puppy still biting at 6 and a half months

[Laura Deutsch]

I'm home sick today...what a great time to spend some time on this website, so, I will begin my day by asking for some suggestions about how to deal with Molly's consistent puppy biting. although it doesn't hurt like it did when she had baby teeth, she is still very insistent on making connections that way. She is a big chewer....destroys all bones quickly...hard ones, loves to chew wood (is intent on destroying our cabinet bottoms, even with bitter apple...she's very sneaky) but the worst is that she still likes to bite us. The first thing she does in the morning is open that mouth!!!! She's not trying to hurt us, but "no bite", giving her substitutes, and removing our hands doesn't work. We figured that for a week, we'd try removing ourselves, not saying anything, and then timing out i crate if she continues. Any suggestions? No puppy we have every had (4) has ever been a biter....this is new territory as nothing we've worked on our other pups works on her. Thanks in advance.

[Sally, Ditzy Mitzi & Sgt. Pepper]

This may sound silly, but we have actually learned to "blow" air on her nose to stop Mitzi from "mouthing" our arms. She backs off from this immediately. Maybe it will help you. Also holding your palm flat (fingers straight up) in front of her snout might help. I know you will get lots of suggestions from DK, certainly something should help. I just remembered that my grandkids used to take a small rubber band and snap it near her, she would back off immediately. Good Luck!

[Lynda Kamrath]

We have had the same problems with our puppy and never had it with our other pups. My husband was bitten every day on his hands and arms. Harpo was also chewing on everything in site - bottom of the cabinets, the deck, rugs, and his favorite -shami towels. He also chews on acorns which are all over our property because we are surrounded by oak trees.
So...what have we done? The mouthing our hands and arms had to stop. I heard that putting your thumb in his mouth and squeezing down on his bottom jaw with your thumb (gently at first, then more firmly) will give him the idea that he does not want to bite your hands. It worked for us. He now will lick my chin or hands or feet, but he does not bite. Harpo also loves toys and we just throw him a toy to chew and bite on if he wants to do that. My husband also discovered that Tabasco sauce is undesirable to Harpo. If he is biting on something (edges of cabinets, silicon around the door jams, deck railings, etc.) DH just smears some Tabasco on it and he really does not like Tabasco. And then we substitute a toy to chew on. We don't scold him when he starts biting on something, but we just put our thumb in his mouth and bring out the Tabasco. Of course, we can't wash the deck with Tabasco, but we keep it blown off. He actually loves the leaf blower (and the vacumn and compressor) and runs along with them and tries to catch acorns or leaves that are blown up into the air.
So try the thumb on the lower jaw and maybe Tabasco instead of the bitter apple. Of course, some puppies just take a lot longer to train that others, but we have had our hands full with this guy also. (He is almost 5 months now.)

[Shelly Gouvas]

Want to try this.When you put thumb in bottem jaw and push down are you piniching with fingers on outside of bottem jaw?

[Lynda Kamrath]

Is your pup a phantom goldendoodle? We have a four-year-old phantom that we got from a breeder in Washington. I can't see your page because it is blocked.

[Laura Deutsch]

yup, chocolate phantom. weird name. very unusual looking. looks alot like yours!!!!!

[Diana Allen]

You still have a ways to go! Cagney has always been a mouther.... putting your hand in his mouth upon greeting... he does it too my kids when they wake up too... he does not chew furniture at all ..... only once when he got locked in a room did he take down the bottom of the door in a panic and pooped as well.. what a sight to come home to after my daughter's graduation! I used chews from the vet... buy them in bulk... to keep them occupied... and only toys that are thick enough that they can't get through.... when caught in the act... say no..and redirect just like a child... that is all I can suggest...
Will Cagney ever stop this mouthing thing.. hard to say... he acts like a big o'l puppy all the time... I have had bruises on my wrist bones from him.. but he doesn't do it as much as before...

[Lori]

Our saving grace was the water bottle....every time he got a little nippy we would spray Casper...it worked WONDERS!!!!

[Kyoko]

This may sound silly, but it really worked almost instantly and forever....The method was given to me from Charlie's trainer when she was younger.
1) You have to have a small whistles enough for everyone in the family. They must wear it whenever they are with the dog for next couple of months. ( we wore them on our wrist with pony tail holders )
2) You will have to find a spot to leash up your dog when needed in the visible but isolated area, and the leash have to be long enough for him to sit but too short to lay down. ( I chose one of the door knob. )
3) As soon as the dog mouth a person, the person must blow the whistle, say nothing else, do nothing else, and immediately leash up the dog.
4) Totally ignore the dog until he settle down, and once he does that, then let him off the leash.

Sounds crazy, but I only had to blow a whistle a couple of times, and she never ever mouthed again. We wore the whistle for awhile after that, simply because that is what it said to do..... I hope you find the solution that fits you, and Molly would stop mouthing....

[Shelly Gouvas]

We did that with the whistle but did'nt keep it up.Oh I remember why.Have a six year old and he was blowing the whistle when it was'nt time so put them away.May try that again because I think it may work.Have to just get Tommy to understand the importance of blowing the whistle right at the exact time.