Puppy is out of control nipping and bitting
We're doing everything we know to teach her that bitting us is not OK. We say NO with a firm tone of voice. We hold her mouth until she calms down. We praise her when she's doing good. I spend all the time she is awake playing with her. I stared to take her to a small walk today. And it gets worse when my husband gets home from work. She really snaps a him and gets hyper and aggressive. I am so frustrated today. She is 7 weeks old only.
Thank you!
Cíntia
Thank you!
Cíntia
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Maddy & Keke on
-
When we brought Keke home at 7 wks old, she was a handful. She nips, she bites and she chews everything her mouth can fit. She also pee n poo everywhere she want. When we scold her, she barks at us loudly. There were days that all I wanted was to lock her in her cage......
But things changed once she hit 4 mths old. She became calmer and behave like a sweet little pup.
With lots of patience and love, your puppy will know what you expect from her.
Reading up on this breed do helps a LOT!
-
Permalink Reply by Beth on
-
What a cute puppy!
First, 7 weeks old is still very young. Many Corgi breeders don't let their litters leave til around 10 weeks, so they get extra time with mom and siblings. That doesn't mean you'll have extra problems, but just realize your pup is still a very little baby.
Teaching not to bite takes a long time. Think weeks or more likely months, instead of days. A dog does not, of course, have hands, and they use their mouths to explore the world. If you have a chance, visit a dog park without your puppy (dog parks are dangerous for little ones) and watch the dogs play. If you can't do that, then check out You Tube and look for videos of dogs playing. Dogs bite each other in play, often and hard. Imagine trying to teach a person not to use their hands to touch anything, and you have an idea of what you are trying to accomplish with your pup.
There are many schools of thought on this, and all I can tell you is what works for me. That doesn't mean other schools of thought are wrong, just that they don't work for me.
First, I avoid any methods that involve putting hands on puppy. That means no squeezing mouths, no alpha rolls. Many puppies get more excited if you grab them. They think you are escalating play and respond in kind. I also avoid any methods that involve you treating the pup "like her mother would" or "like her littermates would." I realize these methods (which include yipping, grabbing by the scruff, and alpha rolls) are very popular, but your dog knows you are not another dog. Your corrections will never be as quick or as accurate as another dog's. And if you alpha-roll a pup that is already showing signs of submission that you missed, you can damage your relationship. Plus, there are two sorts of yips that dogs do: the "I outrank you, get off me you clown" yip, and the "I'm just a poor defenseless thing, please don't hurt me" yip of submission. I'm not really sure how those who advocate yipping know which yip they are giving. Nonetheless, this method works for some people but I don't personally care for it. So, now on to the process:
The first step is substitution. ALWAYS have toys within reach when playing with puppy, and every time puppy bites you, give her a firm (not sharp, but firm and calm) "No" then put the toy in her mouth and say "Good girl!" You may need to do this many times in your play session. This is normal.
If she continues to ignore the toy and bite you, try standing up, turning your back and folding your arms, and ignoring her for a short time (maybe a minute or so).
If she continues to leap at you (and she may) it is handy to have baby gates up so you can step over the gates and leave her. This way she learns that teeth on you = play time over. (stepping over the gate may very well involve detaching the puppy from your pants or shoes). Leave her for just a few minutes, then return.
If pup gets absolutely wild and completely out of control (as opposed to normal puppy exuberance), you can very calmly put her in pen or crate til she settles down. This is not a punishment, but rather removing pup from a situation she is finding over-stimulating and putting her somewhere quieter.
We just visited a breeder and her pup was still a wee bit mouthy (according to her) at six months. Again, this will take a long time, not just days. You are trying to redirect instinctive behavior in an animal that is still very immature.
The above method works with a lot of pups, but again you will need to repeat over and over, often every time you play. Jack was like a little land shark and he just did not get the hint, so with him we tried the step-down method instead of the cold-turkey method, and that worked. Everything is similar, but instead of stopping puppy whenever teeth touch your skin, you actually allow puppy to mouth your hands. When she bites hard enough that it truly hurts, then tell her "no" and stand up and step immediately out of her reach. Then gradually over a few weeks you stop her at less and less pressure. This teaches bite suppression and eventually you will stop at any mouth contact, but this teaches your pup to mouth you more gently. The first method is better, but the step-down can be tried if after many days your puppy is not showing any sign of decrease in biting behavior, or lessening in how hard she bites.
Good luck with your beautiful little girl!
-
-
One other thing to remember is that because of the popularity of certain breeds, many of us had early experience with dogs and puppies that were some sort of lab, Golden, spaniel, setter, or mix of the above. Almost all the bird dogs were selectively bred over many hundreds of generations to have "soft" mouths so they did not damage the birds they retrieved. Those puppies also bite, but it's much gentler.
Corgis were not bred for soft mouths. They were bred to nip cattle. They do not seem to have the natural bite suppression of many of the gun-dog breeds. I was shocked at how hard Jack bit when we brought him home.
-
Permalink Reply by Parker on
-
I never thought of that before! I only had labs or spaniel mixes as a kid and they were not as rough with nipping as Grover was as a puppy! He nearly drove me nuts!!
With Grover, we just had to be VERY persistent. It took him FOREVER to realize biting meant no more play. We had to actually walk away like every 2 seconds when we started the walk away method. We also had to try a LOT of other things, like having a toy on hand at all times and we even put lemon juice on our hands a couple of times (not real effective, but we were desperate). But eventually he got, but I'd say he was at least 6 months old. Not kidding! Then of course he became a licker...he licks everything, but that's another story.
But I would not suggest the alpha roll or the yipping thing. The alpha roll was not something I tried, but I could only imagine how worked up it would have made Grover. And the yipping thing just seemed to excite him.
Good Luck!
-
Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
-
What I have found is with my male Wynn I would say OW in a loud low voice and turn away giving him no attention...he caught on quick. If she's only 7 weeks this is young and you want to stop it now but don't get too frustrated she is very young! Maybe have your husband ignore her when he gets home till she calms down and sits (not that she know this yet) and then give her a treat for sitting or standing nicely instead of attention for being rowdy... or you might have to ditract her with a treat or toy while he comes in so it's not such a big deal....sounds like she's happy he's home but just not showing it in an appropriate way! We all go through periods of this so you're not the only one.
-
Permalink Reply by Cintia Allsup on
-
Hey Everyone,
Thank you so much for the tips. I was really so frustrated because she is picking up some things so fast like potty training... We certainly expected to much of her for her age. Thank you for helping me know that this is normal. We've been planning to get a puppy for such a long time, then when it finally came the time, based on my previous experience with muts - I didn't know it would be this challenging. My husband had a corgi several years ago and he says he can't remember it being like this.
I do agree that the alpha-roll thing is not working. The yipping works sometimes but, as Beth mentioned, I don't know what kind of message she is getting. I think it is the "I'm just a poor defenseless thing, please don't hurt me" :o) I have been doing the toy substitution thing and it works as long as i keep her interested in the toy, which she doesn't stay for too long.
I am gonna try the bite suppression and ignoring her a bit. I'll let you know how it works. We're trying to find a pen hat is not 3 feet tall. We live in a small apt. We are using the bitter apple as well and it works for furniture and stuff we don't want her to chew, but you have to reapply it maybe twice a day.
I am just so glad I am not the only one :o) We love this little monster!
Thank you
If you have more tips...keep'em coming!!! ;o)
-
-
Hi, You talked about a fence that is not 3 feet tall. I have a fence that is called Pet Lodge and it has a site if you want the info. I know it comes in several heights and the thing I like is it can extend to about 16 feet, you can make it smaller by doubling the panels. I have a 31 " and I believe it also comes in a 24". You can
put it in circles squares almost any shape. I sometimes just use it to block off a room as I have a 10' opening. I bought this when I had pups but I use it all the time! I know some of my puppy owners bought one too as it gives them more room to run if you're gone and they stay safe. I use mine all the time and wish I had gotten one years ago. You can fold it up and take it with you also!
-
-
thank you Jane. I did find it online. That's exactly what we were looking for.
Thanks sooo much!
-
Permalink Reply by Beauty and the Beast on
-
Jane, could you please give a linke to that Pet Lodge thing. When I type Pet Lodge it gives me boarding and resort results. Thanks
-
-
I agree. Shiro is 6 months old but he still tries to tackle my husband when he gets home. That's because my husband is so happy to see him that he actually reinforces this behavior unconsciously. He doesn't do it to me because I ignore this behavior and pet him when he's sitting nicely. Of course my husband has a different explanation to this: "He just loves me more". hehe sure
-
Permalink Reply by Stephanie on
-
I agree with the others. I do the loud/growl NO and pull my hands away. We're still working on it, but we've definitely made progress.
Rescue Store
Stay Connected
FDA Recall
Canadian Food Inspection Agency Recall
Groups
We support...
Badge
© 2024 Created by Sam Tsang.
Powered by
