Advice needed from doggy owners

[Janey]

We have just bought a lovely Berger Suisse(4 days ago). He,s settling in very nicely and really is lovely..except he likes to bite us. I,m sure he,s just playing but it does hurt. I,ve tried everything I can think of, he,s got toys for chewing etc, I keep saying NO, firmly but gently, he,s been well walked, fed etc. Some-one told me to hold his mouth closed gently and keep saying NO but today nothing is working, he,s been doing it for over an hour now, my daughter is crying and my ankles are blinkin sore!! Help....anyone got any tips as to what we should do, when he,s calm he,s adorable and follows us everywhere, he likes to be with us,he,s calm at night, it,s just this first thing in the morning biting thing..owch

Janey

[Maddie]

I've never had this problem with any of my dogs but I know people in my dog training club who have.  One of the tips they were given is to completely ignore the dog when they do this - turn your back on them and stand still, not making any eye contact (it's usually an attention seeking ploy).  The other thing my friend had sucess with was with a water pistol.  Her dog always used to bite her ankles so she had a water pistol or jif squeezy lemon or old washing up bottle filled with water.  Don't let the dog know you've got it but when he bites give him a good squirt!  Better if someone else can do it so he knows you are always the "good guy".  Another tip is ignore any bad behaviour and reward good behaviour.  Easier said than done!

[Bernice]

I assume it's a puppy, so I think he's just trying out his teeth.  As well as saying "no" each time he bites you try making a growling noise, just like his mother would to warn him.  We did this with our dog when we first had her as a puppy and it stopped her.

Bernice

[Mpprh]

hi

we had the same problem. He tends to jump up with his mouth open, rather than bite. It's not completely cured, but better.

A friend who had several dogs said :

1)Ignore the dog when he jumps up

2)Turn your back to the dog when he jumps up

3)If he takes you by surprise, push him firmly in the middle of his chest so that he loses his balance and topples over backward

4)If all else fails : immediately he jumps up and nips - bite him gently on his ear

Our experience is that 1 - 3 are treated as part of the game.

4 is very effective : he sulks and goes into his kennel for a few minutes, then comes back quietly.

Apparently mother dogs nip naughty puppies on their ears to calm them ?

Peter

[Jc85]

Hi

I'm all for point 4. that Peter suggested I had 2 Weimaraners for 15 years. You have got to establish very early on that you are the boss, bite them back on the ear a few times and the message will soon get put across. Never let a dog start to get the better of you or you will be in for a lot of hard work.

All said I bet the puppy is gorgeous, have fun

 

Jax

[Janey]

Thanks to everyone for your advice. Yes he is a puppy, only 12 weeks old . It,s very hard to ignore,,something..when he,s swinging on your ankles and hurting..but as JC85 says you have to establish who,s boss, which I have tried to.

Peter..aghhh..how can I bite him on his ear..seems soooo cruel..and so euck! BUT...if he keeps it up I will try it. My daughter bought a Berger Beurce( think I,ve spellt that wrong)..maybe  Beurceron..recently and the vet said exactly the same as you, the mother dogs bite them on their ears to tell them off and often worse.

Here goes! Saying that he,s GORGEOUS, log haired, white, and if ever you want to talk to people..get a dog..been stopped by no end of people!

Janey

[Crjohnstone]

hi

i to have had a similar experience when my rotty was a pup, as some have already said he's a baby, this is also the times he's deciding in his head who is boss.

training my dogs i watched and learned a great deal from the DOGS WITH DUMBAR VIDEO, he suggested when he nips you to do a very similar squeeling noise(however silly you feel)like another puppy would if they were playing and he got a little excited,the immediate shock stops them in their tracks,mine only did it a few times and he was sorted, when he lets go or stops praise him so hes being rewarded for stopping.mine eventually i just had to go aaaahh or gentle, and he'd know he had to stop.also when playing make sure you have the last say,"right game over now" and not that the game has to stop because hes got to boystrus or hurts, or thisturns into  a dominant game.

i had to be persistant with mine didnt fancy, a real  fight with my rottweiler, think he may have won,he now knows who's boss and has done from being a pup and he's nine now

hope this helps, remember a simple ooowww as a hurt puppy would

helen

[I1]

This is quite normal for puppies. When I had my first puppy I remember thinking that I was going to have a dog that went round biting everybody (with all the legal associated problems). Often my hands were covered in grazes. My 2nd pup did the same but I was then confident that it would stop after a bit of time with persistant NO's (stop playing, etc.)

Things were made harder by a book I read that said just say NO strongly and you should have no further problems (which is untrue - it takes a bit longer than once !).

I have been told (by a very reliable professional dog trainer) that this is normal and important. Puppies have very sharp teeth for the very reason that it helps them learn "bite inhibition". When playing with others (or dealing with "Mum"), if they bite too hard their play mate is hurt and stops play. They thus gradually learn how hard not to bite. However, the process takes some time but does stop.

The "say NO, look away sternly, stop any games" reaction is (I believe) the right one. Physical force and hitting, smacking, skruffing, etc. is (in my opinion) definately not the right thing.

It will stop, it is important for the pup to learn, it just takes some time.

There is a particularly good dog training organisation in the UK who have a web site and have recently started a forum which may be able to help http://www.scallywagsdogs.com/.

I am not a professional dog trainer and can just speak from experience (and what I have been told by professionals). I have had a particularly difficult dog which is how I have delt with professional dog trainers/behaviourist (and some are very good, others a waste of time).

If you want to ask/discuss further, do feel free to contact me.

[Janey]

Just a little update on the puppy and thanks to everyone for your advice.

Couldn,t bring myself to bite his ears! Was still being a handfull up to yesterday, biting REALLY hard especially with my 12 yr old daughter. Decided he has to be allowed to get up to some mischief, that,s normal, so if he takes something he,s not supposed to , I just calmly ask him to drop it and then praise him immediatly, seems to be working well, doesn,t go after it again. The biting was becoming too much so yesterday I ..tapped him on the bum with a newspaper(and I do mean tapped) and that did the trick. Today , as I,m on the phone to someone, he decided the sofa looked nice, so gently tried to get him off whilst talking to a salesman and he decides to ...ermm..do doggy stuff with my sofa, then he bit into my wrist and wouldn,t let go, so..I tapped him on the bum with the newspaper and he scarpered, wouldn,t come near me, went off sulking! tried his biting trick again tonight, so this time I didn,t even have to touch him, I just tapped the sofa with the paper and off he went again..into another sulk..must be a man thing. Had to coax him back to let him know I wasn,t cross and definately a lot calmer now.

Hopefully he,ll just get better and better and I,m getting fitter and fitter, no more layins for me!

Janey

[Chouette]

I really do sympathise with you over this.  I've a JRT, Daschund cross who is absolutely adorable - now!  But when she was a puppy I nearly despaired.  She used to bite all the time and make growling noises and if she got your hand between her teeth she would try to shake it as dogs like do with a rag or a toy   It really hurt and I was at my wits end.  I tried saying NO really loudly, squirting with a water pistol, ignoring her, growling at her.  Sometimes these things worked, other times they didn't.  She eventually just grew out of it and learned to be soft mouthed, thank goodness.  So don't despair as it is normal and just a temporary, if rather painful, phase that he will eventually grow out of.