I have a 7wk old golden retriever who bites onto my pant leg and doesn't let go. How do I teach him to stop?

Question

Puppies are natural chewers I know, but how do I discourage mine from chewing my pants whenever I'm walking around? He grabs onto the pant leg and begins to tear. It's very annoying and sometimes those little razor teeth dig right into the skin. Any help on how to discourage puppy from gnawing on my leg or just about anything else he can dig his teeth into will be very helpful.

Answer 1

First of all...DO NOT listen to "ann a" above...people are NOT dogs, and your puppy KNOWS that, so why would you growl and act like a dog? And pushing your dog down onto the floor and yelling "NO NO BAD!" at it will only make your puppy fear you, and a fearful dog is more apt to bite you in the face one of these days when you are growling at it and telling him he's bad!

There are two things you can do here...as some have suggested you can squirt the dog...not just a light spray...you need to put the spray bottle onto the jet stream mode and you must spray the dog while he is in the act of biting and say " No bite"...or you can stop, pick up an appropriate chew toy or treat and say to the dog " No bite" and THEN hand over the toy or treat and when the dog takes it, give praise. Or you can do the combination of spray, "No bite", then hand the dog one of its toys or treats. And soon, you will be able to just say"No bite" and the dog will stop.

Remember, this is a PHASE most puppies go through...it will not last forever! Just don't beat your dog down for being a puppy.

Answer 2

I consider you're in severe want of a instructor. Whatever conduct you dont desire from him as an grownup demands to be addressed now. If he doesnt get coaching, then odds are in opposition to him for a long run as a balanced, completely happy puppy. the growling is surely play, but when no longer directed within the proper system can come to be tough play, and later frustration and aggression. Minor matters from dog hood that don't seem to be addressed can become MAJOR matters in maturity and in case your puppy bites any individual you'll be able to have a lawsuit and your puppy ordered to be euthanised. Golden retrievers are high-quality puppies, however very energetic!! They have demands to be met, in any other case they'll be simply as damaging as any puppy. Please signal up for dog obedience, watch the puppy coaching indicates on television, Its me or the puppy, the puppy whisperer, well puppy u, some thing. Get a few support whilst he's nonetheless younger adequate to blossom right into a extraordinary completely happy puppy.

Answer 3

At 7 weeks the puppy is playing you need to start teaching him the word NO the first word after there name when he does something wrong tell him no get him off of you and tell him no in a command voice if you can teach him NO the rest is easy it is not hard just stop him and say no when he stops pat him on the head or give a treat tell what a good boy he is.

Answer 4

I got the same data Ann A did (from my breeder). I have an Aussie Shepherd, definitely a herding animal. He COMPLETELY changed when I treated him like a dog and NOT a human. There are so many sublte things humans do that communicate with their bodies and so do dogs. YES, I growled at my dog and I scruffed him (grab him by the loose folds of fur on his neck like his mom would and hold him or very slighty skake him and then let go). I did this over and over for ONE afternoon. He no longer does it. Period. He doesn't do it to strangers, he doesn't do it to family members and he still herds our other dogs and works with my horses. Do I feel insane? NO!. If you go to an agility class and see some top end dogs work, if you ever work with real dogs who have a life-job appropraite to their breed; they all read body language; just the way it is. You don't see higher trained dogs getting longer and longer sentenced commands in english. You tend to find short, one-syllable commands that can be easily said, whether happy or sad. Just like a whip and yelling doesn't substitute your soft hands and feet while riding a horse; hitting your dog, holding it's nose and saying things in english don't work on all dogs. If you want, you can email me and I can send you the email my breeder gave me. After I read it and used it, I never went back. He is so close and so perceptive it is amazing. People can't believe that he's 3 months old.
Good luck!
Holly in Southern California

Answer 5

That is a dominant act. If you let this continue then your dog will become the dominant one. You are the boss and letting a puppy know that as soon as you get it is a great start to raising a friendly, happy dog. You should say no fairly loudy and get it to let go then praise it, puppies are very stubborn. or if you don't mind, just put a couple drops of tabasco on a raggity pair of pants, the puppy will remember the taste if it does it often enough and it will discourage it to bite ur pantleg again.

Answer 6

What I did when I had the problem is pop him not hard but firmly on the nose and in a stern voice say NO! He will eventually get tired of peing popped and he will also learn that no means stop and it will help when he start doing anything else bad. Puppys are stubborn so it may take a few times so remember to be constant. Good luck

Answer 7

my Mom used to be the S.P.C.A. constable where we lived this really works try getting it a chew toy and every time he tries to bite give it to him if that doesn't work use a spray bottle to get his attention and say NO very firmly. If he doesn't listen squirt him with the water again

Answer 8

I had this problem too, get a squirt bottle and set it to a stream when you spray, and put water in it, and when your dog is chewing on something, spray them in the face. just one or 2 spritz so they get the idea that they shouldnt do it, most dogs dont like water to the face

Answer 9

You will hear some bizarre theories – and they don’t work in the long run.

Spraying stuff on your hands ....uhhuh....well.....and how long do you keep up smelling repulsive? Distract him?? for how many years?? Ignore him....what he is supposed to figure out that you are ignoring him because you are displeased with him and not because you are cleaning the house????? Spray him with WATER - a Golden, the breed that think they are a fish, and just how many years are you supposed to cart this gadget around,eh?????

I've gone out on lot of housecalls to stop the nipping chewing behavior of dogs nearly a year old because their owners did the 'distract them' or 'push them away' or 'just hold their mouth' shut nonsense. After doing all this futile and ineffective things, the dogs didn't quit (thought the people were playing with them) and the owners where pinched and black and blue.

It is NOT teething or chewing that makes him grab people and nip and chew - he is PLAYING.

Your legs are moving and he thinks it is great fun to chase, catch and 'retrieve' them.

Puppies bite - that is how dogs and puppies play with each other. He thinks he is playing with you by mock fighting. Its a dog's favorite game - watch two good dog buddies ripping tearing rolling - and diving at each other and grabbing without puncturing. and chewing on each other, chase and catch and grab and pull......

You have to DO something about it.

Now what is really really neat is your puppy came pre-programmed to understand certain behavior as disapproval and approval. In dog language, behavior is communication.

In a group of dogs, if he nipped the leader and the leader was not amused, they would knock him over, grab the skin on his neck or the side of his face and pinch it without breaking the skin, and growl.

So do what they would do. That is something a dog understands instinctively. Lot of theories out there about yelping in pain and pushing him away (duh...that is what the dog who LOST the mock fight does and the winner is the boss now) or all this other stuff - but your puppy didn't read those books!


Step One: Learn to use your voice. Mot people either let their voice slide up in register or they sound futile and weak. You want to deepen your voice and sound like a drill sergeant. The word NO is basic to doggy manners (and people too.). The deep sound mimics the rumble/growl of the top dog.

Step Two: Do what the leader would does physically (well, mimic it - biting him wouldn't be fun.) [he is so young when you deepen your voice as instructed below, think very stern study hall teacher]

When he nips at you, roar NO in a deep voice, grab him by the collar or back of the neck, push him down and hold him on the ground and as you are doing that and snap your fingers on the end of his nose or slap his nose with your fingers. While you pin him down and get his nose, lean over him and keep saying BAD BAD BAD - do NOT let your voice slide up, make it deep. Make him look at you and keep eye contact – make your face stern and frown as you get after him.,


Step Three: when you let him up, you relax your voice and face and say "okay, now be nice" and let him come back over and get petted. (That is the postive part.) The more he settles down and gets petted without nipping, the happier your voice gets.

Get after him about EVERY SINGLE TIME - you must be 100% consistent.

Now when he comes over and snuggles and licks and doesn't nip, he always gets "What a sweetie", rub, pet, cuddle, and use a smile (they do watch your face – more than most people realize). And guess what? That is exactly how dogs express approval of each other!

By the way, many women in particular, but men do it too, have a real problem with voice control, When they get upset or frustrated, their voice go UP. The dog ignores them. In the pack, the boss dog or alpha uses deep tones (rumble in the chest, growl etc) to express displeasure and get compliance from the dogs lower in the pecking order. A dog making a high pitched sound (yapping, yelping - etc) is not only NOT going to get compliance with their wishes as they are percieved as ineffectual and the not-Alpha, not-the-boss but that it is giving an invitation to play.


Also, take him to some obedience classes no matter what his age when over 5- 6 months. I had this breed for 28 years and they have to have something to keep their minds busy and class plus 45 minutes - 1 hour of practice a night helps. You get a nicer pet, they are more comfortable with the world and less inclined to bark at everything and they get the habit of obeying and you get some control..

Now you both need a GOOD obedience class - and that is NOT Petsmart or Petco.

GO here to find contacts in you area that can help you locate and obedience trainer who works with all breeds and who does AKC obedience competitions competing at what they claim to teach – no proof of ability like winning:

http://www.akc.org/clubs/search/index.cf...

http://www.akc.org/clubs/search/index.cf... (set on all breeds)


http://www.akc.org/clubs/search/index.cf...

Even it they are an hour or more away, they will know other people all over the state.

Answer 10

Fist I put some hot sauce on my pant legs and then took a dab and put it in the dog's mouth and on his nose. I put a dab on chairs and table legs, and my shoes and he has never offered to chew on any of these again. In Fact I just use mild sauce now and then and does he back off PDQ