MY dog! When she plays with me she is beginning to bite and snap at my hands and clothes.?

Question

She never did this before, its a recent habit that has started in the last few weeks, shes still a puppy as she is about 10 months (I think, shes a rescue dog), I tell her firmly to stop but shes still so excitable, what can I do.

Shes a small cross terrier who gets 2 40 mins walks a day! Shes getting spoilt rotten!

Answer 1

Hi there, I am a Veterinarian Technition and hope I can help you! First of all, congratulations on your new puppy! How exciting! I have two suggestions/strategies to help you stop your puppy from nipping! I am wondering whether the biting is play or agressive? If play biting is not stopped, it can lead to agressive/territorial biting even over something as silly as a sock they want to play with. I am also wondering if it is a quick bite or a clenched on bite, there are different ways to go about those. Anyways, luckily for you, it is not too late!! The first strategy I would like you to try is something littermates would teach each other when they were very young pups still with mom: Each time your puppy bites you I want you to let out that loud, earpiercing, yelp that I know you have heard from other dogs. That is how other dogs communicate to each other that the behavior is not acceptable. It is important that you don't yell, hit, or bite your puppy back (trust me, I have seen EVERYTHING!), instead let out a loud yelp. It might take a few times for your puppy to realize what your message is, but remember it is so so important to remain consistant! Don't yelp every other time she bites, yelp each and every time or you will leave your puppy confused as to why sometimes she can bite, and sometimes she can't. If that doesn't work (it really should if done consistantly!) then you can try to associate a word with a behavior and a consequence. Think when you try to teach your puppy to sit. You associate a word ("Sit!") with a behavior (when they actually it) with a consequence (a cookie, praise, rubs, etc. remember... consequences are not always bad! they are just a result o a choosed behavior!). So apply the whole sit concept to the biting. Your word could be as simple as "Ouch!" (say it sternly, you can use a louder voice, but don't yell) when she bites (behavior) and the consequence (as SOON as your puppy releases from the bite reward them with a cookie, praise, rub, etc. Again, it might take a few tries (ok, maybe a week, so again, stay consistant. If you feel like the cookies, praise, etc. are not working you could absolutely still use your word "Ouch!" and then immediately pick your puppy up (not in an angry way, just sternly) and put her into her crate for 1 minute. Go on doing your business as she is crated, ignore any barking, crying, eye contact. Then after the minute is up let her out and praise her! Each time you say "Ouch!" and place her in her crate she will associate the behavior (biting) with the consequence (crate). Dogs are smart and want to please, she will catch on! Just remember to stay calm and assertive!

Answer 2

I can prettty much guarentee that your dog is not getting enough excersize. Most people think their dogs are getting enough, but they are not. Start taking your dog (asuming it is not a toy breed, or a giant breed, like a mastiff or St. Bernard) on twice daily half an hour jogs. Make sure she is tired by the end of the jog, but careful to not over do it (you don't want to exhaust her). Judge on how effective her excersize works; if she calms down after only one jog, then one is enough. If you cannot dedicate this much time for excersize, consider teaching your dog to use a treadmill. Ask your vet for help on this if you are inexperianced. Otherwise, sometimes owners do not match a dogs lifestyle needs. Evaluate your daily schedule and determine whether this dog is right for you.
Good luck.
* I cannot stress the importance of never using rolled up newspapers, or other tools to hit an animal, in this case, your dog. Completely ignoring your dog if she is too rowdy upon your arrival until she calms down, then petting her, will teach her good behavior on her part means she gets attention from you. If she bites you during play, do NOT hit her-she will not understand why you are doing this- she is not a person and is not capable of understanding this. Clap your hands loudly, and say NO and ignore her for several miutes-go about your house as if she weren't there. Try again, repeating this until she learns that when she bites, you go away; when she doesn't, you stay longer to pet her. Again, good luck.

Answer 3

Biting and snapping is agressive behavior. If you hit your pup, she will probably become more upset. Try only playing with her with a toy. Something else worth trying is taking an old sock, cut off the ribbing so it is like a 3in high bag, then fill it with 3 or 4 pennies. Sew the top closed, and when your puppy snaps/bites drop the bag on her rump. It should NOT hurt her, only startle her so that she realizes when she does those things something unpleasent drops "from the sky" (you should try not to let her see you drop it on her). Also, take training books out from the library, preferably more current books. Here are a few that might be useful:
"Grrr! the complete guide to understanding and preventing aggressive behavior in dogs" and "Solutions: for your dog- and you" both by Mordecai Siegal and Matthew Margolis. There are also many other great books out there that I cant remember the names of.
hope this helps
ps try to remember that your dog needs love and correction, not yelling and anger from you

Answer 4

I always taught my dogs not to nip by saying no very firmly in a low voice and pressing down (gently) on their muzzles to show my dominance. It's important to use the right voice tone when you are disciplining your dog. Terriers are, by nature, a little on the nippy side and this is how dogs play with each other so she's not being "bad" she's just being a little too doggish. She needs to learn that this is not how dogs play with humans. I recommend getting help from a good dog trainer (ask your vet or rescue league for names) if this continues to be an issue.

Answer 5

When she gets over excited and starts doing this, which is normal puppy behaviour. It's what she'd do with her brothers and sisters. Tell her no in a firm voice(this is very important) , tap her on the nose and stop playing with her. Hopefully she will get the message that when she bites the fun stops.
I found it very hard to get the right tone of voice when telling off our dog, i just wasn't firm enough, my mum usually ended up doing it.

Answer 6

with our akita pup we were told by the breeder (as she is going to grow big and be a powerful dog) first sign of any behavious that is totally unnaceptable i.e playbiting too to get her by the scruff of the neck (not harsly) and hold her there until she either wimpers or relaxes her body-meaning she is not struggling) this re inforces the pack thing as the higher up dogs in the pack do this to reinforce that the dog in question has a lower ranking than yourself,,,,, lowering her rank means she knows her place will make her more secure in knowing where she stands and also reinforces you do not like her behaviour, when you hold her scruff follow it with a "no" sharply,,,, she will get the message soon enough,, our akita is a wonderful pup using these techniques, we arent hurting her, we arent being aggressive we are doing what the parent dog in a pack would do and our dog is respecting us without any fear as she knows her place, she knows what is not acceptable and she is a bonny confident little (well big) dog.

Answer 7

play bitting can be handled by ignoring the biting and turning away from the dog giving him no attention ,the firm no to the dog could in it's eyes seem to be both you giving it the attention it wants and also the fact you joining in the game, but only giving praise and attention to the dog when he stops being so excitable and stops the playbitting but not before, don't give in keep with it

Answer 8

When you are having 'Play time' with your dog and she starts snaking and biting, simply stop playing immediately and walk away. After doing this each time she tries, she will soon associate that she gets no attention if she behaves that way. Do not worry about this problem though, all puppy's go through it and if your patient with her she will soon learn.

Answer 9

You must stop this before it goes too far.
Next time she does it shout NO loud & grab the loose skin at the back of her neck and force her to the ground for as long as it takes for her to submit.
This shows you are the boss and not to be messed about. Might take a few goes but doesnt hurt them and it works

Answer 10

Whenever she nips yell "OUCH!" look at her and say "NO" and most important of all - STOP PLAYING WITH HER at the first nip. If it continues you may want to take her for a few lessons with a local dog trainer (do group lessons they're less expensive." Here's a site with a fed tips about this: http://www.e-dog-training.com/CureForPuppyNipping.html