I know all puppys mouth things and chew incessantly,but how can how do I dissuade him from finger chewing?

Question

I've given the puppy lots of distractive toys and chews but everytime we pick him up he lunges for our faces and gnaws our hands.I know its completely normal ( he's only eight weeks) but what did you do to stop this behaviour. ( I won't have any finger left to type any more questions in a minute.

Answer 1

It's really nice for someone to actually be concerned with a puppy biting at a young age as this and wanting to address the issue. Far too many wait months to attempt to discourage it and then they have a larger, older dog to contend with and it's not as easy then. This is a perfect age to be addressing it now and you will likely see quick results!

It is normal for puppies to bite during play time and this is not any kind of aggression. They don't understand that our skin is more delicate and can't handle the bites they give out--they're used to playing with litter mates that have a much higher tolerance. It's up to us to teach puppy what hurts us and here are a couple good ways to convey that message to puppy:

1-When puppy nips at you, let out a high pitched "ouch" or "ow,ow,ow" in a yelp sounding tone (like a puppy would do). This is the way your puppy's litter mates let puppy know the bite was too hard. Most puppies will immediately stop biting when you do this as they realize they have hurt you now. Puppy will begin to reduce the pressue of the bite using this method and eventually stop biting all together.

2-When the puppy bites at you, gently grab the scruff of the back of his neck, shake lightly and say "No Bite". When your puppy relaxes in your scruff grip, this is a sign of submission and is what you want to happen. Then praise the puppy for the good behavior and offer a proper item to bite, such as a toy. This is the same method a mother dog uses to discipline her puppies and will get your puppies attention.

So many people expect dogs and puppies to understand us, but it's much better for us to understand their behaviors and address them in a way our dog/puppy understands. Both of these methods were suggested by our trainer and our vet and worked very well when our Border Collie was going thru the biting puppy phase.
Either way you might try, you have to be persistent in addressing each and every single bite. Allowing one to go unaddressed can confuse puppy as to what you expect. Also, with either method, if puppy seems determined to continue the biting, don't hesitate to use one of these methods and then stop play time for about 10 minutes. Then resume and see how puppy does. Puppy enjoys play time with you and doesn't want to do anything that will end it.

Answer 2

Girl, you'd better set the tone right now!

If he's only eight weeks old, he's putty in your hands. I have a GREAT dog that I got when he was about two months old, so I got to train him from the get-go. He's almost perfect!

You must say firmly and sharply, "NO!" each and every time he does it. CONSISTENCY is the key. You must not let him get away with a certain behavior one time, then scold him the next time for the same behavior.

Spread a little peanut butter on one of his chew toys, give him that when he tries to chew your fingers. TELL him what you're doing, too! Dogs are smart. As in, NO, chew THIS. Good boy, good boy.

What I said was, "NO BITE" each and every time. The tone gets a little louder, firmer each time. And then use the "Good boy" tone every time he goes to one of his chew toys. ALWAYS give him a chew toy INSTEAD when he tries to chew your fingers. I found that I can tussle with him WHILE he has the toy in his mouth, and he has a good outlet for the natual exuberance that puppies have.

Ever watched "The Dog Whisperer?" Lots of good advice on there.....that's where I learned to break my puppy from pulling on the leash when I take him for a walk.

Good luck, and again....THE TRAINING YOU GIVE HIM NOW WILL DETERMINE WHAT KIND OF A COMPANION YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE FOR YEARS TO COME.


I love my dog!

Answer 3

This will never stop completely. Your puppy is always going to lunge for your face for kisses. However, a firm "NO!" consistently when he is gnawing too hard will stop it. You just have to discipline yourself not fall for the cute face and let him do it. My dog just made a year and he still gnaws fingers while playing until we say "No!" firmly and he stops and will lick. Then again we have a barely 9 lb. Yorkie! The bigger the dog, the bigger the teeth! Use positive reinforcement - just like when you're housebreaking. When he stops after "No!" give him a treat. Fingers are rubbery, warm and bony all at the same time - perfect for gnawing. Plus, they smell like you, which is a puppy's comfort scent. Human babies prefer a finger to a pacifier themselves - puppies are no different.

Answer 4

First, this is normal. Second, that is the time to encourage gentleness. Pups nip and bite each other in the litter. That is all he knows and is just trying to play. You have to relearn him to what gentle is all about.

You can gently close the muzzle while being affectionate in return. He can not bite down fully if you use several fingers to massage inside his mouth. He will learn to be gentle if you are. While holding and talking calmly take time to rub from head to toes. Get him used to being played with nicely. Have you ever watched a mom with her litter?? This is what he knows as love. They do play rough.

Keep a firm hold while holding and push his muzzle away from face over and over. Encourage licking, no teeth. Rub his closed muzzle on face and arms to show him what you want. Tell him how sweet he is being and praise. Work on this a little every day.

Part of this he will outgrow. Cutting teeth takes awhile. If you get him use to being touched and examined it will make easier to spot a problem or trim nails, brush teeth, etc.

Answer 5

There are a few things you can do, however I found that this worked best with my puppies. There is a spray that I believe is called bitter apple, you spray it on whatever the puppy is chewing on and since the dog doesn't like the way it taste it might stop chewing on it. You can use this on yourself to see if it works, it worked with my dogs and I hope it works for you too.

Answer 6

You should never let them chew on your fingers. Biting on people in any way is a bad habit to get in to. A great method is as soon as the pup takes a nibble, pin it's toung to the bottom of it's mouth with your thumb or your finger. It won't hurt him at all, but he won't be able to close his mouth and it'll annoy the crap out of him. I did this with my dog EVERY time he tried to play bite us and after a week or so he stopped. It stopped being fun for him.

Answer 7

Well i have a puppy and he is very cute but he knaws on my fingers so therefore we have the same problem, but all you have to do is put something sour or sometihng he doesnt like the taste of and put it on your fingers then that should be it.

Answer 8

do NOT let him chew on your hands...thats like telling him for the rest of his life to mouth peolpe...and thats not a sought after feature in a dog...just kep chews around him all the time..and when he bites at the fingers..pull them out nd say NO

Answer 9

Well give him a firm (not mean) "NO" Then give him a treat, and praise him if he stops. Then he'll know, "if I stop chewing I get a treat and get told good boy"

Answer 10

Never pick him up. Its a bad habit for a dog to get into, and results in them jumping up a lot when they are older.

For the biting part, a simple tap on the nose and a loud, firm, NO!!! will eventually deter him/her from doing it.