Comment

Comment by Stephanie on August 24, 2010 at 5:57pm

Goodness, Goldy and Odin could be evil twins! When I picked her up from the breeder she was satan. When she tried to get some cat poop on a walk and I reached down to move her away from it - SNAP! Broke the skin and everything - another time she wanted something and I went to take it away from her - SNAP! And she was so little and fast, I had no idea what to do.

Someone on here, I think it was Beth recommended a little scruff grab. I started using it and it worked. I would get the scruff in my hand - not too hard, I didn't want to hurt her, just get her attention - turn her to face me - face to face - and tell her NO BITE! Then I would put her in a room by herself for a few minutes. It worked for me because it made me feel powerful, but not angry. I didn't want to hurt her, but I HAD to show her that it was NOT okay to bite when she didn't get what she wanted.

She's still a feisty little things and has some tantrums - she does try to nip at my pants and clothes - but when she gets mad about something, she backs up from me and barks(also known as backtalks) - I'll take that over a bite any day of the week.

Comment by Alaina, Dyer and Odin on August 24, 2010 at 3:39pm

Thank you all. The more adivce I can get the better. The breeder is supportive but she lives 2 hours away and also she says when he acts like that to pin him down and put two fingers on his neck, not hard but firm. The thing is tho, many people have said Not to do this. So how can I rely on the breeder for help if people are saying her info is wrong? The mother played with the puppies very rough but the lady for sure socialized them and even her little grandchildren who live with her played with them(one was maybe 6-7?). Alot of the time when I try to show and such he just keeps biting and tugging my hand, and I have a loud shouting and firm no's. He did puncture my hand yesterday because I couldn't get him to let go. If I ever get him to stop and try to ignore him then he just goes and chews on a chewy, which is good but I don't want him to think its ok and then he just goes and chews on a chewy. As soon as he has had all his shots I will take him on walks but since he hasn't had his shots I don't want to risk anything. Our backyard is a mess at the moment and there a holes thought the fence so we are looking at getting someone to cover them up. I read every comment and hope I addressed everyone so that everyone can have a better understanding but if I didn't I'm sorry. Thank you all again so much. I will update in a few weeks to let everyone know how he is doing. I will for sure try to give him more exercise inside until he has all his shots.

Comment by Beth on August 24, 2010 at 10:20am

I just wanted to add that I know when people hear of a mouthy puppy their first reaction is lack of early time with the litter, BUT remember that puppies/dogs bite each other much, much harder than we can tolerate, and they don't all make the adjustment smoothly. My guy was with his litter til he was 10 weeks old. The breeder said after weaning, when they saw the mom coming the pups would all run because she was very rough with them. A mouthy puppy is not necessarily a sign of a puppy that was not handled.

Comment by Jane Christensen on August 24, 2010 at 8:27am

I'm sure you're feeling overwhelmed with all the different advice but we all are just trying to let you know what has worked for us. Contacting the breeder is a good idea. My Bella would never let her pups do this...she's the forever mom whoever the dog may be! Was he part of a family or raised outside? If dogs are taken away too soon this doesn't help either. I think you have some great advice here and you'll just have to try some things. How is he with walking? It is a great way to tire a little one out. I might also suggest playing with him when he 1st gets up and I had a pup that I once saw get over crabby but I figured out she was exhausted and needed a nap.

Comment by Bev Levy on August 24, 2010 at 8:20am

I like the article that Joanna referenced. Sparty was "Jaws" as a puppy. I can not stress enough how DRAMATIC your response to teeth should be. Make your AW or No or whatever you use high pitched, loud and try to think that you are trying to get the over acting award of the year. Do this each time. If Sparty continued I put him in the kitchen, alone for a brief time out. If he was still biting when I returned I left him there. Odin is still a baby exploring his world. Some of this is just testing and some is that he has inherited the "I am the boss gene" so you need to be calm, consistent and patient while he learns. Your persistence will save his life. Dogs that bite do not usually get to live long. As an adult Sparty is a very respectful dog, no teeth so I know it can be done.

Comment by Susan , Radar and Cooper on August 24, 2010 at 8:04am

Just my 2 cents. Radar was very mouthy when I got him a 8 weeks. He would bite and gnaw on your hand and arms like a chicken bone everytime you would hold him. I thought he had never learned the bite inhibition from his litter mates. I always wondered if the breeder I got him from never held the puppies much. I would squeal and say NO! to stop him and get his attention. I would give him something else to chew on. Over time it did get better. Now he's a 1 1/2 years old and would never think to bite me. Now Cooper won't stop licking me to death! :)

Comment by Beth on August 24, 2010 at 7:16am

By the way, Jack was so mouthy that I needed to use the method in the article rather than make him quit "cold turkey." I would actively encourage him to mouth my hand, and when his bite would get too painful for me I would then get up and walk out of the room. Over a period of weeks, I tolerated less and less pressure from the bite (I started with only stopping him if the pressure left dents but did not break the skin) til he had a nice soft mouth. Only then did I move on to not allowing any biting at all. Corgis have VERY hard mouths compared to the bird dogs I grew up with. He was well-socialized, but playing Corgis bite very hard by human standards, and he definitely needed to learn to soften it up a bit.

Comment by Beth on August 24, 2010 at 7:11am

You say he does it primarily when you pick him up or try to pet him. Just an off chance, but have you taken him to the vet for a thorough going-over? Is it possible he's in some kind of pain? Dogs in pain will sometimes do stuff other dogs would not.

I've never had a puppy that would bite and not let go. Jack was an awful nipper, the worst of any puppy I'd ever been around, but he was nipping not holding and he was clearly playing.

I agree with contacting the breeder as well. He/she should be able to have you take the puppy there, evaluate the situation to see what she thinks is happening, and give you advice based on that.

Comment by Joanna Kimball on August 24, 2010 at 2:46am

Is his breeder near you? Is she offering any support?

It sounds to me like he has discovered that biting hard works, and he either never learned bite inhibition or has decided to not use what he knows.

The ideal situation would be for him to go back to "bootcamp" with his breeder. Not to return him, but to get him back with a ton of dogs who will teach him how to behave again. Nothing teaches bite inhibition as well as other dogs.

If you don't have that kind of breeder support, http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/teaching-bite-inhibition is a good article. The one thing I'd add is that when a puppy is biting like that, fighting back makes it worse. The puppy feels justified in biting. The way dogs handle it is that a bite gets you shunned immediately, and if you keep doing it you get the universe on your head. Dogs do not fight fair. Be a jerk, and you get piled on by eight other dogs, who will punish you until you pee on yourself.

Since we humans have very little ability to punish him the way a group of good dogs would punish him - we'd either go way too far or we'd do it wrong - you should rely on a combination of shunning (if he even TOUCHES you with teeth, you get up and walk away and (metaphorically) slam the door behind you and refuse to look at him) and exercise. If he's too tired to do anything but sleep, he's going to be too tired to be a sod. He needs to be exhausted mentally and physically several times a day, and that means YOU have to do it. He's not going to get it from playing in the yard or even with another dog. He might get there from playing with a whole group of dogs - another reason to access his breeder if possible - so dog daycare might be an option, but 90% of it needs to be a simple equation of you getting him outside and running him down to a nub.

Comment by Alaina, Dyer and Odin on August 24, 2010 at 1:05am

I use the "no" alomost all the time because it works when I don't want him biting my pants and such but no matter how firmly or loud I say it when he is in a little frenzy he doesn't budge and I have to pinch his muzzle to get him to let go of my hand or arm. If I can I will try to post a video and send a link so people can see exactly what I mean. I don't think anyone really understand how bad it gets. It is hard also because i am getting mixed info. Some people tell me to do one thing that worked for them and others tell me not to. So if I was to stop doing what everyone told to stop doing I would have nothing left use.

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