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Permalink Reply by Jane on June 16, 2011 at 2:53pm

Biting socks and hands is not teething IMO, it's just an undesirable behavior. Has he been through any obedience classes? At a year old I don't think these are things that will go away on their own.

 

What I would do is when he starts biting your feet give him a strong NO and stop moving immediately. Eventually he will lose interest, but it may take a long time, you need to be patient and consistent. If he starts getting crazy about it I'd say NO and then TIME OUT and put him in an xpen or puppy safe room with the door closed for 10 minutes.

 

For the biting while you're petting him, I would just stop petting and ignore him completely the moment he starts to bite or yip or get excited. Get up and walk away if you have to. Eventually he will figure out that if he wants pets he needs to sit still and be calm. Some dogs just don't like to be pet though, so I wouldn't push it on him if he doesn't seem to enjoy it.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel M on June 16, 2011 at 6:50pm

Thanks for the advice! He has been to training, but that was a few months ago. Ill try your tips. I thought the same regarding if he liked being petted or not, but he will just run between my legs or into my lap and lay down, its like hes asking to be petted

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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on June 16, 2011 at 9:05pm

You may want to get some advice from a trainer since you have let this go on for so long. At his age, he should be past this. Google Nothing In Life Is Free and start it. It is pretty simple to follow. I agree, a firm no and stop moving if he is biting your socks and a time out if he persists. I have always used a VERY high pitched yelp for teeth on my skin and then again a time out if it persists. It is not too late but you will have to be patient and very consistent to break his bad habits.

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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on June 16, 2011 at 11:43pm

It sounds like he's made a jolly game of it.  Did you, by any chance, give him old knotted socks to play with as a small pup?  Or did he get used to stealing socks left on the floor from someone?  Whatever the reason, it has to stop.   I would keep a collar on him and a leash in my pocket.  If he starts the sock thing, I'd simply snap the leash on him, without any fuss and then I'd be ready to correct him if he goes for the feet again, mine or anyone else's. Use a command specific to  the behavior, like " No socks"  If you remove him from the situation ( a time out ) he does not really learn anything, the leash allows you to keep him IN the situation while being able to control what he does. When you have time, you can plan it as a training session, put a leash on him and, in your socks, go about your business, keep it up for a fairly long period of time, long enough that he's lost interest in the feet altogether,  then unsnap the leash (without saying anything) and keep going about your business.  If he starts again, the leash goes back on. You are not trying to scold him, you are trying to establish a new type of behavior.  Scold only to interrupt after the leash is on.  If you find that, in spite of having the leash on, you cannot control him, then general obedience classes are definitely in order.

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Permalink Reply by Jane on June 17, 2011 at 8:41am

I have to argue about him not learning anything from a time-out, I've used this method with numerous behaviors (sock biting, barking, nipping, etc.) and it worked great for both my dogs. I don't put them on a time-out immediately, but if it escalates to the point where they aren't listening at all, I've found it to be very effective.

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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on June 17, 2011 at 11:08am

Jane, I did not mean to imply that a time out may not be useful.  It works well to calm dogs that have become over excited or over stimulated, especially true of pups and young energetic dogs. If they calm down, they will then again be able to listen and respond better to you. What I do think is that learning ultimately requires being IN the  situation and offering a different behavior, so that true learning only takes place IN the situation.

If Daniel is getting the pup overexcited, or rough housing etc.  a time out will help the pup and, in that case, it's for Daniel to learn the pup's limits and not push him beyond them....  In training the aim is always to help the dog be successful.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel M on June 23, 2011 at 1:24am

Thanks for the responses, ive began implementing Stopping when he bites my feet and giving a firm no, he will usually stop soon and already is learning not to. As for biting my hands it is quickly fading.

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