I have a puppy that bites when you pet him.?

Question

What should I do?

Answer 1

Every time you pet him and he bites you, take his muzzle (gently!) and push it downward with a strong reprimand each time. Don't miss a time ever and he will get the idea what he is doing is not good.

Answer 2

MY GOD! Lynn, i do hope that you take the time to read all these posts. some of these responses are sooo preposterous!

DO NOT hold his mouth shut! this will create a fear in your dog of having it's face handled! do not hit him! nothing, and i mean NOTHING a dog does to another dog is remotely similar to a human hit.

too many people watch a few episodes of The Dog Whisperer and think they are experts. Cesar blatantly admits he is not a dog trainer... he actually trains the humans more than the dogs.

so here is my advice-remember that your puppy has no real hands. he will investigate the world with his mouth. First off, is he tries to bite, does he growl or show any outward sign of increasing distress? or is he being a typical pup and trying to knaw at you? he would naturally romp and tussle with his siblings. so if he bites you, even a little, pull away and screech. a loud "Ow" or make a noise in a loud, different voice than you normally use with him. then ignore him. turn away, or actually leave him by himself. DO NOT put him in the crate! the crate is a good place! he needs to learn from you the same way he would learn from his siblings... if you bite, you can't play. TRUST me this does work, and is far mosre effiecient, permanent, and humane than some of the other techniqies offered here.

of course, if you hit him, or yell, or scream or hold his mouth shut, he'll stop,out of fear, why not try to communicate to him in a language he understands? too many people expect a dog to learn human commands, but disregreard the basic fact that all dogs are bi-lingual. they speak dog and understand human!

best of luck. you should enroll in a puppy kindergarden class. i'm sure there is one in your neighborhood. ask your vet about itwhen you go in for his next series of vaccines.

Answer 3

It comes as a great surprise to many puppy owners that their little darling arrived with a full set of sharp pointed teeth that the average shark would be proud of! Worse, the puppy likes to flex them on you! This information is designed for puppies under the age of 18 weeks - which still have their puppy teeth. If you have a dog over this agethat is mouthing or biting please call the office for advice.

Biting during play is essential and normal for all puppies, but you need to take action to reduce it in your home. Puppies have needle-sharp teeth for one reason only - so that when they bite, it hurts! This helps them to discover what is alive and what is not! This is normal and should not be treated as aggression. However, it is not acceptable for dogs to bite people - and puppies need to be given education in how to moderate their biting.

• Puppy biting teaches a pup just how hard it can bite other living things. Clearly, it can exert a huge amount of pressure on a lifeless object such as a toy, without causing any kind of reaction, while trying the same behaviour on a litter mate - or on us - will most certainly result in a big response!

• How do litter mates respond if they are bitten too hard? Puppies play by biting each others’ ears, tail, legs and any other part that they can catch hold of! This is accepted quite happily - until the pressure becomes too hard. Then the ‘victim’ is likely to yelp and stop playing for a short while, leaving the pup that bit too hard to realise that there were consequences to his actions. We need to mimic this response when teaching our own puppies not to bite.

• The process of learning to moderate biting is known as learning ‘bite inhibition’. It is vital that all puppies learn how to moderate their bites before they lose their deciduous teeth at around 18 weeks’ of age.

Suggestions

Your puppy needs to know that biting hurts! This means that each and every time your puppy mouths your hands or clothes, you MUST:

• Yelp loudly or give a shout.

• Immediately turn away as if to nurse your wounds, and ignore your pup.

• Your puppy will probably look a little bewildered.

• Ignore your pup for about 20 seconds, then resume interacting.

• Repeat the “Ouch!” and turn away each and every time you feel his teeth.

• It is important to be consistent, that means everyone must do the same.

Biting will not stop immediately. Instead, it should become less and less hard over a period of about three to four weeks. At this point, your pup should realise that he cannot put any pressure on you at all, and then you can yelp even if he puts his mouth on you gently - finally teaching him that he cannot initiate biting.

IMPORTANT! Do not play rough and tumble games with your puppy, or play any game where the pup grabs your clothes, skin or hair. (Dad, listen!!!) This is giving your puppy permission to bite and will set back all your other efforts.

Help, we’re still having problems!

This process works well for the vast majority of puppies. However, there are exceptions: pups which are already well over 14 weeks’ old and puppies which have learned to bite for attention! If you find that yelping and turning away has had no effect, despite total consistency for a fortnight, or if your puppy seems to become more excited and snappy if you yelp, you may need a different strategy.

• Take all the fun out of the behaviour! This means no laughing, squealing or shouting if your puppy bites.

• As soon as your dog puts his mouth on you, even in play, say “Wrong” or “Quit it” in a normal voice, then immediately put him in the kitchen or behind a door or baby gate.

• This social isolation should only last about 3 minutes, then he can rejoin the family.

• However, if your puppy gets excited by being picked up, simply say “Wrong” then get up and leave the room yourself, shutting the door behind you. Children can do this very effectively.

• Be consistent! It will take many repetitions before your puppy understands that biting results in the loss of fun.

www.eurobichons.com

Answer 4

Don't hit this poor dog - Aggression breeds aggression. Don't do anything adverse, you may end up with a skittish or shy dog.

Take charge of the situation Alpha. When the puppy gets out of hand (and I know how much those puppy teeth hurt!) tell him to sit. Establish a word "enough, stop, etc". When you tell him to sit. When he gets out of hand and he knows what that word is, he'll immediately stop and sit. If need be put him down (that's him submitting to you).

Mouthing however is a part of what makes a dog a dog. That is just like someone grabbing your hand and holding it, but it has to be tempered. The puppy doesn't realize he's hurting you.

So telling him to sit and down right away will help greatly.

Good Luck

Answer 5

Do not hit him! That's akin to spanking a baby because he puts a toy in his mouth. And do not hold his mouth shut. In my experience, this just frustrates most pups and causes them to bite harder when you let go.

I am assuming he is playbiting. When he does, yelp or tell him "stop" in a firm voice (not yelling, though). Hard as it is, don't yank your hand away - dogs like to grab things that move quickly, so he will grab your hand again. If he stops, lightly praise him and return to petting. If he won't leave you alone, he is over-stimulated and needs a break. Either put him in his crate for a minute or two, walk away and ignore him for a moment, or get him chewing a toy. With consistency he should figure it out.

If he is biting aggressively (snarling, lifting a lip, growling before biting, lunging to bite) you need the help of a trainer or behaviorist asap!

Answer 6

With him being a puppy, he's probably being playful and doesn't understand that what he is doing isn't right.

I would agree with the other users and hold his nuzzle and push it downwards and telling him constantly "NO!" don't yell at him and scare him to death but say it in a very harsh tone and look in his eyes so he'll know what he is doing is wrong.

He sounds aggressive and most dogs that are aggressive take time to train and just give him alot of love and he may be yearning for attention as well.

Work with him, pop him on the nose or on the top of the head whenever he bites, not hard but hard enough to let him know what he is doing is wrong.

I hope this helps a little.

Answer 7

Please don't listen to any of these people, first of all never hit your pets they can't defend themselves so it's just cruel and your pet won't respect you out of love .he'll just do what you want out of fear. I've had my share of pups in my time and the best way to stop your pup from bitting you is when he does it is yelp like you are a dog getting hurt. Then take his paw and put it in his mouth and then gently close his mouth on his own pay till he lets out a little wimper and after a few times he'll understand that "hey that hurts " and the pup will stop biting and you will also be teaching him a lesson that will stay with him and make him a better dog for it..

Answer 8

As others have said, it is not really biting, but mouthing. You know hou toddlers explore by putting things in their mouths? Puppies do the same. However, it still need to be stopped.

In order to stop the mouthing you need to yelp. Yes, if you yelp when she bites you, you are saying loud and clear in HER language "OUCH, that hurts, please stop!!". Also, after you yelp, gently roll her on her back, and hold her there untill she stops squirming and calms down. Look her directly in the eye, and DO NOT look away untill she does. This tells her that YOU are in charge and she gets rewarded for submitting

Answer 9

the next time your puppy bites you take your hand and wrap it around the mouth(But Let It Breath) and keep your voice frim and sayYou Naguhty girl(or Boy). Do that every time an in a few days he or she will stop. Some times puppies bite to play

Answer 10

since hes a puppy, thats his way of trying to play. you have to break the habit early by popping his nose, not too hard but tell him 'No' in a stern voice. if that doesn't work, keep a small water bottle near you and when he bites lightly squirt him in the face with the water. make sure its plain water, do not add anything that could make him sick or hurt him.