Pup Biting

[RichK]

My GSP pup is 8 weeks old and is play biting with me. His intentions aren't bad but biting myself or anyone else is unacceptable. What is the best way to stop this behavior?

[ezzy333]

Get rid of the pup if it is unacceptable. But if it is just something that needs to be curtailed till the pup grows out of it or learns not to would maybe start here. They just aren't born as adults and little pups like to play and when they do they use their mouth. I think we all try to discourage the biting especially as the pup gets older. So in the mean time maybe just tell the pup to stop and flick it on the nose where it hurts, or some people like to stuff their hand in it's mouth and gag it, some people like to bite them back but I think that speaks more of the person than it does of the puppy. And what they all add up to is teach or train the pup to stop biting and usually all it takes is a consistent reprimand and a little time. And this will be repeated over and over as a pup grows and the only way to make them stop any unacceptable behavior will be to train them to do what you want them to do. That's why most of us buy a puppy. Lots of work, lots of fun, lots of love, and a lot of pride in your accomplishments and what it produced.

Ezzy

[ScottE]

I've heard of a technique where you pretend his nip hurts you a lot. I tried and it didn't stop him from playing but it did make him not bite me as hard

[birddogger]

I've heard of a technique where you pretend his nip hurts you a lot. I tried and it didn't stop him from playing but it did make him not bite me as hard

This nonsense comes from the AR crowd.

Charlie

[MikeB]

RichK,
Welcome to owning a new puppy. Like Ezzy said pups use their mouths first and brains later. I have found that a serious flick with your thumb and index finger right on the pups mouth not nose sometimes works to discourage the pup at that very moment. It needs to be repeated only by adults each time the pup uses it's mouth on humans. SAY NOTHING. Words like NO BITE don't work, so save your breath. If flicking the pup on the mouth makes the pup stop praise the pup. Petting and verbal praise. If flicking incites more biting or worse a really pissed off puppy STOP! Don't continue, probably best to give the pup a chew toy and put it in the crate or a while. Chew toys and a crate is always your best choice when you can't take it anymore. It all gets better in time, just be patient.

[RichK]

RichK,
Welcome to owning a new puppy. Like Ezzy said pups use their mouths first and brains later. I have found that a serious flick with your thumb and index finger right on the pups mouth not nose sometimes works to discourage the pup at that very moment. It needs to be repeated only by adults each time the pup uses it's mouth on humans. SAY NOTHING. Words like NO BITE don't work, so save your breath. If flicking the pup on the mouth makes the pup stop praise the pup. Petting and verbal praise. If flicking incites more biting or worse a really pissed off puppy STOP! Don't continue, probably best to give the pup a chew toy and put it in the crate or a while. Chew toys and a crate is always your best choice when you can't take it anymore. It all gets better in time, just be patient.

Thanks for the info. I"ll try a flick on the mouth. He is only doing it to "play" but I don't want him getting the idea as he gets older that chewing on my hand is acceptable.

Other than this the pup is awesome.

[LabGuy]

I have an 8 week old lab and he is a biting machine as well. I have been minding the little playful bites because in all reality he is a puppy. But when he gets really nippy and tries to bite hard, I put a stop to it right away. As soon as he bites me, i grab his whole snout and hold it and say "NO" (got this from the Julie Knutson book). The quickness of the response speaks much more than the tone you use. Seems to have worked for me so far. Still trying to get the girlfriend to take the same response though.

[4dabirds]

Read this book there is a good section in it about softening a dogs bite. http://ebookbrowse.com/the-culture-clas ... -d98932404 . It is a good idea to handle your dogs mouth as much as possible. A stick across the roof of the dogs mouth can turn into a big vet bill because you are unable to handle the dogs mouth. My dogs tongue has been cut on sourgum while out hunting and if i could not address this it would have been a major problem. If the dog is biting you you can hold the dogs mouth so his jowls are in between his teeth and your hand. This way the dog is biting his own skin. Dogs will give up a behavior if they see it is not beneficial to the dog, so keeping your hand in the dogs mouth until it gives up will get the dog used to you being in there addressing any issues it may have. If you are holding your hand in the dogs mouth and the dog gets free the next time you try this it will be harder to address as the dog will have succeeded at its attempt to free itself. The dog must realize it is inevitable and the sooner it stops trying to get away the sooner it will be released. The dog being passive is the way it gets released. When they realize that this passivity is the way out they will use it as a strategy to get released. The best time to work on this is when the dog is a puppy obviously an I'm not recommending this for dogs that have a tendency to bite in a violent manner as a strategy to avoid behavior that the dog does not want to perform or because of poor socialization etc. etc..The book is a good book to help you understand canine behavior. There is a section on correction that I believe is a little off for people that are training dogs that have great prey drive and are trying to enhance this as well. The rest of the book is well written though and a great help especially for the pup stage .Good luck with the pup.

[4dabirds]

[
This nonsense comes from the AR crowd.

Charlie[/quote]
Hey don't pick on the ar crowd ! My buddy guided a hunt this weekend and the client showed up with a 12 gauge ar -15 . Who says you can't hunt with a black gun .