been eating what the breeder was feeding her so it’s dried puppy food, beef and vegetables.

Do you mean a puppy kibble in beef and veg variety? Do you know what brand name it is, and exact variety (grain-free or not, large/small breed, etc.)?

 

[Eva1]

Do you mean a puppy kibble in beef and veg variety? Do you know what brand name it is, and exact variety (grain-free or not, large/small breed, etc.)?

Yeah, so it’s puppy kibble in the beef and veg variety. It’s from Tesco Supermarket so their brand called complete, she gets her 3 meals a day and eats all her food.