Advice for training a puppy not to bite

I've got a 14 week old puppy, black lab/coonhound mix. He's relatively well-behaved, but he's got a problem with nipping and biting. Generally it's what you'd call "mouthing", i.e. playful and not intended to harm us. Often though, he'll bite way too hard, but most likely not intentionally. He seems to prefer our hands, arms, and ankles to his chew toys. Any contact with him for more than a few minutes inevitably descends into a big bite-fest. Now I know he's a puppy and this is pretty normal behavior, but it's a bit more with him. I've seen other puppies that just don't behave this way.

He came from a litter of 11, and when I bought him the lady had these scabs and bite marks all over her arms. She clearly never tried to teach these puppies bite inhibition, though I can't blame her seeing as how she had more than 30 dogs on her property. It'd be a huge task to try and train them all by herself.

It's unfortunate that this is basically an established behavior with him. From what I understand about puppies, the period when they are most behaviorally malleable is between 3 and 12 weeks.

So, any advice on how to curb this? I've tried ignoring him, spraying him with water, grabbing his mouth and holding it shut, and (unfortunately) even swatting him away.

a reply to: Talorc

Say "no" loudly and ignore him. You don't have to yell but say it with firmness/authority. Walk away from him. He'll get it in no time.

I used to thump mine on the mouth/nose when she would nip. She learned quickly and it hasn't been a problem since, your mileage may vary! Consistency is key.

a reply to: Talorc

When his teeth touch your skin (clothing, etc.), make a "yipping" sound or say "ouch!" and really ham it up to communicate the point: you can hurt me. Works on guinea pigs, too!

ETA: Keep us updated and be patient. Unless there were major pecking order issues or abuse at the place he came from, most dogs (in my experience) learn this stuff quickly, but some breeds are slower than others and of course no two pups of the same breed are the same.

a reply to: Talorc

I hear you. Our German Shepherd puppy is about 18 weeks old now, but when she was younger she wanted to bite everyone (maybe nervousness) and everything - my hands were her favorite and still are. Mine are the only hands she tries to gently bite. Kind of a bonding thing with us.

I think it began as a left over habit from a life of puppy litter battles.

Have patience, friend.

Treat him how other dogs would when they are being bitten during play. For example,

When you play with your puppy, let him mouth on your hands. Continue play until he bites especially hard. When he does, immediately give a high-pitched yelp, as if you’re hurt, and let your hand go limp. This should startle your puppy and cause him to stop mouthing you, at least momentarily. (If yelping seems to have no effect, you can say “Too bad!” or “You blew it!” in a stern voice instead.)

Praise your puppy for stopping or for licking you.

Resume whatever you were doing before. If your puppy bites you hard again, yelp again. Repeat these steps no more than three times within a 15-minute period. If you find that yelping alone doesn’t work, you can switch to a time-out procedure.

Time-outs are often very effective for curbing mouthing in puppies. When your puppy delivers a hard bite, yelp loudly. Then, when he startles and turns to look at you or looks around, remove your hand.

Source


"What to Do Next: Teach Your Puppy That Teeth Don’t Belong on Human Skin"

Substitute a toy or chew bone when your puppy tries to gnaw on fingers or toes.
Puppies often mouth on people’s hands when stroked, patted and scratched (unless they’re sleepy or distracted). If your puppy gets all riled up when you pet him, distract him by feeding him small treats from your other hand. This will help your puppy get used to being touched without mouthing.

Encourage noncontact forms of play, such as fetch and tug-of-war, rather than wrestling and rough play with your hands. (Refer to our article, Teaching your Dog to Play Fetch, to learn more about this game.) To keep tug-of-war safe and fun for you and your puppy, you’ll need to follow strict rules. Please see our article, Teaching Your Dog to Play Tug-of-War, for detailed guidelines. Once your puppy can play tug safely, keep tug toys in your pocket or have them easily accessible. If he starts to mouth you, you can immediately redirect him to the tug toy. Ideally, he’ll start to anticipate and look for a toy when he feels like mouthing.

More here- sorry can't source all of it.

I would think he'll grow out of it. Just make sure no one in your family is too aggressive with him and don't try to punish him for it. Dogs don't think that way and it makes them more aggressive. I mean, they have some comprehension of when you are not pleased with something they've done but they don't respond too kindly to physical attempts at correction.

In my experience black labs are an incredibly gentle, reasonably intelligent and good-natured breed once they are full grown. Give him some time.

a reply to: Talorc

Advice for training a puppy not to bite

Express your displeasure loudly and then walk away, excluding the bad hound from the pack.

a reply to: Talorc

When he bites grab his snout... Or upper or lower jaw

Even his tongue... He will pull away and eventually stop mouth playing

Of course you don't want to hurt the pup... Just a gentle grip so the pup knows its not allowed

A very sturdy rubber chew ring and perhaps a rope toy... do not play with it with them, it gets your smell all over it and they are too rowdy and teething to stop and go and or toy, all the same... chomp.

The rope toy will allow play but tug of war causes dominance issues. Instead fetch with it will be better... as the rubber ring allows them to teeth just like human babies... dogs dont need petting you do. So wait until its calm and tired and relaxed from play, if you want to pet it.

This might seem against some avg norm. but its an animal not a person... do not get into the whole dominance became a dog or they become a person nonsense, power struggle business it leads to nothing but stress. Many people raise human children based on their dog training ideas, very stupid thing to do not the same species... so why turn people into dogs or vice versa in behavior?

That will handle the teething issue, and perhaps some psychology issues the world at large has with the whole... need to dominance and control nonsense, that has been plauging humanity.

Thanks for all the replies, everyone.

originally posted by: BrianFlanders
I would think he'll grow out of it. Just make sure no one in your family is too aggressive with him and don't try to punish him for it. Dogs don't think that way and it makes them more aggressive. I mean, they have some comprehension of when you are not pleased with something they've done but they don't respond too kindly to physical attempts at correction.

In my experience black labs are an incredibly gentle, reasonably intelligent and good-natured breed once they are full grown. Give him some time.

I love black labs, they're by far the breed I'm most familiar with. Growing up, it seems like all the dogs my family and relatives ever had were black labs.

And you're certainly right about aggression and overly physical punishment. I think we often make the mistake of treating (and punishing) dogs as if they were little humans or children. That's the wrong attitude to have, I'm coming to find. Oftentimes it's our expectations of how a dog should behave that are wrong, not the behavior of the dogs themselves.

originally posted by: Akragon
a reply to: Talorc

When he bites grab his snout... Or upper or lower jaw

Even his tongue... He will pull away and eventually stop mouth playing

Of course you don't want to hurt the pup... Just a gentle grip so the pup knows its not allowed

That's what we did with our puppy. We would grab her lower jaw with thumb and index finger and hold it for a second. She'd stop biting and pull away. Do that while saying "No Biting". After a while she figured out that biting our fingers resulted in her jaw being snatched and she stopped.

It's good to also give them something else to chew on too if that's what they're after.

There are some good tips on here.
Another good trick I use with real young pups is a deep growl when over biting.
They understand it faster than yelping in pain, I have found.

The other thing I can add which is huge, particularly working breeds, is energy level.

During crate training, before any attention is given, the dog is brought directly outside to romp around, they are bundles of energy waiting to explode. If you let em run first, there is a night and day difference in their learning speed.

I am going to request this op to the hoax bin, if you don't show us some puppy pics
Here's mine, he passed up his puppy stage and went all out beast.

a reply to: Mandroid7

Ahhh... alright fair enough, here's my boy.






He's indulging in a bag of food with his brother....

a reply to: Talorc

some advice I will give you is that this website is for and is read by adults. Talking baby talk (puppy) makes the user appear like a child and be perceived as a child. To an adult an infant dog is called a pup.

a reply to: Talorc

He is adorable! Our yellow lab is almost two and I was worried about his biting when he was a pup. He got a lot better once he lost his baby teeth, but was at his worst while he was losing them.

I tried everything everyone suggested, but he did not care one bit. You could run him all day and he still wouldn't be tired.

Once winter was over and he got to swim for the first time last year that did it, he found his passion and it wasn't biting everyone anymore. Luckily we live close to water so he swims every day.

He will out grow of it soon and you will forget about all those bruises (love bites) he gave you.

Give him one of your smelly shoes or slippers and when he gets bored with it and tries to have a go at one of you just twist his ear until he whimpers then stop... he well learn eventually who is the head of the pack.

Dogs are social animals and need a pack head who teaches them a lesson.

From a veterinary animal behaviour surgeon with over 25 years experience.

Kindest respects

Lag

a reply to: Talorc

Shake from the scruff of the neck (like the mother would do) and a loud no. That's what we had to do with our little springer for the same problem.

When i got my shepherd/timber wolf mix he was 7 weeks old...I had 2 very small kids( one autistic) at the time so this was something we had to nip right away....Go to any pet store and purchase "Bitter apple" it tastes exactly how it sounds...spray your ankles, elbows forearms, etc....just very lightly...also spray shoes or anything you do not want him to mouth....
If you cant find the bitter apple then try cinnamon around your ankles etc....(any nasty tasting spice will work....Turmeric comes to mind! LOL)

He will retreat from the scent and esp. the taste immediately! Just keep repeating the bitter apple or substance as you need to...you can spray your furniture legs so he will begin to understand ...I haven't read the whole thread but many people have some very good ideas...He mouths because he is teething.....You can also freeze some bagels and toss one to him....That will keep him busy a long time....

The one thing I would do immediately is wait until he is pretty calm and in his bed. You want to remove me from where he sleeps and then you sit down in his place... cross your legs and your arms and do not look at your dog .....he will come over to you and beg for attention...gently push his nose away DO NOT SAY ANYTHING and do NOT make any eye contact....continue sitting in your position until your pup sits or lies down beside you......It will happen but may take a little time....

You will be establishing dominance and showing your puppy that you are the master of the house NOT HIM!! Your dog will respect you immediately you should do this about 3 times a day.....

Next go to his food bowl while he is eating......Please make sure you know this puppy very well before you do this....You want to put your hands, fingers etc. in his bowl and play with his food....at the same time he has his mouth in his food...
He needs to understand the food comes from you and he would not have it without.you...

These 2 actions sitting in his bed and hands in his will establish hierarchy in your family and a lot less chaos that comes with raising a puppy.... He is beautiful and adorable you and he are very blessed!

The last thing I will add is make sure you hold him a lot..and touch him everywhere! Concentrate on his paws, ears. nose mouth above eyes or any place that you observe to be sensitive......this will get him use to humans very quickly and he will LOVE it!!

My German Shepherd is now 12 and he has never hurt another child, adult, or dog! I will say i rescued a few chip munks from his mouth...He was just holding them inside his mouth....Lol....and as gentle as my dog is, I know he would tear into to any one that he perceived to be a threat to my family....Till this day he is the best security I will ever have....

I hope you don't mind my unsolicited suggestions..Just trying to make the job before you a little easier...

Best of luck to you!

Pax

a reply to: Talorc

May sound crazy...but I trained mine to not bite...by going over and biting him back...HARD....He would squeal...and he learned!