[laurar]

Hey Everyone,

I am hopeing someone on here will have some good advice for us

We have a 10 week old Australian Shepherd named Peter - We got him 2 weeks ago at 8 weeks. He has his first set of shots and has been doing great with crate training and house training. He sleeps in his crate from about 11:00 PM to 7:00 AM every night which is fantastic and rarely has accidents in the house.

However, the last 4 or 5 days we have noticed his energy level increasing which is understandable as he gets older, however he has become very active with his mouth. When he is in a calm play state we can tell him "No" if he bites and he will move onto his toy however it seems once he gets past that calm state to the crazy over-the-top excitement state he will almost get into an agressive state. He will nip, bite, growl, bark and shake anything he can get his mouth on. We have been using the method of loudly and firmly saying "No" and then if he bites again, getting up and walking away. However as Im walking away he will bite my pant leg and I will literally be dragging him behind me until I can close a door or step over the baby gate. I come back 5-10 minutes later and it happens all over again. It seems that it is becoming increasingly worse, for example tonight he lunged and my face and somehow grabbed the skin on the inside of my arm and actually ripped the skin open. It really hurt, and I know I shouldnt of, but I put him in his crate to go clean up the bite. We have had him checked by the vet (today, actually) and he is 100% healthy so we have ruled out illness or soreness.

I know he is just a puppy, but Im sure you guys know how frustrating it can be! I also know that it will not happen overnight, basically I just wanted to know of any other methods that any of you were sucessfull with?

Thanks guys!

[Lunareclipse]

We also have an aussie. They use their mouth for everything. That's how they herd. They nip at heels with their teeth. Ours does it too. Get a big bottle of Bitter Apple and spray down the most common places your doggie mouths. And carry around a spray bottle to squirt them when they get mouthy. Most herding breeds can be very nippy. That is instinctive to them. They were bred to do that. Just be constant and don't let your dog do that even in play. If I am playing with my aussie and he nips me, all play stops immediately and he goes into his crate until he is ready to behave. I also yelp really loud when he does it to startle him and make him scared to do it again.

[Deafdogsrule]

A very common thing with Aussies.

I dont like training with adversives, I wont tell my dogs off for anything. best thing you can do is stand perfectly still, do not interact at all, do not walk away as that brings out the herding instinct. stand as still and passive as you can, then when your puppy gives up and looks at you, give him something he can have (a rope toy is awesome) play a game of tug, and reward heavily for NOT chewing on you. Do this constantly, and consistently, if there is absolutely NO reward for chewing on you, that will stop.

I dont make any noise either, and with my deaf dachshund, I would give a disgusted face then turn around... worked like a dream!... now if I could get her to stop licking me THAT would be impressive! LOL

[dogs rule]

Standing perfectly still, was the key for my Broder Collie X. Act like a tree, cross your arms and look away. Ended up with some torn pants, doing this, but it does work. When the nipping and bad behaviour has stopped, reward immediately with treats, praise.
Your pup has to know that biting and nipping at the pack leader is never allowed, even in play.
All the best.

[Lara's mom]

The "tree thing" worked for both my Border Collie X and my shorty JRT.

[akismaster]

The standing like a tree works well especially with over the edge excited dogs. They tend to wait for your attention as soon as you dont look at them.