Puppy Biting - HELP ME?
PUPPY BITING - HELP ME?
Hello -
I have a German Shepard (3/4) and Husky (1/4) female puppy born Aug 10/08. She is a great puppy and does NOT bit me indoors. She is primarily an inside dog. However, I live on an acreage and we have 4 acres of stop so when I go outside to take her for a run and play beside her she bites me at times. I will chase her and she will chase me and I will throw balls for her to catch, etc... when you got 4 acres to run around it is rock-hard not to let your dog run free. Also when the dog /puppy is biting and I say "NO" it is had to seize hold of her as she is loose and she can run away very easily and when I finally do win ahold of her I take her back to the house where her crate is for a time out surrounded by her crate but I usually have to drag her because she won't come cooperatively (although this technique is not working - I surmise b/c by the time I catch her and bring her inside the house she it is like 10min after she bit me).
- I have tried yelp
- I don't want to squirt water (a)her b/c she may become afraid of it and I want her to like swimming
- Tabasco sauce works 4 me as does cayenne pepper - though hard to apply to winter gloves and clothes external (same principle as the bitter apple stuff)
Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to stop her from biting me while we play outside (cause she is good inside)?
I have a golden retriever puppy - and she bites. But now she doesn't bite as much (she is very soon 14 weeks). The reason why, is that we figured out that whenever she bit anyone, the one that got bitten would turn their hindmost towards her. She would stop, and go find another thing to chew on (her toys). This technique also works with bark.
Some things NOT to do:
*Hit your dog
*Patting her when she bites (you should always ignore her)
Some things TO do:
*Play with her! If you play beside her before she uses that mouth, it will be fun for both of you
*Ware her out, so she is tired! Take her for walks... run around the yard next to her... the list goes on. Stop playing if she bites, and newly go somewhere she can't go.
Make sure she know she is at the bottom of the 'pack.'
Good luck! I am sure your pup is gorgeous =]. xx
Puppies similar to to bite, its just what they do. Some grow out of it or learn eventually when they get play nip by their playmates that "biting hurts" so they might not do it as much.
Squirting her with water won't make her afraid of swimming, because its a small concentration of dampen on one part of her body. Some dogs just won't like swimming eventually although whether you throw a toy in the water after a while they might get curious satisfactory to jump in. Using a squirt bottle is excellent as long as you don't aim for the eyes but it might not work if your puppy loves it =P
You can also try completely ignore her whenever she bites you, and when she calms down then reward her and play with her. If she does it again repeat the process, cold-shoulder her, look away, pretend she doesn't exist. You should say NO before you do this though so that she also get used to the "key word".
Answers: No, he's not vicious, he's freshly being a normal, rambunctious, and sometimes obnoxious puppy. To get control of your pup's biting, it help to understand why puppies bite in the first place.
Biting and mouthing are normal behaviors for puppies. Dogs don't own hands so they investigate objects and their environment with their mouths. To a curious puppy, everything about this big world is brand clean and exciting. He learns as he goes along. You can almost hear his thought processes as he discovers something he's never see before: "Hmmm...what's this? [chomping on it] Something to eat? No? [tossing it around] Can I play with it? Maybe. Can I receive it squeak?"
Playing is also a normal learning behavior for puppies, especially play-fighting. Play-fighting beside littermates and other animals develops reflexes, coordination and physical skill. It also helps them develop social skills and teaches them how to interact positively in their canine society, their "pack." And it's great fun for them. Sometimes their fighting and "attacks" on us appear frighteningly fierce but to them, it's just a spectator sport. Much like a group of kids playing make-believe games and pretending to be grown-ups, puppies have their own games and pretend to be "grown-ups," too!
A dog's flair to control the force of his biting is called "bite inhibition." It's a critically important skill that every puppy needs to memorize, the earlier the better. At first, they don't know their own strength nor how sharp their little teeth really are. Puppies learn to control the force of their biting from the reactions of their mothers and littermates during play and particularly play-fighting.
We can teach puppies about bite inhibition, too, but some of the methods most often recommended aren't impressive. Mother dogs' methods, however, are very effective, often more so than ours. I believe this is because they're speaking to their pups within the language they understand best -- dog language! A child puppy is much too busy learning how to be a dog to take time to get our human words and ways. That takes time and maturity. Puppies respond to dog language contained by a very powerful, instinctive way. We can take supremacy of that by copying a mother dog's actions and using them for ourselves.
The idea of using mother dog's natural training technique isn't new. Respected trainers like Carol Lea Benjamin have be using them for years. To understand these methods, let's take a look at a typical mother dog disciplining her brood. We'll use my Heather (Chow) and her four rowdy puppies as an example.
When a playful puppy bites Heather hard ample to hurt, she squeals in shocked indignation. The puppy, surprised at her reaction, usually hesitate a moment, unsure of himself, then tries to bite again. Heather yelps even louder this time and whirls on the puppy, growling, showing her teeth and scowling at him wildly. Then she turns her back on him and storms away, completely ignoring him and any further attempts to win her to play. A smart puppy picks up her clear message quickly: "if you can't play nice, I won't play with you at adjectives!"
If the puppy persists or doesn't take the hint, Heather doesn't idiot around. With a menacing growl and using her teeth, she grabs him by the scruff of his neck and gives him a shake. If he sasses backbone, she gives him another little shake, tougher this time. She doesn't let go of the pup till he's acknowledged her authority (in dog language) by relaxing his body, lay his ears back and keeping still for a moment. Heather disciplines especially obnoxious puppies by knocking them over beside her paw and pinning them to the ground, growling angrily and pinching them with her teeth. The puppies shriek but they're not really hurt. She doesn't let them up again untill they relax and lie still. After the correction, the puppy shakes his fur final into place and goes off in furrow of a playmate with a better sense of humor.
We don't have to growl at our puppies or shake them with our teeth, but we can modify Heather's technique for ourselves. The subsequent time your puppy bites you, scream "OW!" in a high-pitched voice. Exaggerate a moment or two. Then refuse to play with him or pay attention to him for a few minutes. If he doesn't seize the message, give him a little scruff shake and scold him contained by a low-toned, threatening voice. You can exaggerate a little on that, too! Sound meaner than you really are. For puppies that just won't quit or seem to carry wilder with every correction, flip them over on their backs, scold them surrounded by that same low, scary voice (growling) and gently but firmly, hold them in that position until they stop struggling.
We sometimes make a contribution puppies the wrong message about biting by some of the games we play with them. Wrestling and tug of war can gladden a puppy to bite and make it hard for him to distinguish when it's okay to use his teeth and when it's not. To make it easier for your puppy to memorize good manners, it's a good id
When you are in the position where you cannot right her for the biting behavior, then the next best thing is to help yourself to away what's making her happy; i.e., the playing. As soon as she bites you, fold up your arms, turn away from her, and simply discount her until she calms down. Do this a few times, and she should catch the drift. German Shepards and Huskies are very smart dogs, so I doubt it will hold her long. I doubt she is biting you out of malice; biting is a common puppy-play move, and I'm sure she's merely treating you like she would another puppy. Good luck!
