13 week old lab puppy bites while playing, solution?

Question

My 13 week old male black lab starts biting when he is excited and wants to play. I tell him no bite and hold his mouth shut gently for a few seconds. This doesn't seem to work and I obviously don't want to be too physical with him.

Any other suggestions? Is ignoring him enough to make him stop? He has already ruined one of my shirts by jumping and biting it.

Answer 1

Puppies explore the world with their mouths. He will be going through teething too until about 6 months of age.

Provide lots of chewy toys and when he starts biting while playing, firmly tell him NO and then give him an acceptable toy and praise him when it is in his mouth...by petting him and saying "good boy" in a pleasant tone!

Answer 2

Holding their mouth shut only makes them want to play with you more. They think it is a game. You should emulate what dogs do to each other when they are too rough. To do this, the first time that the puppy bites you sharply say OWW! or AHH! (like a puppy shrieking). The next time he bites you, repeat this and stop playing with your puppy for a short time. He will soon learn that biting does not get him attention. If it is just gentle biting, you can also try putting an appropriate chew toy such as a rope in his mouth instead of your hand/arm/etc.

Answer 3

I found a good way to stop this is to scream as loud as you can when the dog bites...as if you were being attacked. Even though you are not really hurt, your puppy will get the message that what he did was not good. As soon as he stops, turn your back and ignore him. Do not give him any attention, as this is what he was trying to get by biting.

You need to teach him that bitting hurts, and will result in being ignored.

Once your puppy stops, and goes off to do it's own thing, you can resume play. Just make sure you're puppy thinks you are the one that asked him to play. Your puppy needs to know that you are the boss, and that he only gets to play when you say it is ok.

Answer 4

Ignoring is a good option especially if he is jumping and you don't want him to do it.

With the biting what you need to do is yelp really LOUD like a dog would. My daughter has a 14week old mini dachshund and it works with this little terror. She is fast and furious with needle sharp teeth and if she bites then we yelp and she immediately stops. It seems to get the message through, well for the moment anyway. It makes her think. We then praise her for being good cause she stopped. It does take a while for them to understand that biting the human is not a good idea but it does get through eventually.

Answer 5

don't grasp your hand over it's mouth because then he will think that you want him to play even more.I suggest that when he does bite you give him a slight tap on her nose just to break his attention and in a firm voice say NO! And after you do that walk straight out of the room and ignore his pleas to get your attention and in your own time go back in the room and play with him and if he does the same thing just walk straight back out of the room,and if you keep persisting this he will begin to understand what you are wanting. This technique has worked many times with me and it does not hurt the dog what so ever it's just like when someone taps you on the shoulder to get your attention it's practically the same thing.

Answer 6

Ignoring by immediately stopping the play session and walking away and ignoring the pup for about 15 minutes is the best thing to do. It's what adult dogs do to rude puppies. Play stops, no more fun - puppy learns biting stops the fun.

Answer 7

Well, two things here:
One, your puppy is still a puppy and biting and chewing are to be expected, but it doesn't mean that it's okay, as you know.
Two, I think that you are doing fine with him, but if he starts biting and won't stop even after you tell him to then ignore him, walk away if you have to, he can't be rewarded for his bad behavior.
I think that with time and the training you are giving him, he will grow out of it.

Answer 8

u need to show him what is acceptable and what is not. also he is a puppy and he is teething and needs something to bite. get him some puppy teething rings. just make a trip to petco or petsmart and ask what they reccomend for teething puppies. this will help with the biting a little bit but u also need to show him it hurts when u bite him. this will also help with the chewing so u just need to discipline him and get some teething toys. when i first got my dog about two years ago i went to petsmart and found this little toy with a squeaker on it. and it was a teething ring and every night before he could sleep he had to chew on each end for five minutes i reccomend this it really helped. this is what they were. they massaged his gums and really relaxed him and made him quit biting people. except the one i bought (which i regret buying) had a squeaker on it. ( i regret it because he loves squeakers now) anyway buy a few of these they really help

http://www.petco.com/product/8147/Lil-Buddies-Vinyl-Small-Dog-Toy.aspx

Answer 9

Wait a few months. It's a phase, and he'll outgrow it. In the meantime, find something that it's OK for him to chew on. A big rope with a knot in it, a chew toy from the pet store, or even an old towel tied into a knot will help.

Answer 10

Okay with labs they are a bit dumn for some years.... While he is playing if he starts to bite in a stern voice say NO. If he doesnt catch on bring him to a place were he can realax and calm down. While he gets older if it continues sightly pop on the nose or when he bites close his mouth.

I have a chocolate lab and he had the same problem. Lol, oh yah and when he does bite try guiding him to a toy.,