being very naughty and worried now.

Hiya everyone,
My Oscar is now nearly 9months and has always used his mouth alot however this apears to b getting worse both in excitment (i hope) and in answering back. We are having alot of humping issues with the furniture and his bed and when i tell him to leave he growls and pretends to bite us. When he does connect he doesnt really hurt although somtimes they are hard enough to leave little red marks. I am quite concerned where this will lead and time out is difficult as when u take him by the collar hes now nervous of it as we have put him out for bad behaviour so many times he now sees us touching his collar as a negative thing . I know we have obviously been doing somthing very wrong cus at other times Oscars so loving and very playful. Im just concerned cus hes already very strong and as hes a cross he is likely to get quite big ive been told so i am worried what this behaviour is going to lead to. Any advice will b greatly welcomed, thanks in advance,
Michelle

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

As for the humping try a squeaky toy to distract him

I found the yelp and ignore method works for us with biting. In regards to the collar thing, Daisy has been a bit like this, she is a rescue so I don't know where it stems from. Try holding his collar and giving him a treat, get him to learn you getting hold of it is not always bad.

Do u think the yelp and ignore method would work even with the more naughty answering back bites he is doing, i must admit the ignoring part and time out worked to a point especialy when he  was younger but somtimes the yelp noise made him a bit more excited.  Some people i have spoke to have said its because he has not been neutered and the vet advised we did it at 6months but i have had very mixed advice on this issue also with some people saying that having their boy done to young made him worse, so have held off as i decided i cud do it at a later date but i cant have him done then go back on it shud i find it was a mistake afterwards :s  im rather confused to say the least lol

It doesn't work for everyone, instead a no and ignore may be better. Its very unlikely neuturing will help so I think your right to hold off until he's older then you can make the decision.

Oscar is entering his canine equivalent of "Kevin the teenager" - they all through a stage where they will try to see what they can get away with.  

Staffies do play roughly, so if his mouthing gets over-excited when you are playing with him, make sure you have something handy that he can bite and tug on, eg a tuggy rope and get him to concentrate on that.  If he goes for your hands or clothes tell him "No" in a firm but not shouty voice (yelping does sometimes excite the dog more, especially when he is leaving puppyhood behind).  

If he rounds on you or recoils whenever your hand goes towards his collar, then you will need patience and time to overcome this.  For example, try stroking him gently on his back when he is resting quietly with you, murmuring good boy, lovely boy etc.  If he accepts this, then slowly move by degrees (over a period of days) to resting your hand on his head, fondling his ears etc until you reach the stage where you can rest your hand momentarily on his collar, whilst still caressing him, and gradually he should come to accept that you touching his collar doesn't always mean that you are going to drag him somewhere by it.  This may all take some days or weeks, but perseverance and calmness is vital.

Neutering won't make the slightest difference to his mouthing and snapping I'm afraid. Vets have a current fixation about doing it at 6 months old, but the general opinion on this forum at least is that this is far too young, as the dog's body must be allowed to complete its physical and mental growing. However (and this is a controversial point) you may find that if Oscar is a dedicated and enthusiastic humper neutering at a later age may help. I can only go by my own experience with my only male dog; Kuchar was never much of a humper but after he was castrated at 14 months of age (earlier than I had wished but the time felt right for me), he hasn't humped anything at all. And the, ummm, "deposits" that he made - everywhere - ceased immediately. At 2 years old though he still has a puppyish temperament, so that is something else to bear in mind if you decide to neuter Oscar before about 2 years old.

Do let us know how Oscar progresses, and don't despair!  All teenagers eventually grow up!

What I use to do too, when Pixee use to mouth us, when on walks, was to use a firm 'no' and ignored her. When at home playing, I use 'no biting' and sometimes I straight away put a hard toy in her mouth and carry on playing. She has picked up, that its ok to mouth toys but not us.

Thankyou for all the replies, i am relieved to hear that alot of people seem to of had some similar experiences with their pups and im even more pleased to know that he is in his teenage stage so hopfuly some of the behaviour may relate to that. With Oscar being our first i have felt a little nervous especialy with all the media hype being so negative about staffys im going to persist and stay consistant then with it and fingers crossed we see an improvement even if only slow

Oh my, Darcy had me cut to ribbons with her puppy biting, thankfully it's all over now

Hopefully it's just a phase that he will grow out of eventually as I'm sure he will

Don't panic Michelle, Staffies are no different to "ordinary" dogs except that they are extraordinarily loving and just a bit more boisterous than some!

Do keep in touch and let us know how you get on - we're always here to bounce off!   

Thanks i will definatly keep posting and fingers crossed he will stop his devilish behaviour lol hes such a sweetie most the time x