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Permalink Reply by Phil and Jane Hughes on November 11, 2015 at 11:00am

 Puppies have really sharp teeth so even a small bite can be painful. Thing is Corgi's  are biters, esp when they are young. . Biting heels is just the Corgi's herding instinct kicking in. You need to distract her when she starts the biting. However she is really young and you don't want to scare her or  make her afraid of you. So try toys that she can chew on rather than you. If that doesn't work you will need to make some corrections to stop the biting. I have found that with young pups. wearing some canvas gloves works. When she bites, push your finger into her mouth.....forcefully. Don't make a game of it. She wont like that. . Try changing the tone of your voice with a loud EEEEEEEEK! or the such that will take her mind off of the biting. Fill and empty soda can with several coins and tape it closed. When she starts biting, shake the can near her...the sound of it will distract her. Some of these should stop the biting. I like using the shaker can as a training tool. As far as the heel biting you can also use the shaker can..When you are walking along and she starts biting your heel. drop or throw down the can right behind her. I guarantee it will get her attention. Soon you should only have to shake the can to stop the heel biting. 

All that said, you want to be really careful, your pup is only 3 months old and you do not want to hurt her or scare her, just let her know that biting is not acceptable behavior. 

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Permalink Reply by Marina Holshevnikoff on November 11, 2015 at 12:16pm

The best advice I read on here from many experienced owners is to stand up and turn your back on your puppy.

You are flat out ignoring their behavior and not encouraging it in any way.  A lot of times they will get bored and wander away or decide to play nice to get you to turn back around.

The other commenter mentioned a loud, "EEEEEEEK!" I personally didn't have luck with this tactic, but it's meant to mimic what dogs do when they roughhouse.  They yelp when it hurts (or it's too much), right?  Hopefully this kind of behavior will register with your puppy.

My puppy was SO MEAN (lol) and I had a really hard time with his biting.  I didn't actually think he was biting me on purpose, but it still made me really upset.  It's really difficult!  

Anyway, stick with it, be consistent and try your best to change his behavior, rather than punish him for it.  It goes away eventually, but they need to learn while they're young how not to bite hard.

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Permalink Reply by Beth on November 11, 2015 at 1:08pm

Biting heels:  It helps if you can get her in an open area.  Run so she chases you (a favorite game!).  Encourage her to chase.  The second her teeth touch your ankle, pants, shoe, etc, STOP.  Stand still.  Cross your arms in front of you and stare at the ceiling.  Make like a tree.  Don't move (even if she nips) at all.   Wait until she gets bored and wanders away, then run and call and clap and encourage her to chase again.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  They usually learn pretty quick that chasing ankles ends the fun.

My only caution is that if you plan on herding with your dog, speak to a herding instructor before doing any behavior modification.  You don't want to squash the herding instinct if you plan on herding.

I'll get back later about biting hands. 

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Permalink Reply by Phil and Jane Hughes on November 11, 2015 at 1:11pm

"My only caution is that if you plan on herding with your dog, speak to a herding instructor before doing any behavior modification.  You don't want to squash the herding instinct if you plan on herding"

    Good point!

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Permalink Reply by Lilothecorgi on November 11, 2015 at 8:22pm

Oh I forgot to mention she's attracted with pants and socks so maybe that's why she tends to bite our ankles

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Permalink Reply by Vicky Hay on November 12, 2015 at 1:54pm

At three months, she's still a very little pup. They do like to nip at things, sort of like human babies like to pick things up off the ground and eat them or grab their mom's dangly earrings.

Apparently pups can learn "no" fairly fast -- Ruby seemed to already know what that means when she came to the Funny Farm at the age of 9 weeks. See if you can teach that command and then use it every time she the little gal tries to nip.

Otherwise...when Ruby the Corgi Pup surfaced here, I'd already been forewarned that herding dog puppies are likely to try to practice their instincts on the humans and so wasn't very bothered by it. I would either ignore it and go about my business as though I didn't notice it (fake-out!) or tell her "NO!" if she really annoyed.

I've found that both corgi and German shepherd puppies will (sometimes) desist if you make a whining sound and a sort of "eek" or "yip" sound such as a young dog would make when distressed. Do this consistently (you may have to dramatize a bit...well, a lot), every single time the dog tries to use its needle-like teeth to boss you around. At  least some dogs do seem to recognize a whiny "ooooookkkk" or a sharp "eeee" sound as a clue that the recipient of the nipping is not happy. Or so it appears.

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