Puppy Biting Problem

jjenniebug · 09-29-2006

Hi,
I'm new to the site & I'm so excited to learn from all the fellow dog lovers & owners out there! We just got our first puppy about a month & a half ago- she's a mini Australian Shepherd. Although we love her to pieces, she has a problem with biting that is driving me crazy!

The problem: I can understand mouthing and possibly even accidental biting when we're playing, but she bites to the point where she draws blood at least once every day & it just doesn't seem normal to me. It happens when we're training & she's frustrated because she doesn't know what I want her to do, so she'll start barking & biting anything in her way- often my feet & hands. She's ripped holes in countless pieces of clothing. It also happens when she gets overly excited or when she wants attention. Since she's a herding breed, we were prepared for nipping at our heels, but when I'm walking her on her leash, sometimes she'll get in her "frenzied" state & bite the tops of my feet & draw blood. I am much more involved with her than my husband, and she doesn't bite him like she bites me. I think she thinks I'm her littermate & he's the pack leader.

What I've tried: When I firmly tell her "no", it makes her more excited & she barks & bites more. I've tried ignoring it, but when she bites hard, I don't feel like I should ignore it. I've tried holding her muzzle after she bites & telling her no, but that gets her more excited & increases the biting. My vet told me it sounds like Frustration Aggression & to meet with a dog behavioralist, which we're doing this weekend, but I wanted to get some other advice in the meantime.

She's also chasing our cats, so if anyone has advice on that, I'd love to hear it!! Thanks & I look forward to hearing from all of you!!

opokki · 09-29-2006

She is adorable!

I have an Aussie x that I got at 7wks of age so I can understand your frustration. And I remember, no amount of exercise seemed to satisfy her. LOL.

How old is she?
How long and how frequent are your training sessions with her?

Here is a great article on teaching bite inhibition:
The Bite Stops Here

Natalie loved to chase my cats too. The cats would bop her on the head but she didn't mind one bit. For cat chasing, I simply interrupted and redirected her to something more appropriate such as a play session with me.

Some other things I've found useful:
- Kongs
- Encouraging her to carry toys frequently, especially when excited...she couldn't nip me and carry a toy at the same time.
- Fishing pole toys, she loves trying to capture the toy and it tires her out too.

Woof Woof · 09-30-2006

The toy advice works for me and my dog.

When she wants attention and she is not getting it, or you stop stroking her, she tends to take her frustrations out on one of her toys. I would rather she does this than bite somebody.

She can be very attention seeking, but you need to let your dog know who is boss sometimes.

Cookie_Dog · 09-30-2006

If it starts to bite, hold it's jaws closed, and scold it, (not in a bad way), just so it knows that you're the boss. As you are doing this, put a finger to his mouth, and make sure it knows who actually is the boss (again, not in a mean way). Do this every time it happens. If it doesn't work, sorry. If it works, you're on to the next step. Introducing it to your cat! Introduce them, in a polite way, to one another. If they still don't seem to get along, scold both. If the dog is bullying the cat, scold the dog. Try not to pick sides. If you pick sides they'll start even more trouble with jealousy! Be even and don't spoil any of them. If none of this works, I'm really sorry!

Woof Woof · 09-30-2006

Some useful comments there Cookie Dog, and some tips I have not seen before.

I think it is all down to showing the dog who is boss, but in such a way that you do not instill fear into the animal. Fear and Respect are very different.

By nature Dogs are leaders, and like to show who is boss, until they are challenged.

SeeSpotRun · 09-30-2006

I just wonder if it might be going through some type of dog teething. You might want to give her something else to chew on. Pigs ears are pretty good, or just any type of bone or chew toy. I'm not sure what else you can do to discipline her. It sounds like it likes the attention from the scolding, so maybe you should just stop playing with her. Cutting off the attention might have more of an effect, since some dogs have difficulty understanding negative attention.

jjenniebug · 10-02-2006

Thanks to all for the helpful info! Unfortunately, I've already tried alot of the techniques mentioned above to no avail.... holding her muzzle just made her bite again as soon as I let go.... giving her one of her many toys instead didn't work b/c she'd much rather bite my hand & would come right back to it.

We had a dog behavioralist come to our house yesterday & as much as I wanted to find a passive way to stop her biting, she gave us a way that has immediately stopped it. Anytime Dixie bites she showed us how to pinch her upper lip & say "No bite." Since dogs are motion-driven, she said to leave your hand there & not jerk it away, which could induce another bite. As long as she's not biting, you praise her & keep playing/ petting. This way she learns that the fun will continue as long as she doesn't hurt you. I still let her mouth since she's only 12 weeks old.... as long as it's not hard, which according to the article posted by opokki is a good thing. That way she will still learn bite inhibition, but she won't ever bite hard enough to cause damage. I also have lots of chew toys & bones for her to teeth on.

Just to clarify, since the pinching sounds a little barbaric... she was drawing blood regularly with her bites. It was not normal according to many sources I talked to- my vet, trainers, other dog owners, etc., so we were desperate to find something that worked after other passive methods did nothing. So for anyone who has already tried everything else, this may also be good solution. For those of you who are able to stop it with other methods, I'd definately recommend those first.

Thanks again & I'll keep you all posted on her progress

bernese224 · 10-07-2006

I don't know how "humane" it is, but we would poke our puppy's cheek through into her teeth so she would bite that and realize that it hurt. After a short while she stopped biting us!

carlar · 10-15-2006

I don't have a problem with a dog biting me, it is with the dog biting my clothes and shoes as I walk. It doesn't hurt but it is a real aggravation. It hampers my movement since I'm afraid it will trip me or hurt him. He is about 7 months old and is a 2 1/2 pound yorkie so I am not sure what to do. I tell him no, scold him but now he shys away from me when I reach for him. I don't want to make him afraid of me but at the same time he needs to stop doing this. He likes my house shoes the best!

nattiej1976 · 10-30-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by bernese224

I don't know how "humane" it is, but we would poke our puppy's cheek through into her teeth so she would bite that and realize that it hurt. After a short while she stopped biting us!

we have done a similar thing with our dog too. He has a soft mouth so we have been able to curl his lips over his teeth when biting us so he ended up biting on his own lips, works a treat, only have to start moving your hand towards his lips now and instantly the biting stops. (i did also bite puppy on the ear a couple of times) this pulled him in to line, I personally dont think it cruel it is exactly what a mother dog would do for controlling behaviour, it was not hard enough to cause agony but to certainly let pup know that it happened.