Aggressive Puppy Biting

[Erin & Maizey]

Hi Everyone,

I know this topic has been covered ad nauseum here and I have read as many posts as I could find on it, but I was writing to see if there were any other suggestions.  After a little bit of puppy bliss, Maizey is now 11.5 weeks and will not stop attacking me as if I was a giant chew toy.  I have tried:

• yelping
• growling (this worked for a little while, now nada)
• clamping mouth shut
• saying no bite
• i tried that stick fist in her mouth thing but she bit me hard
• replacing with other toy (she gets distracted for about a minute)
• trying to do a training session working on sit/down/etc. (she willl start biting when we stop)
• time outs (worked for a little while, now she's started chewing the molding in bathroom where I put her)
• doing that thing where you kind of pop them over and hold the scruff of their neck
• letting her mouth my arm until it hurts then saying no but then she starts to clamp even harder
• turning my back (this is the worst bc then she attacks my backside)
• leaving the room (I can't leave her unsupervised for too long and when I come back she resumes biting me)

She has ripped holes in several of my clothes and I'm covered in scrapes and cuts.  I'm at my wit's end and it really hurts.  She has a gazillion chew toys, both soft and hard and bully sticks and all sorts of other dog appropriate things.  Why does she insist on attacking me?  What am I doing wrong?  We go to puppy manners class once a week and she's a superstar there and behaves properly and follows commands really well and everything.  We practice what we learned at puppy class and she does great at home with it but as soon as we stop, she morphs into satan's spawn.  I'm just really frustrated and she's making me not to be around her!  I try to bend over to pick up a toy to toss it for her to chase and she tries to bite my head, hand, arm, shoulder, etc.  She's totally out of control at times and its hard to even grab her collar to take her to a time out because she starts writhing and snapping and biting and barking.  Why won't she listen to me?  I feel like I'm clearly doing something wrong.

Are there any other ideas out there?  Is there a way to fast forward to the part where she's a normal sweet fun playful dog?  Any ideas on how long this phase lasts?  It is a phase, right?!?! Is this normal puppy behavior?  Everything I've read suggests that one of these methods eventually works... All the methods work for a little while but then she just ignores it.  There's an end in sight right?  Please?  I'm so scraped up.  :(   

Any advice would be much appreciated.  I'm just trying to teach her the right stuff and help her become a happy dog but this biting thing has got to stop (plus she's already 17.5 lbs so I'm worried that when she gets bigger it will just be a disaster). 

Thank you in advance!!!

[Joanne]

So good to hear there is hope soon! My Baylee is 14 weeks and just like the dogs being described. She is terrible with the kids- has ripped so many clothes. I can see it getting slightly better, but it's still so hard. I'm hoping this is a phase and that it is over soon!

[John and Finn]

I have been exactly where you are.  I would have had to dip my entire family and belongings in hot pepper to stop Finn's chewing.  He has already done an enourmous amount of costly damage.  One thing I know works temporarily (hours) is heavy play excercise where he gets to run his energy out.  I bought a 30 foot training lead (per our trainer) so I can retrieve him in case he runs from me which he finds to be an exciting game.  Now I was able to stop his chewing our furniture/carpet/molding/rugs/landscaping/clothes by watching him better and putting him on a leash at all times so we can remove him from the object and correct him immediatly.  When we can not watch him we crate him.  Now the play biting is harder because I have a 8 year old that encourages it when I am not around to correct but then complains when he is tired of being bit which is obviously too late.  When I do catch him I take his leash, close it in the closest door (not crate), and say timeout finn.  Make sure you shorten the leash so he can't get to your molding.  Our trainer suggested this and I believe it will eventually work as long as we are consistent.  No matter what you do consistency is the key.

[Lindsey & Cocoa]

The leash thing is a good idea.... however when you are dealing with a chewer you did not find them chewing through the leash?    I tried to let cocoa drag a leash around the house but she just thought it was another chew toy and then made leash training a pain in the butt.

[John and Finn]

Yeah that is a problem.  One thing I left out is good puppy training was key to controlling Finn's object (including his leash) chewing issues.  Per the trainer I started carrying treats around with me.  If possible, I grab the object use "leave it" (my release command) with a clinched fist (treat in fist) near his nose to get him to release/stop chewing the item.  Then I give him the treat and say "yes" (good boy can be too redundant).  I practice this while randomly not putting a treat in my hand.  Eventually he responded consistenly to the command with no treat present .  I practice this command every day for a few minutes here and there.  Now I can at least control his chewing on objects until the tendency passes or lessens.

[Sue and Buddy]

Do you always praise the pup as soon as he stops the bad behavior? For example when Buddy bit the wrong thing I would stuff the right chew toy in his mouth and happily say "good puppy."  If he dropped the toy and went for my hand I would give correction word, stuff the toy in his mouth and happily say "good puppy'. I realized I had to teach him the right behavior as well as letting him know when he was wrong. I discovered he acts the worst when I forget to tell him when he is acting right.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I found with our Fudge that sometimes when she was at her worst, she was really tired and I would crate her for a time out.  Often, she would fall asleep. I had no problem using the crate as a time out, because it is so frustrating and many times I needed the time out for myself to re-group. I also tried to stick a toy or bully stick in her mouth to distract her. It is a stage and it does pass. We never went through this with our second dog, because he did all his puppy biting on Fudge :) You know what they say about paybacks....LOL!!

[Bonne Bouche]

Try the vinegar. I use Bitter Apple which works like a charm for us (the generic version did NOT work for us). My only problem is I need to have it handy when he is acting up. I also second the idea of keeping her on the leash. Which someone else mentioned, I would suggest soakin/spraying it in bitter apple. It wont take more than a few seconds for that leash to lose all "biting" appeal. One suggestion I have for bad behavior, that I can't recommend enough is exercise. We don't have many behavior issues with BB, but when he does act up, it is generally when he hasn't had enough exercise.

When I suggest exercise, I mean a full out cardio session. BB LOVES fetch and its a fabulous outlet for energy. On an average day he will get two 30-45 minute fetch sessions and two 15-20 minute walks. With him, fetch is pretty cardio intensive, he runs like crazy to catch and retrive the ball/frisbee/etc. In the summer we bring him to a stream to swim about 2 times a week, and year round we go to the dog park where he runs and wrestles. I doubt many dogs get as much exercise as him, but we have found that this is what he needs to be "normal" during the day while we work, and at least "almost normal" during the evenings. He still could play/exercise more if we would let him. My humble opinion is that most people's opinion of enough exercise is probably still a good deal shy of the actual amount of exercise these dogs need.

[Bonne Bouche]

Edited to add: Laurie is right, the other time is when dogs are over tired, in a way similar to how children get cranky when they have had a long day and no nap (I have no children but recognize this as as pretty common). I agree that "putting her down for a nap" when she's acting up is perfectly acceptable for her and you. She'll likely go right to bed if she needs it, and have no negative connection with the crate (as long as you place her there with neutral emotions).

[Adina P]

My 6 y.o. therapy dog labradoodle Rosco was a monster nipper.  SO I TOTALLY feel your pain =)  He only bit me, though.  Nobody else.  Super frustrating.  He wasn't constant, but from about 9 weeks on he was JAWS.  I got bruises as he got bigger.

Here are some thoughts:

1.  Puppies this young don't necessarily QUIT just because you are responding to them appropriately.  SO what 'works' won't be something that stops him immediately. Puppies' attention spans are like that of a gnat so you will need to repeat and repeat and repeat things (i.e. be consistent with your excellent response) for a while until they realize they will ALWAYS get a certain response from you (one they don't want) every single time they do the bad thing.  So given that you've tried a dozen different responses, this tells me that you weren't ever consistent because you've been varying your response so much.  I made the same mistake.  A lot.

2.  Use her crate for a time out--much safer and really there is nothing wrong with sending a dog to her crate when she's gone berserk.  It does not teach them to hate their crate any more than sending the dog there when they've done nothing wrong and you need to leave for work.  Time outs for dog at merely a chance to calm down and for you to catch your breath. 

3.  The reason that just offering a dog a chew toy doesn't work is that the fun/game of jumping and pouncing and nipping YOU is a whole different fun/game than laying down and gnawing on a chew toy.  If it does work it's only because you've managed to distract the dog.  But if she's really wanting to wrestle with YOU...well...that won't be a suitable substitute in her mind. "BUT I WANNA WRESTLE WITH MOM!!!"

4.  You see that obedience practice works....  It works EVEN BETTER once they mature a little.  I think serious, focused obedience training is what saved me and Rosco.  Puppy command practice is helpful, but once you find a class/trainer whose goal is to teach you to get your dog 100% reliable to commands always and everywhere....THAT is when you'll find the true rewards.  By then your pup will have likely chilled out a bit anyway, but it will still be very valuable.

[Erin & Maizey]

Thank you everyone - I really cannot get over how helpful everyone is.  DK is really such a wondeful and valuable forum and I feel better already.  And inspired to go home and work on some things (and load up a water-vinegar bottle).   I live alone so I was beginning to feel kind of isolated and like I was doing something super wrong.  Yay, I don't have a spawn of satan!  Just a crazy puppy.   

Thanks for the helpful words on her crate.  I don't have kids either but I've heard about the acting out = sign that they are tired.  Maybe this is why, when at 11pm (last night I only lasted until 10:45) when I've had enough, she usually settles down really quickly in her crate.  Maybe she needs a short nap around 8pm as well.

The exercise thing for me has been tricky, since I live in an urban row house with a VERY small (albeit fenced) backyard area - and she's not fully vaccinnated so we aren't supposed to go to parks or for walks longer than 30 minutes yet (per my vet).  She's actaully a suprisingly good leash walker when we're not in my house or backyard (I think bc there's much fun stuff to see and people to say hi to).  We do play a lot of indoor fetch and outdoor fetch.  She's still working on the fetching and then letting go.  She likes to turn it into a fetch and then tug of war game.  :)  But it's still fun.  I'm counting down the days until she's fully vaccinnated and can go play at doggy day care all day and run around parks and go for an hour long walk.  I think I will try to set up a dog playdate with one of my friends for this weekend and see if that helps. 

 

Thanks again - I truly appreciate it!

[Amy & Cosmo]

I have been very encouraged by reading this entire thread. I am having the exact same issues with my 9.5 wk old LD. Cosmo bites everyone, but mostly me! He will give me a look and sink his teeth in. I have scratches and bite marks all over and rips in my pants as well. We have been using the crate for time out and saying no bite. I am going to try the vinegar water, as well (we tried water only and he would let us soak him). Its great that so many of you care enough to help out with your responses. This site is a huge asset!

[Adina P]

Speaking of leash walking and to help you feel better...my Rosco would attack me WHILE we walked.  At one point I thought maybe somebody driving would end up stopping to 'save' me because I was so afraid of him.  If I stepped on his leash to keep him closer to the ground so he couldn't jump he'd then bite my ankles.  Gosh he was a serious spawn of satan pup.  I can't believe I survived the first year...and I only did because he didn't do it constantly and was otherwise MELLOW.