Puppy biting please help

ollow

So sorry if this has been covered before, but I'm at my wits end. We've had our puppy for a week now and all it does is bite us, I've 2 young children and it's getting to a point where they won't go near him.

He's drawn blood twice on me, I've tried the yelping but it just makes him bite more and harder, when he's not biting he's ragging our clothes. I'm now at the point of tears as I don't want to give up on him but I'm getting to that point already (that's how bad it is).

I've had dogs/puppy's in the past but none this bad, he's a jack russell cross with a staff we think and he's about 9 weeks old. I know he's teething but it is really getting me down.

Please please please can anyone help.

krlyr

Contrary to popular advice, sometimes yelping can be the worst thing to do - high pitched noises often excite a dog and you accidentally make the biting into a game.
Basically, you need to a) stop a dog practicing the unwanted behaviour and b) teach an alternative one. The latter tends to help the former because you're not just teaching the puppy what not to do, but replacing it with an alternative behaviour (e.g. when teaching a dog not to jump up at guests, you tend to teach it to sit instead - therefore the sit becomes an automatic response)
If the puppy gets into biting mood, remove the puppy or remove yourself, whatever is quickest and most practical. You could consider keeping a houseline attached to his collar (lightweight lead with no handle - don't use a regular lead incase it gets caught on furniture) and then this allows you to grab the lead and take him away for a timeout, or if it's safe to leave him where he is, just walk out of the room.
If he's grabbing clothes, try to prevent him getting hold in the first place - inconvenient but may mean wearing different clothes around him for a while. We had to avoid wearing anything baggy around my GSD pup because it just invited her grab hold and not let go!
And as said, replace the behaviour. When he starts to get into biting mood, redirect him onto a toy of his own. Carry a fleece tuggy or some plaited strips of denim or similar in your pocket so you always have something to redirect his teeth onto. Make a big deal out of praising him for chewing on correct toys, especially when he actually chooses them over you as a target.

Kikopup does some great videos on training, here's one on puppy biting/mouthing. She actually teaches a non-biting alternative behaviour but redirecting him onto something else might be easier initially as he's so young. You'll need to look at clicker training and prime him to a clicker if you haven't already (dogs don't know the concept of a clicker initially so you have to do a small exercise to teach them click = treat)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c77--cCHPyU

He's a puppy, it's only been a week, your sleep is probably interupted and you can't leave him for 10 minutes without him getting into trouble I bet - so you're more frustrated than usual. This is just a blip, something that will quickly be trained out and then you'll have your next puppy challenge to get through, so hang in there. They're not half as easy as you tend to think, that's why they have to be so damn cute :rotfl:

vicx

It is up to you to show your puppy what is acceptable behaviour, do not expect him to know this. All it takes is a bit training and patience. The general rule to stop a puppy biting is to encourage acceptable behaviour and discourage unacceptable behaviour. While you are trying to stop your puppy from biting, never play tug of war, wrestling or chase type games with him as this only encourages the biting and nipping. Never hit your puppy for biting as this will only frighten him or he may think you are playing and will only lead to much bigger problems.

BECKIN1507

I've found Ah! Ah! works for the pup i've got at the moment. My rottie however was a different matter, I know exactly how you feel, I was nearly in tears all the time, he was out of control, everytime I went training I spent most of my time fighting with.
1st thing I tried was the Ah!Ah! and then ignoring him for a couple of mins, only worked for a bit. Then I was told to squeel ouch ouch ouch in a high pitched voice like a yelping pup (felt like a idiot in front of loads of people training dogs and it didn't work) Then I tried a tin with coins in, shook it loudly everytime he bit me, this worked well when it didn't work I was told to spray him with water( carried small syringes full of water around) as he got older I taught him to carry things around so it was easier to distract him from biting.
Keep at it, don't give up. King has turned out the best behaved and most loyal dog I've ever had. King's biting was very extreme, I've had lots of dogs and he's the only one I've ever thought 'I can't do this anymore, he's won' I turned it into positive energy and said I will not be beaten, this dog will learn and he did
Under no circumstances hit the dog or play fight with him as this will only make him bite more.
Good luck, it's alot of hard work but it'll be worth it in the end.

ollow

Thank you for you replies he's such a cutie, I already do the distraction thing, we have rope toys, teething toys, fleece things etc. he doesn't fuss much at night so I'm lucky there. I try to give him a toy when he starts biting but often my hand/arm/foot/inside thigh are far too irresistible for him. For a pup he's got such a strong grip. I also turn my back on him, leave room etc.

I spoke to my vets and they said lock him out garden/in his crate for 1/2 hour but I think that's a long time and he'll forget why he's there.

BECKIN1507

If I was you I wouldn't listen to the vet, a distraction is much better than a punishment. I think victoria stirwell (from its me or the dog) may have a website, if not she has a page on facebook. Her training methods are all kind and shes very good.

ollow

BECKIN1507 wrote: »

If I was you I wouldn't listen to the vet, a distraction is much better than a punishment. I think victoria stirwell (from its me or the dog) may have a website, if not she has a page on facebook. Her training methods are all kind and shes very good.

Thank you for that she has a website, there's a forum on there so will have a good old read. I love him to bits already, he's currently stretched out on my lap having a nap.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

krlyr wrote: »

He's a puppy, it's only been a week, your sleep is probably interupted and you can't leave him for 10 [STRIKE]minutes[/STRIKE] secondswithout him getting into trouble I bet - so you're more frustrated than usual.

Corrected your only mistake

krlyr

True..I'm at that stage where I'm starting to forget those kinds of details of puppihood and I'm almost tempted to give it another go..must be some kind of pheromone puppies release to dupe you into going through it all over again :rotfl:

vicx

ollow wrote: »

Thank you for you replies he's such a cutie, I already do the distraction thing, we have rope toys, teething toys, fleece things etc. he doesn't fuss much at night so I'm lucky there. I try to give him a toy when he starts biting but often my hand/arm/foot/inside thigh are far too irresistible for him. For a pup he's got such a strong grip. I also turn my back on him, leave room etc.

I spoke to my vets and they said lock him out garden/in his crate for 1/2 hour but I think that's a long time and he'll forget why he's there.

I have two 13 month old Yorkies from same litter and I don't remember them actually biting/hurting - just chewed my furniture! They did mouth when playing but not in a biting or aggressive way and they did learn to be very gentle as I used the 'ouch' and 'no' words when they mouthed. I think having the two together, they have learnt from playing together how rough they can be when mouthing, something they do learn with their littermates but then it is up to you to continue on with it.

However, my friend has a 6 month old Shih Zu pup which bites a lot and can draw blood. To me she is aggressive and tries to assert her dominance over you. I have never met a pup like her, I know she is not getting the correct training she needs as I have been around her since she was 8 weeks old and she is still biting. I have tried to help my friend and tell her where she is going wrong with the training but she will not listen and wants to do it her way. I dog sit twice a week for her and my two are actually scared of her at times as she pounces and bites them, trying to be boss. She even humps my two (male) dogs so it must be some kind of dominance behaviour.

The vet told my friend the exact same thing as you and I said from day one that it will not work as not only will the dog forgot why s/he is being punished but it will not train the dog to stop biting. You need to redirect the biting from your flesh to a toy or chew. When your puppy bites you say 'no' in a firm voice and replace your fingers with a toy or chew.

Make your puppy think he is hurting you each time he has a nip at you. This method replicates the way dogs sort out this biting amongst themselves. When puppies are biting and nipping each other it only stops when one puppy lets out a yelp. You can use this natural way dogs learn by saying 'ouch' every time he bites. The trick is to startle your dog with your voice, and then pull away and stop playing with your puppy for a while. Your pup will soon learn that when he starts to bite, his playmate (you) goes away.

ollow

Thank you again for your kind replies, unfortunatley I can't get my voice to startle him, I know that sounds silly but if I use a high voice he bites more and if I use a lower voice he takes no notice. I've taken to just putting him down/moving away and then leaving the room.