Those needle like puppy teeth!

[Kevin Poole, Penny & Ozzy]

My wife and I haven't had a puppy in the house for over 15 years, and we're now the proud owners of a 9 week old Goldendoodle, she's been with us for only one week. Does anyone have any advice on how to discourage the constant biting with those sharp little teeth? Fingers, toes, ankles, knees, noses, nothing is safe. I'm not into smacking animals, but when she goes into one of her really snappy phases, usually just before she collapses to sleep, I have been tempted. I've tried the Cesar Milan alpha dog dominance stance, which works for about 15 seconds. I suppose that's why puppies are so cute, especially these beauties, as they only have to give you THAT look, and it's easy to forgive. But if anyone can give me any helpful hints, it would be much appreciated.

[Kevin Poole, Penny & Ozzy]

Thanks Debbie, we'll give that a try. I have to say, it's been reassuring to know from all the replies that we're not alone. I suppose it's like having a baby in that those "bad" moments seem to dominate for a while but soon pass. You're pup sure is a cutie.

[Debbie and Thomas]

This is deja vu for me. At about 5 pm every evening-our GD turned into a vampire, jaws, nipping at all of us relentlessly. He is 8 1/2 mths old now and still uses his mouth on us once in awhile-but very gently. We say "no teeth" and he stops. But when he was young-the only thing that worked for us was leaving the room. We left him alone for a few minutes and came back in. As soon as he started again-we left. From what I have read on this site almost all of these dogs do this and they DO grow out of it. I never thought it would end but it did. Lots of info on this here-just enter puppy biting

[Janie]

Congratulations on you new puppy. Be consistent and very patient . I would gentley hold her mouuh shut and say no bite.....this works for me.

[Kyoko]

Penny is so cute!
I remember those puppy teeth days! Mine used to snap those teeth like a shark or alligator!
One of the puppy care book I read, that I thought was helpful said that puppies communicate their needs by nipping, so we need to do their needs assessment. Is she hungry? tired? bored?, etc....
I found the same as you, before mine collapsed to sleep, she got wild and wound up. I just said then, "OK. You are tired. Let's go to bed." I thought she was really like a human baby/toddler becoming cranky when tired. I also tried teaching her "Kisses" when she wanted to nip, by putting peanutbutter on my hand and letting her lick it up. Good luck and enjoy! The time will pass.

[Jersey, Jasmine, Jypsy and Diane]

I always found pushing their lips over their teeth when they bite down to work. They bite their lips instead of me. You have to be fast though. Keep lots of things for them to chew on. Good luck.

[Kevin Poole, Penny & Ozzy]

Hi Jeri. Same name as my wife. Thanks for the advice, only works for a few seconds though.

[Kevin Poole, Penny & Ozzy]

Hi Michele. She's called Penny. Yup, we do the firm "no" and put a toy in her mouth too, but that lasts about 5 seconds before it seems like she has 10 sets of jaws snapping away. I've heard another pup is the best chew toy. No holes in any clothes yet, I do have one in my thumb, her tooth went down the side of the thumbnail. I don't blame her, it was just one of those things, very tender though. I used to have Border Collie called Molly years ago. You can see an illustration of her on my pet portrait web site www.seemyworkonline.com. Hoping to do one of Penny soon.

[Jeri]

Ouch it hurts when they nip on your toes. I just give a firm NO and redirect her to another toy.

[Michele Barton]

Congratulations, she is adorable! Have you named her yet? We have 2 goldendoodles born 2 weeks before yours. When they nip us, we say a firm No and put a toy in their mouths. It works sometimes, but not as much as we'd like. We are fortunate that they usually chew on one another! Molly has, however, managed to put holes in all of my shorts and a few shirts. My clothes are her favorite tug toys. I think we'll just have to tough it out until they lose those needle teeth. Hopefully, someone else out there has a better solution.