Puppy biting is driving me insane!

Cheryl252

New Member
sorry if there's already a post about this on here but I couldn't see one. My pup is 14 weeks old and his puppy biting is getting out of hand. As a pup we would divert his attention to a toy when he nipped us but that only worked for a week or so and he started nipping again. He will only bite me and doesn't go anywhere near my partner's skin. To stop his nipping I have tried giving a very firm 'no' but it falls on deaf ears and he just grips harder. Have even given him a time out in a separate room to calm down and he's only allowed back through once he's calm. This no longer works as he comes straight back into the room and nips at me again. I'm trying my best to stop this behaviour but it seems out of hand at the moment and it drives me insane! Any suggestions of what I'm doing wrong. He's currently snuggled up to me like he's my best friend after a mad biting half hour!
 
It's very common for pups that age to want to nip but you're doing the right thing by trying to redirect. You could also try to grab his snout and give him a firm no, then a toy or bone as a redirect.

I went through it with our first pup and it took some time, but he eventually stopped doing completely it by the time he was 6 months or so.
 
Only thing I can think to add to what @JanS recommended is more exercise. A tired puppy is a happy owner. At 14 weeks exercise is usually play but if play is leading to nipping then you may want to do more. My pup is just over a year old now. When he was around 4 months, I would constantly walk him around the block. If he still had energy to nip (etc) when we got back, I'd turn around and walk him again just 10 minutes later. The walk was also training for heeling. My thought process was - if you have enough energy to nip then you have enough energy to train.
 
Thanks guys. I agree with the exercise comment. Unfortunately he's not allowed out for another week due to us living in an area where Parvo is high so we have to ensure we've left it long enough after his last vaccine. So it's very frustrating that he has all this energy and we can only play with him in the garden. I'm hoping the biting calms down once he's expelled some energy on his walks! Other than the biting he's trained really well, he's almost completely toilet trained and his recall is fantastic even with him being so young.
 
Good point about the Parvo and I won't take chances either. Mental stimulation is another good way to really wear them out and there are lots of games you can play with them, not to mention in home training to stimulate their minds.
 
Ahh memory lane............ I agree with JanS, that's what I did. Grabbed the snout and a very firm " No bite " went a long way and quickly. To the day Justice know's what " No Bite " means and it stops him in his tracks.
 
I agree with what others have said here.
I'm not sure if my method is "correct" and have shared it before.
When Daisy was a pupster as all pups she liked to do that bitey deal.
I would offer my hand,But!
As her mouth came around that hand I would manipulate her cheek,flue,lip,so some part of her skin was between her tooth and my hand.
Clamping down all the sudden became unpleasant to her.;)
I will note,this worked fine for arms/hands but did nothing for her going after my shoes,shoe laces or socks.

Something else here,as your pup is young.
What are your long term plans for this dog?
Family pet?Then follow advise given by those that have posted.
Is IPO/Shutz work in the future?If so,there might need to be alterations made to your training now,as teaching the dog to not bite might be counterintuitive to future training.

@Doberman Gang ? Input?
 
He's a family pet. I would also like to know why he won't listen to me when I say 'no' yet he will stop instantly when my partner tells him to stop. He corrects the behaviour the same way as I do yet he doesn't listen to me. As a pup I spent all my time with him and he barely saw my partner. He didn't used to be this disobedient at the start.
 
I was talking to a friend who owns a Doberman that just turned 1 yr. He was having biting issues also. His breeder had him fill a 16 oz plastic bottle with pennies 1/4 full. Whenever he bites shake the bottle and give a firm No. He says it has worked for him.
Personally I've never heard of this method and wouldn't want to use it. To me it seems like it would make the Dobe afraid of loud noises. However it worked for him so I thought I'd share.
 
He is missing his littermate play, and is acting it out with you. Sounds as if he is respecting your partner as Alpha and you as his play friend. You will have to be very stern with your No, like his Dam would be if she were there, but you also have to figure out a way for him to play out his energy. I like to use an old towel to play puppy tug, and wrestle with. They can get all wrapped up in it, and you can use it between you and him to divert his attention. It will have your scent on it and he will enjoy playing with it. Keep it put up when you are not there, and only get it out when he wants to play like that. You can drag it on the ground and he will pounce on it like prey, and then lightly play tug. Read up on tug games, and bite games, as you need to be careful with a puppy, but you need to engage his drive and use that as intro to his training. Remember, No means No - but a puppy cannot be polite and quite all the time. Read up, and watch you tube vids, of how to play with a working dog, as they are different than most other breeds. Now is the time to establish your roll in his life. Good luck, and remember that every pup is a bit different, so you have to get to understand your pup, and he has to understand you.
 
sorry if there's already a post about this on here but I couldn't see one. My pup is 14 weeks old and his puppy biting is getting out of hand. As a pup we would divert his attention to a toy when he nipped us but that only worked for a week or so and he started nipping again. He will only bite me and doesn't go anywhere near my partner's skin. To stop his nipping I have tried giving a very firm 'no' but it falls on deaf ears and he just grips harder. Have even given him a time out in a separate room to calm down and he's only allowed back through once he's calm. This no longer works as he comes straight back into the room and nips at me again. I'm trying my best to stop this behaviour but it seems out of hand at the moment and it drives me insane! Any suggestions of what I'm doing wrong. He's currently snuggled up to me like he's my best friend after a mad biting half hour!
OH Girl.. i am right there along with you. My little girl (and at this point i have to restrain myself from referring to her as the B word!) Is exactly the same at almost 18 weeks. She goes from napping to obnoxious in 0-60sec! We've tried all the tricks too Her play isnt just biting though.. she gets fully indignant and barks incessantly at us.. trying to tease or incite is to play.. (which is honestly feels lime a teenage girl talking back!)!!
No Bite with muzzle holding (we still do that) , Redirect (still doing), time outs in the bathroom(still doing), Cesar styled corrections, under the tongue hold/pinch, bitter apple, coin can noise deterrent, training session redirect, you name it...she just seems to adapt like a friggin' Borg (for those fellow Trekkies out there! ;) ) and our resistance feels futile!! Lol. I swear i caught her giving me the finger.. (uh.. toe?) one time.
Ive actually had some success doing a probably stupid idea/ technique of emulating an alpha wolf (or my absurd interpretation) and growling/showing teeth and taking her space on all fours. I look absurd (and feel it) but shes been responding by stopping, looking away and calming.. then licks my chin/face and chills out for a bit. I say it works 60-75% of the time with the other part of the time continuing to try to play or some distraction (i.e. kids or other dog) comes in and breaks her attention from me.
Note: Ive been told this is a hugely stupid and dangerous thing to do! I totally agree but i am with ya at the Wits End!!!
On a side note.. she is totally cuddling with me on the couch too as i write this!
I was talking to a friend who owns a Doberman that just turned 1 yr. He was having biting issues also. His breeder had him fill a 16 oz plastic bottle with pennies 1/4 full. Whenever he bites shake the bottle and give a firm No. He says it has worked for him.
Personally I've never heard of this method and wouldn't want to use it. To me it seems like it would make the Dobe afraid of loud noises. However it worked for him so I thought I'd share.
Hahahhaa totally tried this and she thought it was a game!! Surprised her the first time and then set her off into a big-mouthed barking play fit!!!
I totally agree that it seems like it would associate fear with loud noise!
 
Luna has gotten quite a bit better at 5 months but still does it with my son a few times a week (vs. multiple times a day at her worst). She virtually never does it with me as she sees me as the alpha. My 7 year old son on the other hand she perceives to be her litter mate. I do the NO with hand closing the snout. I've also pinched the back of her neck in my best dam imitation which actually works pretty well at least in the short term. More recently I've started spraying the apple cider vinegar at her and that gets her attention. In fact I usually just have to grab the bottle and she stops doing whatever she isn't supposed to be doing! The problem is that the bottle isn't usually accessible. I suppose I should make up a few more bottles and distribute them around my house! lol

At this point my son's brand new winter coat looks terrible - there are so many rips on the sleeves from Luna's teeth. :banghead: My list of things to replace once the dreaded puppy phase over keeps growing longer..................:rolleyes:
 
So glad this is on here as I type she's laying across my legs like a sweet angel but most the time she's the devil and will not listen!! She's 11 wks old at this point and will sit well w treats but draws blood on me and will not come to me when we are outside [emoji19] frustrating to say the least I love her but she's a def wild child!!!!
 
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My two started that crap with me. It took about 10 days to stop it.
Every time they went to bite me I would pull them in close to me and grab their tongue and start counting imaginary freckles on their tongues while sweet talking. They soon tired of that game.

Now at 4mo. 17 days old all I have to do is say no bite.
They really don't like me counting freckles on their tongues. Lol
 
We have been really lucky with Ruby on this, she doesn't bite us, really never has...She bites/ chews Spike ALL day!:rofl:
Yeah, I was going to say they do a lot of chewing on each other and Maddie.:rofl::rofl:
At first when I felt the bumps all over them I was panicked like they had some allergy skin issues going on, then I realized they both had the same bumps from biting each other. Whew
 
I am having this same problem but Apple is just 9 weeks old. I'm doing the hold the snout and say no, redirection and ignoring her afterwards. She loves to bite me and the kids ... It is super frustrating but I hear it's just because she is a puppy ... I'm ready for that faze to be finished!!
 

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