Trying to "break" the "habit" of biting in an enfant puppy, is like trying to teach a 7 week old human enfant to keep things out of its mouth....or not to suck a bottle. You are trying to correct a God given developmental growth pattern that is essential for that puppy!
The best advice I can give is for you to buy a really great book on development of puppies, and for YOU to learn what is essential for that puppy to know.....you have a baby that has been ripped from it momma WAY too early....no shots have been given and if they have, they are USELESS and not effective, so you are going to have to re-vaccinate this baby when it hits 8 weeks old and mother's immunity has dropped. Be expecting health issues, so you know what you have to take care of and at what age you will likely encounter the issues.
For this baby to grow into a well rounded, well behaved adult, YOU have to know what momma teaches her puppies, how they are taught the lessons they need to know, and at what age each behavior is taught. You have to allow this baby to "mouth"....that is how it learns about the world around him.....you are trying to deprive this baby essential/required learning techniques of mouthing, which is a REQUIRED behavior for it to learn about its surroundings.
You have a lot of major reading to get started on. The person that took your money for this baby has done YOU a major injustice...the person you bought this innocent little soul from, has done more damage to this baby's future development, both behavioral as well as physical....this absolutely breaks my heart for this innocent little soul.
In order to fully know the damage that has been written into this baby's development, you need to know what the issues are and at what age this baby is supposed to be taught all about growing into a wonderful mature adult dog, balanced mentally, emotionally, and physically. Get some GREAT developmental books and start reading so this baby grows to its full potential. The three things you have outlined as possible solutions to issues you are facing with this pup, should not even be crossing your mind at this age! Dont mess this baby up emotionally by trying to prevent natural and required developmental growth, learned through mouthing and play fighting. You need to completely understand what is normal behavior for such a tiny immature baby, because this is what YOU are now going to have to teach this enfant. Dont be trying to prevent a 6-7 week old baby that is just getting teeth in, from gnawing/chewing/mouthing/play biting....this is how this baby LEARNS about its surroundings....if it was still with brothers and sisters and momma, they would be learning this from momma....YOU are now momma, and siblings have been torn away from this enfant, so there will probably be issues with "pack development" later in age....all things you need to be prepared for and understand. |