Outgrowing Biting...
Optimus is nearly 5 months old now and he still bites at our hands if there's no toys anywhere nearby. They're just play bites, but he still hasn't lost all his baby teeth yet, so they're still pretty sharp. Everyone keeps saying he'll outgrow it, but I'm wondering if it's something that we really need to start conditioning him against. We hold his mouth shut for about 10 seconds when we can, but he's very quick and catching him is sometimes hard. Not to mention he thinks we're just playing. He'll jump backwards, then pounce forward at our hands. It'd be cute if it weren't for the biting. So yeah, my main question is should he have outgrown this by now or is it still puppy behavior?
On a similar note, he sometimes barks uncontrollably at us to get us to play with him. We try to give him attention, but there are times that we just can't or it's very late and we want him to calm down. I know the answer to this is that he needs more exercise to wear himself out, but there are times we really just need him to shut up since we live in an apartment. If we try to hold his mouth shut, again he just thinks we're playing with him and dodges and pounces. If we do manage to get his mouth clamped, as soon as we let go, he goes right back at it. I know he's a puppy still, but I don't want these things developing into bad habits.
On a similar note, he sometimes barks uncontrollably at us to get us to play with him. We try to give him attention, but there are times that we just can't or it's very late and we want him to calm down. I know the answer to this is that he needs more exercise to wear himself out, but there are times we really just need him to shut up since we live in an apartment. If we try to hold his mouth shut, again he just thinks we're playing with him and dodges and pounces. If we do manage to get his mouth clamped, as soon as we let go, he goes right back at it. I know he's a puppy still, but I don't want these things developing into bad habits.
Comment
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Comment by Julie on April 22, 2009 at 4:46pm
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Caleb is 2, and mouthy. I spend lots of time on training when it is and is not appropriate to put his mouth on hands. Admittedly, it's much easier to train a dog to never ever put his mouth on your hands, but I've learned dogs can lose the concept of the soft mouth if they don't practice it and get that feedback, so we roughhouse, and during these play sessions, mouthing is allowed. My point is they won't always outgrow it, so if you want it to stop altogether, train, train, train!! Good luck!
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Comment by Matt & Hilliary on April 22, 2009 at 4:16pm
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Haha, thanks. Puppy training is another thing I've considered. Training Oppy with the help of treats is a little tough since he's so driven by food that he ignores what you're trying to teach him and just tries to get the food. He knows to sit though when he's getting a treat, that's about it though :p
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Comment by Talula the tabby slayer on April 22, 2009 at 4:10pm
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I don't know what to say about the barking for attention, Talula does it too sometimes. She also has barking fits when she corners a cat. Usually when we distract her from the cat she stops, but this doesn't help you. This is one of the questions we're asking in Puppy training which starts this Sunday. The 1st class is without dogs so we can ask questions. I'll let you know since they're the same age (and related!)
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Comment by Ein Danger on April 22, 2009 at 12:05pm
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ein was a bad biter as well. now he's 7 months old and he really seems to have turned a corner. he's much more interested in playing with his toys and hardly ever play bites our hands. when he would i would totally do that cesar millan stuff with the "shh" when he'd do it. he responds extremely well to it so perhaps this is why he doesn't do it anymore. i'm not sure about the barking though. ein never barked for attention. he only barks when he's real excited or he's on guard duty.
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Comment by Bev Levy on April 22, 2009 at 10:36am
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I have been successful throwing a magazine in his vicinity(not at him). Since you live in an apartment I know you have to be careful. Now if I pick up a magazine and show it to Sparty he shuts up and comes over to me to apologize. My other non barking and gentle corgi runs and hides! I know I am not going to win any prizes with that one but it does work even on the Doberman!
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Oh it's definitely a sign of intelligence. If he barks enough, he knows he'll annoy us enough that we'll do anything to shut him up, including playing with him.
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Forget holding the mouth closed. That will seem too much like a game. When his teeth touch your skin yelp the highest pitched, most dramatic yelp you can manage and stop playing or petting or whatever you were doing. It really will work if you persist. My corgi, Sparty, used to bark at us when he wants attention in fact he still does it to people that come over. We did niot handle it very well so it is very tough to handle now. If I had it to do over again he would get a firm no to the barking and I would turn my back on him. He is a very dominant dog but many obedience classes have helped us to be better with him. My other corgis haven't been so dominant and have been easier. However he has always been the quickest to learn things. Maybe it is a sign of intelligence!
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Sadly ignoring him really isn't an option when it comes to the barking. We have neighbors on each side and above us, we can't have him barking nonstop early or late at night without worrying we're going to upset everyone around us. Guess it's time to find a spray bottle.
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