Puppy's Nipping and Biting

[craftersue]

I have a very loving,feisy 6 month old Bischon puppy that has started the bad habit or running behind me and nipping or biting at the back of my ankles,legs,pants(has even tore a hole in one pair) or will grab your hand and bite in play of course. I want to stop this behavior as soon as possible ,never hit my dog , have tried the word "no" in a very stern voice to no avail. None of my other dogs have ever done this and I am at a loss as to what to do.Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[dogncatluvr]

Do you hop around when your puppy nips at your heels? Stand perfectly still (even though it may hurt) and say the firm "NO" in a deep voice. Puppy is just playing a game, and your actions have to tell puppy that you're NOT going to play this game. That goes for the hand biting also. If puppy wants to bite your hand, put 2 or 3 fingers in it's mouth vertically,( or a fist if the puppy is big enough) and put your other hand on the back of it's neck, so it can't get away. Leave the fingers in the mouth until the puppy gets uncomfortable and starts to squirm....it doesn't take long, usually. Then take your fingers out of its mouth and offer your hand. You will usually get a lick at this point, rather than an attempt to bite. Praise your puppy like crazy, tell them they are a good boy/girl. 2 or 3 repititions of this will usually solve the problem. Good luck.

[conniff11]

Here's a few ideas i have heard work:
*try carrying a water bottle around with you and when your puppy does something that is not appealing to you,like the biting, spray him (not in the face).

*get an empty pop can, put in a few rocks, tape the opening and keep it hidden. then when your puppy starts this biting, shake the can but DON'T let your puppy see the can. And shout NO! they are usually scared of the sound.

*You can wrap a towel up in a roll, tie it around the middle. when he/she starts the biting, throw the towel at him/her and shout NO!!

It's best to train them when they're young because their bite is stronger when they are older.
My husband is a UPS driver and the small dogs are the ones that always nip him.
hope these ideas will work for you.
the fingers (or the fist) that the last replier suggested does work too.
God luck!

[Louise]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by conniff11:
[B]Here's a few ideas i have heard work:

Those are all excellent ideas. My Furby is 8 wks old and teething with those little needles. I say "NO" loudly...almost like a bark, and offer him a toy instead of human flesh. If he doesnt back off immediately I flip him onto his back and hold him there till he stops struggling and then praise him.
If my fingers are in his mouth I gently push down on his jaw till it is pinned against his chest..(he hates this) and I immediately let go. He doesnt like that feeling and goes and finds something else to play "land shark" with.

[slbrick]

These are all great methods of teaching
your puppy that biting is BAD. However,
the most important part of training your
puppy at this point is CONSISTANCY. Once
you have started to teach your puppy that
biting is unacceptable every instance of
biting (or mouthing) must be reprimanded.
Every family member must be taught how to
reprimand your puppy's bad behavior and
praise good behavior, and be consistant,
no matter how cute the puppy is. Most
importantly do not allow ANYONE to permit
your puppy to mouth clothing or body parts,
even if they say that they are just playing.
The behavior can change when the puppy grows
up.

The more attention you pay to your puppy now
the better behaved dog you will have latter.

Good Luck.
-- Sue

[Fransetter]

Most of the advice you have been given is pretty good, but here is something else you can try. I have been advising this in my puppy classes for some time and the feedback I am getting is good.

Find something which your puppy really doesn't like the smell of. It might be some kind of food preparation. Everytime your puppy does this, let it sniff the thing which it finds unpleasant, so that you are taking the fun out of what it is doing.

One person I know discovered her puppy didn't like flea sprays, so she showed it the container everytime the pup grabbed her, so the puppy stopped the behaviour after a few repetitions.

Someone else discovered that their puppy couldn't stand the smell of tomato ketchup, so they showed the puppy the lid of the bottle everytime it grabbed at their heels or clothing and this stopped the behaviour.

Yelling no, or yelping as if hurt can stop some dogs, but for those who really are into nipping from behind and hanging onto clothing, a smell of something they don't like can be really effective.

I speak from personal experience as all positive actions just got my puppy laughing at everything I tried. Eventually I discovered that the smell of Lemon/eucalyptus oil put him off!

Fransetter

[Daisy's Mom]

I posted this in the 'agressive dog' topic... this worked for my basset hound Daisy, who is one now. She used to bite me and my other family members and my mom said if she bit anyone outside the family we would have to give her up. So we got Daisy her own 'personal trainer' who came up with the idea that stopped her nipping and biting. The penny bottle! This is simply a plastic soda bottle filled with 15 pennies. Whenever Daisy bit, we would slam the bottle hard on our hands or on the floor. She hated the noise and would stop immediately. It worked quickly as Daisy learned that the consequence of biting was that awful noise. The only thing you have to remember is to keep your dog from thinking the penny bottle is a toy. My friend tried this with her agressive dog but left it lying around too much and her dog started playing with it and thinks of it as a toy. Needless to say, she still bites. If you use the penny bottle consistently, it will work! My Daisy is an angel now and doesn't bite! Good luck with your dog.