Puppy biting

[Carolyn Northover]

We have a 9 week old golden doodle who bites all the time. He is sweet and seems bright but it is hard to play with him because of his constant biting. I would like some strategies that others have tried and worked. We have had other puppies in the past (different breeds) and I don't remember the biting being this bad. I am not sure if this is the breed or just him. We really love him and want to play with him but don't want to bit all the time. Thanks!

[Leslie J]

Join the Puppy Madness group! You'll find tons of tips there :-)

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/puppymadness

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

This too shall pass. It's the reason why puppies come cute. Fudge bit like a shark. Honestly, I was ready to wear a suit of armor when I played with her. People said to turn your back and she just bit the back of me when I did that. I found distraction worked very well. I used bully sticks and would put one in her mouth when she went for me. Staying calm is hard, but it will help in the long run, because you can sure amp a puppy up with loud noises and commotion. I also found when Fudge was at her worst, a time out in her crate would help both Fudge and me. Sometimes, she was over tired and would calm down and take a nap. Good luck. It does get better. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

The biting stage is a pain in the neck.  We have only had one puppy that was such a nipper, so I think not every puppy is excessive in this, but all do it to an extent.

 One of the ways mother dogs correct their puppies when they are too 'bitey' is to gently squeeze the muzzle with their mouth.  You can mimic this with your hand.  Encircle the muzzle firmly with your hand, squeeze gently while looking the pup in the eye and firmly say NO in a deeper voice.

[c zoomer]

Last night I was using tea tree oil on my foot. When Dinah bit me she got some of it on her muzzle. She went to amazing lengths to get it off without using her tongue. It was hilarious. So I began putting some on the backs of my hands. She was still giving nipping a try but would stop! She kinda got used to it as she did the sour apple spray. Once it began to dry it wasn't as volitile. The other advice already given sounds great, just thought I'd add another. I'm also wearing cowhide gloves, but she goes for the cuff and then grabs my wrists. I meant to bring home a pair of Rose Gloves...which are elbow length...and this just reminded me. Let us hear how you're doing with this.

[Christine]

Hi,
My Nala did the same thing. The biting was always when she was playing. I remember trying the yelping and also sticking a toy in her mouth instead of my hand. But for us what worked was just to walk away from her when she started up. She outgrew it. But I remembered my hands looking horrible with little scratches all over!
Good luck,
Christine

[Wendy and Myla]

Puppy Biting was the absolute worst experience I had with Myla!  I have had many puppies but never this bad!  I still shudder to think of this "stage" and I would absolutely avoid it if I could!  There are a lot of posts on here on how to re-direct because your puppy absolutely has to know that it is unacceptable behaviour - we still have the phrase "no bite" and we used that a lot, but re-directed at the same time.  Myla will still "mouth" at us when we are wearing gloves or snow mitts and we use the above phrase all the time.  What I do want to tell you is that it will "pass", usually around the four month age.  It almost happened overnight with Myla!  I was so upset - I took it personally! - but I had to shield my grandkids from her and that was devastating because of course they wanted to play with a puppy!  Hang in there but make sure your doodle knows that it is unacceptable behaviour!!!!

[Susan]

Our last dog trainer said that most puppies/dogs don't like to be touched on the top of their heads. When they see a hand coming towards them they lose sight of your hand when it goes above their eyes. It makes some puppies nervous so they bite or nip because it makes them uncomfortable. He suggested to always pet your puppy on the chest first and not to touch the head until you know the puppy likes it.

It is probably an obvious thing to most people but it was the first time we had heard of it. We found it made a difference with our puppy and other dogs. When anyone tries to pet our dogs we educate them on not touching their head and it is surprising that quite a few people did not know this.

We also say no bite and give her a toy or walk away from our play session. Our new puppy looks so disappointed when we stop playing with her when she bites us.

Every time our puppy licks us we say nice kisses. Over time our 9 month old learned the word kisses and will give them when asked. We started to teach our 10 week old puppy as well and she is learning what kisses are. She bit me yesterday and I yelped and said NO and then asked for kisses and she did lick me. She then got a wee treat and so she licked me again. Doodles are such smart dogs!

We are retired so fortunately we have a lot of time to spend on training. We both try to be consistent when dealing with any issues but especially biting/nipping.