Puppy is out of control nipping and bitting

We're doing everything we know to teach her that bitting us is not OK. We say NO with a firm tone of voice. We hold her mouth until she calms down. We praise her when she's doing good. I spend all the time she is awake playing with her. I stared to take her to a small walk today. And it gets worse when my husband gets home from work. She really snaps a him and gets hyper and aggressive. I am so frustrated today. She is 7 weeks old only.

Thank you!

Cíntia

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Permalink Reply by Derek on August 11, 2009 at 3:05pm

I am training Morgan with a combination of high pitched squeaks and growls. If he bites me playing and it hurts I let out a squeak like his siblings would have if he bit them too hard. I also growl when he does NOT stop biting. The first usually makes him stop but sometimes he just won't stop playing. I also give him a chewy or a toy so he can learn to chew the right item. He hasn't broken the skin in a couple of weeks. I was bloody at first.
Morgan is about 4-5 months, my little pound puppy. It took him as long to figure out the bathroom as it did not to puncture the skin. So I figure it has to do with how fast they can learn.

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Permalink Reply by Beauty and the Beast on August 12, 2009 at 10:01am

Puppies don't understand NO. They also don't understand why you hold their mouth. Next time she bites you scream like it's the worst pain in the world, stop the play and leave the room. You can come back in five minutes and if she bites again do the same thing.
When puppies play they yelp if it hurts ad walk away, that's how their littermates know that biting stops the fun.
Considering how young your puppy is looks like she haven't had a chance to learn it with her siblings (puppies should not leave the litter until 8 weeks old), but if you follow this simple rules she'll understand pretty soon that biting means no one wants to play with her.

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Permalink Reply by Cintia Allsup on August 13, 2009 at 12:22pm

Hello everyone,

I am here between puppy naps and go-potty-times and I am happy to say she is improving. We're being very calm when playing with her and letting her explore our hands and feet but not for too long (before she bites hard). What is also helping is that she is already getting the command "sit" and is obeying it quite often. She's a sweet puppy. My husband is being more patient and although she still runs for his ankle and toes, he is learning to impose more authority without getting frustrated. He still can't go down on her level. When he does, she goes crazy immediately and jumps and snaps at him. It's is being a lot of work! :o) My biggest difficulty now is my lack of sleep. It seems that all I do is around her schedule. When she sleeps....I want to sleep too, but I seldom do. And when I do, I dream about her!!!!
I have classes starting next week and aiaiai...I am just soo tired :oP

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Permalink Reply by Debby on August 13, 2009 at 2:29pm

Cesar Millan page has lots of tips on this. I have used his methods and they work wonderfully. Dog Whisperer is on Friday evenings on the National Geographic Channel. His methods are great!

http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/

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Permalink Reply by Cintia Allsup on August 14, 2009 at 10:57am

yay! I have been watching the episodes. The shhhh thing was working great with my husband, but i think she's probably too young...everything in the end turns into a play. But the bitter apple spray is working great and protecting our furniture. it doesn't work that great in our hands though. I don't know why.

Thanks for the tip! His website is really cool.