PLease help! Mouthing and biting - what is normal for puppies?

[Tracy Casaceli]

We are 1st time dog owners and our much-loved Ranger just won't stop biting as playing. I tried everything but, bitter apple.

He is a great all around dog with sleeping and crating and he is house broken so far so good.He has learned several commands and is usually quite calm and balanced.

 

We need to know what is normal for a 13-week-old puppy. He wakes up and he greets me with snuggling in my lap and immediately starts biting my hands. I say NO and replace with a toy. He is not getting it. He loves using his mouth to play. When he gets very excited he starts biting hard and growls while playing.

 

Does this end? Usually when? We are doing the replace and I pinch his lip but, that has very little affect on him. We have tried the ignoring, yelping that it hurts. We love him to pieces but, this is getting frustrating. He'll bite my pants and feet, etc. 

 

We are open to any suggestions. 

[Nicole]

Coco is a MAJOR biter/mouther...now that she is 5 months it has decreased significantly...I used butter/peanut butter on my hands to teach her that hands are for "kissing"...it helped some...we also started buying bully sticks and those have helped tremendously...she is able to take out that chewing/biting urge on something other than us. I also resorted to a spray bottle of water with a little lemon juice in it...but she knew when I had it and when I didn't lol...stopping and doing training (sit/stay/down/leave it, etc.) with treats is a great distraction too.

This usually decreases with age.

She still wants to bite my ankles going down the steps...have no idea why but haven't been able to break that yet lol.

[Donna M Lowry]

My vet told me Riley was the "mouthiest" dog he ever saw!  Such a proud moment for a doodle mom!  He is 16-mos. old now and still has mouthing break-downs but will stop on command.  I do say this a little tongue-in-cheek as my daughter wanted to know why he was chewing on her hair in the car this morning!  Our trainer has suggested that "no" is a confusing command as so many things are "No!"  and suggested "leave it." same as you would to drop something from the mouth.  Keep lots of chewies on hand so he can be immediately redirected to what is acceptable to chew!

 

Good Luck, remain consistent.  He will be out of puppyhood before you know it!

[Minga & Malu & Costa]

Malu was very nippy as a puppy. At 13 weeks this is perfectly normal (although not acceptable to humans) behavior. The yelping is good, keep that up, but I find that at that age it is better to remove yourself as the play toy (that is how your dog sees you) for a few minutes as Megan said. So put him behind a gate, or in the kennel for a few minutes and COMPLETELY ignore him. Then get Ranger out and try again. Be really consistent. Even the most gentle bite should be treated this way if you want to break mouthy behavior. 

 

You should also try to find some books on puppy and dog behavior. This will help you greatly! Sophia Yin and Patricia McConnell are my two favorites. 

[Jaime and Barley Barker]

Hi Tracy,

 

I agree with what everyone else has said. I just want to add that I wouldn't pinch your puppy's lip. I think that pain might just excite him or frustrate him, and he might mouth at you more to say "Stop that!" Currently, we have a six-month-old St. Bernard puppy who still mouths. Out of frustration, I've grabbed his mouth, held it, and said "No bite!" I think I may have pinched one of his jowls, too. Uh, it just got him more excited and even mouthier. So, I'm sticking to time-outs, and also turning my back on him and walking away. He's gotten better!

 

[Lori]

A SPRAY BOTTLE of water was THE greatest help to us with Casper...he HATED it! When he got a little mouthy we would squirt him & he would look at us to say "why would you DO that???" I think time was also another factor...I believe that this is a behavior that they grow out of (teething...) And I also feel that giving him a toy to replace your hand is one of the best things you can do...Casper greets us at the door everyday with a toy in his mouth, he has even SLEPT with toys in his mouth!!! He has learned that it's not OK to use our hands as a toy : ) Hang in there...GOLDENDOODLES ARE AWESOME!!!! 

[Lauria Orr]

Geesh, we are having the same issue with our new Doodle, Morgan.  He tries to pull my socks right off my feet.  I can't believe how sharp those little teeth are!  He was born Aug. 23rd.  I hope he grows out of this phase soon!  I have been saying "NO BITE!" after a yelp.  I don't put him in his kennel, as I want that to be a safe place to go...his little man cave.  I think I will try the spray bottle and time out in the hallway.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I highly recommend bully sticks. I swear they helped me survive the puppy stage. I would probably not pinch his lips and there were many times I had to give Fudge a timeout in her crate and take a break for myself. You are on the right track with continuing to hand him a toy, etc. when he starts to bite. He will get it eventually. Believe it or not, this stage does end. Good luck.

[Lauria Orr]

Oh, yes, the bully sticks!  Great idea!  Thank you!

[Tracy Casaceli]

Thank you all so much. I'm relieved and so happy for the support. We are trying time-outs in our hallway and he is responding. When I let him come and play again he is much calmer and hasn't tried to bite play.

If this doesn't work I will do the spray bottle next. He is just sooo adorable! The whole family loves him. That is the only thing that was getting a little too much. I will get him a bully stick, too.

Again, thank you all. I feel more capable of handling this.

 

[Lynn & Casey]

Beware the Bully Stick- they smell really bad!  Someone told they make some that don't smell. Is that possible?

[Carol]

Well, the two things that worked for me was yelp and say, "No Bite!" along with a a little squirt bottle filled with water. Every time I said "No Bite!" I squirted him with water. It was not an aggressive squirt that you would get with a water gun, but more of heavy mist, enough so that he didn't like it. I would also then introduce a chew toy or something to get his mind off of my fingers, heels, and toes! It worked so well that whenever I grabbed the water bottle he would look at it and not even try to bite. The water bottle also worked when he was chewing the end of the rug. This was suggested by both my trainer and vet and at first I was hesitant thinking it was cruel but it has worked like a charm and no harm done!

[Lauria Orr]

And then there is the chewing of the end of the rug!  Funny that you mentioned that, Carol! Morgan has started up on that as well.  We got Melody at a little  older age and we never had any of that.  The chewing is endless it seems...water bottle is up next!