Stop puppy biting?

[TxDog]

I've read two different ways to raise a pup who is mouthy.

First is to stop her from biting at you, just play biting, and chewing on random stuff by telling her a firm no then giving her something she can chew on and praising her.

Other way I've read is to allow her play biting so she can develop her bite inhibition.

Which way should I raise her? Stop the biting altogether or allow it?

[crestie_rsq]

I think you need to use a combination of the two. I have one here who loves to play bite (he's my brain damaged epi boy so we let this kid do just about anything he wants) but we did have to teach him some bite control. We (and the other dogs) did this by yelping & ignoring when he bit too hard. His favorite way to play is tug or "let's chew on mom's arm awhile" and I let him do it cuz it brings me such joy to see him happy & playful (he's been on anti-seizure meds for almost a year now and spent many months doing nothing but eating & sleeping while we worked on getting his meds just right). All the others though are taught from the beginning that nipping/biting/gnawing is not acceptable. With them we used a stern "NO" and redirected their attention to appropriate toys.

[circle c]

It completely depends on the situation. I NEVER repremand my pups for biting. I raise working Border Collies and I don't want to do ANYTHING to discourage their bite drive. They need that for their future. I simply stay away from situations where the pup would bite me. I do however provide them with an endless supply of chew toys.

With that said, I understand that not everyone raises herding dogs. I tell all my clients to use the spray bottle. When they bite, say no sternly and then spray them in the nose. I have had SUCH good results with it that I recommend it to anyone. And, it's simple. It doesn't take long for the dog to realize that NO mean stop biting and you don't even have to use the spray bottle any more.

[seraphicia]

I don't at all advocate using the spray bottle as that can come with a slew of other problems. Besides, if you try to go with doing the spray bottle you must have it in your hand every second of the day to be consitent, because unless everytime they bite, you give them an unpleasant(and i think unjust) correction, then they don't understand otherwise. I find it works very well to ignore them for atleast thirty seconds, no contact, no nothing, longer for severity. Harsh punishments as a pup will see them seems to just confuse them. Some pups are so attention hungry and draw on any person contact that even a quick yelp is satisfaction for them though and they see it as play or winning. Pups typically don't listen when their littermates chew on eachother and one squeals in pain. The other doesn't stop instantly as should be the case. She would recieve a harsher correctoin from an older dog, but in a dog-human relationship where the person is more alpha but also building a relationship, its not a great plan to start out with a sharp correction, especially if its not consistent. Depending on what you're planning on using her for, I'd try the less severe ignoring and then after a short time redirecting her attention to appropriate toys. She shouldn't be allowed to outright chew on someone, thats just bad manners in my opinion, and unpleasant to boot. I'd think atleast ignoring her(getting up and not paying any attention i mean) and rediercting her attention after about 30 seconds should work, should work, depending on the dog and how used to being allowed to bite she is.

[opokki]

With bite inhibition, the puppy first learns to inhibit the pressure of his bites and then not to bite at all. I prefer this method over just not allowing biting at all because I think if the dog ever does feel the need to bite later on, the pressure he uses will be less likely to cause damage.

[eagle12167]

i'm not to sure how this is a problem, you have a min-pin and chiuawa. they are both known for protection. i raise pits and the bitting is more of the love nips kind. the pups that you have are a mildly agressive, they should be taught that when the bitting becomes to much you give them a command that will make them stop "playing" immediately. i do not give mine conventional commands like stop or quit. i use something that does not mean anything close to the command like "shoe"(just a word), any word will work just keep it the same.

[DiggityDogs]

i'm not to sure how this is a problem, you have a min-pin and chiuawa. they are both known for protection.

This kind of thinking is exactly why there are so many neurotic chihuahuas and min pins out there. Small dogs need training too, just because they're little doesn't mean they should get away with something you wouldn't let a big dog get away with. I'm curious to know why you think chis and min pins are 'known for protection'? They certainly weren't bred for that, and in my experience, they're known for being anti social and aggressive, usually due to lack of training and proper socialization, not 'protectiveness.' I applaud Txdog for doind the work with them... we need more small dog owners who care about their dog's behavior enough to want to train them instead of letting them run wild.

[eagle12167]

i have a friend in missouri that raise minpins and his dogs are very protective of him, that's until they get to know you then they are different. as for the chiuawas they are agressive. every time i go to someones house that has chis they come out barking and nipping my boots. the reason i wear boots. i have found that poodles are just as bad as the chis. just so you understand i'm not small dog racist. i do like all dogs.
i have been to other peoples houses were there is other dogs of different breeds and i have found that these three are the most5 aggressive of all that i have been around. i used to be a maint. man at the mobil home park i live in and with five parks owned by the same person to take care of, those three are by far the most aggresive.
why? i'm not sure.
i understand that all dogs need training, and that most people don't train them. i have found that even the ones that have had training are just about the same attitude.

[DiggityDogs]

What I'm saying is that the majority of people who have those 'aggressive' small dogs, much like the people you are mentioning, are people who likely think that small dogs don't need any training and 'that's just how they are'. That's exactly how I ended up with my small dog- he was mean and shook all the time and his owners didn't want an 'aggressive' dog and were too lazy to fix the problem that they'd created. All he needed was a little training to turn him around. It is a MYTH that chihuahuas are aggressive as a breed just like it's a MYTH that pit bulls are aggressive as a breed. All it takes is proper training.

[eagle12167]

well the guy that has the minpins is an obediance school trainer, his does exactly what they are told. if they don't know you they will bark and growl and carry on. they are more bark then bite, and once you get to know them they are very fun to play with. as for the chis, well every one that i have met is agressive, i know that by nature dogs are not agressive, it is the people that make them that way. as for training them that may be. although i would imagine that you are right about them needing training. most of the people i know can't afford those things, and i know they love thier dogs just as much as i do.
i made a comment about all the chis i have met, i forgot i have met one that was not agressive, that was my foster sisters chi. peanut didn't care as long as you were petting him, and with no training.
after the chis get to know me they are still a little agressive towards me.
as for my comment as to why curb this particular habit and about them being agressive. i will stand by my words. they are a protective spieces all dogs will protect the pack. this sounds like what her dogs are thinking, that they are protecting her. dogs can sense things that people can't.
even my male pit who is loving to the end with just about anyone. this my proof:
about four years ago a deputy came to my house and we were talking about an incident that involved one of my nieghbors and me. my nieghbor was throwing rocks at my dogs.
the deputy that showed up first (in uniform, and the same race ), the dogs went to him and he petted them. the second deputy ( in uniform, and the same race as the first ), when he showed up the dogs went nuts. i put the dogs in the house, the second deputy stated that if they ever came to arrest me they would shoot my dogs first. i told the deputy to leave my property now. i looked at the first deputy and said you need to watch that man.
about two months later the first deputy came by my house to tell me about that deputy. the second deputy was arrested for police brutality and drugs.
the deputy introduced me to his senior deputy and my dogs loved him as well.
now as i was saying why curb this habit? if i had curbed this habit there would still be a deputy that was crooked on the force. now thanks to my dogs and a wise deputy there is one less to worry about.
i hope you see the point i was trying to make with the comment.

[DiggityDogs]

well the guy that has the minpins is an obediance school trainer, his does exactly what they are told. if they don't know you they will bark and growl and carry on. they are more bark then bite, and once you get to know them they are very fun to play with.
Then they are not really aggressive, are they?

as for the chis, well every one that i have met is agressive, i know that by nature dogs are not agressive, it is the people that make them that way. as for training them that may be. although i would imagine that you are right about them needing training. most of the people i know can't afford those things, and i know they love thier dogs just as much as i do.
There's nothing to 'afford' about spending a little time socializing your dog and maybe reading or trying to educate yourself on how to care for your dog behaviorally. If one cannot 'afford' this, then maybe one should not have a dog. Love is not always enough to provide proper care for your animal. I wish I had a dime for every time I heard someone say that their dog 'didn't need any training' because 'they take plenty good care of it and all it needs is food and water and love' only to later have their dog quarrantened, be sued or ticketed, or even worse after their dog bit or mauled someone.

i made a comment about all the chis i have met, i forgot i have met one that was not agressive, that was my foster sisters chi. peanut didn't care as long as you were petting him, and with no training.
This dog was likely properly socialized- which goes to prove my last point, it's not always 'obedience training' that's needed. Socialization could very well just do the trick.

after the chis get to know me they are still a little agressive towards me.
There are a number of reasons this could be. I suspect it's because you have preconcieved notions about chihuahuas and they sense your apprehension towards them.

as for my comment as to why curb this particular habit and about them being agressive. i will stand by my words. they are a protective spieces all dogs will protect the pack. this sounds like what her dogs are thinking, that they are protecting her. dogs can sense things that people can't.

So you think that her dogs are being protective of her because they're biting her? shouldn't they be biting someone else if they're protective? My interpretation of the OP was that the pup is mouthy, play biting and chewing on things. How does this serve as being protective of the pack?


even my male pit who is loving to the end with just about anyone. this my proof:
about four years ago a deputy came to my house and we were talking about an incident that involved one of my nieghbors and me. my nieghbor was throwing rocks at my dogs.
the deputy that showed up first (in uniform, and the same race ), the dogs went to him and he petted them. the second deputy ( in uniform, and the same race as the first ), when he showed up the dogs went nuts. i put the dogs in the house, the second deputy stated that if they ever came to arrest me they would shoot my dogs first. i told the deputy to leave my property now. i looked at the first deputy and said you need to watch that man.
about two months later the first deputy came by my house to tell me about that deputy. the second deputy was arrested for police brutality and drugs.
the deputy introduced me to his senior deputy and my dogs loved him as well.
This serves as no proof to me. I hardly think that they removed a deputy from the force because of your dog. There is such a thing as 'probable cause' and a dog's intuition about a person's character does not fall into that category. It very well could be that the guy was a jerk and your dog sensed that, maybe he had some fear of pits like you have a fear of chihuahuas to a certain extent. This would be more than enough to make your dog bark or growl at him. Furthermore, having been in law enforcement myself, as much as I love dogs I would have to say that protection of myself comes first and if someone's dog tried to attack me I would do whatever necessary to stop it. The cop was obviously wrong for saying that out loud like it was a threat, but would have every right to shoot your dog if it tried to attack him.

now as i was saying why curb this habit? if i had curbed this habit there would still be a deputy that was crooked on the force. now thanks to my dogs and a wise deputy there is one less to worry about.
i hope you see the point i was trying to make with the comment.
Again, I hardly think that you dog was the department's reason for getting rid of a crooked deputy. If not, why not hire you and your dog and you could sniff out crooked cops all day long? And no, I still don't see any point to your comments.

[eagle12167]

okay i missed the part of her dog nipping at her. as for the minpins okay, i cansee your point they did stop when he told them to. when most people talk about obidence they talk about school that can get very expensive, as for them socializing the dog to other people the people that ihave been friends with do and some of them (not all) have taken the time to read and do what the books say, not that it helped much. not really, we have a large family but that's it. as for the chis still having agression towards me because of some fear, no i have only been bitten by a gsd when i was very small, but no other dog. i don't fear the dog, more of the owner then the dog. as you said training.
as for the deputy that was arrested, well hmm, you may be right about that, however my dogs have never been that way since. maybe the other deputy felt the same way and started the investigation on the same understanding that dogs no good people as well as bad, maybe they did sense fear in the deputy. however the deputy is no longer employeed.
as for not seeing any point to my comments, oh well, you believe your truth and i will believe what i have seen and experienced in my life.
and yes they have had meetings with other deputies from that area and they all seemed fine. surprise, none of those deputies are in jail or out of work.
now that you mention it i do have a few concieved notions, not about dogs.
and the last time any of my dogs were shot by the leos was when they shot them in my front yard. not for being aggressive but because the gas company said so. due to my age and the outcome of court hearings i got the shaft because the leos are taught how to "fabricate" or "rearange the facts". they said that i did not have posted signs around my yard. i did in six languages. i'm sure at least one of them could read english, spannish, french, german, japanese,or pictograph. but then again? we are talking about people who are trained to shoot first and lie about reports later.
as to txdog i am sorry that you have wasted your time reading this. as for your puppy nipping you, you should repremand him for doing so. i had two threads going in my head at the same time, that is the reason for the confussion. again i am truely sorry for the confussion.

[eagle12167]

diggity dogs, if you would like to continue this i would be more than happy to, but let's not hijack a thread to do it. we can start our own thread you can call it like you see it and i will reply the way i see it.

[TxDog]

While trainable I believe that chihuahua's and min pin's were bred to have an aggresive temperment. Our Min Pin/Chihuahua while very trained still has those naturals instincts that overpower him on occasion. It was theorized though currently under question that chihuahua's were descended from dogs soley bred to protect royalty.

I stopped my dogs biting altogether towards humans as she has got a lot larger fast. I'm guessing she is pit bernard right now by the speed of her growth. She has been playing with my other dog who lets her know when she is being too rough. She is going to be much larger than him but I know he will still boss her around once she is large.

[eagle12167]

it is kind of hard to tell what size he might get if you could post i pic of him with something to measure by, we could have a better idea of his size. you are a good photographer, so try to include something that is about a standard size to everyone. and i'm not sure if you already did but could you include his age?please.

[Stark]

TxDog,
I correct my dogs for biting to hard when playing with me. This in no way inhibits the dogs biting in the future. I own and train dogs for protection sports and I've never had a problem. I have a friend who trains his Pits to look away if you try and put your fingers or hand in their mouth. It's a personal preference.

Good Luck

[DFrost]

Puppies biting are like infants putting things in their mouth. It's a means of exploring this new world they are in. One of the best things we can do, is just redirect the behavior. When a puppy starts biting, just replace the object being bitten with something they can bite. Don't make a big deal of it, just redirect, redirect, redirect. When it seems it's not working, just continue redirecting.

DFrost

[MissxxMarisa]

you seem to know what you're talking about...i'm new here b/c i'm at the end of my leash with my dogs biting. he's a big dog so his play bites are VERY hard to ignore. any other suggestions???

[dogma]

keep his lip between you and his teeth, once he has pinched his own lips he'll learn to be more careful of what he clamps his teeth onto.

I use this little trick for dogs who snap at food, or when overexcited, it also works for mouthy dogs. The command I use is "Easy", others use "gentle", use whatever works for you. Have the dog sit directly in front of you. GENTLY hold the dogs mouth closed with one hand. Show him a treat with the other hand while repeating the command. Only allow the dog to open his mouth about an inch and pop the treat into his mouth. Repeat until you no longer have to show him how far he is allowed to open his mouth. Keep it fun, this is NOT a punishment, and the lesson is lost if the dog becomes afraid. It is a gentle illustration that he needs to be more aware of what he does when he opens his mouth. He is not given the treat unless he takes it gently. It usually only takes one session to teach the average dog , especially if you make a fun game out of it and he gets good treats too. In future, when he starts to get over-excited or too rough you can use the command "easy" to remind him to be mindful what he does with his mouth. It one of those commands that gives a little extra peace of mind.

[spencersmom]

i have a little dachshund and i would always just ignore him when he started biting. he needs attention so much that he quickly learned he gets more attention when biting a toy than when biting my hand! i think it will vary depending on the dog, though.
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[Bonesdaddy]

One method that I find very effective in teaching your puppy that is not ok to bite, is as soon as the dog nips, swiftly jerk your self away from the dogs mouth, and yell ouch. This teaches the dog that what it is doing is harmful to you. There are soooo many methods though. If your puppy doesnt respond to one after a while, it might be time to try a different one. Try to avoid the game of "tug of war," puppys tend to nip because they think it is playful, although your finger is throbing in pain and you don't think its to funny... If your dogs continues to bite I wouldn't suggest isolating it to its cage because the puppy will think of the kennel as a bad place or place of punishment, and not a home. Usually if trained correctly the puppy will not carry these traits on as an adult...