my 10 week old puppy bites and chews just about anything. mainly me and my girlfriend.?

Question

i dont want to scold her cause i feel its a normal puppy thing to do. if i let hep keep biting and playing rough, will she learn this behavior and and continually bite and chew things when she is bigger. it allready hurts when she bites and im worried if i keep letting her do so when she is a full grown rot. she is going to be too vicious and bite someone real bad. i have plenty of toys for her and 2 cats to keep her company. please dont suggest toys. she uses them when there is no face or hand to bite.

Answer 1

Hi there

Although it's tempting to scold/lightly smack your puppy, this will just make it nervous - remember she doesn't know it's wrong to chew, in fact for her, it's natural! (as you obviously both know)

Check that you don't have friends or family who are playing with her in the "wrong" way - encouraging her to bite or chew because it's "cute"

If she's vaccinated, I would look into dog training classes - she's obviously intelligent and needs mental stimulation.

In the meantime, if she bites or chews you or your girlfriend, a firm "no" (tone of voice is important) and either distraction with a toy(!) or play.

Some recommend "ignoring" a puppy for a few minutes, so that she registers that you are unhappy with being bitten. It hasn't worked for me, but who knows?

Whatever, stay calm, and be consistent!
In a few months time, she will have grown into a beautiful rottie, and you will be so proud of your efforts.

Take care - let us know how you get on
Lisa x

Answer 2

Start watching The Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic channel and become a pack leader. The puppy is not a person - it needs boundries and limitations - you set those boundries as pack leader. Learn how by watching the show.

A dog is not a person and isn't going to take a "scolding" personally. You just have to learn the proper way to establish discipline, limits and boundries. No yelling - the less verbalization the better, you project pack leader status by being calm and assertive, the dog will become calm submissive, which is what you want. Never reward bad behavior, because the dog will think the bad behavior is what you want.

There is no need to hit the dog. If you watch the show, you will see that Ceasar Milan sometimes pokes the misbehaving dogs around the side of the neck to simulate a pack leader doggie nip, since this is how a dog pack leader corrects unwanted behavior within the pack. Sometime he just nudges the dog in the hind quarters to distract the dog when it becomes fixated on something in a bad way. There is no need to smack the animal in any other way. Use only one word commands, since dogs don't speak or understand english. Their brains can't interpret sentances.

Watch the show, you will learn.

Answer 3

Chewing and biting are VERY normal behavior and ALL puppies do it. You do need to show where the boundries are though. A good way to do this is to re -direct the chewing of wrong objects by taking away the wrong item with a sharp NO and replace it with something it IS allowed to chew. As for the bting of you and your girlfriend, you have to make the puppy understand that it is painful and wrong. You can accomplish this by speaking it's language so to speak. All puupies very easily catch on the what THEY understand as a pain response. (I am not talking about making the puppy feel pain here). When the puppy bites you make a high pitched sharp YIPE sound and flick its mouth or nose. Not hard to cause pain but to grap it's attention. The puppy already knows what the yipe means, it uses the same noise itself for the same thing. They catch on to this really fast and will adjust their behavior. Usually with our puppies, just the convincing YIPE noise worked and no further action was needed.

Answer 4

If your rotti was with the litter she would learn bit inhabition from her littermates, she would bite too hard and the other pup would yip and not play with her anymore until she calmed down. Now this is your job to teach her. When she bites scold her with a "no bite!" and put a toy in her mouth. if she jumps at your face I would scold her & put her in her kennel until she calms. Do this every time she bites too hard (yes, it will feel like she spends more time in timeout than not at first). Not scolding her is giving her permission. If you aren't saying "no don't do that" then you are showing her "yes it is ok"! Truthfully I like to use a sharp "AH AH!" rather than "NO!", as it startles them from th bad behavior and gets their attention The longer you wait the worse it will be, so nip it in the bud now. Don't be alarmed as this is normal puppy behavior,it is how they play with each other, but she needs to learn bite inhibition as a part of good dog manners. I just finished this stage with my pup, with consistancy, consistancy, consistancy you should be through the worst of it in a few weeks when those razor-like primary teeth fall out!! The new set will be much less pointy and sharp.

Answer 5

If you are playing with her and you feel teeth, shout 'ouch!' like she really hurt you. Then stop playing. Just ignore her for about five minutes. She'll figure out that nipping means that the fun stops.

As far as chewing goes, provide her with some damp frozen washcloths to chew on (it feels nice) and spray Bitter Apple on anything and everything you don't want her to chew. It's available at most per stores and tastes horrible.

She will most likely grow out of this behavior (it's a typical puppy behavior) but you're right, you can't tolerate it. If she nips at your face then I would take stronger action (just because of the potential damage.) Grab her scruff or her nose and shout, 'No!' in a deep voice (or you can growl 'nyah' if you prefer). That's what her dog-mom would have done when the pup did something bad. Then don't play with her for five minutes.

Hope this helps

Answer 6

I was just going to ask a similar question. I know puppies teeth but my girls can't even pet him with out the open mouth coming at them! he is 3 months and just started doing this. We have all the toys and redirect.Tried the ignoring thing. I am now trying verbal No! and putting my thumb in his mouth under his tongue and holding it. My vet said this..he actually doesn't bite. I hate the hitting thing because at this..1 week in the game bonding isn't established. I'm trying spray water when he nips at face or at my kids with a No! If he comes back with a lick I praise him .F.y.i. one of the books I've read suggests only a NO! command without his name attached so he doesn't associate his name with a negative. That way when you are ready for 'Buddy' Come! or "Buddy' Heel! he isn't confused.

Answer 7

This is very normal puppy behavior and is often brought up on this site. What people do not understand is this is the way they play with other dogs and their litter mates. At the age of 10 weeks he is playing and does not realize his teething on your appendages is not acceptable. Of course you realize he is teething and needs access to good chew bones and toys. When he is playing with you are you using a toy? If you are using your hands to rough with him, then you are getting what is expected. Play with him with his toys. If he does happen to nip you, give a NO and stop the play. A snap of the fingers gets their attention. But do not expect this to go away for awhile. You are going to have to deal with this. You have a puppy.

Answer 8

Sorry toys are the answer... you need to redirect. When she bites you or someone else, tell her NO firmly and if she doesnt listen squirt her with a water bottle or refuse to acknowledge her and ignore her for a while. Then redirect her attention to the appropriate things to chew.. which would be her toys, then praise her for chewing the toys and not you, simple as that.

Answer 9

my dog is a year old and she does the same thing,but you have to teach her the meaning ''stop'' and ''no no'' and your puppy will get you used to hear and learning what they mean without being physical with her.give her a chewing bone,i hard one that she can chew without breaking it into small pieces so she can choke on them.that bone will give her something to do other thatn chewing on you and your girlfriend.my dog is a small breed(toy poodle)and it was very hard training her because she's a very nervous dog,but now she's very hyper and a powerful chewer.don't leave anything around the house that she can get to and chew it.if your not home don't leave her out,if you have a crate put her in it before you leave and then take her out when you return home.it works trust me,it save me and my stuff.

Answer 10

I have a Black lab mix that did the same thing as a pup. He outgrew it at about 5 months. And if all else fails try putting some hot sauce on your hands or arms and maybe he will get the point. This worked for several people I know.