Charley is giving me grey hair lol

[Puppy Madness]

My Charley  who will be 11 wks old tomorrow is a BIG biter. I have read all that I can on this subject and I have tried so many of the suggestions, NOTHING works. I feel redundant posting about this subject but I guess I just want  someone to tell me that this happened to them and that it's normal. It can be very frustrating. She constantly bites. I pet her, she bites, I brush her, she growls and bites...Hard.... the only time she is not biting me is when she is sleeping. Is this normal? Don't puppies like lying on your lap or like to be scratched? Could it be that she will be like this no matter what I do until she gows out of it? She is signed up for  puppy preschool for when she is 12 wks and I'm afraid that she'll go in there and bite everyone. I have worked with her every day and she is so smart. She sits, lays, rolls over, shakes, Looks at me when I say it. I'm currently teaching her " leave it"  so I can walk around without her attached to my leg or my arm . I yelp when she bites, She loves that game and bites harder the next time. I  walk out of the room and she doesn't care. She doesn't use her crate for sleeping anymore, she prefers sleeping with my other dog and she has no accidents so it works well for us. I know that I shouldn't use the crate for time out but maybe it would help? Or should I just ignore this behavior? I could sure use some words of incouragement right now...And sorry for blabbing on and on...I needed to vent..lol

[Vivian & Mojo]

They lose teeth between 4 and 6 months. And I agree about the cute factor...they know they got us hooked lol

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Charley, the little she-devil...lol.. We use to have a nickname for Lucy at that age... Lucy-fer! I mentioned to DH today after reading your post that we'll have to contend with biting again when Oscar comes home. He couldn't remember how bad it was. That's the power of love for you, and how in time you'll have forgotten all about these difficult weeks. BTW, we also used a couple stuffed animals (one quite large) for Lucy to wrestle and bite. It was a great release for her (and a relief for us).

[Joanie]

when Lani was teething anytime she would try to teeth on me I could give her something positive to teeth on, like a hard kong toy... when she would start biting that instead of me I'd praise her... everytime she would chew on the toy and not me I praised her... when she would come at me instead of the toy I'd quickly pick up the toy and put it in her mouth and praise her... this method seemed to work for me

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

OMD she-devil is right LOL  But she is adorable!  I, too, forgot about the magic crate.  Finn used to have a period each night --7 to 10 pm. You could set your clock by him.  I called him the "zebra" after the monster in "The Art of Racing in the Rain." He would race around like a pup gone mad, rip up toys, and anything in his path went flying.  The cat hid. I tried everything: scheduling his playdates later in the afternoon, upping his exercise, more chew toys but the witching hour came, and Finney changed into his alter ego. LOL I was exhausted.  Then I discovered that 10 minutes in the crate, and he walked out like his adorable "normal" self again, no longer possessed. It is lucky they are so cute and we love them so much.  I'm sure you'll find the right combination of methods and Charley will grow up to be wonderful.  I always say they may be cute but doodle puppies are not for the faint of heart.  You sound like a great mom!

[Helen & Kirby]

Well, I guess Kirby is too "old" for this group now, but I wanted to tell you all that the biting will pass.  Lots of exercise will help, as well as the old stand-by, oven mitts. Time out is helpful.   Puppy class is great too, but you need to do lots of walking or running or fetching first.  Kirby had her "witching" hour, which, wouldn't you know it, was the same hour as puppy class.  So we were not the best in the class.  That said, she finished puppy class, obedience class, got her Canine Good Citizen and is a certified Therapy Dog.  So she doesn't bite at all (it's not allowed for Therapy!) and is the sweetest dog.  She is a cuddler now, and loves watching TV half on your lap.  So there is hope -- you will get through it.

[Tina R.]

Hi Laurie, I see you've already heard about an Ollie, and we have another Ollie. He is now nearly 1-year old, and he was quite a biter. We tried the same things you did, to the same effect, that is little effect. But this is what did start to work -- we would put him in "time out" in his crate or in the bathroom. We would say, "no", pick him up and deposit him in the bathroom for 10-30 seconds. We did it with no emotion, no anger, no frustration -- it was simple cause and effect. If he barked or scratched at the door when we put him in the bathroom, we waited for him to stop and then let him out. When we let him out it was also calm and free of much interaction. If he repeated the biting, we picked him up right away and back he went. We even started leaving a short (18 in.) leash on him so that we could easily catch him without the "fun" of a chase. The other thing that really helped were his general puppy training classes. The more we practiced general obedience, the more things seemed to click into place. Sometimes when he would bite we would immediately shift to training -- sit, down, stay, etc. This seemed to shift his mindset and we were all much happier. It's not a quick fix, but you will get there.