General Question

readergirl119's avatar

How do you stop it?

Asked by readergirl119 (65points) August 5th, 2008

My dog is only 7 months and my famiily and I are trying to train her early so she is behaving when she is older and can do a lot more damage to things. We’ve been training her for 5 months and she still keeps biting. I saw this dog show where whenever she bit, you made a sound that a dog would make in pain. It worked for awhile, but then she just ignored it. We stopped because we were afraid that when she hurt another dog, she would think nothing of it. We need better ways to fix her biting issue. Please help.

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20 Answers

megalongcat's avatar

Take her to a professional trainer.

Adina1968's avatar

What kind of dog do you have?

XCNuse's avatar

If she is only 7 months then that is completely why.

You need to get her a chew toy, she still has her baby teeth (forget what they call those in dogs), they have to bite and chew them down and then she should lose them, and whenever she does they will grow into her normal teeth after I dunno, probably the 12 month period.

All dogs under a year old bite, and they bite kinda hard, I’m no know it all, but every baby dog I’ve come across does it.

A chew toy is the best thing, they can’t learn yet, I just held a 7 month sheltie in my arms last week and he bit the crud out of my hands, it’s just nurturing I suppose.

The Sheltie i have now used to do it when he was young also, but he quit once his big teeth grew in or whatever they do.

trudacia's avatar

My mother’s dog has the same problem. My mom keeps a small, plastic Poland Spring bottle filled with pebbles close by. When the dog misbehaves she shakes the bottle. The sound completely distracts the dog and he stops whatever he’s doing and usually sits or lays down.

I know a dog has very sensitive ears so I’m not sure if this is the best method but it certainly works.

XCNuse's avatar

After thinking a second…

Do you feed it with a baby bottle?

I mean the biting is typically related to feeding from their mothers, if she is biting she could be hungry, and a baby bottle is the best way to simulate that.

I promise you though, it isn’t something that will stay, nor is it something you should get rid of right now, all dogs do it.

Also like I said, a good chew toy is a must also, so that they have something to bite on rather than your hand ;)

Scrumpulator's avatar

You people are all crazy, It takes a dog two years to get out of the bite, bark, piss, phase one thing you can do is kennel train it, that means, when you are not there, put it in a kennel. when you get home, before even petting the dog, let it out to potty. And then a magical day will come on or near its second birthday. It will stop all that nonsense, and be an adult.

XCNuse's avatar

24 months are you sure?

My dog we got when he was like 7 or 8 months and he stopped a little after he was 1 years old.

surely that all depends on the size of the dog in the end though, but I don’t think it takes 24 months to get out of that stage, not that long, maybe 16 months is the average, but no way, not 2 years, my dog now is 3 years old and I know for a fact he wasn’t biting at all last year.

loser's avatar

Puppies discover everything with their mouths, it’s natural to them. Are you making a really loud, high pithed yip/shreik sound when she bites? She might be teething a bit, too. Try getting some broccoli stalks and putting them in them in the freezer and letting her chomp on those, if she is. Of course, this isn’t something you’d want happening on your living room carpet. Either put her in a crate of out in a yard. Also, check out some group training classes in your area. This will help socialize her, too. Good luck!

babiturtle36's avatar

two years is a bit long I think or maybe I was just blessed with my dog. We haven’t had any accidents in our house since he was 5 months old and have never had any issues with biting or barking. PetSmart has some great classes you can take. I even remember going to a free potty training class. They should be able to give you some tips. ((they even have fun events you can take him to in the future, birthday parties ect.))

babiturtle36's avatar

I think all breeds are different though and just be patient, it will come. Look for some classes, you’ll be surprised at what you didn’t know.

TheHaight's avatar

My dog just turned six months a couple weeks ago and is all caught up on her shots- so now I’m taking her straight over to some dog training classes! Her biting has gotten better (she has millions ofchew toys) but there is something wrong with her teeth! The adult ones grew in and her baby ones are still there! So she has two sets of teeth. They looks really craZy!

Anyways’- If your pooch is all caught up on her shots and obediance class is the perfect time for her.

Knotmyday's avatar

Lurve @megaloncat. To reiterate- Take her to a professional trainer, and attend the sessions.
I’m not being snide, or rude, or overly short. Speaking from experience, reliance on the experience of professionals will pay off in the long run.

readergirl119's avatar

My dog is a lab retriever mix.

Larssenabdo's avatar

She is in the middle of teething, it is very painful. You guys are correct about doing the squealing “OW” thing with her, but she needs more. Never approach her without at least 2 chew toys. When she goes for your hands, offer her a toy.
Remember you have also been playing with her using your hands for 6 months or so. You want to train her now to grabbing the toys. Kongs are good toys, for one you can stuff it with some peanut butter or cheese, or treats and she can work on it or awhile.
Bottom line, if you don’t provide something else, she will chew on whatever is handy.
Always have chew toys available. Don’t play with her with bare hands.
Now, your immediate problem is to get her off your hands. Shaker cans or bottle of pebbles are good for other things, but for this behavior, I would do the other thing her siblings would do if she bit them. They would yowl, and they would stop playing with her.
When puppy bites your hand, shun her. If she is on your lap, put her on the floor. You get up and leave the room for a minute or so. She may follow you; fine. Just tuck your hands under your arms so she can’t grab them, and turn your back to her. Just ignore her. No interaction at all for a couple minutes or so or until she stops nagging you. Do this every single time she bites any of you. She will figure it out.
Finally, don’t pet her roughly or playfully. Calm petting is best, so she does not get wound up. If she is all wound up, interest her in a chew toy and pet her when she calms down.
All of this presupposes that your puppy is getting plenty of paytime and exercise every day. Make sure she gets at least one good 40 minute walk/play session with you every day. Potty walks don’t count. A sleepy puppy is a good puppy!
These are things you can try; consistency is very important. And as Knotmyday says, it is always a good idea to consult a professional trainer.
Hope this helps.

ht1979's avatar

I’d actually suggest a professional trainer. The dog classes are not as good as having 1X1 training. I think most owners need the training just as much as their dog. Generally, people don’t start out tuned in to how the dog is thinking about things and perceiving things. In anotehr post, someone recommended Bark Busters. I used them with my dog and they were AWESOME! I can’t say enough about them – it’s expensive, but it’s a good dog-whisperer-style system. I guarantee they could work with you and your dog and bring an end to the biting thing very soon. My dog was biting (nipping really – not even biting down) when I got her at 9 months and we’d put an end to that before they left my house on their first visit (within hours).

suse's avatar

Is she an only dog?? I have always had labradors, the only one that really chewed was the one who was an only puppy. The others had dog company and they played alot and chewed less. also lots of stimulous if possible, walks and outings etc – so she is tired when she is on her own.

dlm812's avatar

If you can’t afford a professional trainer, it is best to teach the dog that biting results in a negative consequence. To teach my Papillon and Wheaten not to bite (even though it was playful) during the teething stage, we simply would say OUCH! really loud whenever they would bite (even if it didn’t hurt) and pull our hands away. After a few seconds, we would begin playing again with a toy (to replace the hand biting). If the pup bit the hand, even on accident, again we would again say OUCH! and take the hand away. Eventually they understood that biting a human’s hand = no more playing. Neither of them “mouth” anymore.

Kayak8's avatar

A great tip for teething puppies is to take an old washcloth and tie it in a knot. Get the thing wet and stick in the freezer. It serves as a chew toy and the cold helps relieve some of the gum pain. I usually have four or five in my freezer when I have a puppy.

CMaz's avatar

I got my dog over it (actually never did chew no, no things) by giving it and making sure he had plenty of toys, from day one. I have a big tub of them and now and then he even sleeps in it, on top of them.
I also agree, dogs brains do not switch on till the 2 year mark. :-)

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