How Do I Get My Dog To Stop Biting Or Mouthing?

Question

I have a dog, still a puppy I guess, who has a bad habit of play biting. Believe me, we've tried every method. We've tried the yelping, didn't work. In fact, it makes him try to bite even more as well as bark. I've even tried using lemon juice on my hands. Turns out that my dog is a lemon junkie because he licked my hand as it was a piece of steak. We've tried telling him no, everything. Is this something he'll eventually grow out of? And no, we're not going to bite him back or hit him so don't even leave those responses and only serious responses please.

Answer 1

I am currently working on mouthing with a dog I was originally fostering but decided to keep.
She had a litter of pups by the age of 8 months, so she never got the chance to truly be a pup herself, when she was seized it was from a dirty flea and tick infested basement, where she barely had any human interaction. I knew she'd be a challenge, but her vibrance and zest for life accompanied by her explicit love for people, all people, drew me to her... however that is all irrelevant backstory, now onto my own personal training methods....
I am firmly into positive reinforcement training, which means I reward only the behaviors I want to see. I use treats, toys and attention all as forms of reward. When I arrive home from work and there is a mad dash of 3 dogs to greet me, I completely ignore their excited tail-wagging and I greet my people first, then greet the dogs. Now the new dog is catching on to this, but my other 2 dogs know they will NOT be petted unless they are sitting and calm. One jump, and I turn my back and walk away.
In addition to being a little jumpy, like I said, the new pup also was very mouthy upon her arrival. She just was never trained out of it. Same positive reinforcement works for this..
During play if she starts to mouth, simply get up, turn your back and walk away. Play ends there. Do not feed into this by yelping or whining, as some dogs DO see this as play, do not feed into this by swatting or flicking because negative reinforcement, or punishment, while having immediate results, can not only backfire but cause the dog to challenge you further as it gets older. This can be especially difficult if you have a large breed dog. It may take a while for lil Fido to realize that you will not tolerate his behavior and that play ends when he is mouthy, but please believe me when I say it works, and has permanent, lasting results.
Look into NILF training, which often times works wonders with animals that have behavioral problems. It's an all around positive training method, that makes your dog work for everything he gets. (NILF = Nothing In Life is Free - Google it for tips on how to get started)
Always make sure that your dog is getting enough regular exercise and has plenty of safe things to chew... a tired pup, with a tired mouth, is a good pup afterall.
Good luck! :)

Answer 2

No, your dog will NOT grow out of this. You MUST teach it the correct behavior.

When puppy bites at your hands, scruff him immediately (grab him by the loose skin on the back of the neck) and lift him off of his front 2 feet. Then, gently, but firmly shake while saying "No Bite" in a tone that sounds like a growl. When puppy relaxes in your grip, and only when he does, you can then release him and resume play. If he bites again, repeat IMMEDIATELY.

This is how momma dog disciplined your puppy when he was still with the litter and is in a language your puppy WILL understand. If after doing this 2-3 times, he still persists, then stop play time and ignore for 15 minutes. Attempt to resume and address again as needed.

It is VERY important that you and anyone that might interact with your puppy is consistent with this method. NEVER let a bite go unaddressed, or you will confuse your puppy and he will not understand what you expect of him.

Be sure to offer proper play toys as well, maybe a few good tugs that will assist you in distancing your hands from puppy's teeth.

Answer 3

The best response to mouthing or play biting is a bottle of water to spray. Every time the pup tries to mouth or bite spray with the water say Nooo in a deep low voice and give the pup a rawhide bone or some type of toy. The pup is teething right now so you can imagine what he is going thru! Also you might try when the pup attempts to bite to push away and have a toy waiting when he comes back. You want positive reactions to happen. Toys are a good out. I hope this helps.

Answer 4

You get more of what you reward, and less of what you punish.

Dogs grab your hand in their mouth because they haven't any hands to grab ahold with. The fact that they intend no harm doesn't mean that the behavior is acceptable.

You need to respond *immediately*, with an action that they understand. Yelping when they pinch you with their teeth? They think you're playing. And you saw that he enjoyed the lemon.

Swatting the dog on the nose works. It doesn't hurt the dog; it startles the dog, and gives the message that his behavior is unacceptable.

But you don't want to hear that. Well, in that case, how about this? Why don't you give him 8 ounces of raw beefsteak when he does it, and see it *that* stops his behavior? Why don't you scratch him behind the ears, and see if *that* stops his behavior? Why don't you send him a letter by registered mail, and see if he understands that?

Why do you insist on being an irresponsible dog owner?