How do you get a puppy to stop biting?

Question

I know puppies have to bite because of their teeth, but our dog has lots of toys! He's been pretty good, but he has completely desroyed 2 pairs of shoes. We've tried lots of things to get him to stop, but none of them seem to work!

Answer 1

Have you tried bitter apple spray?

Otherwise, start putting your shoes in the closet.

Answer 2

First, think like a dog.

Dogs at this age are teething. It is very important that they chew stuff. The only thing you can do is make sure he has his own things, and make sure he knows he has broken the rules if he chews someone else's things.

Also, modify your environment, like you would if you had a baby. Since you know the dog is going to chew, live appropriately for a while. Don't leave things you want or need within the dog's reach - they might get chewed. If it's important to you, put it up out of his reach. Shut cupboard doors, shut room doors, keep the garage closed.

Whack his bum, growl fiercely, and tell him No! sharply in a deep voice when you catch him chewing something illegal. Then immediately take him to his own toy and say in a high, happy voice, Chew toy!

It will not work to take him to something he chewed an hour ago, a day ago, or a week ago, and tell him off for it. The dog cannot comprehend that. You have to catch him IN THE ACT of destruction for your correction to be within his range of understanding. Dogs just can't cope with the idea of something that happened a while ago, and telling them off for a past sin is more than pointless, it's confusing.

A raw meaty large bone split longwise down the centre will be the best chew toy for him. If it is split longwise, he can eat the rich marrow which contains essential nutrients for his diet. Throw it out every week and get a new one. The second best chew toy is a Kong. Every dog loves a Kong.

Answer 3

Try not to give him all toys at the same time, its almost like a child when a new toy given is played with for a day and then something else (not for him) has become of interest. When giving a toy apply some peanut butter or get the "flavored" rubber bones that always keeps them interested, especially if they think it is edible, they just chew on it, but always make sure these are supervised, our rottie can tear up anything, rawhide, hooves and rubber bones, so it depends on the type of dog. Scold your dog when he gets to something "out of limits", when scolding you must do it at the time of destruction and not an hour later. Hold the object in your hand and wave it above the dogs nose saying "no" firmly and walking away with no attention given for at least 30 minutes. Then give your pup a toy to focus on instead. Good luck and this is only a phase that may get better with proper discipline and lots of attention!

Answer 4

I think it's really important for you to establish who's in charge. When the puppy grabs something he's not supposed to chew on, don't just take it away gently. Show him that you're the boss by exhibiting dominant physical actions: stand over him, look him in the eye. If necessary, even push him a little. I'm not saying to hit him. Not at all. But you should be doing the kinds of things that a pack leader would do to enforce discipline. That's what dogs understand.

Then, when he's calmed down, you can praise him. Not before.

There are some great professional trainers who have courses and books available online. See Sources for specifics. And of course, you have to watch "The Dog Whisperer" on the National Geographic Channel.

Answer 5

If the dog purposouly bites you, tap it on the nose and say 'no' and give it somthing else to chew on. Just direct the attention away from attacking your hand. I had apuppy that was really bad one time about bitting your hands. He was so bad that when you would tap him on the nose he would lung back at you and try to bite you more. He was so spoiled and the only pup in the litter. But once tapping his nose wasn't working i would make him roll over on his back and make him submit to me. This fixed the problem after a few times.
Good luck and just know all pups do it, but be sure to nip it while you can. :)

Answer 6

To save your shoes, leave out an old pair covered in hot sauce. Once is enough! Mine has never looked at another shoe. to stop the biting, gently (just enough to keep them from opening) hold the muzzle shut and firmly tell them "No Bite!" Worked on a pit and they're supposed to be the most stubborn.

Answer 7

Im actually goin thru the same thing right now.. not really biting but that playing around thing.. i was reading up on it the other night and they say that when the pup starts doing it (as silly as it sounds) yell ouch or something like that it will make the pup stop and think... (this one is actually workin for me! weird huh?) and the other one said that if your playing and the pups doin it stop playing and ignore the pup then they will realize too that when they do that play time is over...

Kinda different answers but its definitly workin for me and my pup so far

Answer 8

I think it is just experiancing some teeth growing if it is a baby! It's teeth are growing so it has to bite things so it wont hurt! Dont worry because it will eventually heal! Just give him a few things he can chew so he wont bite you!

Answer 9

pull all his baby teeth out and when his big dog teeth come in he will have out grown all the chewing..you'll have to feed him like a mamma bird for awhile..that's the bad part!!

Answer 10

well at least he hasn't found your underwear yet! lol puppies do that until their about 2 yrs. old. so just give them an old pair of sneakers and let them chew.