Biting
 

Hi! I'm new, and just got my baby last week. Holly is 10 weeks old, so she's teething, but it seems like she will bite anything and everything she can get her paws on, including doorways. My boyfriend and I have bought her several chew toys, and will give them to her when she starts to bite. She's starting to bite hands now too, so we are trying to nip this in the bud before it gets worse. When she starts biting my boyfriend he will scold her and leave the room for about a minute. She's daddy's girl so she does not like this at all! Sometimes he will also hold her mouth shut and scold her as well, but none of these methods are working. We have also bought the spray, Bitter Yuck to stop her from biting the edge of the bed and doorways. It works best mostly for the blankets. Have any of you experienced this as well? How long did it last for your little one? Thank you!

Holding her mouth shut will not work. She doesn't know what she's doing is wrong. Play with her and every time she bites lay her on her side flat on the floor say NO biting when you bring her up give her the chew toy to play with. You will have to repeat it as many times as you need too. Be patient. Poor baby is teething she can't help it but she will want to please you.

Thanks! I think part of the problem is she left her litter too early. Her owner wanted to get rid of her, so she wasn't able to learn socializing skills yet from her mom/siblings. I should have done my research, but if I didn't take her I know someone else was in line for her. I'm not even sure if the owner still had her other siblings left, because she only mentioned this one. I know it must be hard for her to be teething :-(

Teddy was a little piranha too. He would bite my arms with the grip of a pit bull. It was so bad I had a trainer come to the house to help me. Anyway her advice was when he starts to bite you or objects that are off limits, you redirect him with chew toys he can have - she suggested those rope toys but mine never liked it so we bought those flexible nylabones (they look like gummy bones). He would chomp away on that and that seemed to keep him off my arms, legs, toes, etc. I would just say "no bite" in a mean tone and give him the toys. His attention on the toys would last all of 1 second. You can also make a yelp noise, high pitch, but I never mastered that.

It takes a while, but they do stop eventually. Just be consistent.

I'd also sign her up for a puppy class. That helps them to learn some manners and get over their fears and socialize. Teddy had to attend twice, along with doggie daycare a couple of times to "get it"

I feel your pain!!

Rolling her on her side will NOT work either, try YIPPING like her litter mates would do if she hurt them , also EVERY time she tries to bite replace with a toy, she obviously is a chewer.. GET BULLYSTICKS, or Himilayan chews they are great for chewers... dont use rawhide....Bullysticks will also tire her out ... You have to make sure your boyfriend doesnt play fight with her and allow her to bite for fun too!! It cant be okay sometimes and not others...
Yipping like a puppy in a high tone really does work... also saying NO in a firm tone ~ you dont have to yell will work too.. she is bored if she is chewing.. give her an alternative to chew on.. teething hurts just like a baby.. Bullysticks are great , you can even put them in the freezer.. I used to wipe a tiny bit of peanut butter on them and freeze them she would chew on them for ever..

Great advise...doing the alpha roll only escalates the problem or makes them fear the person doing this...

I've noticed that my six month old Yorkie goes after my fingers when she's tired. What I do is walk away or offer her an alternative. I do NOT allow her to bite my fingers, but for some reason, she's not understanding this. She was chewing the Bully sticks but she's had stomach issues these past three weeks so we've put her on a very restricted diet. As I've said in a different post, Yorkies are certainly a different breed! Some days I feel like just giving up, but then she looks up at me...and I melt.

Thanks for all the suggestions. We bought her rawhide chews, but she doesn't seem all that interested in them, so I guess we'll get rid of them. I'll try the bullysticks, but we always give her a chew toy when she starts biting everything. Maybe it's a matter of finding the right chew toy? We're going to sign up for puppy training today, and get her in a socialization puppy class too at our vet. I guess it's only a matter of time!

If she is only 10 weeks, has she had all her shots yet? If not, is it a good idea to put her in a puppy class? Just wondering.

Good catch...No way should anyone be taking a 10 week old puppy to training classes...

We signed up for the classes at the end of March. She still needs a few shots, and there's no way she'll learn anything now.

Welcome to YT. :) Holly is such a pretty name for a little Christmas puppy. Don't worry about her being taken too soon from her littermates~really that is in the past and you need to work on now. You have been given good advice to distract her with a chew toy. She is just a baby and really does not know any better. It will all come with time. It isn't too early to work on basic things like sit. You will be amazed at how quickly she will catch on~and she will be the star of your puppy training class at the end of March. ;)

When she is biting inappropriately you need to distract her with a chew toy. If she is acting inappropriately you need to turn your back to her and ignore her. Another thing that you can try are the Himalayan Chews. They are very hard and will keep her busy for hours. Everyone on YT is just raving about them.

My Doodlebug was doing tricks at a very early age. My suggestion would be to use Cheerios for a treat. All you need to do is move the Cheerio from in front of her to above her head in a backward motion. She will sit. This will also help to distract her from her biting. There is a fine line between playing and over stimulating your puppy. Try to keep the rough play to a minimum. Good luck with your new little girl. She is just adorable :p

Thank you so much megansmomma! I do worry that she was taken away too soon, but I also know we love her so much and take good care of her. The cheerio trick is a very good suggestion, we'll definitely try it that way. I've read that yorkies are very good at tricks.

We do ignore her and stop play when she bites, and she hates it! She'll run in front of us and bark (the only time she actually ever barks). We bought her the bullysticks, and that seems to keep her the most busy.

If she barks and tries to get in front of you turn again. Just keep ignoring her and do NOT let her initiate play. You and your boyfriend should always be the ones that start the play with her. If she brings you toys ignore her. When you want to initiate the play that is when she should play. If she starts to bite ignore. Treat for good~ignore for bad. Never ever roll her over onto her back as a way to control her! This is not the way to teach her manner. It would be the same as smacking her with a newspaper to get her to obey you~its old school.

If you want to learn other really good ideas watch It's Me or the Dog. Love Victoria Stillwell! But if you are consistent NOW you will not need VS in your future ;)

BTW~I just love your name! :p

You know I have great respect for you but I am about to say..what??

The old standard was that no going anywhere until the pup had all its shots but I know you know that is to late for soical skills work. 100 peole , places ,things and dogs by 16 weeks for good mental health.
So a good clean puppy class after first possible second shots and a vet ok... covering my butt here and go.
I had and will continue to take pups out on first shots but it has to be the owners comfort and understaqnding that a lot must get done by 16 weeks not to have fear and aggression concerns come up later.

JL