# How to stop playful biting tips



## fuzzypuppies (Dec 22, 2008)

I adopted a dog from a rescue a couple of weeks ago. He was a stray so there wasn't much information about him. His paperwork said he's about a year and a half.

Does anyone have any tips on how to discourage playful biting. When he gets really excited he'll bite playfully he hasn't hurt anyone yet but I want to make sure I nip it in the bud because he's a bigger dog and has potential to do damage.

Here is what I have been doing so far (this biting just started a few days ago) When he bites me or my other dog, I will immediately tell him no and put him in the bathroom for a 5 minute time-out. He seems to have gotten a little better but he'll still do it when he gets overly excited and wants to play.

I just read that saying ouch really loud might help if he realizes he's hurting us, I think I'll try that too. Any other tips?


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## wizer (Dec 23, 2008)

fuzzypuppies said:


> I just read that saying ouch really loud might help if he realizes he's hurting us, I think I'll try that too. Any other tips?


Say "OW!" or "Ouch" but do it like you really mean it. Dog's don't understand the meaning of words but they know everything about your tone. 

Say the word with feeling and stop the playing. Walk away and ignore the dog every time it happens.

Even a stubborn dog will soon make the connection that it is causing pain and the fun stops every time.

If you want to speed things along, walk away for, say 5-10 minutes, then come back and resume playing. When she play bites, you repeat the process.

You could also consider following up with a stern "No BITE!".


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## JustTess (Mar 19, 2008)

You could try a high pitch "ow" or "yip" and then face away from your dog for a few minutes. I also won't allow him to bite me (arms or clothing). I use a toy, like a rope, that we play tug of war with.

When I don't want to play at all... I'll say "Uh Ah" and Ilya will go lay down or find something else.


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## wizer (Dec 23, 2008)

JustTess said:


> You could try a high pitch "ow" or "yip" and then face away from your dog for a few minutes. I also won't allow him to bite me (arms or clothing). I use a toy, like a rope, that we play tug of war with.
> 
> When I don't want to play at all... I'll say "Uh Ah" and Ilya will go lay down or find something else.


My dog is about a year. She has VERY sharp teeth now. She loves to play bite with me when I allow it. That's the key. 

Her teeth are all over my hands, my arms..with gentle, careful pressure...if she occasionally gets a bit too excited and I feel even a bit of pressure then I say NO BITE sometimes combined with a fake cry of pain, and I stop immediately. Then I go get a tourniquet and ignore the dog until the bleeding stops. 

Some here may say that dogs should never be allowed to playbite at all.

It is my feeling that if it's controlled, and at your discretion and the dog is careful about not putting too much pressure then its another game you can play with your dog. I am not saying that's right, I am saying it's what I do. 

Your mileage may vary.


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## JustTess (Mar 19, 2008)

I'm not sure what kind of point you are trying to make (perhaps beating around the bush)

One of the reasons I teach Ilya to bite a rope is that I have discovered his teeth are like scissors. In 5 seconds flat, he has snipped through nylon and leather leashes. He can also take apart a stuffed animals legs in less than a minute. Ilya can continue play biting the rope with me and give me as many kisses as he wants


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## jesterjigger (Dec 12, 2008)

I wouldn't allow a young dog to bite at all. Our puppy nipped a few times when we got her. We tried a stern "no bite" and it made no difference at all whatsoever. Then we read the biting article stickied at the top of the page and started saying "Ow!", in a high pitched, hurt voice and looked at her reproachfully, worked like a charm. Within a day her bites (when she did bite) were much lighter, and now she doesn't bite at all. 

I think that horses and dogs need to be taught manners that would make them a good citizen in *anyone's* eyes, not just the owner. I would not think it was ok for a strange dog to bite me, even gently, so I would never allow my dog to think it's ok to bite even me. Same thing with letting my horse rub on me, it's impolite and bad manners.

Edited to add: I think that it's important for animals to have boundaries. Especially animals that can do real harm, like horses and dogs. If you let your dog get away with something that it wouldn't normally do to its pack leader (ie biting, no matter how gentle) how can you honestly expect your dog to give the respect it would give a pack leader?


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 22, 2008)

fuzzypuppies said:


> Does anyone have any tips on how to discourage playful biting. When he gets really excited he'll bite playfully he hasn't hurt anyone yet but I want to make sure I nip it in the bud because he's a bigger dog and has potential to do damage.


If he is not hurting you, I wouldn't yelp. He knows he isn't hurting you and you won't fool him. I would continue doing what you are doing. There are a few little tricks that make time out more effective faster.

When he nips your arm, immediately remove his mouth and take him to the time out place. Don't say anything to him. You must act immediately when teeth touch skin. Leave the dog in the time out place 2 minutes, no more. Walk away. Don't stand right outside the door. He will know you are there. He will be thinking bout you standing outside the door rather then wondering what he did to cause this to happen.

When you let him out, don't fuss at him and don't praise him. Be completely neutral. Go back to doing exactly what you were doing before. When teeth meet skin again, repeat the process immediately. 

The quicker he does it again the better. Each time it happens, its another teaching opportunity. Idealy, it will happen several times in a row real quickly.


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## Snoppykins (Dec 19, 2008)

From what I have read here and other places, letting him bite you or not is a personal decsion.

I really cannot see how anyone can make a dog stop biting altogether, their mouths are their hands. They are still dogs at the end of the day and we can train them to do all kinds of things. We cant stop them from being dogs!

For us, Sai can bite, just not to hurt and when he hurts we yelp and leave the room. It is a process that happens daily but he ends up stopping.

I think many here have great ideas even if they are at oppisate ends. You just decide which you want for your dog and family.

And keep plenty of things around that he can have, try somehow to make you undesirable, and make his toys and bones the most awesome things in the world.


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## smileypits (Dec 25, 2008)

Happy Holidays!

Older dogs tend to be harder to teach than a puppy fresh out of playing with littermates that would YOW YELP when they bit eachother too hard. Sometimes that doesn't seem to work with older dogs who have somehow developed that habit. Like Dr. Tom said above, the ignoring w/ no emotion is good... I've always just said loudly "No Bite!" and turned away crossing my arms. Almost exaggerated. If the pup isn't getting the message and continues to jump/nip in play then I continue to walk into them without emotion, almost as if I don't see them. They learn to back away from me and that I'm obviously upset. This makes the next time much easier.... and like above, hopefully he'll do it really quickly a bunch of times in a row....

*shrug* It seems to work for me, maybe not a purely positive method though.


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