New GSP pup, biting

[wills1235]

So at day 52 pup is pointing, and retrieving like a champ. He gets really hyper though, whenever I try to bring him in close to make him sit. I can't get his attention long enough to teach sit because all he wants to do is chew on me. Even when I lift him up by scruff and stare him down, he tries to reach around and bite me. He's a larger male, but the litter had a lot of females bigger than him. He's a sponge and takes in everything I teach him, except that he can't BLEEPING chew on me.

[birddogger]

Most puppies want to nip and/or chew at that age. You have to make it uncomfortable for him when he starts to bite. When he starts biting, roll his lip under his teeth so when he bites down, he is biting his lip, or stick your finger into the back of his mouth, gagging him. It is usually pretty easy and doesn't take long to get this stopped. Having said that, I wouldn't be trying to teach sit or much of anything else at that age. The attention span is just too short. Here, kennel and no are the only commands I would be working on without pressure except for "No".

Good luck and enjoy,
Charlie

[wills1235]

Charlie that gets to the heart of my question. Do I need to stop his biting right now, or do I write it off as puppy behavior?

[kninebirddog]

Biting and or nipping are undesired behaviors that should be nipped in the bud right at the start. This is the method that I like to use. When the pup starts to bite or nip I will take my 2 fingers and place them sideways in the mouth with my thumb under the jaw. I then place my other hand behind the head. This helps to brace the pup so they cannot harm themselves by pulling away. Hold this position till the pup stops struggling and vocalizing and where the pup relaxes gives a deep breath and gives into your hand being in the mouth and as soon as the pup shows that acceptance and get your fingers out of the mouth, quickly say “release” and roll your fingers gently backwards to take them out.
This changes the rules of the pup’s game. I will then place my hand in front of the pup’s mouth; the pup should LICK your hand. This is a sign of accepting who is the alpha. If the pup should try and mouth your hand repeat the application. I have found that after a couple of applications this behavior ceases. And again I want to stress none of these actions are to ever harm or physically hurt the pup ever. The pup may whine and vocalize some discontent but never pain.

I take this serious I am not the mother and will deter this behavior right away puppies grow in to behaviors they do not grow out of them. Curb it now.

[ultracarry]

If a pup bites you grab it by the cuff of the neck.... shake it (not violent...) and bring it to the door and put it outside and.do not let it back in. It's what the mom would do.......

[birddogger]

Charlie that gets to the heart of my question. Do I need to stop his biting right now, or do I write it off as puppy behavior?

[JoeFriday]

I personally wouldn't resort to picking up a dog and shaking him unless he really won't settle down and listen. And it sounds like your pup is tough enough to think manhandling is kinda fun. Exactly the opposite of what you want to get across.

I've mostly stopped my pup from biting by giving him a solid tap (jab, if you want to call it that) in the ribs and firmly (but not forcefully) saying "no bite". Tap him just enough to break the dog's concentration on chewing. That's another method similar to what the pup's mom would do. He might immediately resume biting, so you just do it again... perhaps a little harder on the second tap.

Sometimes pups just don't respond to that, tho. Then I would lightly pop the pup on the nose by flicking him with my fingertip (imagine flicking a booger, for lack of a better way to describe it). That is very effective in breaking the dog's action because it often causes them to step back and sneeze. I don't do that very often, but it usually only takes once, or maybe twice, for them to get the hint. I would quickly re-engage the pup in a playful manner so he doesn't shy away from you. You just want him to associate biting with the effect.

The trick with both methods is to not do it in a way that gets the dog more riled up. You're trying to calm him down and make him listen, rather than freak him out. So speak reasonably calmly but let him know you're not asking... you're telling. And with those methods, you don't have to resort to something that affects the pup for any longer than the action lasts, but imparts some memory. After a couple episodes, they learn to hear "no bite" pretty well.

And yes, I would stop it immediately. That's behavior that will take a long time for a dog to grow out of and can disrupt your training in the meantime.

[snips]

Give him a nip back..He will stop..Thats what his Mom would do..

[markj]

I gently grab pups muzzel say no bite then give pup a chew toy that he can bite. I use 3 fingers to hold the nose/muzzel look into the eyes and say no bite this works well for me. Mom dog usually will nip em right on the nose so I use that part in my training.

Every day is a training day for a pup so make sure you train good into pup, not bad. Bad habits can snowball....

[jcorcoran]

I recommend stopping the biting now. Do not tolerate it, it is normal puppy behavior but should be stopped before they think it is OK. It isn't cute and it will get worse if you let it. Whatever method you choose, fingers in the mouth, pinching the muzzle, be consistent with the reprimand every time the dogs bites you.