# New puppy excessive biting



## arbysman (Jun 19, 2008)

I just got a new Cocker Spanial/King Charles Cavalier Spanial, a cockalier, and it enjoys biting. The dog, elvis, was biting from the first day we got him about a week ago and he is alittle over three months. I've been trying to get his bite to be softer but no matter what i try to do his bite does not get softer at all. So i wonder if this is normal or is there a better way of training him to stop the pressure for now.

- Arbysman

-Also I am doing what the article "The Bite Stops Here" says to do


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## Carlaod (Jun 19, 2008)

I have a nippy puppy, not biting yet, but you have to retrain him to get his excitment out in other ways. 

I hold her nose and say "ouch" everytime she nips at me but it seems to only egg her on more. So I am going to start the whole saying "ouch" and then completly ignoring her tactic.

Hope it works for you.

Carla


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## rosemaryninja (Sep 28, 2007)

Reading this may help:

http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_BiteInhibition.php


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## NW7 (Jun 22, 2008)

How long does it take for a puppy to learn bite inhibition? I have had an 11-week old mini schnauzer for 1 week. He doesn't respond at all to my yells of "ouch". If yell "ouch," fold my arms and turn around he just continues to nip at my back. His teeth are very sharp! If I get up and walk away he just follows me nipping at my heels and calves and pant legs. He also has another dog (a little over 1 year old) to play fight with but he never really had this problem so this is new to me.


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## InverseLogic (Jun 1, 2008)

NW7 said:


> How long does it take for a puppy to learn bite inhibition? I have had an 11-week old mini schnauzer for 1 week. He doesn't respond at all to my yells of "ouch". If yell "ouch," fold my arms and turn around he just continues to nip at my back. His teeth are very sharp! If I get up and walk away he just follows me nipping at my heels and calves and pant legs. He also has another dog (a little over 1 year old) to play fight with but he never really had this problem so this is new to me.


Lol, I have the same exact problem with my new Golden. I'm just hoping that he'll get the point someday. Consistency is key.


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## osurn67 (Apr 20, 2008)

InverseLogic and NW7 I am haiving the same issues with my 14w old American Eskimo. The bite inhibition training is getting better but she is still nipping quite a bit. I read all of the articles and have used many of the suggestions posted by the members here. The OUCH method works if she is NOT really wound up but if she is REALLY nippy we have been misting her in the snout with a spray bottle filled with water. It startles her and she does stop immediately. I know this is probaly not the best method but is does not hurt her and it is working for us. She was occasionally growling when she was biting which had me worried but I posted about it here and everyone assured me this was pretty normal. Good luck!!!!!!!!!
kim


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## alphadoginthehouse (Jun 7, 2008)

osurn67 said:


> InverseLogic and NW7 I am haiving the same issues with my 14w old American Eskimo. The bite inhibition training is getting better but she is still nipping quite a bit. I read all of the articles and have used many of the suggestions posted by the members here. The OUCH method works if she is NOT really wound up but if she is REALLY nippy we have been misting her in the snout with a spray bottle filled with water. It startles her and she does stop immediately. I know this is probaly not the best method but is does not hurt her and it is working for us. She was occasionally growling when she was biting which had me worried but I posted about it here and everyone assured me this was pretty normal. Good luck!!!!!!!!!
> kim


Actually, the spray bottle with a command of "stop" really does work. Daja (who was 15 mos when I got her) would bite and nip but after squirting her 2 times, all I have to do is show her the bottle and she stops WHATEVER she is doing. I also used it when should would get in Roxxy and Butch's faces and wouldn't take "stop" from them. And the growling is her way of playing...all puppies do it...actually all my dogs do it when playing with each other or tug of war with me. It may sound bad but you will get to know when it's other than a "play with me cuz I'm tough" growl.


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## osurn67 (Apr 20, 2008)

alphadoginthehouse said:


> Actually, the spray bottle with a command of "stop" really does work. Daja (who was 15 mos when I got her) would bite and nip but after squirting her 2 times, all I have to do is show her the bottle and she stops WHATEVER she is doing. I also used it when should would get in Roxxy and Butch's faces and wouldn't take "stop" from them. And the growling is her way of playing...all puppies do it...actually all my dogs do it when playing with each other or tug of war with me. It may sound bad but you will get to know when it's other than a "play with me cuz I'm tough" growl.


Thanks Alphadog for the reply about the spray bottle. We do the same thing-a spray with a command of stop and she does stop. We are actually also getting to the point of where I show her the bottle she usually stops. SHe is still young (3.5m) so I know she will outgrow the nipping but it was becoming an issue because I have young children and she was constantly nipping at them (this is getting better also but we still have an occasional issue). 
Thanks
Kim
Annie 3.5m Eskimo/Collie mix


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## jesirose (Mar 27, 2008)

The water bottle works well but what happens when you don't have the bottle handy?

The spray needs to come from an angle and be hidden, so they don't associate the water bottle with the spray. The spray should shock them and they need to associate it with what they just DID, not the source of the water.


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## shawneo (May 27, 2008)

My labrador loves to mouth everything. She is always biting and niping and she doesn't mean anything mean by it, but I know what you mean it can be very tough to break. Certain breeds are worse than others and certain dogs just have personalities that are more prone to chewing, biting, nipping, ect.

My advice is positive reinforcement. It never worked for me to grab my dogs mouth and say ouch, or no. But what did work is ignoring her. When she is doing something you don't like ignore her/him. Saying a simple but very firm "no" in a kinda mean tone will get the message across. Then ignore the puppy for about 5 minutes.

The other side of the coin is when they do something good or something even if it really small. Any good behavior be very quick to reward with a lot of praise and possilby a treat.

At the root level your dog really just wants to please you and thrives off of your attention. So use your attention as a training mechanism.


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## InverseLogic (Jun 1, 2008)

shawneo said:


> My labrador loves to mouth everything. She is always biting and niping and she doesn't mean anything mean by it, but I know what you mean it can be very tough to break. Certain breeds are worse than others and certain dogs just have personalities that are more prone to chewing, biting, nipping, ect.
> 
> My advice is positive reinforcement. It never worked for me to grab my dogs mouth and say ouch, or no. But what did work is ignoring her. When she is doing something you don't like ignore her/him. Saying a simple but very firm "no" in a kinda mean tone will get the message across. Then ignore the puppy for about 5 minutes.
> 
> ...


I get what you mean, but even if you ignore them, sometimes they won't let up. This method seems like it's hit or miss with young puppies.

I definitely agree on the positive reinforcement thing though. No need to restrain their mouths or tap them on the face.


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## NW7 (Jun 22, 2008)

Yeah, the ignoring doesn't really work for me because he'll just bite me in the back or if I try and walk away he follows me nipping at my legs.


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## cockapoolvr (Dec 25, 2006)

Ben used to bite and nip A LOT when he was a small pup. I thought it would never end. I couldn't go bare foot, I couldn't wear slippers. Sometimes he would just bite and nip for no reason.
We used the spray bottle method, as well as the OUCH method, the turning away from him method. 
I don't know which method did the trick. It did take a while, but he eventually just stopped biting, for good.
Now he's 18 months old, and I can wear my slippers, go bare foot, or do whatever we want, and he doesn't use his teeth on us any more.
I really think it's mainly a maturity issue, as well as a teething issue, we well as a puppy thing.
Be patient, this too will pass.


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## kongs mama (Oct 14, 2007)

Ahhh the joys of the biting puppy, I do not miss that at all. Kong was biting everything and everybody in site while he was teething. I bought him a Chilly Bone and some teething rings and a nice frozen wash cloth seemed to help. It does go away, but it took about 3-4 months. Now he sucks on your arm full force LOL


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## jaguarundi (Oct 7, 2011)

I am having some serious problems with this same issue. My 18-week-old Rhodesian Ridgeback doesn't seem to respond to any kind of biting training. She thinks that any noise I make is part of the game. If I ignore her, she just bites the backs of my legs like your dog does.

One thing that seems to work for now (but which may not last): I put her in a *sit-stay*. This engages her in a positive way and gets her mouth off of me. That buys me a little time to go get her some kind of toy or other activity to distract from biting. It's usually boredom and excessive playful energy that leads to biting, I believe.

The biting is at its worst when she has been cooped up inside all day. She explodes out of the yard full of energy when I am drained of it. Exercise and training will hopefully help this problem. Maybe more play time with other puppies would help too?

ps, I think she knows not to bite, and is trying to stop. It's just too fun for her. Sometimes I see her open her mouth towards me, then stop and think better of it and just sniff or lick me. I think this is a good sign.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

This method works well with Retrievers. It doesn't work as well with high strung terriers and some adult dogs, but you can find a marker word to take the place of the Yelp. It will take about 3 days to get a noticeable response, and the dog should understand after 2 weeks. Pups will need a tune-up after they get adult teeth. And you can tune-up a little with occasional infractions, usually a repeated "Yelp" (or whatever) is adequate.


Some Tweaks to Bite Inhibition (to get him to stop biting when he wants to play):
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 (This is important) briefly and stop nipping. Praise and pet. He'll bite. Find some noise that will make him say: "What was that?"
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. This is important. 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.


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## jaguarundi (Oct 7, 2011)

Well, it's been a while and I hope your biting pup has improved. Mine certainly has--she hasn't nipped in months, and rarely even lets her teeth touch me. I attribute this partly to my consistent disapproval of her biting behavior, but mostly to her maturity. Has yours grown out of this obnoxious and painful behavior as well?


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## stevej9 (Apr 7, 2012)

Very simple solution... just correct him when he bites. Give him a little push with a cupped hand on his neck to let him know it's bad.

Never let a dog bite, even if it is just soft. It's their way of trying to control you, and will get worse when they are bed.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Oh my holy crap, are you serious, stevej9? That is not true at all. Biting is NOT their way of controling you, and there are other way besides physically correcting a dog.

First, the people posting were talking about PUPPIES who had not learned bite inhibition yet. Puppies play with their mouthes. That's what they do, it's how they play and explore the world. It's similar to human babies putting everything in their mouthes. It just is what they do, it's natural, not a way of controlling you.

Human contact ends when they bite. That's pretty basic. Dogs are very social and like to be near their humans. If they bite, you alert them with a loud OUCH or yelp, and offer something appropriate to chew on. If they continue biting, you make the noise again, and then LEAVE the room. Then, come back and try again.

For pete's sake.


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