Puppy biting

[Cathy]

I'm about at my wits end with my doodle puppy. She is so good when we are not at home - we had to spend a week at my mom's and she was sweet and good. When we get home she bites my hands and my clothes, digs, chews and is just about the worst dog I've ever had. Last week at mom's when she bit I would say no, put her back in her room and ignore her for a few minutes. Then we would do it again. After just a few times she quit biting. Now that we're home it doesn't work - constant biting and barking! Any advice would help.

[Adina P]

How old is she again?

[Cathy]

Almost 4 months.

[Cathy]

Good point. She doesn't get near that much. She gets a long walk when I get home in the evening and she chases the ball for 1/2 on my lunch break.

The dog park nearby isn't trustworthy - a friend of mine had her dog there and found that another dog had mange. She took hers home and won't go back....

Thanks!

[Leigh & Allie]

My vet told me from day one if Allie bites to pinch her lip and say "no bite". He said don't do it hard just hold her lip. You want her to think "hey this is annoying". She is three months now and I have to say I really do not have an issue with it. She may do it just once in a while when she is hyper but really no big deal.

[Cathy]

Thanks - I will try that. Couldn't hurt!

Cathy

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Is she crated when you're working? How many hours? I'm wondering if when you were at your Mom's she was getting more contact and stimulation than when she's home. She is a very young puppy with tons of energy. If she's not finding a release for that energy it may be that she's turning her frustration into some bad behaviors. I'm thinking Doggie Daycare, trips to the dog park, and obedience training are all pretty good strategies to try. The problem with the corrections like pinching her lip may not get to the real cause of the behavior. I say get her tired!

[Cathy]

She is_crated - very large crate for 4 hours at a time. I think I'll make a play area outside the crate and see how she does. That would be a much bigger area and she seems to be pretty well housebroken so far. What do you think? I can't let her run around the house yet as she'll chew everything up! We are currently in puppy kindergarten. She had alot more to occupy her time with at mom's - I wasn't working, people coming over to meet her, mom and all that good stuff.

I'm looking into Daycare and Dog Walkers - thanks so much for the advice! :-)

Cathy

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

So, it really does sound like she may be bored and just not getting enough stimulation and exercise. A larger area may help, and Daycare or Dog Walkers may be your ultimate answer. Don't worry, you'll certainly get past all this!

[Holly Doodle]

Hi Cathy,
I'm usually the one asking for advice on here, but I'd thought I'd try to help :). Holly is almost 6 months old, when she was 4 months she went through a biting and chewing phase that was terrible. I bought sour apple spray for the chewing and sprayed it on anything I caught her chewing, she would try a few more times but eventually she got the point and her chewing has pretty much disappeared. As for the constant biting, she outgrew that too. We would grab her mouth and say "no" firmly, and then go back to playing. It worked best for us to give a quick correction, and then praise when she stopped. Honestly I think she just outgrew that after a few weeks. She still bites when she's throwing a temper tantrum, but the constant biting has stopped.

Just remember that it will get better, I know it can be hard to look at the big picture when you're dealing with the behavior day in and day out. We also started taking her to doggie daycare last week (thanks to the advice of everyone on doodlekisses) and it has made a HUGE difference already. Hope this makes you feel better!

[Cathy]

Thanks for the input - doodlekisses has been great. I've been looking at doggie day care and searching around for a dog walker.... I think she does need more exercise. We had a great puppy kindergarten class today and fortunately she behaved very badly for the trainer. She taught me some cool tricks to get her under control and keeping the leash on was one of them. Geesh, I've been tempted to give her back and return to rescuing older dogs, which I've done for the last 20+ years! I think I'll try the bitter apple as my wooden furniture is looking a bit frayed.... Gotta love it, right? :-)

Cathy

[Jessica & Lucie]

Your story sounds very familiar, I think understanding that this is a temporary phase and not entirely unavoidable helps a little. Lucie has had many of the same behaviors you described despite spending very little time alone and having very long walks and playtime every day.
I could not get Lucie to stop biting me, or others occasionally for quite a while. I tried many techniques recommended to me but none were really effective. This started around 3.5 months old. Lucie is now 5 months old and while she still occasionally "forgets" she has gotten MUCH much better. Just 2 weeks ago I remember being so overwhelmed and frustrated because it seemed like nothing was helping. Mainly her biting is only a problem now when I try to brush her or dry off her feet (I'm sure she thinks its playing)... I think part of it has to do with self control, maybe they need to be at a certain age to have the mental capacities to deter them from doing something they know is wrong. At this point she will still test me by "placing" her teeth on me without biting, but she gets the same response as if she did bite so hopefully we will be beyond this soon.
As far as chewing items around the house, Lucie does not mind the apple bitter spray so we instead have moved pretty much everything of any value out of reach. Unfortunately her reach is growing every day it seems! She knows it is wrong and runs and hides when we catch her, but it does not stop her from chewing on things she knows she shouldn't. Lucie also has gone through a stage of barking back when we discipline her, for this "time out" in the laundry room has worked really well. She does have to wear a leash almost all the time inside though so I can catch her if she sneaks away with something or barks, because she has gotten to be very fast and playing chase would just reward the behavior.
I'm certainly no expert on this but I can completely relate to what your feeling. My advice would be to stay calm and remember that she is not "bad" but just a puppy and will get better with time. Consistency, patience, and love has seemed to improve my state of mind as well as Lucies behavior.

[Cathy]

Thanks - I_do appreciate knowing there are others out there experiencing the same thing. Phoebe has recently started the barking gig too - I'm thinking she actually LIKES timeouts - is that possible? :-)

Cathy