# Why is my hand better than a chew toy?



## NeoBodhi (Sep 23, 2009)

I just don't understand why my puppy prefers to chew my hand than a chew toy. He is 3 and a half months old, he used to chew so hard it left marks but since he has been out playing with other dogs, it is a soft chew. I don't mind at all letting him chew my hand I just don't know why out of all the toys in his basket he just loves to chew on human hands.


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

It's not your hand. It's the fact that you react (or other people react) when he chews on your hand. You need to train him to not do this and train him NOW! If you don't, you'll end up with a full grown dog with no bite inhibition and then you will lose your hand.


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## emily445455 (Apr 8, 2008)

I would advise you to not let him bite you anymore...even if it's just play biting. 

And he probably likes to bite you for the same reason he'd like to bite another dog in his pack instead of a stick...social interaction.


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## Dog_Shrink (Sep 29, 2009)

Gotta kinda agree with Hulk on this one... mommys hand is NOT a chew toy and he would have that clearly spelled out for him by his littermates and 4 legged momma if they were around. he does it because he can. Look for chew toys that have a similar texture to your hands such as hard vinyl toys (not the rubbery ones) and start substituting or he will never learn and hands will always be a toy to him... which will be bad when he gets his full size.


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## NeoBodhi (Sep 23, 2009)

Awesome guys and gals, thanks for the advice. I have been redirecting his chewing to toys, but I will work on it more.


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## Labsnothers (Oct 10, 2009)

There is always the chance you will bite back. I have actually seen people suggest that a a way to teach a puppy not to bite. 

Young Labs, which I know best, and other puppies tend to very bad about biting. You see a litter of them, and all the ones that are awake are biting another one or themselves. I am not even sure they realize that when they are alone, if they quit biting, they would quit being bitten. At 3 to 4 months they are getting their adult teeth, and it seems they spend every waking moment biting or chewing. One thing you can do at that stage is to knot and wet a piece of cloth. Then freeze it. The cooling will soothe the gums. Only let the puppy have it when you are there to watch it. I maintain a Lab's favorite chew toy is another Lab. Otherwise they settle for any person they can. They keep hoping to find one that won't yelp, jerk their hand away, and leave.

You just have to keep on correcting them, hundreds of times, not dozens. Provide sturdy, safe toys such as Kongs and Nylabones. Avoid things they can chew pieces off and choke on them. Keep them away from electrical cords. Crates are essential for most young Labs and other dogs.

The pet stores are full of toys that many dogs will quickly chew up into pieces they could choke on or cause intestinal blockages. If you are not there to watch, stick to sturdy stuff such as Nylabones and Kongs. Keep a close eye on chew toys and quickly discard anything that is coming apart in pieces. Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed. I don't trust any of the consumable chews. The dogs just gnaw them down to a dangerous size too quickly. These problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive chewers such as Labs.


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## emily445455 (Apr 8, 2008)

I found the yelping and walking away thing doesn't work with my Labs. Yelping seems to indicate more play, then when you walk away they follow you and jump all over you because obviously yelping means you really want to play.

I held my pup's muzzle's shut and said "no biting, that's bad!!" until I think they got the message. Not too hard for too long obviously, but labs are sturdy, they can handle it.


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## Marsh Muppet (Nov 29, 2008)

emily445455 said:


> I found the yelping and walking away thing doesn't work with my Labs. Yelping seems to indicate more play, then when you walk away they follow you and jump all over you because obviously yelping means you really want to play.


Didn't work with my Golden, either. Yelping only communicated that the biting was working exactly as he'd planned. Retriever puppies are just the mouthiest critters on the planet. As Labsnothers said, it can take a while to get through to your little self-propelled chainsaw that hands and feet are not chew toys.

In the meantime, get yourself a pair of these:


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

Marsh Muppet said:


> In the meantime, get yourself a pair of these:


LOL 

I want those! Though I'd probably scare Wally to death if I had them on.


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## NeoBodhi (Sep 23, 2009)

KBLover said:


> LOL
> 
> I want those! Though I'd probably scare Wally to death if I had them on.


Lol, what a funny picture, I'm pretty sure my puppy would be scared to death as well 



Brother Bob said:


> I'm 53, almost 54 years old. I have owned 6 dogs in my lifetime. Back before the internet and when people exhibited common sense and logic, and before folks decided to make a science out of almost everything, people normally swatted their puppy across the face for biting them and that ended the problem forever. I'm sorry, but I'm "old school" and while I love dogs, I won't tolerate a biting dog for one minute! Now I know for a fact that puppies chew, and boy do they chew! It is up to you to let them know what's acceptable to chew on and what is not. Human flesh "ist verboten" and the sooner the dog realizes it, the sooner you won't have to worry about the dog becoming a liability to you, your family, and general public. My 2 cents......


I appreciate your old school approach. My experience with this pup though is when he is "swatted" he will stop whatever the behavior was, at least for a moment but then he vents his frustration at being swatted by doing something else naughty. In the case of my pup, I have found swatting undermines his trust in me and he quickly becomes disobedient. So swatting is off the table for Chester and I think we will both be happier for it.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

Look up Bite Inhibition in the Forum. I wrote up something based on Ian Dunbar, which will work for retrievers (may not work for terriers). 

Inadequate summary:
1. Yelp and don't move. The pup should startle at your yelp.
2. When he bites the second time, it should be more gentle, but you want to go for teeth don't touch skin.
3. So, on 2nd bite, yelp, let him startle, then turn your back for a few seconds. If he comes around to you, and especially if he barks or play bows, take that as an apology, and continue interacting.
4. On the 3rd bite, yelp and leave the area for 30 seconds. It is important that you leave him, and that he is in a boring place, alone, with nothing to chew on..... good luck.
5. After you return - 30 seconds is a puppy eternity - interact, and when he bites a 4th time - Labs can be kinda 'slow' - yelp, leave, and end the interaction for the moment. Put him in his crate or outside - not punishment, but an emphasis of - "no more" 

In 10 minutes, you can start all over again. This only takes a few times to make progress, but the puppy will have to sleep on it once or twice for the soft mouth lessons to sink in. However .....

Goldens in particular, and Labs sometimes were bred to have very soft mouths, growing softer as they age. So, they may stop nibbling and just slime you. You can yelp to stop this.

I used this method on my vampire Lab mix puppy and he does not mouth me at all. However, when we fight - and it sounds like Michael Vick - he will accidentally hit me with the side of his mouth when I grab him... but no bite.

- Hank Simon


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## MrsJohnnyG (Jan 31, 2009)

1. It tastes better!

2. It dances around when he bites it!

3. Skin over bone is just such an interesting texture!!


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