i have a one year old chihuhua. sometimes she beginsbitting my hands and arms. i try to hide my hands or pull away and she become more agitated and bites me even harder, i don't know if she's playing or is she wants to hurt me. she does leave small straches on my arms and it does hurt. even though there are many other people in my house she only does this to me and my sister. she is my dog but she sleeps in our bedroom.
2007-03-15 11:05:30 · 7 answers · asked by Angie 2 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Even if she is playing, you don't want her doing that. What you should do is "Yelp" (make a loud noise) when she bites you. This is what dogs do in the wild, and seems to work to let your dog know "that hurts"
2007-03-15 11:10:31 · answer #1 · answered by Nate A. 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
yup, the small pooches tend to be nippy, and those tiny teeth can hurt more than big ones!
good thing you mentioned the dog sleeping with you and your sister - and her only biting the 2 of you!
in a dog pack, the members who are on the same hierarchic level sleep the closest, so that would put you and your sister and the dog all on one level. but both you and your sister shuld be more dominant, on a higher level. so what the dog is doing right now, is trying to see who is the boss, you or her. she's at an age where she's losing her puppy-protection within the pack and is becoming an adult, now she has to "fight" for her place....
first of all, i would suggest you have the dog sleep on the floor, maybe in a crate if she must be in your room, if not have her sleep in a different room (by herself), she'll whine the first couple of nights but then she'll get used to it.
second it's very important to establish her place in the family, why don't you (and your sister?) feed her out of your hand everyday, but only after she has done something for you like sitting or lying down or whatever you can have her do for you. this way, you control the food and she has to obey to you to receive it.
and then about the biting specifically: it has to stop! imagine a larger dog biting the same way she does: he would probably have already ripped your skin at least! whenever she bites you any harder than something that wouldn't even hurt a baby finger, act as if it hurt badly (in dog language: yelp (pretty loud!!) in pain and then pull away from the dog acting hurt, if you were playing, stop immediatly and don't pay her anymore attention until later)
the basic idea here is to keep in mind that her place within the family (pack) is down below all of the humans, but this doesn't mean she'll be unhappy, quite the opposite, unhappy dogs are the ones who don't understand where they belong (become frustrated or confused), the dog in the right place is happy, no matter how far up or down in the hierarchy he happens to be!!
good luck....
2007-03-15 11:30:36 · answer #2 · answered by Monica 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
she only does this to you and your sister because she does not see you as being "alpha". YOU...are the boss, not the dog.
It sounds like this is an issue that you need to adress and NOT allow. She is getting worked up ( over excited) when playing that game and she should NOT be allowed to bite....EVER!!!!
Blanket game is fun but there has to be limits to how far the game can go and corrections are needed for playing too rough before one of you really gets hurt.
2007-03-15 11:13:42 · answer #3 · answered by mom tree 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
she is more than likely playing, but this kind of playing leads to biting aggressive behaviors...stop it quickly.
do NOT pull away when she bites you..this encourages the agressive behavior in dogs..they learn, hey, I bite them...I get to chase that hand and bite it again!.
when she bites...hold your arm or hand and gently move your hand towards her mouth (dog trainers call this bite inhibition training) keep moveing towards her mouth till she backs away..don't push hard to hurt the pup...but put it in far enough that puppy learns..hey, when I put moms hand in my mouth it is uncomfortable for me...so I wont do that any more!
good luck
2007-03-15 11:15:36 · answer #4 · answered by spottedmyappy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She's probably playing and wants to continue to play when you hide your hands. I would suggest begin training her now that biting (playing or not) is not acceptable. We've trained our dog that when she would bite us, we would whimper slightly to let her know it hurt. If she continues, you can scold her, maybe thump her nose. Be consistent. Biting habits will only get worse and will carry over to other people eventually.
2007-03-15 11:14:48 · answer #5 · answered by Diggity 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you do not wish this biting behavior to continue, everytime she bites, shake a box of tic tacs. This disturbs small dogs into changing behaviors.
2007-03-15 11:14:46 · answer #6 · answered by cloverivy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Young Chihuahuas tend to bite.
Usually, it is in a playing manner. I am guessing that your puppy is just playing. (1 year is still considered puppy.)
Is she growling while doing it? Is she being terribly aggressive?
My Pomeranian puppy tends to try and bite me when we are playing. It's just the way puppies play.
When she bites you, try tapping her nose and firmly saying, "No!" You can also try squirting her with a squirt bottle when she does it.
2007-03-15 11:09:55 · answer #7 · answered by Lauren 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋