Constant Biting! Help!

Hi there

We have now had winnie for almost a week. She's 9 weeks today. I'm hoping some of you may have some really good tips on stopping her from constantly nipping and biting at us. Trust me, before Winnie came along I had researched, read, watched programmes etc etc for years. I was a real pro "theoretically". But in reality, its a lot harder. I have tried doing what a lot of you have suggested in the past, and that is saying "no" in a low firm voice and pointing my finger at her. The thing is, once she's locked onto my slippers or trouser leg, I just can't get her off. She's only 9 weeks but already I can bearly open her jaws to prise her mouth off. I have then, put her in isolation for about half a minute and then let her out and ignored her. Problem is, she just charges straight back at my feet or legs again! Am I doing things right? Is it just a case of repeating this procedure over and over and over and over? I hate having to prise her mouth open because I know she sees it as a competition but what else do I do if she just won't let go of my jumper sleeve or trouser legs? Any suggestions would be grateful appreciated.

Haha im sooooo glad im passed this stage! As u prob already no if uve been researching this is totally normal, some things u can do to help until the fase passes, is when she nips etc a really sharp "AH AH" noise to divert her attention then NO! and completley ignore her, staffs hate to be ignored and she will learn eventually that that behaviour does not get her the attention she wants. Also yes it is a case of repeating things a million and one times, be strong and consistant and trust me we have all been there and it will get easier and she will grow out of it!! Also make sure she has lots of toys to keep her sitimulated, Good luck x

Thanks. I know I'll get there eventually. Just not sure I'll have anything nice left to wear! The thing I hate doing most is prising her mouth open. Its like a vice! And I know its all just a game to her. I'm also trying to teach her to "give" me her toys by offering a treat instead. Problem is, the treat isn't powerful enough, she'd much rather cling on to her toy, so thats not going too well either.

rather than try to pry her mouth open try scruffing her as you do say leave in a firm voice,if it was something of her mothers she was grabbing hold of her mother would correct her or you could try yelping high pitch when play would get to rough as this is how they learn with their siblins, i know that worked on Blondy and Taz (didn't have to with Cassie she was passed it)

good advise cant really ad much to that apart from , ive tried 4 almost 4 years now to exchange toys for treats with shady , and it just doesn't happen , he'll give me his ball when he wants , actually its really just the ball he,s like that with .

Yeah same as before and just keep at it. I know it feels like your not getting anywhere but it will just start to click into place one day. You will also find some dogs are more motivated by toys than food so swapping it for something less won't appeal to them if they prefare toys.
It sounds like your doing everything right so don't worry, keep up the good work and your rewards will come soon

With Hollie I shout OOWWW and then turn away from her, totally ignoring her...Most of the time it works, but if she's in a very playful mood she'll start barking and running around the room like a dog possessed!!!
I just completely ignore her and totally avoid eye contact until she's calmed down.
She rarely nips or bites now...

Hi claire, im having the same trouble as you, its so hard to get them out of it.

If she doesnt want to give her toy up for a treat then offer her another toy. Ty is the same and couldnt care less about treats when toys are around. Give her a toy to play with and wave another around near her when she lets go of the other toy say "leave it" or what ever word u wanna use and then give her the other toy. Keep doing this for a while then ask her to leave it while she still got the toy and keep going till she gets it x

In regards to the biting, just keep at it, ignoring really does work, I ended up shutting Molly in the living room for a few minutes some times to get the point really across.

If a treat isn't working, again try another toy, find her favourite toy, or experiment with different treats, hot dogs and chicken work really well.

The only thing I can add to all that is don't point at her! I know it sounds silly, but she'll see it as an invitation to play. I don't know why (maybe someone on here can explain the psychology behind it), but a finger wagging or pointing seems to make them want to play even harder!

Caryll wrote:The only thing I can add to all that is don't point at her! I know it sounds silly, but she'll see it as an invitation to play. I don't know why (maybe someone on here can explain the psychology behind it), but a finger wagging or pointing seems to make them want to play even harder!

The finger wagging encouraging play is probabilly becasue they know you use those instruments to pet and play so they don't take it seriousely. Now if that hand was used to smack or hit they would take it differentely all together and shy away from it.

MissRogue wrote:The finger wagging encouraging play is probabilly becasue they know you use those instruments to pet and play so they don't take it seriousely. Now if that hand was used to smack or hit they would take it differentely all together and shy away from it.

That's not always true, some dogs will react to aggression, such as smacking, with aggression, therefore biting the hand.

Cornish-Muscle wrote:

MissRogue wrote:The finger wagging encouraging play is probabilly becasue they know you use those instruments to pet and play so they don't take it seriousely. Now if that hand was used to smack or hit they would take it differentely all together and shy away from it.

That's not always true, some dogs will react to aggression, such as smacking, with aggression, therefore biting the hand.

the shy part was only one reaction i know they all react differentely but i didn't want to mention aggression.

Thanks everyone. I will try the scruff bit instead of prising her mouth open and see if that works. and as you say, just keep being consistent. Hopefully the penny will eventually drop. When she's in one of her nutty moods she's like a whirl wind! Does that last forever? Also, I've just bought her some little raw hide chews which she loves. Is this safe for her? By the way, one thing I will say about her is that her housetraining is coming along fab. She rarely ever messes in the night. She gives us a hollar at about 7am, then trots outside and does her business in the garden. She even does this all through the day. How clever is she?

The whirl wind part i know Taz still does it outside and he's a year old everyone of them have a crazy moment, raw hides are safe but use them as a treat, if she has puppy teeth still you could moist the raw hide on one end to help her out.
House training she sounds fab.

She's coming on really well!

The whirlwind thing is a bit of a bull breed trait, I'm afraid. They do calm down, but every so often they go all hunched & wide eyed & then tear around the place like a mad thing! In Bull Terriers it's called hucklebutting (after the jazz dance from the 30's & 40's) & they literally bounce off the walls!

The only thing I would add about the rawhide is make sure she chews it properly - if she tries to swallow a large piece it could either get stuck, or if she swallows it, it can swell in her stomach. As long as she chews it, it's fine.

You know, I did think that about the raw hide. I think I will only let her have it when she's sitting in the same room as us so I can keep a close eye. Hucklebutting - what a great name and you are exactly right, she goes all hunched up and wide eyed and goes nuts. Its so funny. I must say, I absolutely love this site. I get to air all my concerns and worries and get a rapid response which is so reassuring. At the end of the day I am new to all this and knowing that other people are going through or have gone through exactly the same thing is good to hear. Thanks everyone.

Rawhide is my best friend I swear! Molly loves the stuff, along with pigs ears, they keep her quiet for ages, she's been really good an makes sure she chews it up well, she rips it apart and leaves bits all over the house, if there's any she could swallow whole then I tend to pick them up and throw them away, when a chew gets down to about my fist size, I tend to throw that away as well. She loves peeling her rawhide so she has like sheets of it, then throws it around in the air.

claire wrote:You know, I did think that about the raw hide. I think I will only let her have it when she's sitting in the same room as us so I can keep a close eye. Hucklebutting - what a great name and you are exactly right, she goes all hunched up and wide eyed and goes nuts. Its so funny. I must say, I absolutely love this site. I get to air all my concerns and worries and get a rapid response which is so reassuring. At the end of the day I am new to all this and knowing that other people are going through or have gone through exactly the same thing is good to hear. Thanks everyone.

definately do supervise with any treat staffies have a tendersy to not chew lol. when Blondy does her hucklebutting she darts around the room jumping off her parents she darts at me and bouncing off my chest with all fours like a trampeline lol and Taz well he uses the fencing down the allotments and the benching and actual trampeline to dive off.

Cornish-Muscle wrote:Rawhide is my best friend I swear! Molly loves the stuff, along with pigs ears, they keep her quiet for ages, she's been really good an makes sure she chews it up well, she rips it apart and leaves bits all over the house, if there's any she could swallow whole then I tend to pick them up and throw them away, when a chew gets down to about my fist size, I tend to throw that away as well. She loves peeling her rawhide so she has like sheets of it, then throws it around in the air.

Sounds exactly like Bandit! I used to throw away the chew when it got a bit too small as well. I can't give them to Dempsey at all - the idiot tries to swallow anything he can't chew up in 2 goes!!

Ty loves his Rawhide but I can only give him the bones he is like Molly likes to peel it apart lol He did used to have the shoe shaped rawhide treats but the little monster would pull out the string like bit that held the two pieces together then try and swollow the big piece that acts like the back of the shoe in one go he would swallow then bring it back up then swallow again it freaked me out the first time he did this I thought he was dying the little S*d. So now I just stick to the bones I know he cant swallow them whole lol

lol Elishia, Molly has the shoes, thankfully, she pulls the 'string' off and leaves it to one side, then chews up the pieces. Molly usually has the big rings, they last her ages, or anything that's plaited that usually lasts her a whilst because she has to work at un-plaiting it.

Ty doesnt even attempt to chew the pieces he thinks if it fits in my mouth I can just swallow it strange thing is though he will chew the 'string' weirdo lol. He has had a ring once but got his nose stuck in it daft dog! I bought him one a few weeks later and he wouldnt go near it he is a funny little thing lol you gotta love them

I cant tell you the amount of times Ive had to fish rawhide chews out there gobs cause they are trying to swallow and are choking so they are banned from them now

I feel really lucky with Molly after reading all this now lol. The only thing she's ever really choked on is a massive chunk of Ox heart.

Lucky you! Bandit tried swallowing a whole decaying salmon!

Ewwww. That is all that needs to be said on that!

claire wrote:

The thing is, once she's locked onto my slippers or trouser leg, I just can't get her off..

my god Bruiser is 4 months and he still attacks my slippers constantly! he really hates them in fact hes eaten 3 pairs! i just turn around and ignore him and he gets bored in the end....i heard staffys hate being ignored so it works?! good luck