Help with biting......

[Katie]

My doodle is 14 weeks old and I'm really hoping everything she is doing is simply because she is a "puppy".  

She is very smart and knows sit, lay down and stay.  She is very good when treats are the reward and getting better at commands with just praise. 

She always wants to jump and bite and now added barking and sometimes growling.  Her little puppy teeth really hurt and I feel like it's getting out of hand. I used a water bottle for awhile but she's not phased by the spraying of water any longer.  How do I deter this?  I have an enormous amount of chew toys at her disposal and always put them in her mouth when the biting occurs. It really doesnt help - she prefers jumping and grabing your shorts or skin.  My kids are older (over 16) so they know to walk slowly and not excite her yet she continues to do this even.  Even goes at our back when we walk away. 

I walk her at night when this seems to be the worst.  Please tell me she will outgrow this and it's normal puppy ways. 

I have her in puppy classes but it seems too basic for her.  

[Becka]

Hi Katie! I feel your pain, literally--or at least I did when Sadie was a puppy. She was a real terror with the nipping for a couple of weeks, but it seemed much longer. If you do a search on this site for "nipping" or "puppy biting" or similar terms, you will find all kinds of discussions and advice. This is definitely something you need to address, but it is also totally normal. Sadie outgrew it almost as soon as I started taking her to the dog park at 17 weeks (after she'd gotten all of her shots)--dogs are really great at teaching each other bite inhibition. 

[Laura and Angus]

This is totally normal! Loads and loads of exercise (allowing her to run around or even play with other puppies/dogs who you know) would really help. I agree with Becka that when we started going to the dog park that really helped. We also had a "time out" place where we would separate ourselves from Angus when he was getting too bitey - he went in the kitchen for a few minutes for a break. That helped us as well because sometimes we just needed a break too! Now when Angus is being difficult or overly excited (at 1 year old) we still will put him in the kitchen to calm down and he immediately lays down and relaxes in there.

Something else that really helped the biting for us (the water spray only got Angus more excited) was using an air spray canister. Like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Pet-Convincer-Training-Tool-Dogs/dp/B004B6HV6A

Whenever Angus would put his mouth on anything he wasn't supposed to (e.g. skin or clothes) we would say "no!" and then after a couple seconds would spray a puff of air on the side of one of his back legs. That method has been really helpful to deter inappropriate behaviors like biting, grabbing clothing, or playing tug of war while on the leash. We're still working on training at 1 year old, but that seriously put a stop to the mouthing behaviors. We also worked with our puppy at "giving kisses" so that he learned that it was okay to lick or use his mouth gently, but not biting - he has since learned to give kisses and how to use his mouth gently with us while playing. Hang in there! 

I also found this article helpful:

http://www.fidosavvy.com/puppy-behavior.html

One last thing...if you YouTube Zak George he has a number of training videos that I also found helpful. They give strategies for working with puppies using positive methods. Good luck with everything!!

[Hannah Love]

Hi Katie! My doodle is about 14.5 weeks, so we are very much at the same stage of development! Higgins was an AWFUL nipper a few weeks ago and I didn't think I could take it anymore, but then a trainer we are working with suggested "time outs" and it has been a godsend.

We realized that when he's in that SUPER playful mood and just wants to nip and pull and bark and get your attention, there's literally nothing you can do that he won't perceive as you playing back. If you move him off of you, say "no," run away -- literally all of it looks like play to your kookie doodle! So instead of tolerating a couple bites and hoping distractions would work, we started putting Higgins in timeout immediately after the very first bite. You have to be really consistent or it won't work.

When she nips you, firmly say "timeout" and then lead her with a leash to your timeout area. We use the kitchen, and block it off with a small bookshelf. Leave her there for 30 seconds - 2 minutes and completely go ignore her (no talking or eye contact) and go about your business. If she's barking/scratching/jumping, do not respond! Only let her out once she's been quiet and calm for at least 15 seconds (no matter how long that takes). Then say "good girl" and let her out. If she starts nipping again, STRAIGHT back into timeout.

At first, we used to have to do 2-3 timeouts in a row with Higgins before he caught on. Just be consistent. But now, just a few weeks later, we hardly have to use timeouts at all! Now when he nips (which is so much less often!) and we say "timeout," he sometimes even walks himself to the kitchen! 

We've heard this works with other behaviors you want to discourage as well, like jumping or chewing, but you can only use timeout to discourage one behavior at a time, otherwise your pup will get confused. Good luck!!

[VScott & Lloyd]

Yup. My puppy Lloyd is/was a big biter too. He is almost 19 weeks now and I felt like we tried all the positive reinforcements as most people/books/online suggestions listed (walk away, redirect, yelp, time outs, etc.). However, it was about 3 weeks ago when he went totally apes**t on me. It started out as a nice evening walk around the block with my 8 year old son and then he started having the zoomies. Then he bit my son's leg and I went to get him off and he attacked me. It lasted about a good 2-3 minutes and I came out with scratched and bit up arms. This was the worst episode yet and I was at my wits end. I had heard of the Pet Corrector which is a can of compressed air and I held off getting it because I thought he was too young and didn't want to traumatize him. I couldn't stand it anymore and went to Petco the next day with a defeated look on my face. Our trainer there gave me the green light to try it since nothing else was working. All I have to say is that it was a miracle in a can from Day 1. It doesn't scare him but just startles him enough to stop what he's doing. I spray it at the moment he's biting and say sternly "No bite!" Since the day I got it he doesn't nip anymore at all, but still mouths my kids once in a while. We say "No bite" and he stops, looks at me, and then moves on to do something else. Now I barely spray it anymore, mainly when he's excited and biting the leash (next challenge). Just showing him the can usually catches his attention. All this happened before he lost his first tooth. Another big thing is that this little red can gave me back some confidence and I'm sure Lloyd can pick up on that. 

I also try to keep Lloyd socialized. We go to puppy playtime and training once a week at Petco and try to do a 1/2 day doggie daycare once a week. I would love to go to the dog park more but most of the time it's just poor lonely Lloyd waiting for a playmate.

Good luck! 

[Laura and Angus]

Phew...right there with you. Our trainer gave us some options for correcting inappropriate behaviors, but the air spray canister deeeefinitely was a life saver for us. Works for the leash biting too!