How to stop puppy biting, racing?

Question

3 m old shih-tzu starting to get very bite-y & at odd times. Ex: she was crying in her pen & bit me when I took her out. Also, sometimes for no reason she starts racing around the house like crazy. I don't necessarily mind but we have polished marble floors. We crate her at night and train her before meals and walk her at least once a day. She is 13 wks and 6lbs &we feed her raw diet with RMBs every day. She has 3 or 4 meals daily. We give her lamb shanks and baby back ribs plus teething toys for teething. We run & play with her every day & night. We are homeschoolers & are home with her all day every day. We have tried shaker cans and water spray & rescue remedy to discourage. We are starting to get real frustrated. Any ideas?

Answer 1

First of all, dogs must learn to inhibit their bite before they are 4 months old. Normally, they would learn this from their mother, their littermates and other members of the pack. But, because we take them away from this environment before this learning is completed, we must take over the training.
it doesn't mean that your pup is aggressive, just that she is young. If you watch a litter of puppies interacting with each other, you'll see them biting each other all the time. The problem is that they often mistake our hands and clothes and ankles as being just like their littermates.
Puppies might see your hands the way they'd see each others' jaws. Don't wave your hands around the pup's face or grab at her. Use your hands to pick up toys (just as you'd like the pup to do) or for soft, gentle petting.
Don't play "chase-me" games where you and the puppy chase and grab at each other.
Meanwhile, make sure that your pup is getting lots of praise and attention when he is playing well and gently. Pups sometimes learn to bite you to get attention, so make sure that they are getting rewarded with attention when they're being good, not when they're being bad.
Puppy biting is normal and most pups will grow out of it eventually, but take the time to teach them that humans do not put up with it.
Pups bite because it is fun, it's their way of playing, and it gains them attention. So, to punish the puppy, all we have to do is make the fun end. If you're playing with your pup and his teeth touch you, yelp loudly and shrilly like a hurt puppy. (If this makes him MORE excited, or if you're a guy who can't really do this, BELLOW like he's really hurt you). Immediately disengage yourself from her, and the fun stops. Ignore her and she will soon realize that not biting produces fun and biting means end of fun.

Answer 2

Since you keep your dog in door, why not let her run loose around the house? If you put your dog in her pen, she is probably desparate to get out. My mom's dog sometimes nib on my fingers when I am trying to pet them. My suggestion is to warm her up before you try to reach for her because it gives her time to realize that you are the one she is looking for, I do that everytime when I return for work. My dog would go crazy and jump around, but I would let him know that "daddy's home" before I try to play with him to avoid nibbling.

But if nibbling issue still occurs, then you probably need to teach her from right from wrong.What I did with my dog was I would retrieve my playing mood (when he nibs me while he is playing rough) and say his name with a angry tone of voice. If he doesn't quiet down, I would gently spank him and repeat his name with an angry tone of voice, and I would say "no-no" until he backs off.

About the running crazy part, shih-tzu tends to do that..... my mom's tzu and tzu mix with maltese does that a lot.

Answer 3

I have heard of a bitter apple spray made by grannicks, it works by being sprayed on pretty much anything and has a nasty taste to the dog. Could be worth a try.

Answer 4

Watch The DOG WHISPER, on tv, he's got all the answers, he's helped us with boyh of our lil dogs!!!!