My Puppy is Biting Me & It Hurts!!

[mina0710]

My 4.5 month old is teething. He has a few very good teething toys. But when he plays with my husband and I, he sometimes bites us. And though I know he does it to play ... it hurts. We try to tell him to stop every time, but he never listens. We tried it with a firm voice. I also read somewhere to hold his mouth close for 10 seconds and nicely tell him "no biting" so he associates the two together. I tried it all last night. Though it was so cute when I hold his mouth close, he just sits there and lets me do it. But he still cant associate that to "no biting". WHAT TO DO??? Im afraid it'd get worse.

[JeanieK]

Speak to your puppy in his own langquage. Yelp loudly when he bites and refuse to play with him for a few seconds. He will get the message very quickly. Be consistent. You cannot allow it one minute and then try to stop it the next.

If he does not respond to the yelp, then correct him as his mother would by snapping at him. Make the snappin g sound that a dog make and nip him in the neck with your fingers.

Puppis that are taken from their mothers before they have been taught proper dog etiquett, do not know how to play nice. So you have to teach them.

[nycyorkiemom]

Spray their back with a spray bottle. It doesn't hurt them, but it surprises them and they will make the association that it is unwanted behavior.

[tlo729]

From reading, I guess everyone agrees that biting is a puppy thing, but I will not let our pup learn to bite people just to have to break him of it later. I read the forums and tried the "yelp" "ouch" method, tried NO, tried redirecting his attention, tried walking away etc..... it just made him madder.

The only thing that seems to get his attention is the lip fold, where when he bites you use your fingers to fold his upper lip under his top teeth then when he bites your hand or finger his bottom teeth push your finger into his lip. He wont do it to the point that it hurts him but it gets his attention and hopefully is making him think twice about the joy of biting hands.

[JeanieK]

Originally Posted by tlo729

From reading, I guess everyone agrees that biting is a puppy thing, but I will not let our pup learn to bite people just to have to break him of it later. I read the forums and tried the "yelp" "ouch" method, tried NO, tried redirecting his attention, tried walking away etc..... it just made him madder.

The only thing that seems to get his attention is the lip fold, where when he bites you use your fingers to fold his upper lip under his top teeth then when he bites your hand or finger his bottom teeth push your finger into his lip. He wont do it to the point that it hurts him but it gets his attention and hopefully is making him think twice about the joy of biting hands.

If the yelping does not work then try snapping at him like his mother would. Snap and nip at his neck. It's the scare, not causing pain.

The lip fold sounds painful, un-natural and unnecessary. If it hurts you when he bites you, it is also going to hurt him when he bites his own lip.

They understand dog language.

After the yelp, you need to move away from them for a while so they also make the association that you don't want to play if they don't play nice.

[JoeyP]

Jeanie has some good advice

... Remember if your playing with your dog and allowing him to gnaw on you
you're going to have to teach him how to play Nice

Just like with a child you'll need to correct them
You cannot correct by saying No and continuing to play
What does that tell a puppy?
You say No! or No Bite! or Ouch!
and get up and leave
no more attention.....
They ALL understand that
If you do that consistently everytime he gets rough with you
he'll get the point

[YorkieMother]

Firstly and fore most dogs are not humans and we are not dogs and we need to get away from snapping at them with our hands as a quote mother dog would or doing anything to cause it pain or discomfort in the name of training it or correcting a bhaviour... that puppy knows you are not its mother and if you poke at it, snap at it, roll its lip in so it bites itself yell at it all you are going to get is a scared puppy.

Try removing yourself, try removing it. walk away. the best punisher of a dog is to ignore it and only pay attention to it when its teeth are not on you. Pass it something better to chew on then you even if the better thing is doctored with something yummy and only give it attention when it chewing on the right object.
What you give attention to even you will get more of even if it is the behaviour we do not want.

JL

[Nancy1999]

I think biting is an important behavior to stop, and we tried several things with Joey, but in a few days he would bite again. I read that you should take your hand and put it further in their mouth when they bite, causing a slight gag reflex, and say "no." We only had to do this once, and he stopped the biting. I did give him an appropriate chew toy afterwards.

[mina0710]

It's gotten so bad. Tonight he not only tried biting my hand but he chews on everything. He was chewing on my bow on my slippers, my pant leg, the side of my sweater ... EVERYTHING that's on me and wouldnt go away. I normally would walk away but he would only eat when Im in the kitchen with him and it was his eating time. I don't know what to do anymore. I got so so so frustrating. I've been so patient but tonight pushed me to the edge.

[lemonlauren]

You can try yelping then standing up to ignore each time he bites, for about 15-30 seconds - turn your back too. Spray some bitter apple/orange spray (available almost any pet store, or probably even walmart too) on your shoes and pant cuffs.

We recently got a rug for our kitchen... Nikko loved trying to bite at the corners and yank it around like a gigantic toy. Then we sprayed the corners with bitter apple, he tasted it a couple times, and now he completely leaves the rug alone. This is the same reason he won't chew on the door stops either. We don't have to spray them anymore, he's already learned. Smart little buggar.

Just keep in mind the spray can wear off fairly quickly - like within minutes, depending on the surface it's on.

Good luck!

Lauren & Nikko

[JoeyP]

Originally Posted by mina0710

It's gotten so bad. Tonight he not only tried biting my hand but he chews on everything. He was chewing on my bow on my slippers, my pant leg, the side of my sweater ... EVERYTHING that's on me and wouldnt go away. I normally would walk away but he would only eat when Im in the kitchen with him and it was his eating time. I don't know what to do anymore. I got so so so frustrating. I've been so patient but tonight pushed me to the edge.

I understand your frustration
I have one just like yours ... he tests EVERYTHING if it hits the floor it's got to be bitten and chewed on
My other one not so much
But he's a puppy ... and just like children need to be taught boundaries
You need to be stern and set up lines that he needs to know will not be crossed
as far as him chewing on things ... you need to limit his ACCESS
Know that if it's within reach he will try to chew on it
Furniture and things like wires have to be monitored and anytime he gets to them a quick NO! and a distracting noise or shot with a water pistol
this has to be consistent
You can't be laxed about this
You wouldn't let your 2 year old child play with an electrical outlet ... this is the samething

You know that old saying?
How do you get to Carngie Hall?...... Paractice, Practice Practice

[JJinjersey]

get some bitter apple for either petco or petsmart and spray it on your hand I had 1 bottle since April and when my Bryan starts to nip at my hands I just pick up the bottle and he instantly stops and walks away in the other direction....it's actually pretty funny

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by mina0710

It's gotten so bad. Tonight he not only tried biting my hand but he chews on everything. He was chewing on my bow on my slippers, my pant leg, the side of my sweater ... EVERYTHING that's on me and wouldnt go away. I normally would walk away but he would only eat when Im in the kitchen with him and it was his eating time. I don't know what to do anymore. I got so so so frustrating. I've been so patient but tonight pushed me to the edge.

Poor baby is teething and chewing helps with the pain. Chewing on something is different than biting, and you treat this differently. Walking away from it does nothing to decrease the behavior. Ignoring things is called extinction; you are hoping by ignoring the behavior that the dog won't be reinforced and continue the behavior. However, and this is important, humans are not the reinforcers for most of the bad behavior, they would do it if you aren't there so ignoring it has very little if any effect on the behavior. I agree with the others, bitter apple or clear deodorant rubbed on articles he's chewing is effective in stopping the chewing of that article; I used the Bitter Apple, and also said "No." Both substances contain ingredients that make the tongue feel weird, and puppies will look for something else to chew on. You really need to have proper chewing toy and chew sticks. Target has some dog teething rings that Joey loved, one kind even went in the freezer to sooth their gums, but Joey loved the regular rings with the clicking action. Also Merrick Bully sticks are a safe dog chew, they are dried meat without preservatives, and 100 percent digestible. They are great at keeping the dogs away from bad things to chew on. So it's a two-pronged approach, making the stuff they chew on taste bad, and giving them something good to chew on.

[JeanieK]

Originally Posted by YorkieMother

Firstly and fore most dogs are not humans and we are not dogs and we need to get away from snapping at them with our hands as a quote mother dog would or doing anything to cause it pain or discomfort in the name of training it or correcting a bhaviour... that puppy knows you are not its mother and if you poke at it, snap at it, roll its lip in so it bites itself yell at it all you are going to get is a scared puppy.

Try removing yourself, try removing it. walk away. the best punisher of a dog is to ignore it and only pay attention to it when its teeth are not on you. Pass it something better to chew on then you even if the better thing is doctored with something yummy and only give it attention when it chewing on the right object.
What you give attention to even you will get more of even if it is the behaviour we do not want.

JL

The yelping, snapping, and nipping, is the language that they understand. It does not injur them. It startles them and lets them know that you mean business.

No they do not know that you are not a dog. They look to you for leadersip and guidance just as they would to their mother or a pack leader.

They do not understand human behavior, and all those words, they understand body language and dog behavior.

You contradict yourself. On one hand you say to give it something yummy to chew on to getit to stop chewing on you, on the other hand you ssy to praise it when it is chewing on something besides you.

Giving it something yummy is to reward the bad behavior.

and what are you do to if the dog is relentless and insists on following you and chewing on you, and does not want whatever else you are offering to it.

An instantanious quick correction will gets it's attention. Once it stops, then count to three and praise it.

[JeanieK]

Originally Posted by mina0710

It's gotten so bad. Tonight he not only tried biting my hand but he chews on everything. He was chewing on my bow on my slippers, my pant leg, the side of my sweater ... EVERYTHING that's on me and wouldnt go away. I normally would walk away but he would only eat when Im in the kitchen with him and it was his eating time. I don't know what to do anymore. I got so so so frustrating. I've been so patient but tonight pushed me to the edge.

If you are doing the snapping and nipping correctly, it will stop instantly. You have to sound serious like a big mad dog. Then move away, if e persists, do it again, nd move away, snapping sat him if he follows.

As for chewing on objects. That might take just being confined when you are not holding him.