Biting

Hi again, sorry to be a pain, diesel is my 11week old pup and he has got into a growling/biting stage, its not playful or attention, its getting to the stage where its blood getting drawn, i've tried being firm, throwing toys to him, any advice on getting him to learn im the boss, i've tapped his nose, putting him in the kitchen to calm down, taking him for a walk,putting food in his bowl, just incase, im running out of ideas, i dont want to go running to a dog trainer school yet, he doesnt go for my girlfriend at all, its like when i come home at 6ish then all night until he gets tired about 10ish,


Is it me being too babyish or could he dislike men, sounds stupid i bet

To be honest its just training and growing out of it, you do not need to be boss and by tapping his nose you continuing the game! Have a look at this, I found that yelping and ignoring worked for me. Unfortunately its not a quick fix though, it takes time, patience and consistency BUT he will learn eventually  

http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/stop_your_staffy_puppy_biting

Jamesgt92 wrote:Hi again, sorry to be a pain, diesel is my 11week old pup and he has got into a growling/biting stage, its not playful or attention, its getting to the stage where its blood getting drawn, i've tried being firm, throwing toys to him, any advice on getting him to learn im the boss, i've tapped his nose, putting him in the kitchen to calm down, taking him for a walk,putting food in his bowl, just incase, im running out of ideas, i dont want to go running to a dog trainer school yet, he doesnt go for my girlfriend at all, its like when i come home at 6ish then all night until he gets tired about 10ish,  


Is it me being too babyish or could he dislike men, sounds stupid i bet

First of all, the toy throwing, walks and feeding to stop the biting - not going to work! In fact, it's likely to encourage it! Whereas humans might see it as a bribe to get a pup to behave, dogs will just see it as a reward! If they're given something that they enjoy after they behave a certain way, they're just going to perform that behaviour again! Tapping the nose is also more likely to excite your pup, rather than scold him.

Putting him in the kitchen to calm him down can work, but only if he sees the kitchen as his 'safe place'. If it's just another room to him, it probably won't make a difference.

I know it seems like aggression, but really it isn't! Definitely not at that age! Dempsey was an absolute terror from puppyhood until two years old (although that doesn't mean that yours will be the same - Dempsey's puppy biting lasted an unusually long time). He'd draw blood when he bit, he'd attack hoovers, hoses and shoes. He'd also go into a completely mad trance of sorts and bite everything within reach. Quite a few times, the thought crossed our minds that he could be aggressive, but it was quickly shrugged off. Because he wasn't aggressive - he was just a very fiesty, stubborn puppy. Once we put our feet down and adopted a firm stance, it slowly started to wear off.

The biting when you come home sounds like pure excitement. A lot of people recommend ignoring the pup when you first get in, and only giving him attention once he's calmed down. This enforces the idea that jumping around and biting is not a behaviour that will be rewarded with fuss.

Puppies can also start to teeth from anywhere around 11 to 20 weeks, which could contribute to the biting. Even if this isn't the case, it's often a good idea to get some puppy-safe toys for him to chew on, as this also keeps him occupied and prevents boredom.

Also, what brand of food do you feed him? This can have a huge impact on behaviour.

Don't worry James, at 11 weeks old Diesel is being a perfectly normal puppy. At this age they want to play all the time they are not sleeping or eating, and their playing can seem quite rough to us! He doesn't mean to draw blood but little puppy teeth are like needles and our poor human skin isn't always up to it. My hands and arms looked like I'd been in battle when Kuchar was this age! I'm guessing that when you come home about 6ish he gets all excited - "Dad's home! Yippee!" - and if you play with him more than your girlfriend does, he sees you as the source of excitement.

As Sazzle says - look at the puppy biting link above and do the high-pitched yelping (which is what Diesel's litter mates or mum or dad would do when the playing gets a bit too rough) and stop play for a while. You'll need to do this time and again, but he will learn how far and no further in time. Don't tap his nose! He won't understand it and it might make him headshy.

Don't despair, it'll come good!

Our puppy Bailey is 13 weeks and is doing exactly the same thing.  He drew blood on my boyfriends thumb the other day, literally sliced his thumb, but we do try and do the 'yelp' thing every time and if he persists we turn our backs to him and stop play. If he still persists he goes into the kitchen and we shut the baby gate - his crate and blankets are in there and normally after a few minutes of being put in the kitchen he just goes to sleep lol....bless him....but it def calms him down!

We ignore him when we first come in (especially me cos he loves his mum and really gets excited when I come home lol) and we tell all our visitors to do the same and it is slowly but surely working!  He is realising that if he comes up and sits in front of you he will get attention.
He is still young, but if you are consistant, you will get there im sure!  Good luck!!!