Biting!
 

I still have a big problem with Bailey biting. She gets way too excited during play time and focuses all her attentions on me- my hands, feet, clothes, hair, face, whatever she can get.

I've been using a soda can with pennies to shake when I say no. At first it worked great, but now it just gets her more riled up. She focuses her energy on the mountain dew can with pennies. She growls at it, barks at it, jumps for it. And she still bites me when she can't get the can.
I also use time outs, putting her in her crate for a few minutes. After a couple times she comes out more relaxed and focuses more on her toys than me. But it's not long before she's biting again and we start all over.

I don't know what else to do. It's not like play biting anymore, it's *mean* biting. For some reason she has an obsession with faces and if I put my face near the floor I can expect her to run and jump at my face biting and scratching. Whenever people come over to play with her she gets overly excited and bites, and it has caused people to accidentally throw her off. I'm afraid she's gonna get hurt or hurt others.

It's been 3 weeks and my hands are STILL sore from all her bite marks. Help! :confused:

I have the same problem with Layla, she constantly bites and chews on things mostly flesh. I have been putting different chew toys in her mouth and it seems to work for a while. I just bought a few more toys for her today so its something new for her to focus on. They say they grow out of it. Our Skootie was never like this. Someone suggested switching out the chew toys to keep her busy and it sorta works for now. Hopefully it will tide us over till we can go to puppy training classes.

Giving her a toy instead rarely ever works. She usually barely touches it before coming for me.

Put some clear deodarant on your hands and feet (If she bites them). She will hate the taste.
Bonnie is really bad if I get down in the floor, so I don't get down in the floor anymore and stay elevated above her.
Quicksilver suggested rolling her lip into her mouth (so that she bites herself) but I can not figure out how to do this.:( Hope this helps

Does she have a bully stick?

Thanks, I will try the deodorant. Not sure it'll faze her 'cause the bitter apple doesn't seem to (although I use that for wood and stuff, not my hands).

Maybe my problem is that I sit on the floor with her. I want us to have fun play time together, but maybe it's better to let her play alone. However if I stand I know she'll still bite my feet and pant legs.

Not sure I could do the lip thing. A couple times I tried holding her mouth closed while I said no bite but she whimpered and it made me feel bad. Plus it just got her more angry. :(

Oh and I haven't gotten any bully sticks yet. I guess I'll just have to take the plunge and get her one. I also want to try the flavored durable nylabones. Actually I just ordered from dog.com the other night, and the next morning I was going to call and see if I could add that stuff to my order but it had already shipped.

Try yelping, like a little scream, that is what puppies do in the liter. I book I bought said to try this because in the liter they yelp when the play gets to ruff, and quit playing with that puppy. I tried it with Chance, it worked for me.

You have a little girl who thinks you're playing with her when you're not

First of all she's a puppy and needs to learn when the game's over
Like Chance said
Yelp when you want her to stop or yell No! or No Bite! Loud enough where she stops dead whatever she's doing

Then without saying another word leave her where ever she is
Do Not scold her or tell her she's being bad
Your talking with her will make her think you're continuing to paly with her

I forgot to mention that I've tried that too. I've tried just about every method that doesn't harm the dog at all.

And I just tried the deodorant. She didn't seem to mind. In fact, she licked it off my hands. :rolleyes:

If she's licking it off your hands you're hanging around after you had corrected her
If you're interacting with a puppy after she has bitten you ... she'll just think you're not minding her biting you

I always say quite loudly and firmly no or no bite. Nothing stops her! The problem I have is that leaving her doesn't work so well, since she gets hyper when I let her into the family room for play time. It has carpet and we're still potty training so leaving her there is not really an option. That's why I usually lock her in her crate or put her in the gated kitchen for a few minutes when she's biting.

Well she hadn't been biting yet. She was biting me earlier so before I let her back into the family room I put the deodorant on my hands. She never bit me this time, just came and licked it off. (She had calmed down because of the previous time out.)

I appreciate all the suggestions though! I just feel like I've tried it all and nothing works. :(

Sometimes "leaving her" doesn't necessarily mean "leaving her alone in a room". Sophie does this also (more with my DH and skinchild) and less with me b/c what I do is tell her "no bite" and I get up off the floor. I go about my business within the same room as her. If I'm in the kitchen I'll unload the dishwasher or turn my attention to the TV. Basically, get your attention off of her (of course keeping the Yorkie Mommy Eyes that we all have in the back of our heads watching her every move) This usually diffuses Sophie. Sometimes she starts back up on bitting my feet/shoes. But ignoring her works best. You can be in the same room and still ignore her, so to speak. Sorry..wish I had more for you. This puppy stage sure is tough and I can say that I do relate!

Thanks, that's a good point. A lot of times when I try that she bites my pant legs and I can't walk (and walking makes it a game for her) so I get frustrated. I guess I just need to stand still and not move until she gives up.

I always say quite loudly and firmly no or no bite. Nothing stops her! The problem I have is that leaving her doesn't work so well, since she gets hyper when I let her into the family room for play time. It has carpet and we're still potty training so leaving her there is not really an option. That's why I usually lock her in her crate or put her in the gated kitchen for a few minutes when she's biting.

KJ is right
If you need to just let her cool down putting her calmly into her crate or away from the family is perfect
Puppy's do get riled ..... in the wild or with her Mom
when this would happen she'd get a nice nip on the neck with a loud growl
You vocalizing will take the place of that
but she must be separated from stimulation

This is what I have done with my new little girl, Jazzi. When ever I feel her teeth on me (I want her to be aware of what she's doing when she's near me or the kids) I let out a loud, shrill yelp. She'll stop and look at me. Sometimes she'll try it again and I always respond the same way.

Another thing that has helped me, and she is much calmer now with me, is when I go to give her her food I hold my hand down and prevent her from getting any. This is showing her that I am head dog and tells her that I need respect. I hold my hand down there until she sits down or shows submission to me. I was having trouble with her snapping at me and that has now quit. She's been doing so much better since I've done that. Good Luck!!

You are NOT ALONE!!!! I have had Tia Dalma for a month now and she does a similar thing. I find she does it more when she is tired towards the end of the night. I know sometimes you feel, gee, doesn't she like me? I credit alot of it to the fact that she is teething. I give her plenty of things to chew on, especially the little rawhide sticks or "chips". (look like rawhide potato chips - get them at local grocery or pet shop) I liketo substitute my hand for a chew toy if that's what she is trying to tell me she wants - because my hand is not a chewing device.
There are even times when I hold her and she throws a tantrum. I let her know that tantrum will not get her what she wants so that behavior isn't working when she does it.
I also will put her down in her pen or crate and usually she will fall asleep shortly afterwards.

i have the same problems with my girl sushi. no more it's worse when she barely wakes up from a nap or when i take her outside. she mostly stops for a while when i rub her belly or pin her down:D although she starts all over in about 3 minutes:eek: i just don't get it:confused::confused::confused:
:aimeeyork :animal36 :animal-pa :aimeeyork

Me too
 

Rudy is doing the same thing. If you yelp, tell him no bite, it is like he doesn't get it. Getting up and walking away just makes him nip at your heals and then it is like a game. I often find I can't get anything done because I'm afraid I'm going to hurt him when he is attached to my pant hem. I will keep trying and think that I am going to fill a soda can with pennies today and try shaking that to see what response I get.

This describes Bailey exactly, especially at first. At first she had no concept of what no means or why I was yelling it at her. The soda can helped her figure out no=bad, but she soon turned her attentions to soda can=bad. :rolleyes:

i have books on yorkies and it says that yelling at them doesnt work. you have to say it sternly but do not yell;)
:thumbup::aimeeyork:animal36:animal-pa

Oh yes, I knew I shouldn't have used the word yell. I try not to yell. I admit I have sometimes when saying no firmly doesn't work, but I have heard that telling just makes them fear you.

yes very true:)

LOL! Sophie does this too...nips at my pant legs or feet. I've learned to shuffle my feet across the floor and totally ignore her. Most times it works with a stern "no". However, for those who are potty training...I've also learned that this is one of the 3 ways that Sophie tells me she has to go out to go potty. Even if she barks to tell me she has to go out if I repond and get up and say "let's go potty", she'll bite at my feet/pant leg until we get to the door. Then she stays still while I put her leash on to go outside to pee. It's just a thought...but the biting is clearly there way of trying to get our attention. It's for us to figure if it's because they have to go potty or because they wanna play. :p

Don't put her in time out in he crate. :( That is supposed to be a safe haven for crate trained dogs, not a punishment.

Bella did that when she was really little. When she would open her mouth to bite at me, I would put my thumb in her mouth and hold on tounge down for a second and say NO. Its very gentle and when you do this, it is a reflex and they cannot bite down with their top teeth b/c they cannot bring the bottom one to meet it. They don't like this and they they will decide not to bite your hands b/c they don't want that. I only had to do it 2 or 3 times and she stopped. She still LOVES to take treats and all from my hand, but I tell her "easy" when she gets too excited and she is good! Hope this helps!

OH yeah that is very good advice i'll see how that works:D

Don't feel like a bad mommy! They are really just trying to play with you and are not doing it to be "mean". Chase was on a biting kick as a younger puppy and what we tried was leaving the room whenever the biting started. Turned our back to him and did not give him eye contact (which is a form of positive reinforcment). Since he loves being anywhere we were, he learned (took a long while) not to bite.

1. If your little one is food motivated, can you have her do a trick like sit/stay and reward her for it? That might snap her out of biting mode.
2. How about activities like fetch to divert her attention?
3. Bully sticks and flossies are good for chewers!
4. Also, maybe Baily needs some stimulation- have you tried any puzzle toys? There are great ones that dispense treats or the stuffed variety like Hide-A-Squirrel.

Good luck!

I'm sure someone has already mentioned this but- have you tried using a squirt gun? Ziggy was a terrible biter. I tried not playing on the floor with him, the bitter apple for my hands, the loud yelp, ignoring him, time outs, giving him toys to chew on instead of me and it didn't seen to work. Then one day I was holding him and he got angry that I wouldn't let him down to attack our cat, so he bit my nose. He had bitten me before, but this was deep enough that it scarred later. I know a lot of people don't like it, but it was the only thing that worked for me. And yeah, for the first couple of days she's probably going to stay wet, but stick with it. She's still young and its going to take her some time to figure out what you want from her.

Nipping/Biting
 

I just started puppy classes with Lexi who is 14 weeks. I they told us last week that nipping and biting was very common and the best way to stop it is when she nips you "arf" loudly at her. I have tried this and it does work. You have to be consistent with it. I also tell her no just after the "arf" so she gets no.

Be sure when you "arf" it is loud and high. It has worked with Lexi who was nipping me constantly. Also, do not play with her or let anyone else play with her in a fashion that encourages her to nip. It's confusing and sends the wrong signals.

I have the same problems with my guy...as for the NYLABONES healthy edibles ...he does not like any of them except for the cheese flavored one which for some reason are hard to get...but try the cheese one (plain cheese) my guy loves it and it keeps him busy....

My Bryan can be very mouthy some times..when he was in puppy classes the trainer suggested that I spray the bitter apple directly in his mouth, well I did it only once and now when he see the bottle he takes off running and I've sprayed it on my hands and it also keeps him at bay...try it!