Biting

Hi all, Summer is now 9 weeks old and we have a few issues with biting, I realise she is teething and still very young and learning, but its getting out of control, she is down right horrible with it, she actually growls and shows her teeth and then goes for you! Its a good job she is as small as she is otherwise the damage could be terrible.
We have tried everything we can think of, firmly telling her no, shouting no, shouting ouch, tap on the nose, moving her, giving her a toy to chew, ignoring the bad praising the good, the list goes on, she just will not give in, we cant put her out of the room as my downstairs is open plan. Its got to the stage where the kids wont have anything to do with her because she hurts them so much. I would love to socialise her more with friends and stuff but the few that have come in contact with her are not keen on coming in contact with her again, its sounds really stupid that people dont want to come and see a puppy, but i cant say i blame them, i have a few scars myself and dont really want any more.
any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Firstly, she isn't teething, she's too young for that.

Do you crate her at all? I know you say that you can't put her from the room, but you could put her in her crate for short periods to calm down - however, you would have to be careful to put her in there calmly so that she doesn't see it as a punishment.

In the meantime, try carrying treats around with you at all times. If she starts to bite, turn away and give her no interraction at all, don't even look at her. If she stops, calmly tell her she's a good girl, stroke her gently & quietly and give her a treat. EVERYBODY, including the kids will have to do this (although I can't remember if you've said how old the kids are)!

If she still carries on, quietly pick her up & put her in her crate (I really do advise that you get one as you can't put her from the room). Leave her for a couple of minutes until she's calm & then let her out. If she starts again, then just go back to square one!

It may also help to teach her the 'sit' & 'down' commands. When she starts to bite & won't stop, use the moment to do some training & give her something else to think about.

You don't say exactly when she starts to bite - is it rough play, or when she's tired or when there's food around etc?

Sorry, shouldve put a bit more explanation down, but thought I would be waffling lol, can do quite a bit of that.
My kids are 17, 16, 12, and 11 years, so not babies thank god lol, The 11 year old was so excited that we were getting a pup, but now he wont even talk to her incase she bites him, she isnt crated, am still in 2 minds about this.
we have tried treats, but she just goes mental, we did have a break through last night when she sat for 3 seconds for a treat, so thats progress.
She bites for any reason, to join you on the sofa, if you are stroking her nicely, when she greets you, anything, she is a lovely little thing when she is calm, but when this devil appears she is downright horrible. We try and play with her with her toys rather than just us, so that if she does bite she has the toys rather than you, if you play on the floor with her she will actually go for your face, which i would rather be left as it is and not rearranged.
Hope this better explanation helps.
Thanks

OK. Don't get on the floor with her - you're on her level & she'll play by her rules!

If she bites because you've done something she doesn't like, or because she wants to do something you don't, then a firm "Nooooo!" & turn away/ignore. If the sofa's a problem, then stop her getting up, even if it's only until she's learnt some manners!

Your kids (shouldn't call them that, really - mine get the hump with that & they're 17 & 18!) must do EXACTLY what you do with training or she'll just walk all over them. You'll all have to be very firm & consistent.

Crates are a great thing to have for a dog as long as they are used correctly. My boy is a serial chewer & will eat anything that can go between his jaws. He also used to bite for England when he was younger! When he bit, I'd give a long, low, drawn out "Nooooo!" and turn away. I'd cross my arms & avoid all eye contact until he stopped. If he carried on I'd calmly pick him up (sometimes at arm's length, with the snapping jaws held away from me!) and place him in his crate. He would settle very quickly, as his crate was also his bed/den where he felt safe & comfortable. After a while he would cry, and then he would go quiet. Then I'd let him out & give him some quiet praise. It does work, but it can take a lot of repetition.

A lot of people on here use a crate, and generally speaking they are a godsend! My boy's crate is in a corner of the kitchen & is covered on 3 sides by old curtains to give it a private, 'den' feel. That's his private area & if he goes in there (which he often does when he's tired or just wants some quiet time) he knows he will be left alone. I used to shut the crate door only at night, when I went out & left him alone or when he needed time out. Nowadays, it's his bed & the door's left open all the time.

Thank you for all your advice, will definately be putting it all to work, as for the crate, funds wont allow til next week as the kids were not keen on going back to school naked, some kids you just cant please! lol
I know I need to real her in on this, she is such a sweetie, funny thing is when i am dishing up her dinner she never once bites or goes for me and waits patiently til i put the bowl down and even then wont touch it til i say she can, she's a funny little mare. Have told the kids they have to be consistent with her, else she wont listen, which wont be good if they walk her when she can go out, she really needs to know some ground rules.
Thanks again.

Not alot to add but the crate is realy usefull. As a breed they hate to be ingored. Also everyone in the household has to be consistent in training and other interactions. If just one person allows the dog to behave badly this can undo all of the training everyone else has worked on.

Since you didn't mention exercise make sure she is gettign plently of it. Sometimes bad behavior is a result of the dog not getting enough exercise. Training and mental stimulation is also important.

Violet was a really vicious biter too for a wee bit, but her puppy trainer suggested that when she's doing something bad, produce a treat and get her to sit and that will stop her doing the bad thing because she wants the treat more. This has really helped because a lot of her mad attacks were completely out of the blue, but I was left bleeding with massive bruises. This was not in the least bit easy and I found it really hard to try and redirect the dog when she was hanging off my leg and I was close to tears, but she has been MUCH better behaved recently.

Now that her new teeth are coming through she is chewing on us a lot, but not the frenzied attacks that we had before!

Oh, I remember this well. My girl was shocking with her biting/mouthing when she was a lot younger too, and I was
She did not respond to the NO, ignore, ouch, turning our back etc...... and would just continue. I went through many pairs of pants and had cuts all over my arms and hands from her razor sharp baby teeth.
In the end, I had a tie-out line in the yard, and a leash atteatched to my Heavy entertainment unit inside......I used these in the same way Caryll suggested with the crate ( never leaving her alone, and always making sure she was safe ) and it DID make a big difference. I was able to move away from the teeth and ignore her for a couple of minutes....giving her a chance to calm, then returning when she had calmed.

Like Caryll mentioned, Everybody in the household needs to react/discipline in the same way, so as not to confuse the Pup. Consistency is key.....

Also, as frustrating as this becomes try to remain calm when disciplining.....loosing your temper could excite Summer even more and escalate the problem.

It won't stop overnight, but hopefully you will notice an improvement.

Good luck

Well.....you just wouldnt believe it, I have got a puppy sitting on command, albeit with a treat god love her, even in just a few short hours she has changed a little, she is getting more attention from the boys when she is good, the biting is obviously still there, but not a much, ie, every 30 mins instead of 30 seconds lol, with the absence of the crate when she miss misbehaves i put her in her bed, and have even been saying 'bed' and pointing and it bloody works! Sorry I am so shocked! In just 24 hours of being firm but fair she is being great, not brilliant and the choppers are still out, but I just cant get my head round it. I cant beleive I can bring up 5 kids kids without a hitch and this little monster can have me tearing my hair out!
Thank you so much for all your help, I am determined to keep this up.
Thanks again from a little less stressed mommy and a still sort of potty puppy xxxx

Glad to hear it is starting to work out for you

Thats a typical stafford puppy they are cute little sharks, tough little nutters, and until they know the rules then all this is normal Firm approach and no bending the rules and you will have a great dog

Hi Hilsie, as you said, just looked at your pic and she is even the same colour, complete with white on her chest. She is getting better, albiet slowly but surely.