the Boys started chewing the corner of our new dresser and a good shot of bitter apple spray on both corners they could access detered them from it ! I have sprayed the couch and my coffee table ( oak ) as well and it hasn't hurt the wood or the fabric and the pups have stopped chewing them ( they are 5 months old )

is there anything else you can do without using the spray to stop him from biting? my pup bites on our fingers and pants too. I've given him a handbag to chew on so that helps a little. But when he plays with the family, he bites for fun...and we got scars.

HAHAHAHA!!! Nearly passed out!!

The puppy is a chewer grayson never was, may have to pick up bitter apple as this little one loves toes! I'm not liking it so much so we are up for all suggestions!!

i had a lab and beleive me, he had a BIG mouth and puppy bites can do some damage. When we were playing or anything else & she would bite, i would stop play, and completly ignore her with no eye contact or any type of emotion towards her for 5 minutes. or id put her in "timeout" which was my laundry room for 2 minutes. She learned pretty quick that biting just wasnt worth it.

our petsmart trainer said to say OUCH really loud and then put him in a 10 or so second time out. ignore him and do it every time he bites you ... a really loud OUCH!

i read on another thread that someone stopped their baby from biting by grabbing their lil muzzle and firmly holding it while saying no.

good luck!

Our trainer said the second he bites to say Ouch in a high pitched voice and walk away. She said , never squeeze your puppy's mouth shut, slap or use any kind of physical punishment , because it will only make the behavior worse.

Gordon did the nipping while playing .....even tho it was nipping...I said ouch, and got up and walked away (I had been playing with him with his toys on the floor) It took doing it several time for him to catch on, it broke his heart for me to walk away from him while playing. At first I don't think he realized what he had done wrong.....but he caught on and now when we play he doesn't nip.

Anytime I catch Gordon chewing on something he shouldn't......I tell him No and give him a chew toy and reward him when he starts playing with it.....

I had the same problem with my little Mango - the biting while playing. I read up a lot on the subject. When there are several puppies in a litter they learn "soft bite" when playing with the other puppies. This happens when one pup playfully bites another puppy painfully, and the "hurt" pup will nip back until the "aggressor" learns to bite "softer".
In Mango's case, she was the sole pup her Dam had, so she never learned how to "soft bite".

This is the solution I read and it worked like a charm:
When your baby bites on your finger, press gently, but firmly above his nose with your other hand, with your finger still in his mouth; say "OUCH!" then "SOFT BITE", and immediately remove your finger.
It took just a few tries with Mango when I brought her home at 11 weeks. She very occasionally needs a reminder, but when we play and she "chews" on me, I can feel how gentle the pressure is of her little jaw. There is a huge difference from when she is playing with a toy in the pressure of her bite/grip. Believe me, I can tell when I accidentaly put my finger in her mouth mid toy-chew.
Hope this helps and good luck!

This is exactly what I do... When your baby bites on your finger, with your finger still in his mouth; say "OUCH!" and immediately remove your finger.

When he accidently bites my finger too hard, I just go "OUCH!" and Teddy actually looks at me like "Oh, Mom, I'm sorry!" then he licks my finger and we go on with our playing.
I've only had one dog that this didn't work with (a Great Dane) and after over a thousand dollars worth of training she still turned out to be too aggressive to keep/trust around my skin kids. Not that I am an expert by any means, but this was before I knew much about dogs and/or choosing a puppy... Long story short, the breeder sold me the Alpha dog of the litter knowing that I had a 3 year old and a 15 month old. She later said that she regretted selling me the Alpha female. DUHHH!!!!

I usually so NO BITE to maggie and she will stop, but she does the same thing if I say OUCH. It is like she just does NOT want to hurt me and she feels so bad if she does. she does the same thing as your baby....starts licking like she is apologizing :)


all in all, I think consistency is the key. you have to be very consistent in order to correct any bad behavior

I have two different things that have worked with clients, keep in mind as always each dog is different. One way is to always have a favorite toy at hand when you are playing/petting your baby. When he goes for the finger, give a firm NO and then put the toy in his mouth and praise him. The goal is to teach him your fingers/arms etc. are not toys and then replace the inappropriate behavior (bitting YOU) to appropriate behavior (bitting the toy).

Another thing is the Leave it command which is used for many different situations. Generally, if can put say one special treat in your left hand and then have several treats in your right hand. Try and have your dog sit and then put out your left hand with the one treat, as soon as your dog goes to take that treat, say "Leave it" and then as you open your right hand with one treat at the same time say "Take it" and give him the treat and praise, praise..Do this for about a week or two until he knows those commands. Later, when he bites your finger or arm command "Leave it" and then replace that with something else and say "take it" give praise, praise.

You can also set your dog up have treats in your hand and when you see him going to bit you be ready..Leave it...give him the treat "take it". I use this command for many things..sometimes my guy like to go eat poo (goose and dog) and I say LEAVE IT and he moves away, then I say take it and will give him a toy or treat or even just a pet...

Give it a try, it can't hurt. Generally a dog thinks that biting (with being agressive) is playing, this is how its done with their litter mates, they bite on one another, however when one of them has had enough they will generally give a firm sign that its over. Same from the mama, if pup is biting too much the mom will give the signal to stop. Everyone hs their own way, I do not use the Tap on the nose, or spank under the chin..infact, I don't believe in hitting the dog even lightly. I might my hand like a mouth to give the dog a sign (ie: like a parent would do, behind the scruff of the neck), Cesar does this sometimes when he is working with dogs and it makes perfect sense.

Anyway, sorry so long..good luck and smart of you to nip (no pun intended) this in the bud right away..

kathy