Frustrated with the biting!

[Lucy & Ellie]

Lucy is 3 months old now.  She's great in a lot of ways but we are all very frustrated with her little razor teeth!

It's mostly the kids who get bit.  My husband and I are "alpha" enough that she pretty much gets it with us.  Pretty much.  But she still nips at our legs sometimes as we're walking.  

So the kids are just really bummed.  They want to play with their puppy but they always get bitten!  I know part of it is that they just aren't a commanding force so Lucy thinks they're all just on the same level.  

But we actively work on it with Lucy.  We play with our hands and when she bites, we yelp and walk away.  Or sometimes I'll hold her mouth shut and say "no bite."

I just wish we were seeing some more progress!

And while I'm whining.... she isn't house-broken either!  Are some 3 month pups pros at it by that age?  And even if they are, is it also completely normal for a 3 month old pup to NOT get it yet?

We're still watching her all the time and crating her when we can't.  I think I'd just feel better if I heard of other dogs at this age who haven't gotten it yet.  I can be patient if I know that our diligence will pay off!

Thanks for listening.... you guys are always so great and it helps to talk things out!

I try not to be negative but I just hate seeing my kids upset at getting bitten :(

Lucy is a great pup in many ways :)  And she's SO pretty (IMO).... her coat is so many colors all at once!  From a lovely cream to a pretty reddish brown!

[Susan and Bentley]

I hate to say it but you've got a long way to go with the teething.  But some things that worked sometimes for me, she will always try to "bite" anything moving - to her it's a toy, or a litter mate.  So if you or the kids are running, even walking and she starts to nip at your legs, you need to stop and stand still.  She will stop.  You have to try to redirect and distract her with toys, etc.  And definitely get her in a puppy class. It really helps her learn, and you understand why.  She's not being bad, just being a puppy.  We all had many scars from being nipped by those sharp baby teeth.  Bentley was not really interested in frozen treats, still isn't but he did like to chew on ice cubes. 

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

I'll speak to the potty training.  Yogi has just gotten really dependable with being housebroken and he's 5 1/2 months.

Up until now, everytime I thought he was housebroken for good, he'd have a booboo about once a week since about 4 months.  I always felt they were my fault though.

 

3 months is still very young, I wouldn't be discouraged.  Give her time.

[Stephanie and Ragley]

Same here- Ragley is almost 5 months and I thought we were completely in the clear as far as housebreaking and then a couple weeks ago out of nowhere she just squatted in the middle of the living room! I was shocked and was wondering who this foreign puppy was haha Don't give up! You're not way behind. Also- at three months you are probably getting pretty close to losing those needle teeth so at least it won't hurt as badly or rip clothes as easily! 

[Sheryl & Safiy]

Don't get discouraged! I did a little too. Safiy is now five months and I think he does get the potty thing! He had an accident about 3 weeks ago - but it was my fault and he has no way out but if I open the door for him. I think he's ready for a doggy door... But still I watch him like a hawk! I make sure he has the opportunity to go about every 45 minutes to an hour. If we are playing in the house or busy walking around the house doing things then I won't let more than 30 minutes go by before taking him to the back door to do his "stuff". He only comes in the carpeted living areas if I can watch him closely. I watch for his cues. When he starts walking around a little aimlessly or if he looks at me and looks at the door I know he his needing to go. But I really do watch him very closely. Every time I let him out, its through the same door and I tell him to go do his "stuff". He knows if he does he gets to hang out with us in the living room or play room - instead of behind the gate in the kitchen area. Another thing I've notice is he doesn't have to pee as often as he did even a month ago! AND just this week he is not locked in his crate at night, but he is confined to a gated area. When kids want to pet Safiy I noticed that they usually bring their hand over and above to come down on top of Safiy's head and he may try to greet them back with his mouth. I tell the kids to bring their hands under and offer them their hand for Safiy to lick their hands. This works and he then seems to not mouth them. Susan is so right! Running to these pups is an open invitation to play and run right along- unfortunately play to them is all about the mouth! So just have the kids hold a toy that the pup can nip at when running. That's what I do. As good as Safiy is now with not nipping- he still instinctively does it when running and playing. Or have the kids play fetch. My grandson and I play monkey in the middle (Safiy is always the monkey). He loves the interaction with us and we still run to get the toy before him and he runs to get it before we do. My 5 year old daughter is ID and she doesn't play with Safiy like my grandsons do and Safiy interacts with her pretty much in the same manner she's does him. She's calm and offers her hand for him to lick. And he rarely gets overly excited with her ( thank goodness). I think these dogs are very intuitive especially if you guide them a long with their interaction with your kids. Good luck!

[Ronda Businda]

Our Willow is still biting and nipping although I seem to be the only one to give her something else to bite on when playing one to one with her; and, we are pretty consistent about if she nips us and hurts us, to 'yelp' and turn our backs. That helps for just a little bit.....we realize Willow has a very short memory right now at almost 4 months old. 

And as far as the house training - we still have 'accidents' but not as often. While Willow does not have run of the house, we do keep her contained in different rooms where we are either in them or close by to supervise but I swear, sometimes, we have taken her out & witnessed her go - then we bring her in, go about our day and 5 minutes later - "where did that puddle come from?!?!" ........our challenge is that Willow NEVER gives us an indication if she has to go or not - we just monitor the intake and go from there!!!! 

We look at how far she's come since that FIRST week home (& she HAS come a long way & is becoming a real joy!) and realize that she's still getting there and we're just rolling with it and having fun with her, knowing 'this too shall pass'.....some day, anyway!!! ;D

Stay at it and hang tuff!!!!

Ronda

[Stephanie and Ragley]

Something my trainer told us that I think is really smart is to never divert attention from nipping and biting directly onto a toy. Yes, you want to redirect them to something positive, but you always want to make sure the puppy does something desirable (like sit) before handing them the toy otherwise you are just rewarding them with a toy for nipping at you. Something I wouldn't have thought of at first (and didn't always do) when redirecting. I'm sure there were plenty of times at which I was "rewarding" her poor behavior

[Lucy & Ellie]

Oh THANK YOU! 

You all have no idea (or actually you probably do...) how much better it makes things just to hear that it's normal!

It seems like I've heard these stories like, "my dog bit my kid one time and we _____(fill in the blank) and she never did it again."  And I was wondering why I couldn't figure out that magic cure.

I can tell it's not that she's trying to be mean or anything.  It's just when she's hyped up.  So thank goodness for that at least!

I can't wait to get her into a puppy class.  My vet says 6 months!  But I may do it at 4.

[Stephanie and Ragley]

If you ever find that magic cure, please share it with all of us!

[Hua]

Mine used to nip a lot.  Then I took him to puppy class/play dates 3 times a week starting at 10 weeks, which teachs him bite inhabition when playing (becaus the other puppy will run away if he bites).  I also 'yelp' (pretend it really hurts), stand up and walk away when he nips at my hands.  I don't return and play with him until he's sitting properly.  and if he doesn't stop, I'll leave the room and came back after a couple of minutes.  This also teaches him that if he uses his teeth, the playing/attention/petting will stop.  When I give him treat, I keep it in a closed fist and put it in front of his nose, if he uses his teeth then he doesn't get it, if he start licking my fist then I say 'kisses, kisses' and let him have the treat.  He stopped with the nipping at around 3 - 4 months, but I wasn't sure if it was becasue of my training or he just grew out of it.  Now he'll still put his mouth on my fingers/toes/ears when we're playing, but he never nips or bites down.