Puppy nipping/biting
Hello everyone. I'm new to this. Photos of our recently acquired red/white pem are on my page if you like babies! He is delightful. Any tips on how to train our little chap not to bite. Our vet said that exclusion has been proved to be the best thing for any undesirable behaviour ie. if he does something unacceptable, leave the room immediately without speaking or put him outside without speaking and close the door for 10 mins. My sons (10 and 12) are very good with him, but he seems to think he can bite their feet, hands and faces ALL the time. They keep calm and don't raise their voices. Vet said that scalding doesn't work because they don't understand English at this stage!!! Any tips? Gillian Leeper
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Cute baby!
There could be 2 different things going on here. If he is nipping at your heals then I say "owe" can use no,eheh(say it 1 time) stay where I am but turn the opposite direction and give him no attention(stand there arms folded and totally ignore)...this has always worked for me but you need to do this consistantly! As for hands feet etc. he is probably teething to so I would have a variety of chew toys and replace what he wants to chew or bite(say "no" and give him a chew toy he can chew! This means you will need these toys with you so you don't have to go get them as the teaching moment will be over if it takes a minute to go get.Soon he should learn that I can chew on these toys (have plenty around) but not on people!
Good luck and we all go through this!
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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Sparty was a real Jaws as a puppy. We just found a really dramatic high pitched yelp and then a discontinuation of play put a stop to it. It takes some persistance but it works. Also give him a toy to bite on.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Yelping or saying "no" works for some pups, and others just get more excited by the drama! You have to judge by your own dog.
I agree that leaving the room or stopping activity and ignoring with back turned worked for our pup better than anything, but personally I think 10 minutes is a bit long and I'd only leave for one or two.
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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on
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I think I remember reading (Pinkwater, "Superpuppy") that exclusion is kinda like the nuclear option for dog training, used only for way-beyond-the-pale behavior, and I think they wrote 4 min. max.; after that, the pup's forgotten what it's all about. I'd think turning your back for 30 sec. oughta do it.
They also recommend the yelping thing, with lots of hammy drama, so pup learns, "Ew... these humans are really fragile, I gotta be gentle with them...."
We visited Al's litter at under 6-7 weeks (?), and they were chewing EVERYTHING -- my face, ears, fingers, toes, nose -- those little teeth were SHARP! -- I asked the breeder if I should be allowing this, and she seemed unconcerned -- when we got him at 12 weeks, there was none of this behavior, so I think there is something to this notion of learning bite inhibition in the litter at 8-12 weeks.
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Yeah, basically I would turn my back first, and if that didn't work I'd leave the room just til he calmed down, which was usually less than a minute to maybe one or two minutes, tops. That was for jumping and biting as a form of play (and I moved onto this when replacing with appropriate objects like toys did not work).
For herding-type nipping behavior (back of calf while moving), simply stopping and standing still for a couple seconds til pup wandered off did the trick.
I realize the yelping method works for a lot of people, but I had absolutely zero success with it, and it honestly doesn't fit my training philosophy which is that my dog knows I'm not another dog, so I don't try to act like one. Not saying it can't work, just that it did not work for me.
My pup was with his litter til 10 weeks, and so I suppose he had bite inhibition in that he did not break the skin, but dogs bite each other in play a LOT harder than what we can tolerate when not wearing a fur coat! So what he learned from his littermates, while useful, was not nearly enough for me. Jack was a very mouthy pup.
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Permalink Reply by Gilly & 'Fox' on
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Thanks everyone. By 'yelping' do you mean shouting? Sorry, maybe it's a language difference, but over here in little old Blighty we use the word 'yelp' for the sound that an animal makes when hurt, but people don't yelp!!!
He has a Kong teether which he likes, plus a rope and a small rubber ring, but his favourite thing to chew on is a plastic mineral water bottle, which we obviously have to watch him with. He loves the crackling noise it makes and goes crazy and barks at it!
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I have found you can put the water bottle in an old long cotton tube sock and tie the end...this way if she gets a hole in it she can't swallow any pieces! The yelp("ouch") could be a yes I hurt voice or also a lower (non excited and not playful) )" no" or whatever word you chose! You do not need to shout...you can be a little louder but the tone also has an impact!
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Permalink Reply by Beauty and the Beast on
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That's exactly the sound you'll have to make when he bites :)
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Permalink Reply by Mel K on
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Yelping didn't work for Caleb. He just got crazy ears and went back at it. But a deep stern 'NO' did work. It might take a bit to figure out what will work for you boy. Experiment.
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Haha, "crazy ears." I love it!
Yelping was worthless for Jack too, as it got him more excited.
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Yep, for my cats I call them 'devil ears' but for Caleb they're 'crazy ears'. You know when you see them that there is an extra helping of mischievousness going on.
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Puppies explore the world with their mouth, they don't know that biting is wrong. By the age of 8 weeks they learn bite inhibition with their littermates, however they don't learn it if separated from the litter at young age (before 8 weeks).
When your puppy bites yelp loud in high pitch and stop playing or leave the room for a minute. Soon enough the puppy with understand that biting A) hurts you, B) stops the fun.
Do the same thing if they bite your pants and clothes, or even if it doesn't hurt. That way he'll know this is also unacceptable.
Although Shiro did not bite hard (bite inhibition) it was annoying and this method really helped.
Your vet was right that scolding doesn't help, not at this young age. You can teach him "no" or ""ah-ah" when he's about 4 months old.
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