5 mo puppy likes nipping husband says normal 4 puppies I say ok but NOT when drawing blood who's right?

Question

Puppy likes 2 play but then she nips & draws blood I want 2 correct her but husband says it's normal & she'll grow out of it but I'm not sure!! She has other chews toys which she does play w/ as well as my husband but when she plays w/ me she is just as rough as when she plays w/ husband!! Husband says not 2 correct her but I don't want her 2 b 1yr or older & still doing this!! Do we correct her now or wait for her 2 really bite someone? Who is right me or husband correct now or later?

Answer 1

5 mos. is old enough to start training her, in fact, you need to start letting her know who is alpha in the pack. By allowing her to bite you (or your husband) wheneve she wants is just letting her know this is good behavior. Even mother dogs will lightly nip a 5 mo. old puppy who bites her. Don't get brutal, just a loud "NO" at the time she tries to bite. Because if she's allowed to bite you husband, she'll think biting any human is okay. Be firm and consistent (i.e., your husband has to stop encouraging her). He can still play games with her and have fun with her without the biting. To wait until she's older is just going to make it very confusing for her--all this time she's been biting and it seems like everyone is pleased with that then suddenly, she's getting punished and yelled at for doing what has been acceptable all this time. Maybe your husband needs to be retrained too :).

Answer 2

Yes it is normal for a dog to nip BUT you do want to correct her. If you do not let her know that you are hurt she will never learn what is called bite inhabition. This is how a dog knows what is appropriate biting while playing. It is usually learned with other littermates while playing. She considers you a littlermate as you both are part of her pack. When she does bite at any level, get up, stop playing with her that instant and walk away. Giving her the cold shoulder everytime will allow her to understand that biting at any level is wrong to do and she is punished by stopping the playtime. Be consistant!!!! After she calms down, start play with an appropriate toy that she can chew on and start again, end play if she bites, continue if she does not. Hope that helped!

Answer 3

Both actually. Puppies do play in this manner since their mouth is the only thing they have to play with but the biting should be controlled as to how hard. They need to be trained not to bite hard though. Some ways to do this is to yelp when they bite to hard. They will immediately stop and look at you, as soon as there is eye contact, immediately look away. This is how puppies communicate with each other to let them know what is acceptable play and what isn't. Another way is during play to repeat saying "Easy" when the biting gets too rough and pull away. It can take some time to teach but staying adamant is a must for proper training. Good luck!!

Answer 4

Fix it now! She's biting to show dominance, and the older she gets, the worse it will get. Biting you is never acceptable, and she needs to learn that ASAP! Puppies don't 'grow out' of that, they learn that it's ok by not having it corrected.

DO NOT: Hit, smack, poke, pinch, bite, or roll your dog. Scold her verbally, remove her from the situation, or else VERY gently tap her on her nose, or apply a gently, shoving-type pressure to her neck/shoulder region - don't jab, just push her back a little bit away from your body with one hand and say "no bite!". Excessive force will be seen as 'fighting back' and will only encourage more biting.

The "alpha roll" some people try to use is not effective or accurate. They claim rolling a dog on it's back and pinning it there is the way dogs settle disputes amongst themselves. This is not true. A dog will roll over on his back willingly to submit to another dog, but a dog will never try to roll another dog over. Rolling a dog over is not 'forcing it to submit', it's simply pinning a dog down and making it angry. When it gets up, it will still want to bite you. Or, worse, it will be scared of you and run away. You don't want either of those to happen, so just steer clear of this technique.

5 months is also a good age to start puppy obedience classes!

Answer 5

You want to teach your puppy that putting her teeth on human skin is not OK. But you can do this w/o punishment, in a clear way that the pup will understand. Both of you need to be consistent and discuss what your plan will be. Hopefully you're using a crate to help with potty training; use the crate as a time-out place for the pup when he makes a mistake. You don't need to be emotional at all or scold the pup when you do a time out - just pop him in the crate and try again in a few minutes. I've linked below to some sites that will help you.

Answer 6

It IS normal for puppies to try nipping and biting as they learn their place in your pack. HOWEVER, never accept behavior from a puppy that you would not accept from an adult dog. Biting and nipping is not OK. The pup needs to be trained NOW, or you'll have a lot of problems when its older.

We train puppies at the shelter not to bite using the following technique:

If the pup nips or bites, put your hand around its muzzle and shut its mouth. Tell it calmly but firmly "no bite", and then release it. If it tries to bite again, repeat the process: put your hand around its muzzle and shut its mouth. Tell it calmly but firmly "no bite", and then release it.

If the puppy does as its told and make no further effort to nip ot bite, give it lots of praise and attention and let it know its being a good dog.

The puppies here learn not to bite, literally, within a few minutes using this technique.

The longer you wait to train your dog, the more difficult it will be to get its behavior under control. (By accepting the nipping / biting behavior now, you are tacitly training the dog that it's ok for it to be aggressive toward you.)

And we know a lot of people tell you to read /watch Cesar Milan , but acutally the Humane Society of the United States has condemned some of his techniques as out of date, cruel, and excessive. (Example: he once got a dog "under control" by pushing it to the ground, and cutting off the blood supply to its brain by pressing his knee against its neck until it fainted.)

Answer 7

It might be "normal", but it isn't right. The dog will get more aggressive as she gets older if you don't start correcting her. She's establishing her position in her "pack", and by tolerating nipping you are telling her that she's the boss. My trainer advised me to press down firmly with my thumb on the dog's tongue while holding her lower jaw; press hard enough to get a yelp, but not hard enough to really hurt. She got the message very quickly, and never nips any more.

Answer 8

it is normal but NOT acceptable...
when a pup starts to get mouthy at play time.. thats the END of play time.. stand up and walk away... smacking her is not the answer.. the worst thing for a dog is to walk away from them - they are social creatures and when a "pack member" meaning you.. turns and walks away this is crushing to them
allowing a dog to chew on you is WRONG.. the mother dog wouldnt allow this and neither should you...

(by the way you didnt mention your breed.. in some cases dogs of certain breeds are more mouth fixated than others - the retrieving breeds NEED to carry something in their mouth.. so provide soft toys.. on the other hand Terrier breeds were bred to KILL with their mouth so allowing chewing is NEVER good.)

Answer 9

You are right.
Don't physically hit her though.
When she hurts/nips, a quick and loud "NO!" is very effective... but it needs to be loud and serious sounding, scary and authoritative! Not a silly uncomfortable laughing sort of no... and then remove her from you. Kind of like a time out. Leave her alone in a boring place for at least 5 minutes (like the bathroom with the lid down, mats removed, and door shut). You might have to repeat this routine what feels like eighty thousand times, but it will eventually sink in that when she does that, she gets punished.

Answer 10

You should correct her. Puppies nip when they play, but you've got to let them know if the nipping's getting out of hand. Puppies will generally "grow out of it" when they're about 6 months old, but you don't want her to grow a habit of biting..