puppy keeps biting..

[jillybean]

I know there are already some great posts about training puppies to stop biting but I really think I've tried most of them without success!
My 7 week old beagle pup is constantly trying to bite me. The only time she doesn't bite is when she's sleeping/eating haha. She bites my pants or my ankles/feet as I walk, she bites my hands if I try to play with her, and if I lie down she'll bite my face and ears!!
I've been trying to be consistent and say "NO BITING" and hold her mouth shut till she whines, but as soon as I let go she bites again. She has a heap of toys including kongs and squeaky toys but she only plays with them for short periods then comes back to biting me. I have tried putting vinegar on my hands but she licks that off :confused:
I'm now trying to turn my back and walk off when she bites so that she realises biting means I won't play with her, however next time I walk out it starts all over again...
Any more ideas?! Thanks...

[MhadDog]

Have you tried bitter apple..most dogs hate it...some it doesn't seem to bother..

[rutylr]

This is why puppies need to stay with their mother and litter mates up to 8 to 10 weeks.This is where they learn not to bite.Taking them away to early can lead to problems.

Just keep up with what you are trying giving up only means she will always do it.

[jillybean]

Have you tried bitter apple..most dogs hate it...some it doesn't seem to bother..

I haven't been able to find bitter apple at any pet shops. I have found something by Rudducks called "Puppi-trainer Bitter Bite" which I am considering purchasing if I can't find Bitter Apple. Hopefully that will help.

Funny thing is that she only bites my boyfriend and I, she doesn't bite any little kids or my friends.

[ClarkFarm]

I would think that by holding her mouth shut, she may have thought it was you playing in return.

I would keep her leashed to you. She hasn't earned free run yet with such behavior imo. When she bites, make an "ughhh" sound and turn away from her. Make her follow you then. Have toys handy and nearby. Face her again and offer the toy to her. When she bites at it, praise her.

Unfortunately this is a behavior commonly linked to being taken from the dam too early. I went though this myself. Our lab mx was only 6 weeks when we got her. In her situation, it was best to remove her from the dam rather than wait another few weeks. She was very mouthy but I always discouraged it. She caught on as she matured. Just be very careful not to ever have anyone encourage playing rough with your hands or anything like that.

I think getting her tired out physically as well as mentally; having short training sessions (sit, lay down) will also help. Please let us know how things are going.

[vaughan80]

I have a beagle puppy too. 10 weeks old. EXACTLY the same problems. And interstingly, I am trying very similar methods to combat the problem. No luck.

I have tried everything, even simulated yelping to see if that helped - it did - once. But then back to the same problem.

It's becomming very tiring, I just want to play with him and in a way fear playing because he bites so much.

[vaughan80]

Literally an hour after I posted last night my girlfriend came home, becomming upset with the puppy behaviour she bought a couple of books.
One of which is called "The Dog whisperer" by Graeme Sims. We have been using his technique to controlling agressive behaviour and biting since last night and since getting up this morning.

I'm not saying that this will work for everyone, its still early days with me. but since we have been using these techniques our puppies behaviour has improved ten fold. It's still not perfect, he still bites now and again but it's definitely getting there. Interstingly, it was not the puppy that has issues, it was us as trainers.

Here is what he recomends:

The puppys behaviour is a reflection on your own. Remember the puppy is new to your environment, it doesnt speak your language and is used to the rules of his pack. It's like us going to another planet or country, where everyhing is different, customs, language etc.

The most important thing to get out of a biting phase is not to show agression of any kind when playing or telling off. Don't hit the dog, shout or pin the puppy to the floor. The puppy responds best to facial expressions mixed with vocal. When saying "no", frown your face. When playing nicely, wide eyed and smiling. You can tell the dog off, just don't shout.

Be calm! Don't get emotonal, angry or upset. Dog's feed off human emotions.Stay calm, talk calmly and reassuringly it will show in your puppy.

Praise good behaviour. If you replace your hand with a toy - praise him. Don't go nuts and get him excited. Calm seems to work best for me.

Don't wrestle or chase your dog, this encourages the puppy to mimick that behaviour.

When the puppy bites your hands don't flail them around, tuck them into your chest, the puppy sees flapping arms as an invitation to keep on biting.

When playing with toys.Don't wiggle them around too much, it also encourages biting of the hands and arms.

If the puppy continues to bite, take the puppy or yourself elsewhere for a time out.- We did this last night after the third time out, the puppy seemed to "get it" and not bite so much.

Another thing, if you are not doing it already - make sure your dog eats after you and when entering / exiting rooms - you leave first. It establishes a pecking order.

Hope this helps a bit. Like I said, it might not work, it's just a suggestion. The problem I have found with dog books and websites is that there is a lot of conflicting information, so clearly some approaches work best for others.

Vaughan80

Be Calm!

[kaley822]

My puppy bites a lot too. The strategy i've gone with so far is to yelp and walk away, teaching him that biting loses him playmates. It didn't work at first and it still doesnt always. He gets in bad puppy moods where he just gets out of control with energy or he gets too riled up while playing. At this point pretty much nothing works, I just have to wait until he calms down and not encourage it by playing with him.

My guess is that since your puppy is so young, he just hasn't caught on yet. I guess it's like if you tried to teach a human infant not to do something. You could be using every reasonable teaching mechanism there is, but it still takes a certain amount of time and mental development to even be able to learn a behavior.

[Tony D.]

my puppy does the XACT same thing. it doesnt bother me, bcuz she just wants to play, she doesnt do it out of a aggresive way, but she doesnt have hands, and she doesnt bite, she more or less "grabs" me with her mouth as i would grab her with my hands.