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Post by ag-1982 Thu Oct 25 2012, 11:52

Ive been teaching my 8 week old pup not to mouth or bite and its been going quite well, but since yesterday he has started only listening to me he gets excited chases the older kids nipping at their feet and he has drawn blood on my partners foot! today he has turned his attention to my 2 yr old daughter she keeps telling him no but he keeps jumping at her and now she has decided to push him away and pull his tail every time he bites her.
Im out of ideas now the partner has been in tears a few times as she cant handle the pup and as i work nights there is only so much i can do.
he has plenty of toys, has his own little pen to hide away in when he has had enough and waits at the door to go out to the toilet but the biting bit seems to have gone back on itself.
sorry if its a bit long winded but need help fast Crying or Very sad
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Post by Guest Thu Oct 25 2012, 11:58

There's no quick fix, I'm afraid.

You say you've been teaching him, but how long for? He's only 8 weeks now, so you can't have had him long. He's a puppy, a baby, doing what puppies do! There's no aggression involved, he's playing the way he would play with his siblings & that's totally normal.

Everything a dog does is a 'behaviour', and is a perfectly normal & natural thing for a dog to do. What we have to do is teach a dog which 'behaviours' are acceptable with humans & which ones aren't.

What have you been doing so far to stop the biting?
What do you feed him & when?

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Post by Guest Thu Oct 25 2012, 12:00

Here is a link that will help

http://staffy-bull-terrier.co.uk/stopyourstaffypuppybiting.html

Sit down with your OH and talk about how to train the pup. Once you both agree make sure you stick to the plan. I would also advise not to leave a young child unsupervised with a pup. He sees her as a playmate since they are both on the ground and at his age nipping is how they start to play.

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Post by ag-1982 Thu Oct 25 2012, 12:25

thats exactly what ive been telling my other half i understand that there is no aggression involved and ive had him for 1 week now but he was doing so well. i know it was a bit early and i need to keep going with the training.
As far as stopping him from biting i have bought some teething toys and a kong puppy toy. he is fine with these until one of gets up to leave the room then he goes nuts.
we have been using a firm no, there is no tapping noses etc here as i am against all that stuff.
thanks i will just keep going and hopefully he will start to get better in time.
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Post by Guest Thu Oct 25 2012, 12:27

It just takes patience and consistancy. The puppy/teething phase is rough on everyone.

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Post by julespercules Thu Oct 25 2012, 12:39

Hi, i know exactly how you feel as my Tash is now 18 weeks old and has only JUST got out of the mouthing stage. We too were at our wits end as the turning your back or ignoring her (all good advice) didnt work on her and she just ended up mouthing another part of our body. Leaving the room left her to demolish the whole room so we ended up putting her in her cage after a good sharp NO. I have 2 young kids too so know how your partner feels as you hate to think of your kids getting hurt.

My Tash spent alot of time having time outs in her cage but im pleased to say that now just a NO and saying CALM and she's brill.

Your pup is only young so it may be many more weeks but stick with it and your pup will be your childs best friend Smile
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Post by ag-1982 Thu Oct 25 2012, 12:42

thanks guys i feel a little more at ease now i thought maybe i was doing something wrong and although ive got a cage a thought maybe it would be a bad idea to keep putting him in there.
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Post by Guest Thu Oct 25 2012, 12:43

Believe me when i say if you are consistent and take the advice posted on this thread eventually it will end (I never ever thought it would Laughing ) but it will, Steff is 14 weeks now and we have had no blood fall for about 3 weeks, she still mouths when excited but when told "NO" then ignored she soon stops. With my son, as she sees him as a playmate, it was a bit harder, we used a water spray bottle, a firm NO, then stop play and ignore her for a few mins or until she calmed down.

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Post by Guest Thu Oct 25 2012, 12:44

It's not a good idea to use a crate as punishment. It should be used for a place for them to feel safe when they want to be alone. It's a rough phase to get through but if everyone is on the same page and consistant it will pass quicker

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Post by Guest Thu Oct 25 2012, 12:48

Can you tell me what you're feeding him? Sometimes the hyper activity is due to the ingredients in some commercial food.

With your 2 year old, I understand your need to make sure she isn't hurt, or that she doesn't hurt the pup! Big Grin When they are in the same room, watch them closely. If the pup jumps at your daughter or attemps to nip her, tell your daughter to turn her back on him & don't play with him until he's calm again. If necessary, physically turn your daughter around by the shoulders. If the pup continues to jump up or nip, pick him up & put him out of the room for a few seconds until he's calm again.

Don't let your daughter push him or pull his tail, not because it will hurt him (it probably won't) but because that will be an indication to the pup that she wants to play!

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Post by julespercules Thu Oct 25 2012, 13:01

I do understand that the cage shouldnt be used as punishment and it was kind of a last resort for me and my hubby when Tash was going crazy with the mouthing, especially if it was at my children. It saved our sanity and Tash does not view the cage as a bad thing and goes in of her own accord now. Its not always possible to stop your kids running around and indeed why should they, the dog needs to learn not to.

As i said we tried all of the ignore methods but Tash was persistent in her mouthing so for my kids safety we did use the cage for a few minutes and she now does not mouth.

Its not everyones cup of tea i understand that but its an idea to help if your partners at their wits end with the dog and gives everyone a break.

It does stop eventually, it takes time and lots and lots of patience
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Post by ag-1982 Thu Oct 25 2012, 13:18

we are using pedigree puppy tins at the minute (poultry and rice) and after looking i have noticed lots of additives in the food.
i have some minced turkey and tripe blocks from pets at home which is just meat so maybe ill try those from now on.
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Post by RubyRoo Thu Oct 25 2012, 13:23

i have to admit when ruby was mouthing badly for the first couple of months it felt like it would never end, but when she got too bad (which was daily with the kids) we used to kind of yelp and say no and stop all play, but that often wasnt enough, she too had time outs in her crate. she never saw the crate as a punishment, and she wasnt bundled off in there she was told to go to bed and she went in of her own doing each time to quiet herself down. it didnt take long for her to get the hint, but she was still bad with visitors. now shes 8 months and shes stopped it all and her crate is now gone as she goes to bed on command even with visitors. its hard work but it will end Smile
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Post by astubliffhacked Thu Oct 25 2012, 20:51

noah is 13 weeks old and we have had the same problem for 6 weeks now, but he only bites me, he mouths at the wife and my grandson , but bites me
baring his teeth a few times and growling, but his tail is wagging so is he playing or being aggressive?
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Post by julespercules Thu Oct 25 2012, 21:12

i would say playing at that age. Hang in there i was in your boat up to about 2 weeks ago and she has just stopped (most of the time)
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Post by Guest Thu Oct 25 2012, 21:17

ag-1982 wrote:we are using pedigree puppy tins at the minute (poultry and rice) and after looking i have noticed lots of additives in the food.
i have some minced turkey and tripe blocks from pets at home which is just meat so maybe ill try those from now on.

I'd be more inclined to get a reasonable quality dry food so that you know he's getting all the nutrients he needs. PAH's own label food is quite good, as is Wainwrights (again, from PAH), and are a reasonable price.

astubliffhacked wrote:noah is 13 weeks old and we have had the same problem for 6 weeks now, but he only bites me, he mouths at the wife and my grandson , but bites me
baring his teeth a few times and growling, but his tail is wagging so is he playing or being aggressive?

He's playing - pups (and adults) are quite vocal when they play & will growl, whine, yap etc. Do you play more roughly with him than the others do?

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Post by astubliffhacked Thu Oct 25 2012, 21:31

yes i do caryll, we do have a good old tussle when i get home from work Laughing
i tell him no, and he stops , but then sidles up to me, pretends to yawn and as a crafty chew on my hand!! i tell him no again and he growls and grumbles lol!!
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Post by Guest Thu Oct 25 2012, 21:56

I have to admit that at Noah and Tyson's age, I have always let my puppies mouth me during play, and when they've nipped too hard I've yelped (quite loudly and high-pitched, like the mummy dog or the siblings would), turned my back and had play stop for a while. I have always believed that this has taught bite inhibition and it has served very well in the past.

However, this is our first Staffie and our first male dog - he is now 10 months old and is still mouthing, and his teeth hurt more than puppy teeth. It's not aggressive, just playfulness/excitement, but I've obviously misjudged with this particular dog (and I would hate to think that it's breed specific), so firmer controls are now having to come into place (not violence, of course).

I could wish in hindsight that I had nipped this behaviour in the bud and not thought of bite inhibition at all, but just forbidden any teeth on human flesh contact AT ALL.

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Post by ag-1982 Thu Oct 25 2012, 22:28

i always knew tyson was playing and that he was getting a little bit harder as he became more excited.
before we got him i spent weeks reading up online on how to keep and train staffies and always ended up back at this site. (which is why i joined).
i have helped friends in the past with their dogs, one being a staff/rottweiler. and have never had it this bad but what with my partner getting stressed and having a little one around now i suppose my better judgment may have been clouded a little as i was concerned for them.
funny enough after i posted earlier today tyson has been as good as gold and we have only had one little mishap with my daughter. so maybe its not as bad as i thought after all.
Thought i might add i had roast chicken for dinner today and as there was quite a bit left i put some in tysons food bowl and as i showed it to him he nearly took my thumb off he wiped the bowl clean within seconds!! could he be hungry? could the food im giving him not be enough?
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Post by Guest Thu Oct 25 2012, 22:33

Oh left-over roast chicken is HEAVEN. Kuchar had it yesterday, mixed in with some of his normal food, and the whole lot was gone in .4 seconds.

they're just greedy pigs, don't worry about it, they just love a treat!

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Post by Guest Fri Oct 26 2012, 00:21

They're just greedy. Loki once got fed five meals instead of three by accident, and no-one noticed because he was just as eager for food as usual Laughing. I will say, if you don't already, get him to sit and wait till you put the food down; teaches him to be a bit less snappy/harsh when he takes food from you. Don't let him just snatch something from you, get him to be gentle.

As for the biting. Well, let's put it this way: I thought I was never going to get through it and thought it'd be like that forever. But it's gotten better. Still not perfect, but way, way better. So just keep with what you're doing and he'll get over it. Just watch your 2 year old when they're together just to be on the safe side and step in if the puppy gets too hyperactive.

Also, the food...think it contains a lot of additives, so switch that to something else if I were you. I have Loki on Wainwright's and haven't had any problems. As long as you're feeding him going by the general guidelines, and he doesn't look under or overweight, then he's fine Smile

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