Help puppy likes to bite me
- Thread starter dinnaf
- Start date
CollieMan
Experienced Member
I think you have your signals mixed up a little. Your puppy has no idea what "NO" means, whatever tone it's given in.
The licking is your pup's way of trying to calm you down. When you watch dogs together, the licking of the lips is most often carried out in times of stress. As a home-boarder, I see this type of behaviour frequently when new dogs are first introduced to each other. It also happens when you invade their space. Try giving your dog a kiss on the mouth; it will, invariably, either look away or lick its lips. No, it's not returning the kiss, it's just trying to calm the situation as you are directly in its space.
The stress in this particular case is, I suspect, caused by you telling the dog 'NO' and it not knowing what to do next. It has no concept of the word but wants to please you, but has no clue what to do in order to reach that goal.
For pup biting, the best thing, in my experience, is to just walk away. This is particularly potent with puppies as they crave attention. When they realise that the biting gets the attention taken away, they soon work it out and modify their behaviour. It's not instant of course, but it will happen over time, as long as you keep walking away each time it bites/nips.
I used to prescribe adding a 'ah ah' sound at the same time as walking away, but I no longer believe this is the best way forward, so just walk away from the pup and completley ignore him for a few minutes.
I hope that helps.
The licking is your pup's way of trying to calm you down. When you watch dogs together, the licking of the lips is most often carried out in times of stress. As a home-boarder, I see this type of behaviour frequently when new dogs are first introduced to each other. It also happens when you invade their space. Try giving your dog a kiss on the mouth; it will, invariably, either look away or lick its lips. No, it's not returning the kiss, it's just trying to calm the situation as you are directly in its space.
The stress in this particular case is, I suspect, caused by you telling the dog 'NO' and it not knowing what to do next. It has no concept of the word but wants to please you, but has no clue what to do in order to reach that goal.
For pup biting, the best thing, in my experience, is to just walk away. This is particularly potent with puppies as they crave attention. When they realise that the biting gets the attention taken away, they soon work it out and modify their behaviour. It's not instant of course, but it will happen over time, as long as you keep walking away each time it bites/nips.
I used to prescribe adding a 'ah ah' sound at the same time as walking away, but I no longer believe this is the best way forward, so just walk away from the pup and completley ignore him for a few minutes.
I hope that helps.
onwards1981
New Member
Hi dinnaf
I agree with a lot of what Collieman says.
What we did with our girl when she was a pup was to say "Ouch!" in a very hurt "voice" and tone and then turn away from her for a second or two.
When your puppy nips it's learning bite inhibition - that is, how much bite he/she can give. A dog needs to learn how to use its teeth and this is how they do it. The thing is, as humans we want to teach the dog that ANY biting is not OK.
Since dogs only understand body language and the vibes we give off, what you want to do is give off the vibe that ANY biting/nipping is not OK.
When you turn off the attention for a few seconds, this tells your pup that what he has JUST done is a no-no; by taking your attention away from him you've "told" him he isn't being rewarded for that specific action.
Just be aware that dogs - puppies particularly - have a very very short attention span. You're reaction has to be very fast or the dog will associate the turn-away with something else instead of the nip he just gave you.
:msnohyes:
I agree with a lot of what Collieman says.
What we did with our girl when she was a pup was to say "Ouch!" in a very hurt "voice" and tone and then turn away from her for a second or two.
When your puppy nips it's learning bite inhibition - that is, how much bite he/she can give. A dog needs to learn how to use its teeth and this is how they do it. The thing is, as humans we want to teach the dog that ANY biting is not OK.
Since dogs only understand body language and the vibes we give off, what you want to do is give off the vibe that ANY biting/nipping is not OK.
When you turn off the attention for a few seconds, this tells your pup that what he has JUST done is a no-no; by taking your attention away from him you've "told" him he isn't being rewarded for that specific action.
Just be aware that dogs - puppies particularly - have a very very short attention span. You're reaction has to be very fast or the dog will associate the turn-away with something else instead of the nip he just gave you.
:msnohyes:
Kranky
Member
Hi there, I've had the same problem with my 2 puppies (now 22wks) until 2 weeks ago. I took them to their first puppy training class and just having a side chat with the trainer, I complain that they still nip my 2 daughters alot. She told me she had tried for 6 months to stop her dog doing it, until someone said to put your finger deep into the dog's mouth - it's unpleasant for them and makes them want to gag, but doesn't hurt them. She said it cured her dog within a couple of days. I started doing it immediately (but cause they have small mouths, I just pushed my hand sideways into their mouth so that it felt unpleasant without hurting them) and my puppies stopped within a couple of days. Now my girls feel a lot more confident playing together with them.
I can't tell you how releaved I am. I hope it works for you too - good luck. :-)
I can't tell you how releaved I am. I hope it works for you too - good luck. :-)
jackienmutts
Honored Member
Why would anyone want to do something so unpleasant to a puppy? How sad that a trainer would suggest gagging a puppy. I want my puppy/dog to only see good things as coming from my hands. I hope people don't start trying this - it sounds like it's bordering on aversive/abusive. Just my opinion.
tigerlily46514
Honored Member
I'd be so curious to know how old this puppy was when taken from it's mother and siblings...? I've heard that puppies left with mom + siblings til they are 12 weeks old, are less likely to be AS nippy, as their own family teaches them to not nip so much.
http://youtu.be/c77--cCHPyU
http://youtu.be/c77--cCHPyU