my chihuahua wont stop biting?

Question

my chihuahua doesnt seem to know biting humans is a bad thing, ive tried the high pitched yelp thing but it doesnt affect him, he doesnt do it cause hes mad, he does it unintentionally, like when we play, or when im putting his sweater on he would bite my fingers, not hard, but he would bite.... help? hes my baby and i dont want to beat the crap out of him!

Answer 1

Don’t tap your pup’s nose to stop biting. Why? You will cause the pup to become handshy. If you expected a person to shake your hand and they slapped your face instead and next day they shook hands and the next time….. what would your response be? You want your pup to relate positively to you, not to be fearful of the hand that may be feeding it, grooming it, putting on the lead, etc.
Bite Inhibition
Dogs must learn bite inhibition, ie not to bite fully. In a pack of other dogs, it is important not to damage your relatives or other pack members when playing. How strong a play bite is depends upon the feedback obtained by the dog from the “bitten” animal: if the “bitten” animal bites back or yelps or stops playing then it was too hard.
Unfortunately for humans, dogs’ skin is thicker than human skin especially around the neck and head area (where dogs tend to grab other dogs).
If you wait until your pup has bitten your skin then your reaction is to pull away, the dog has learnt only that it can make you dance. You should react when the pup grabs your clothing, including shoe laces, etc. Don’t shout and dance about. Why? The pup learns to make you more exciting and interesting and is rewarded. Do yelp and close down, stop interacting and stop looking at your dog. Become immobile. After all, your playmate has hurt you so why should you continue to play? After a period of one minute, normal activity can resume.
Every pup I have sold has been housetrained and well mannered. In 38 years of training pups, of many breeds, giant to tiny, I have NEVER had to cause pain to train them

Answer 2

The yelping doesn't work. What worked with my Bichonpoo puppy was a stern "no bite" and pulling my hand back. She is now 4 months old and almost never bites. On the rare occasion she tries a stern "no bite" and she immediately stops. When playing I taught her "switch". I would trade her a toy or bone for whatever she was biting that she shouldn't be and tell her "switch". She now knows the commands "no bite" and "switch" and acts like a perfect angel whether we are playing or I am putting her sweater on no matter what we are doing.

Answer 3

Do not play with him if he bites, put him on a 5 minutes timeout. Everytime! do not allow it when it is cute, or else it won't make sense to him. You must make it clear that biting is never allowed, not even during play. I'm working on this with a dog now, and it is just time consuming and takes patience. My dog now rarley bites, i hold her mouth shut gently when she bites, and then i use the time out. Everytime!

Answer 4

Chihuahua's are naturally aggressive animals and they do not discipline well. I am not saying this to be mean because I own a chihuahua, but that is naturally how they are. Talk to your vet or try a chihuahua care book from your local bookstore. They may have some suggestions in that.

Answer 5

Go and get a Pepsi or coke can and put a penny inside,then tape the hole shut.Shake or throw it at him and say "NO,NO!"Or go to Dollar Tree and get a powerful water gun and squirt her when she bites.Always say "NO,No" and mean it .Never hit or scream at your puppy it will only make it worse Always use 1-2 syllable words for commands pups understand them much easier.Be consistent and don't play rough with him and not expect him to bite.He will confuse the biting with playing rough Good Luck and Have fun with your new puppy.Happy Holidays to you and yours!!!

Answer 6

Most chihuahuas seem to have bad tempers, I have had 4 over the last several years and they have all been like that. I have never figured out how to change their habits.

Answer 7

Keep a small spray bottle full of water close by when you're playing with him. When he bites, spray him in the face, just a small squirt. It won't hurt him, and he'll learn to stop.

Answer 8

You need to take your dog to a trainer and the two of you sit down and work out this bitting issue. Bitting is not allowed!

Answer 9

He a Chihuahua and they nip..........try pining him to the ground by the neck gently and growling at him till he summits to you.Take control or you will never kick this habit in the butt.

Answer 10

They are mean little creatures with Napoleon complexes. You will never stop him from biting. I would just get rid of the little bugger.