Corgi Puppy ankle biting
My 5 1/2 month old Pembroke Corgi has begun doing a new thing, which is wrecking our walks:
She begins to bite my ankles, and tugs on the bottom of my pants leg, nearly knocking me over. This goes on and on, for over a half hour.
At first I thought it was cute, and tried to kindly tell her to stop, but it's becoming super annoying and really painful and is wrecking all our walks: Cannot take her on a trail, or around the lake, as all she does is this, and I give up and pick her up and we go home. I even had to smack her a couple of times (which I do not believe in, but she was making me lose my balance and her teeth were pinching my leg) and she still does not stop, no matter how many times I firmly say, "NO!". Does anyone else's Corgi do this? :-(
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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You could try carrying some treats to keep her attention. Get a pouch to keep them in, and when she's walking nicely, treat generously and praise in a happy voice. If she bites you at all, immediately stop and ignore her completely until she loses interest. Once she's calmer, offer the treat again and get her moving. I would not move at all when she's biting you, as she probably thinks it's just a game.
You could also try a squirt bottle or shaking a bottle/can of pennies as an aversive.
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Permalink Reply by Susan Marie Kovalinsky on
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Thanks, I will be sure to try these!
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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If she is on a leash you should be able to hold her away from your pant leg while saying a firm no and standing still until she settles.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Here's what I did with Jack: I took him down the basement, which was pretty empty at the time (the house was new), but any empty space will do. I would run so he would chase me (a favorite game for puppies). The second he went to nip me or grab my pants, I would stop and ignore him and stare at the ceiling with my arms across my chest. That ended the chase game, which made him bored and he'd wander off. Then I'd start to run again. After a few times, he realized that nipping me made the game end. It only took a few days for him to stop biting.
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That's a good idea. The problem with my puppy, though, is that when I take her out for her morning walk, she just loves to grab the bottom of my pants and pull and pull and pull. Even if I stop dead, refuse to take one more step, and say "NO" in an angry voice, she keeps right on growling and pulling on my pants leg (and sometimes sinks her teeth into my ankle and my shoes). I am forced to pick her up, and she wiggles desperately to walk again---so I put her down, and in a few seconds, back to the pants leg. I now dread walking her as we cannot go anywhere anymore---no more walks, just this game . She thinks it's funny that I get angry. Its part of the game. :( I will try yours and all of the above suggestions. Just really getting tedious. She does not do it in the house---only outside walking. :-(
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When Jack was a puppy, I would not put on long pants until just before I left the house (without him). Of course, it was mid-summer, so that helped. Also could not wear shoes with laces. Sometimes it helps to just find ways to avoid the problem until the puppy gets past this stage of development.
Luckily, Jack did this when he was 10 weeks old and outgrew it pretty quickly.
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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Beth's method worked with Jack. It may or may not work with your pup, but the theory behind the method is spot on. The reason your pup is doing what you describe is because she is deriving some pleasure or satisfaction out of it, so if consistently what she gets out of it is the OPPOSITE of what she expects, the behavior will eventually stop. Picking up the dog, or offering food will not ultimately work because the dog likes food and may not dislike being picked up. You need to find something your particular dog dislikes which the activity you don't want will immediately and consistently triggers.
An example of this is a citronella collar for dogs who bark excessively. When they bark the collar emits a citronella scent. Most dogs don't like that scent and will eventually not bark as the bark causes this unintended (by the dog) result. It works more or less well depending on how much the individual dog dislikes the scent as compared to how much he likes to bark and there "your milage may varie".
At 5 1/2 months and with an obviously willful puppy, I would recommend a good adult obedience training class as well. A couple of private lessons to get on top of this issue may also serve you well because you now have an established pattern and you need to have better tools/skills yourself to use before the pup gets the upper hand in other ways. This is the age when a smart pup will take charge.....
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To expand on what Anna said, scolding, yelling, taking her home and picking her up may all seem to be part of the game to her. She likes the game, so she keeps playing it. And even though your goal is to stop her, the end result is that YOU keep playing her version of the game as well.
The reason not moving frequently works is it effectively ends the game. Crossing your arms and staring at the ceiling are a good way to remind yourself that you are totally ignoring the puppy; even eye contact or a frown can signal to the pup that you are engaged in the game, and so the game continues.
Pants (or shoelace) grabbing are very common puppy games. Is it possible that its sudden onset has to do with change in temperatures, and thus your attire? If you were mostly wearing shorts to walk, and now you are wearing exciting pants that move when you do and just beg to be tugged, that could easily trigger the behavior where previously it did not exist.
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I think the extreme behavior described by Susan Marie is more than simply a game ( although the game part also plays into it ). My feeling is that she is trying to take control in a manner which is consistent with her breed heritage and therefore with her natural instincts. For this reason I also recommended the classes and a couple of private lessons. The lessons are for the owner to learn how to elicit cooperation and respect from the dog. This sort of thing can be easily managed early on and an experienced owner will do so automatically without giving it too much thought, but someone with less experience will miss the signs leading up to the behavior and it will then appear to have come "out of the blue". That is a dead giveaway for me!
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Thank you, Beth and Anna: Yes, the long pants are a switch from shorts--- good thinking! I have actually thought of buying some rubber boots, as her fangs have cut up my ankles and calves with pinching through the pants---I have welts! And Anna, I think you may have "hit the nail on the head". I will look into classes for certain. (Just had her out at a park and she was worse than ever. Did not even notice other dogs, she was too busy pulling on my ankles , grrrrrrr) --- Thank you both so much.
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Permalink Reply by Caitlin Randolph on
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Try searching around for any information on this forum for how to cut down on herding? Seems like a breed trait. I'm no expert but I would try bringing a toy on the walk, a rope even and try transferring this behavior until she is used to the pants. I would be hesitant to encourage behavior but you are talking rubber boots for walks so I think it wouldn't be the worst to just transfer it haha. Another idea - pick up the speed of the walk. There is no time for herding when you are trying to follow perhaps? One more - Try bringing high quality treats, like hot dogs and lunch meat and stay really really attentive during the walks or the training. When you notice any sort of disinterest in the walk and interest in your legs just wave that scent in front of her nose. Don't give her the treat. Maybe when she is sitting good at the street corner or walking right you giver her the treat. The idea is just to distract her with smells that are more important. not to reward her though.
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Thank you for that, Caitlin - what I have actually been doing is wearing rubber boots, so I can stand totally still when she bites (without the boots, the pain from her teeth cutting through the pants was excruciating, and my yelling "Owww" made her do it more!)------she realizes standing still is no fun after awhile, even with the biting, so begins to go explore, and I say "good girl!". Seems to be working bit by bit. But will also try some of your suggestions.
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