# Puppy Wont Stop Biting.



## briannanikole (Mar 17, 2011)

I have an eight week old beagle puppy that bites everything he sees. He will run over to you and sit down and when you reach down and start petting him he bites. The only way he wants to play is by biting. I have tried telling him no and have tried saying ouch every time he bites, but he doesnt let go an he doesnt stop. Ive tried walking away after saying ouch multiple times with him. He cries when I leave the room, but as soon as i get him out to play again its back to the biting. He has plenty of toys to play with too, but he would rather bite hands than play with his toys. What else can I do?


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Puppies nip, it's what they do. . .their teeth are like hands are for humans. Just like grabby little toddlers . Have you read this link yet? http://www.dogforums.com/first-time-dog-owner/8377-bite-stops-here.html


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## lisak_87 (Mar 23, 2011)

Willowy said:


> Puppies nip, it's what they do. . .their teeth are like hands are for humans. Just like grabby little toddlers . Have you read this link yet? http://www.dogforums.com/first-time-dog-owner/8377-bite-stops-here.html


I'll also add, the bite stops here worked for me only once the puppy recognized me as its leader. Then it really worked. And you HAVE to be dramatic about it. A soft "ouch" and walking away quietly doesn't work. You have to literally be like "OUCH!!! #$(^#*&%^ DOG!!" *stamp stamp stamp out, slam door* *wait a few seconds, come back to play*


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## briannanikole (Mar 17, 2011)

Alright. Maybe I just need to be more dramatic about it. He learned everything else pretty quickly, so Ill give that a try. Thanks for the advice.


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## lisak_87 (Mar 23, 2011)

Just remember it really is normal  and even once he gets it right, he could "relapse" as he enters his "teen puppy" months. Just stick with it! My mom's golden had that problem for a long time, but is now the gentlest dog you'll ever meet!


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## pitbullfriends (Oct 28, 2010)

Both my Pitbulls also did this when they were puppies and all I did was grab their mouths shut and sternly say "NO Biting" when they did it and the habit slowly dwindled away. I'm not sure if it was my actions that stopped it or if they just naturally grew out of it, but I'm sure in the long run you have nothing to worry about.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

I'd recommend against grabbing their mouths shut.....
One thing I'd add is that it can take lots of repetition!  If he bites, you say ouch loudly, if he does it again, leave the room. Seriously, we were constantly leaving the room every few minutes, because the biting was happening so often! But, it's normal puppy play behavior, so it takes work and patience to rid yourself of it!

Lots of people try one method or technique, and give up after a few days or a week because they think it's not working, so they try something else. But, that's just confusing to your puppy. So, keep at it!


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

TBSH works wonderfully as long as you're more persistent than the dog. If you get frustrated easily, or don't follow through, the frustration will amplify.

ETA: Oh ya, and it gets worse before it gets better. This is normal.


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## FilleBelle (Aug 1, 2007)

Puppies bite; most of them outgrow it as they age. In the meantime, TBSH is a good technique.

Also wanted to add: exercise your puppy as much as is possible given his current vaccinations. Start basic obedience training NOW. And get some toys that your pup thinks are fun (you might have to experiment a little) so that you can offer them as substitutes when he wants to bite you. A tired puppy is a good puppy!


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## BrittanieJo (Sep 23, 2010)

I have to say to be prepared for the teen month relapse. Aggie is in it hard core. We find lots of exercise and diverting her attention worked better than TBSH. She thought it was great fun when we would say ouch and stomp off (as a young pup and now as a 9 month old pup). We have taught leave it and will say that when she bites, then have her sit and work on some "tricks" before she gets to play again. It works very well for us.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

Except for grabbing the mouth, most advice is good, especially the Bite Stops Here:
Some tweaks to that method:
1. When the pup bites, then yelp. It should sound about like what the pup does when you step on its paw... 
don't step on his paw for a sample . When you yelp, the pup should startle briefly and stop nipping. Praise and pet. He'll bite.
2. When he bites the second time, Yelp. When he stops, praise and pet. He'll nip again, although it may be a little gentler. ...
3. When he bites a third time, Yelp (see a pattern?). But this time, turn your back for 15 - 30 secs. If he comes around and play bows or barks, then that is an apology. Accept it, praise and pet... and cringe in expectation of the next nip...
4. When he bites the 4th time, Yelp, then leave the area, placing him in a 2 min. time-out. It is better if you can leave, rather than moving him. Then, return and interact. (He's still hungry...)
5. When he nips the fifth time, yelp, and leave the area, stopping interaction for now.

Pups need to sleep over night in order to learn their lessons. So, keep doing this for 3 days. By the third day, you should notice signficant Bite Inhibition. He may still nip, but it will be softer and he won't draw blood. Keep up the training and make sure that everyone yelps.... Very powerful method.

If you learn the technique, then you can apply the "yelp" to other circumstances, also. I believe that "yelp" is "Please don't do that, I don't like it." in dog communication.

BTW, long ago, we used the other methods, such as holding the mouth. But we stopped doing that, because this method is so much more effective.


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## Yvonne (Aug 6, 2010)

Provide acceptable teething chew items and read up on how to re direct the puppy to those items. Grats on the new puppy.


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## sparkysmom (Apr 11, 2011)

We have a 14 week old beagle mix that we have had for 4 weeks now. The biting is horrible. We have tried the "ouch" technique in every octave imaginable and he still goes back and continues to bite. We stand and turn our backs and he just bites the back of our legs or our feet. When we try to walk away, he runs after us and continues to bite. What is left for us to do?


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

Read The Bite Stops Here and what I posted above. If you've read both, then here are some modifications:
1. Always yelp when bitten. A higher pitch and a little louder. ... Use the same consistent sound.
2. On the second bite, leave the area for two minutes, placing her into timeout. If she is not upset about you leaving, then you need a room that is boring. You leave the room, don't carry her to the room.
3. She will Not Stop biting, she will bite more gently. It may take 3 days of your doing this consistently for the pup to stop biting hard.

If you've tried this and it doesn't work then you need to get help from a trainer, soon.


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## BeyondBlessed (Jan 25, 2011)

lisak_87 said:


> Just remember it really is normal  and even once he gets it right, he could "relapse" as he enters his "teen puppy" months. Just stick with it! My mom's golden had that problem for a long time, but is now the gentlest dog you'll ever meet!


That's an answer I was looking for. I had my dog pretty well broke of it, and now he's gotten really bad again.


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## Yvonne (Aug 6, 2010)

I never do the yelp system, but then german shepherds are nicknamed carpet sharks for a reason. They would take the yelp as sign to bite more and harder and it would be play to them. I use the redirect system and it is easy and quick.


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

Yvonne said:


> They would take the yelp as sign to bite more and harder and it would be play to them.


There's more to TBSH than just yelping, and it does address nipping as play.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Yes, and, you can always adapt the sound to something else. On another thread, people have mentioned that high pitched sounds excite their puppies more, so they opt for a lower pitched sound, like saying "ouch" loudly.....


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## Yvonne (Aug 6, 2010)

Why would you hold it above just offering something for a puppy to teeth on instead so that it's teeth are helped, it feels better and the puppy is not left feeling frustrated? You also would not do the noise method or turn back method to a future schutzhund dog but actually I would not use it over the other method for any dog. I keep frozen washcloths in freezer with puppies so when they teething bite I redirect them to something that is going to help them feel better and work with them on it instead of trying to act like a dog in the litter to avert its bite.


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

Yvonne said:


> Why would you hold it above just offering something for a puppy to teeth on instead so that it's teeth are helped, it feels better and the puppy is not left feeling frustrated? You also would not do the noise method or turn back method to a future schutzhund dog but actually I would not use it over the other method for any dog. I keep frozen washcloths in freezer with puppies so when they teething bite I redirect them to something that is going to help them feel better and work with them on it instead of trying to act like a dog in the litter to avert its bite.


I thought your comment regarded play biting. Nevertheless, I don't have a Schutzhund dog, and neither do 99.9% of the people here. I recommend TBSH for two reasons: 1) it's effective with persistence, 2) puppy owners should be allowed to voice their frustrations in a humane way too.

ETA: It isn't necessary to yelp "like a dog" either. Any way that communicates the biting is too hard is good enough. Dunbar actually chooses to curse at the pup, when it's warranted. It's not about mimicking a dog as it is offering humane signals through voice and body language that your bite hurts. And dogs ARE smart enough to pick up on these signals.


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## Yvonne (Aug 6, 2010)

> but actually I would not use it over the other method for any dog.


Few seeking this advice have schutzhund dogs that is why I added the above in the statement you yourself quoted. The person said your way was not working and that they were already trying that method. I have seen several people get poor results with that method. I was offering the alternative. It takes dedication to always have some thing handy to redirect to instead of just making noise but it always works.


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

Yvonne said:


> Few seeking this advice have schutzhund dogs that is why I added the above in the statement you yourself quoted. The person said your way was not working and that they were already trying that method. I have seen several people get poor results with that method. I was offering the alternative. It takes dedication to always have some thing handy to redirect to instead of just making noise but it always works.


1) It's not my way. It's Ian Dunbar's way, and thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dog owners are successful with it. 2) The OP did not say TBSH did not work, or was not working. We don't even know if the OP knew about TBSH or applied it correctly/completely. 3) I don't know the several people you're referring to, but I'm sure we could help them with TBSH. 4) Again, it's NOT just about making noise. It's part of a process, that INCLUDES redirecting the dog, when necessary.


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## katina (Feb 22, 2011)

My Berner did this all the time, nonstop, from the day I got her at 11 weeks to about 16-17ish weeks. She's at 19 now and the mouthing has significantly reduced in frequency, duration, and severity. What worked for me is to keep being consistent in redirecting his biting elsewhere. Don't yell at him or hit him because he doesn't understand those actions; get a chew toy and just push it in front of his mouth and whatever body part of yours he's focused on. I found it helpful to use the same toy over and over again just for that purpose. Good luck and remember -- puppies bite, it's what they do.


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## vbud88 (Feb 8, 2011)

nothing worked will bolo he was a biting machine , tide turned at 14 weeks now hes 17 weeks and has started again


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

The thing about "The Bite Stops Here" is that many people don't stick with it. Many get frustrated if it doesn't work right away. As with any method, if you're not consistent, and you don't stick with it, it won't work. 
I know from experience, that it can be very frustrating having a new puppy that bites constantly when playing. You have to get up to leave the room every 20 seconds or less. Lots of people don't follow through, and actually do the same thing every time. THAT can make it take longer.
Also, lots of people aren't prepared for "extinction burst", the increase in the "bad" behavior before it actually stops....

I think many people DO try to offer an appropriate chew toy. When my puppies were young and biting, the biting would occur when we were playing with a toy TOGETHER, so I would stick the toy in their mouth when they nipped me, and praise if they took the toy and played with it.
We went to "The Bite Stops Here" when offering the toy no longer worked.....

The frozen washcloth and frozen toys work great for teething, though, as well as putting an ice cube in the water....


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## sparkysmom (Apr 11, 2011)

Our puppy does not stop biting when we say "ouch" or "yelp" in any tone of voice. We cannot sit on our couch without him jumping up and snapping at us. I think my 7 year old gets it the worse because he is the shortest. The puppy bites his legs and gets his teeth into his clothes when he tries to stand and ignore him. When he tries to leave the room, he bites at him the whole way. We offer him chew toys, but he just goes for our hands around the toys. I called a trainer today. I'm waiting for them to call me back.


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## Tolak (Sep 11, 2008)

A few years back I had this problem with Kaz. He eased up for a while, but as he approached the 8 month mark he regressed, I guess sort of a terrible two's deal. Yelp didn't work, ignore didn't work, if he wanted your attention he would walk up, grab your fingers hard & pull, not letting go.

When he was 9 months old my wife & kids went out of town for a week, while I spent a week's vacation tearing the bathroom down to studs & remodeling. Time to ratchet up the yelp deal several notches. Set up a flimsy noisy folding chair by the computer, got online, and let my hand hang there, he went for the bait.

OMG chair flying back, junk knocked off the desk, me screaming like I put my hand through a blender, chair kicked around a bit, me holding my imaginary mangled hand looking at it screaming, 5 minutes of mayhem. He tried it just once more after that, same reaction, and never did the sneak up & grab thing again. He will play if you get him going, teeth lightly on hands, but if you so much as gasp he stops dead, and sits.

Now Kaz is used to noise, power tools, construction racket, as I'm always doing something around the house. This may be a bit of overkill for a dog that isn't used to that sort of activity, but it sure worked for him. I often wonder if dogs communicate this sort of thing, we got Gus as a pup when Kaz was a year old. Gus will not even touch humans with his teeth. Playing with toys, wrestle with the other two, teeth happen, but he will not touch people with teeth at all.


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