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Honored Contributor
Posts: 12,407
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Our puppy is about 4 months old, this is not my first puppy but I have forgotten how to deter the biting.

I try to interest her in a toy by playing with her, throwing a sock or a ball but, oh my! the biting is to the point that she draws blood. Can some one give me a refresher on how to combat this behavior? The dog is a teddy bear puppy about 6 lbs. and is a female, if that information matters.

When she is biting I use a stern voice and tell her no! I have put her in her crate for a couple of minutes when she seems out of control, but I don't want her to think the crate is a bad place, I'd like to learn how to discipline the biting issue, thanks!!

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,896
Registered: ‎03-20-2010

Re: Need tips on puppy biting

No need to punish or discipline. Use a firm no or a yelp then all play/attention stops. Ignore her. The puppy will learn very quickly that when she bites all fun stops and to a puppy it is all about fun. Everyone needs to do the same thing and be consistent and soon the biting will stop.

Someday, when scientists discover the center of the Universe....some people will be disappointed it is not them.
Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,783
Registered: ‎03-16-2010

Re: Need tips on puppy biting

I agree with the previous poster and to play with a toy so she knows what is appropriate to bite.
Honored Contributor
Posts: 12,407
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Need tips on puppy biting

We have been trying to distract her with a toy that she can chew or we throw a ball which she loves to play with. I tried the yelping and making a noise like it hurts, which it does, ha! but that really did not work. I know as she gets a bit older it will get easier.

Super Contributor
Posts: 840
Registered: ‎02-11-2011

Re: Need tips on puppy biting

I say no loudly and bop puppy on noise with fingers. Puppy learns fast.
Esteemed Contributor
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Registered: ‎03-20-2010

Re: Need tips on puppy biting

On 8/3/2014 momtodogs said:

We have been trying to distract her with a toy that she can chew or we throw a ball which she loves to play with. I tried the yelping and making a noise like it hurts, which it does, ha! but that really did not work. I know as she gets a bit older it will get easier.

It is not about the yelping, that is only a bridge or marker between the action and ramifications. A version of clicker training. It is about the stopping of all interactions. As long as you continue to pay attention to her, she will not understand that the biting is what is unacceptable. How can she if nothing changes and you are just making noise.

Someday, when scientists discover the center of the Universe....some people will be disappointed it is not them.
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,036
Registered: ‎08-07-2013

Re: Need tips on puppy biting

We have always used pennies in a jar. When your puppy bites shake the can of penny's it distracts the puppy from biting without having to use a firm voice. Some of our dogs played with the outside of the can and some run away from the noise. That tip from a trainer. Good luck with the little girl she sounds adorable.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 38,243
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Need tips on puppy biting

You must be consistent in letting the pup know that it is unacceptable to put it's teeth on you. What a pup learns as a puppy, it will carry over into adulthood, and that is a HUGE problem. I put my fingers around the puppy's nose, and say firmly, "no bite."

Respected Contributor
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Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Need tips on puppy biting

OMG, my eyes are playing tricks on me today, LOL. I just came into this forum to catch up and this thread title caught my eye, but I didn't read it correctly. I thought it said "Need Tips on Puppy Baiting". I thought "How horrible!". I am very relieved that I was wrong! {#emotions_dlg.crying}

"Summer afternoon-summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." ~Henry James
Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,743
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Need tips on puppy biting

While I agree in principle that the noise you make is just a bridge between the action and the consequences, I suggest a more primitive response. You need to model your behaviour after what a littermate or dam of the litter would do in the same situation. Most people have never observed a litter of puppies and their mother over the weeks of birth, nursing, weaning, and early social interaction that all puppies need to spend with their birth family, and far and away TOO MANY puppies are removed from their natal environment far too early!!! Puppies need to stay with their mother until 12 weeks in order to learn the basics of becoming a good family member. Your puppy may have been weaned too early, which is why they did not learn bite inhibition. So you need to teach it.

Start by being willing to follow through, if you relent you are just teaching your puppy to become MORE aggressive. When you are playing with the pup, EVERY time they put their mouth on you, SCREAM like you are about to BLEED TO DEATH! Then turn around and walk away, withdraw ALL attention, affection, notice, everything! This is what littermates do when one pup bites too hard, they shun the offender. Shark-puppy finds out fast that they are all alone in the world and everyone hates them and they might as well go eat worms, so to speak. If they want to be part of their family, they have to learn to take it easy on that JAWS behaviour. If the rest of the litter cannot enforce proper bite inhibition on a bully puppy, or if the puppy bites an adult, the response is more severe. If a dam is doing her job and one puppy is beating up on their littermates, they become the disciplinarian, and they stop play by grabbing the offender by the scruff of the neck, pulling them away from play, and sometimes growling or rolling them over and holding them down to the ground. Some adult dogs will just flatten the bad puppy to the ground with a front paw, or their head, whatever it takes to hold them still and let them think about what they did wrong for a minute. Commonly, the formerly "tough puppy" becomes a squealing piglet puppy at this point, and humans often fear the dam or adult dog is about to kill the pup. They are not, the little monster is just finding out firsthand that they are not the "Big Dog" and their word is not law, even if they are bigger or badder than their littermates. Only very, very rarely will the dam or an adult dog do any real harm, and if you are taking the place of the adult dog in your pack, you won't be doing any harm. If screaming and shunning your pup does not stop them from biting, you will need to scruff them, immobilize for a moment, then isolate the puppy in their crate. Don't waste your time with distractions and firm "NO"s, just scream, shun, and if needed, scruff, immobilize and crate. If your pup has any sense at all they will figure out very quickly that biting is no longer tolerated, and learn to behave themselves. Good luck!