biting, growling and barking
 

I can't get my puppy to stop chewing everything and latching onto everyone he meets. Every time he wakes up from a nap, he's really wound up and excited. Then he starts destroying whatever he can get to. I've tried saying "NO BITE", Yelping like him, startling him with pennies in a bottle, spraying vinegar on my hands and feet because the smell repells him, replacing whatever he's not supposed to be chewing on with a chew toy... he just gets annoyed and has recently started to bark.The only way I can get him to calm down is to put him in my room and shut the door for a while. He'll stop and I'll come in to find him hanging out under the foot of my bed, minding his business. He doesn't play with toys for more than a few seconds, and he's always running (and I mean, like a bat out of hell) around the house. He tires himself out pretty easily, because he's a little young and hasn't had all his shots yet, I don't want to take him outside to play. What can I do?

How old is he?

Sounds like a very young puppy and that is how they act...

Asher is 8 weeks old, and I've had him for a little over a week. With all this, it certainly feels like I've had him much longer:)

That is normal for an 8 week old puppy! Pixie went through a stage like that it actually only lasts about 2 weeks. If you are playing with him and he starts biting just say OUCH and then stop playing for a couple min until he stops. He will eventually get the idea.

I forgot to say get him some teething toys! That will help too!
Try and find a small ball theat he can carry and play fetch with him. Pixie loves this game and it gives her the exercise she needs. Good luck:D

He's got rope toys, a nylabone and a ball. Nothing really holds his attention, not even fetch. I've done the ouch thing. He kinda ignores it. Am I supposed to get up and walk away every time he mouths me--even if it wasn't painful? And how long do I go away for?

Go to Google and type in "best toys for puppies". My dog liked a full size tennis ball and anything with a squeeker in it. Also, plastic water bottle with paper and top removed. You could buy a small Kong and fill it with treats or peanut butter. Once he has all his shots, walking him will help. I got mine at 8 weeks and he loved to play with a tennis ball. He still plays all the time, but then we spend a lot of time playing with him. He is basically a puppy, and most puppies act pretty much the same way. They are wild and bite and jump. Bitter Apple sprayed on your hands and feet should help with the biting. Puppy proof your house and spray bitter apple on things you don't want him to chew on. Maybe it would be good to get him and ex-pen to stay in when you can't watch him.

Bully sticks and Himalayan dog chews will help with his teething...he is quite young so this is normal puppy behavior...and his teeth is probably still coming in...so i would give him a bully stick or himalayan dog chew

Yep - sounds like normal pup behavior. I agree with all the suggestions above. One of the reasons most toy breeders keep their pups til 12 weeks are because that is a key time when they learn about bite inhibition. My dad got his pup too young at 7 weeks and she was a TERRIBLE biter -- you couldn't even play with her. It took a lot of just ignoring and turning our back on her to stop. Good luck and welcome to YT!

He may need a bigger variety of toys. Roxy likes squeeker toys the best. They are good for sidetracking their attention from unwanted behavior. Be sure to treat good behavior w/tiny treats & praise for good behavior. Baby furbutts & skinkids have incredibly short attention spans, so they will tire of everything quickly.

Ignore bad behavior at least until he is focused on something else besides the unwanted behavior. He's so young, it's going to take awhile for him to learn good behavior & get his teething over with, so be patient & constant w/your training of what you expect him to learn. In a few months, he'll be much better if you really stick at it. He should be done w/teething by 6-7 mo. The first few months are important training months, so keep at it. Keep your voice stern (like you really mean it without yelling), & watch for unwanted behavior allll the time. 'Ah ah', 'leave it', 'drop it', 'no bite', are some very important things to teach him.

He's a baby, so keep that in mind. He's behaving like puppies act. It takes time & lots of patience to help them learn & grow up... just like your mom did w/you. If you keep at it, you'll end up with a well behaved dog. Good luck!

I have the same problem. Bronxie likes to bite on Missy and Chichi all the time and she doesn't seem to know when to stop. Missy is older so she doesn't tolerate it as much as chichi. Chichi plays with her but she gets tired off it too. She bites us too. It's like her way of showing love. I read somewhere that she does this too scream or make a loud noise so When she bites me I scream loud and she stops and looks at me kinda concern and then continues. But I don't have a clue how to deter her from doing it to Missy at least. I don't know what to do either she is 6 months old right now. So I hope that she outgrows it.

That's exactly what Asher does when I make a loud noise! He looks like "what happened?" and then he continues gnawing on me or whatever he has at the time. Ignoring him doesn't seem to work either.

My 11 week old Kasha does the same thing. She will wake up from a nap and just go WILD; biting and racing around the house. If we offer her toys to distract her from hands and feet ... she will play with them for a moment but then just come right back. Does the Bitter Apple really work? Any other tips to help her calm down/ learn the right way?

That's a good question. I'm still trying to find something to keep him off my hands/feet/ cords/table legs. Does anybody have any suggestions?

Oh, and I just bought Asher a harness and refuses to let me put it on him.

Bitter Yuck worked for Roxy. It's really nasty tasting. Bitter Apple works for other dogs better. Some dogs bite/chew regardless. They are worth a try though. We had a few wire areas blocked off, she was restricted to only 3 rooms for quite a long time. Now she is fine regardless of what room she is in... but she follows us from room to room, so it's easy to keep an eye on her.

One thing I started doing with my hands was to make a fist, leaving no fingers open to grab onto, and just hold my fist in front of her face. It would make her so mad! I guess I wasn't playing fair. :) She would get so frustrated, she'd start grabbing at my clothes. It's going to be awhile before this phase passes, so get used to watching them constantly, saying 'ah ah', 'no bite' yelping, 'leave it', 'drop it' over and over and over... however long it takes.

Collars/harnesses/leashes... just keep trying. These are not natural to puppies, and they have to learn to accept them. Leave them on awhile, remove them, then back on awhile. They will gradually get used to them. It's a learning process. Be sure to reward all successes with praise & tiny treats. Good luck w/your little ones.

Bitter Apple was apparently tasty to Sydney. She would lick it off the surface I would spray. As far as the aggressive behavior, you need to show dominance. Be the alpha. Your family has become her pack. This is very controversial, but it works for me. When Sydney gets out of control, I flip her over on her back, not yelling, but calmly saying, "Settle." She quickly settles. If I set her down and she starts back up, she's on her back in my arms again. By the second time, she stops. You can also try shaking pennies in a can, or my favorite, squirt of water on the butt.

My boyfriend does the whole pin him down and say "NO" thing, hasn't quite worked yet. I've also tried pennies in a bottle, he ignores it. Asher's a VERY willful 3 mo. old puppy

I wouldn't pin him down and yell. That might encourage aggression on his part. With Sydney, I would be holding her and flip her over on her back. Then calmly say, "Settle." Try the squirt of water in his mouth or on the butt. It works great for me. It gets to the point where when I pick up the bottle she stops what she's doing.

Okay I have a trick for the harness, we have found that if we give her a special treat or a toy we keep separate just for things like this while she is chewing it we put the harness on. She thinks it is great. As for the biting etc. Same problem here I have noticed a small improvement in the last few days, but my other dogs are also helping. Plus we have found a tired puppy does not nip. So we have been doing several walks around a small part of the neighborhood and she is so exhausted that she can't nip. If you find any good tips let me know. i am so afraid I will end up with ones of those crazy dogs you see on the dogs shows. I am glad it is not just her it gives me some hope she will grow out of it. Good Luck

Do you have an ex-pen? What I would do is as soon as he starts mouthing, whether painful or not is say ouch, and put him in his pen. Not as a form of punishment, but as breather for you. The ex-pen is great because it only has what you put in it, so there is nothing dangerous he can get into and hurt himself with. Put him in, do 1 chore around the house, then try again. It'll keep your mind distracted instead of fuming over the chewing problem, and he'll see that he gets no attention for mouthing. It will take time but he will eventually understand that play time is extended if he doesn't use his mouth on your hands/feet/shoes, etc. I hope this helps!:)

I'm having this problem with Rhett (12 weeks). It seems like I am the one he bites (quite strongly), he's much gentler with everyone else. Unless I slather my entire body in bitter apple, I'm afraid I'm going to be in for a long haul.

Nikki, I've had Asher since he was 7wks as well. He's 13 wks now, and teething pretty badly. He's got tons of toys and a house shoe shaped like a dog that he plays with. But he never stays interested for long. I even got him a puppy Kong that he's given up on. Its like he doesn't even want the treats! I've resorted to just picking him up and putting the harness on him. He tries to eat it, but after its on, he leaves it alone now.

Angel, I don't have a pen, but as far as ignoring him to get him to stop biting, it doesn't seem to work. I throw my hands up in the air and stop looking at him, and he bites me on the side, or my upper arm. And if I get up and walk away, he just attaches himself to my pant leg.

Kirby, when you flip the puppy on its back, how do you know that they've "surrendered"? Is that when they turn their head away from you? I've done it a few times now, and that's what Asher does. As soon as I let him go, he's fine for a few minutes and then goes back to whatever he was doing.

Trick for the harness, find the favorite treat and give it while you are putting the harness on, it distracts the dog and then they will associate the treat with the harness, my puppy is 11 weeks old and figure it out and now my daughter can put the harness on etc. Good luck!

I don't know if this will work if all yorkie or not, but you should try holding her own on her side for a few second after she mouth on you. Don't hold her for too long in the begining. Let me know if it work. Teri mouth me all the time too, I think she's still in that stages.