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
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Permalink Reply by Cintia Allsup on
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Oh...:o)
I figured this one pretty quick. My finger was the perfect bait for those shark teeth. :o)
Boy...it hurts! :o)
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Permalink Reply by Boo Buchheit on
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Reading down this thread you are getting lots of good ideas. I don't advocate puppies leaving their mother and littermates earlier than 8 weeks and really 10 is better. A lot of problem behavior like you are having can be stopped (or at least minimized) by leaving the pup with it's mother/siblings longer. Bite inhibition is taught in this environment by mom and sibs. Don't mean to rant but it concerns me to read about so many pups going to new homes too young.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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I also wanted to say that it's very normal to get frustrated. Puppies are sweet and lovable, but they are so much work! Jack put holes in two pairs of pants before I realized I could not get dressed for work in the morning til I was ready to walk out the door.
Don't be afraid to put puppy away for a few minutes if you are feeling overwhelmed. Alone time won't ruin her, as long as she's getting enough play and exercise.
For weeks the only game I could play with Jack was tug. He was so mouthy I could not really get on the floor and play at all. I would get up, walk away, come back and the biting would instantly start again. I did a lot of research on line and found one trainer who advocated my second method (what I call the step-down one), where you encourage softer biting with the idea of eventually phasing it out. The reason that method worked for me is because if I enforced "no bite" I would have literally not been able to sit on the floor and interact with my puppy.
It did take months til he was good about that. If it's any consolation, he did grow up to be a very sweet dog. He's now just over two and he is a therapy dog.
As for playing tug, I know some say it is a bad idea and it might be for some dogs, but Jack and I played it extensively and now I can't even get him to engage. He'll tug a bit with my husband, but as far as I'm concerned, if my hand is on a toy, his mouth is off it. I've tried to get him to tug and he just gets excited and barks and waits for me to throw it. So your puppy's mouthiness now does not mean she'll grow up to be especially pushy! Just be patient and keep working. You'll know you are getting there if you see a VERY gradual reduction in how often/how hard she bites you.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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You have received a lot of good advice. We called Sparty Jaws when he was a puppy! We got him at 7 weeks. I agree that this is really too young but it just means you have a little more work to do. We used the high pitched yelping method. When he bit, we yelped a high, dramatic screech and substituted a toy. If he did it again we put him in the kitchen (closed off area) until he calmed down.Beth is right this can take a while so don't expect quick results. Grabbing just seems to encourage the behavior. Some corgis are very aggressive as puppies it does not mean she will be as an adult. Sparty grew up to be a well trained (but noisy) dog. My other corgis were not nippy at all. Try for several short walks a day. Take your time with the leash training by encouraging her to follow you versus pulling.A tired puppy is much more compliant! Also, look into puppy classes when she gets older, they really help. This is a dog bred to herd a one ton cow or two and keep critters out of a big garden so a little attitude is normal. When she gets a little older she will "get it" and you will be glad you were consistent and patient because they are really fun dogs!
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I agree pups are best left with their litter til they are 9 or 10 weeks. However, Jack came to us at 10 weeks and was a piranha. LOL His litter was very rough with each other, apparently, and his dam was only 2 and still liked to play rough. So no help there in bite suppression.
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hehe Exactly piranha! That's how my husband has been referring to her.
Today I started with the bite suppression. Impressively she is responding very well (until now ;o)
I let her explore and bite a bit, and while se does that I keep my hand/fingers very still and slowly move away from her mouth and introduce the toy in place. She did bit hard a couple of times and when she did that I hid my hands and ignored her. She still tried to go for my clothes, so I stood up and moved away. As soon as she calmed, I praised her. She is looking like another dog today. Let's see what happens when my husband arrives later.
You are all helping me so much!
thank you!!
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Permalink Reply by Marion and Vern on
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I've heard that holding their mouth just makes them want to bite more don't know if it is true or not. Sami was really good at biting we started keeping the right stuff for her to bite on, toys or chews, and when she would get bitey with us stuck one in her mouth when she went for us. Also she would get sooooo hyper sometimes and our vet said try a time out for like 2 maybe 3 minutes. I thought yeah right time out for a dog that will work...not! So today I eat crow, we tried it by putting her in her room (the utility room) just off the den when she got real bad about it for a couple of minutes or so and bam it worked!! Calmed her down when we let her back out with us we didn't mention it or anything or keep repremanding her over it, it was a done deal. She still gets a little rowdy and now all we have to say is do you want to go to your room sometimes that will calm her down. Also watch how you play with her and how your husband plays with her sometimes things you do get them going. Now my husband at first played a little rougher with her then I did, once she jumped up and bit his nose ( boy did he bleed) he didn't play so rough after that. See they teach us as well as us teaching them. Also we would stop play when she got bad and would ignore her for a little while tells them this is not acceptable behavior.
You do have a very young pup but with time and patience she will come around. Shoot Sami is getting so lovey and much calmer now as she gets older it is hard to believe we thought we would never get her to behave. Also a little alone time is good for the pup and for you--not long periods but everyone needs a break once in awhile. As with babies naps are important or they can get cranky which could cause more biting.
Hang in there and as you can see someone almost always is willing to help with questions or problems on here. It is one of the reasons I enjoy this site so much, also pat yourself on the back for asking for help the worst thing you can do is think your all alone with a problem.
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Thanks Marion. Last night it was really frustrating for husband as she snapped at him and bit his nipple!!! You can imagine the pain. And he was wearing a shirt!
After a while he realized she is with us for just a week and a couple of days and he calmed down. I ran here for help cause what we were doing (holding her mouth and yipping) was making her more hyper and aggressive.
I'll keep posting as she progresses.
Thank you!
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Oh, I agree they need naps to keep from getting cranky! Some pups will just lay down and go to sleep when tired, but not Jack. He would get this crazed look in his eyes and just get horrible, and I would say "YOU need a nap" and put him away. He'd start to yap to let us know how much he did not want to go away, and I swear he'd fall asleep halfway through the third yap. Just like a little kids who screams they are not tired then falls asleep as you carry them upstairs.
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Permalink Reply by Nicole, Stanley and STELLA! on
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Ha ha! Stella gets "crazy tired" too! It's when she's the most out of control. I just have to put her in her pen, walk away, let her spin around in circles or shake one of her toys crazily like she's possessed, and wait to hear the thump--then I look over and she's out cold!
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Permalink Reply by Ein Danger on
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this is totally normal and actually associated with the breed. i've had puppies in the past (cocker spaniels and yorkies) and they've never nipped as much or for as long. ein's still a nipper and he's 10 months old. it kinda only happens when he's real excited though. so i think they, just like other pups eventually grow out of it. i would really try and reinforce good habits (no nipping and overly aggressive/hyper activity). just keep with it. i know it's totally annoying and painful at times but your puppy is still so young and despite her amazing intelligence she's just relying on her instincts. she's a corgi, a herding dog at heart. you can't break that :) i'd take her on long walks or even short runs, play with her and some puppy-safe toys and get her socialized at an early age. this will set her up for great temperament down the road as she matures. she just need an outlet in which to get all her energy out and act like a puppy :) don't worry you're doing great!
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Stella is currently close to 5 months old, and it wasn't until she was about 3 months that she had any semblance of control with nipping. Your puppy is SO young! I got Stella at 9 1/2 weeks Actually, she still has some times when she goes to nip because she is still teething (she only has half of her adult teeth). But now she listens when I tell her no, whereas before she seemed clueless and just persisted. Like everyone has said, it pays to be persistent and consistent. I did the replace and/or ignoring method, (exactly like Beth's earlier post), putting her in her playpen and stepping away at times. It is really frustrating, especially since corgis are such bold little dogs! The good thing is that they are smart, though! It may seem like you're going nowhere, but little by little it will get better as your pup matures--she'll listen because of your persistence and she'll also be teething less. Good luck! Nicole
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