Yorkie Play Bitting... HELP!!!

[YorkieDad1979]

I'm a new Yorkie owner and my little Daisy is in this horrible biting stage!! I've purchased rawhide's, toys, kongs, I've tried everything...I got on google and looked up play biting and was told to make a loud sound every time she tried to bite me, boy this really worked!! she thinks it's a big game what am I doing wrong? Someone told me about PETSMART puppy class, but I've heard mixed feedback about this class has anyone had any success with PETSMART?

I'd appreciate any help this forum can give me!

Best regards,
A Stressed Yorkie Dad

[littlesev]

Hi. Congrats on your first Yorkie. Making yapping sound didn't work for me either. I even mimicked the way he whines to let him know that I didn't like it. He just looked at me as if saying, "oh this is no fun to you? It sure is fun to me." Lol.

Anyway what worked for me was to take him to a (puppyproofed) room with nothing interesting at all. He soon learnt that biting gets him to the sad, bland room and behaving nicely gets him cottage cheese or liver treats or play time. Also try to freeze some chicken broth and give it to her to soothe her teeth. Good luck, you'll need it

[wisteria]

Bella was a play biter too. What we did was when she did this we hid our hands and totally ignored her......said "Ouch no bite Mommy" in a very soft disappointing tone. It took time but it worked...................luck

[lainacohen]

I have the same problems and it doesn't help that my father encourages it because he thinks its cute.

[Cherie6446]

Can't help with the biting problem but I do have a comment about PetSmart puppy class. I took my little Gina to Petco's puppy class. Everyone was told to control their dogs. Of course Gina was the smallest one there. One woman with a yellow lab puppy could not control her dog and her "pup" jumped on Gina scaring her to death. The lab was just playing but she was so big. Gina would never look at another dog for her whole life. She liked cats but totally ignored dogs.

[Marioana]

My Chewie was a biter too while he was teething. For him, what worked, was either his teeth came out or the fact that when he bite I screamed and got up an left...

[Harrysmum]

Originally Posted by YorkieDad1979

I'm a new Yorkie owner and my little Daisy is in this horrible biting stage!! I've purchased rawhide's, toys, kongs, I've tried everything...I got on google and looked up play biting and was told to make a loud sound every time she tried to bite me, boy this really worked!! she thinks it's a big game what am I doing wrong? Someone told me about PETSMART puppy class, but I've heard mixed feedback about this class has anyone had any success with PETSMART?

I'd appreciate any help this forum can give me!

Best regards,
A Stressed Yorkie Dad

Hello stressed Yorkie dad!!! Your Daisy is a little cutie....their looks belie them though, don't they....

She will get over this phase - probably once she's finished teething. Have you tried a puppy teething ring, or putting her Kong, in the freezer? That helped our Harry.

A note of caution - please steer clear of rawhides - when Harry had his sharp little puppy teeth, he managed to chew a lump off. Fortunately I was watching him, and managed to get it out of his mouth just before he swallowed it....it could have been a disaster.

A LOT of people on here swear by bullysticks - if you do decide to get some, please make sure they're the 'odour-free' ones.... Good luck! Sally + Harry x

[LillysMom70]

Lilly has the puppy orientation class at Petsmart tomorrow, so I will see how it goes! Usually, I only see 1 or 2 puppies in the room they do the classes in when I walk by so it seems very nice. I'm not really sure what they teach, but I will go since it was free with my new puppy starter pack I purchased for $19.99. lol

[gontygirl]

Originally Posted by YorkieDad1979

I'm a new Yorkie owner and my little Daisy is in this horrible biting stage!! I've purchased rawhide's, toys, kongs, I've tried everything...I got on google and looked up play biting and was told to make a loud sound every time she tried to bite me, boy this really worked!! she thinks it's a big game what am I doing wrong? Someone told me about PETSMART puppy class, but I've heard mixed feedback about this class has anyone had any success with PETSMART?

I'd appreciate any help this forum can give me!

Best regards,
A Stressed Yorkie Dad

This is easy to change and stop but it takes CONSISTENCY. If you can do that then things should change within a 2 week time span (around about). I have extensive experience raising puppies and this has worked each and every time. Since you're dealing with a puppy it will change quickly, however there is a little biting habit formed so if you commit to this you can see results...and quickly.

Never approach your puppy in "a play" without a toy in your hand. Since your pup is used to going for the human hand/toy, you'll have to switch it up but firstly use a negative sound like "shhhttt!!!!" loudly or "NO!" and pop the toy in his mouth making the toy more fun than your hand. (It's so hard to explain in words...I hope you understand what I mean...). Wiggle that toy all around her head...make her chase it on the bed, have it be a squeeky one if she likes that, or hairy, whatever it takes to make her delight in it. This toy needs to be an extension of your hand whenever you plan to engage in play time. All dogs hate to upset us so a negative loud "No" has to be in your canine vocabulary...puppies learn what is acceptable from playing so it's the best time NOW to show what is allowed and what is not. She'll get it...but she won't get it if you're not consistent and on the ball. Perhaps youtube has some video on how to do this if I haven't explained it very well. Good luck

[DexterBoy]

We do have same problem with Dex and trying to discourage it ad much as we can.
As for puppy classes, I don't like that they mix all types of dogs there. So we decided to train him on our own. He is 12 weeks now, when is a good time to start training him (such as "sit" and so on). Should we do it every day or give him brakes?

[gontygirl]

Originally Posted by DexterBoy

We do have same problem with Dex and trying to discourage it ad much as we can.
As for puppy classes, I don't like that they mix all types of dogs there. So we decided to train him on our own. He is 12 weeks now, when is a good time to start training him (such as "sit" and so on). Should we do it every day or give him brakes?

I don't know if you're a working "mom" or not...but I would be training him asap. when my puppies come into our house the training begins for come, sit, go get it, stay and lie down right away. They learn quickly...especially if a treat is involved. I had a German shepherd that wasn't keen on treats but toys REALLY yanked his chain so we rewarded him with that. It depends on each individual dog. The easiest dogs to train are the dogs that are foodies. I happen to have 2 foodies now so it's very easy for me. You can youtube the details on specific training techniques so you can get a visual. I have had puppies so "on point" on even potty training that, even tho their bladders were not developed enough to "hold it", the habit of knowing that "we're going out to potty now" gave the illusion that they were house broken. Start them off in good habits and they perform habitually all on their own doing the right thing...cus they don't know any different. Let us know how it goes... Good luck. Have FUN! Remember...there is no greater a bonding experience than the bonding that comes from training your dog. They dream to be "good dogs" and with training (which feels like a game/play time)..how can't a baby love to hear "Good dog" for a good period of time?? (Hopefully you take advantage of any distraction and/or situation to keep the training a part of your daily life. OH! Yes, a pocket full of treats is a great idea too...

[DexterBoy]

Thank you for your advice Gonty Girl! I will try to train him a little every day. I must say I have a very smart baby (I'm sure every "mom" says that hehe) and he picks things up quickly.
Any advice on good/healthy treats I can get him?

[Adamsfly]

I'm having the same issues with Oakley, who's now 11 1/2 weeks old. I know he's teething and I've tried everything, the latest was the Kong toy and peanut butter. That lasted only 5 minutes. When I tell him "no bite" he'll listen for a second but when he sees my finger, he goes for it again and again.

We are fortunate that with our work schedules, Oakley is not home by himself longer than a couple of hours a day. When I get home in the evening, he comes running to the door and after I eat dinner, it's our time. The minute I put him in my lap, he's at it with the fingers. This goes on for about 1 1/2 hours every evening.

I'm also noticing that when he's on the couch with me and goes for the finger, he'll put his whole body on my arm as if he's wanting to hump (sorry). I'm planning on having him neutered and am wondering what is a good age.

Any help you can give is appreciated. Thanks!

[ToTheMax]

We're new here....but our 4 month old ToTheMax, better known as Maxie, is a biter right now, but when he gets something to chew on, he stops. We know he's teething here.... I agree with the suggestions above.....we keep repeating "no biting Max" and he is finally getting it. If he keeps it up, we pick him up, put him in front of our eyes to get his attention and tell him, no biting Max...I mean it. We have also hidden our hands and he stops. If he's having a real manic biting day, we just put him in his play pen in the same room, with his toys and ball and ignore him. He is such a egomaniac that bothers him most of all. lol! We see him as being in his "terrible two's" some days and react accordingly. We love this little guy!

[ziggy925]

Sometimes the problem is a combination of teething and the fact that puppies teeth are really, really sharp. When Ruger would start knawing on me I would hold whatever he was biting and start to cry loudly. He soon caught on that he was hurting me and stopped. Good luck.