Update and advice required please(biting/nipping)

Hi all
I posted a topic on the 16 march re my new family member Dexter a boy staff rescued and now approx 11 weeks , he was showing a bad case of knuckling A lot of advice was greatly received by forum members which put our familys mind at rest , we took the advice of changing food habits ( a little less per day until his legs had grown some strength) this seemed to work , after a few days Dexters leg problems were and still are hardly noticeable so a big thanks to the forum ....... However, (Dexter being our family's first ever dog that we've had the pleasure of house training and looking after as a puppy,of course our parents did all the hard work with the pets when we were kids!!!!!!! We would like some advice on the constant biting / nipping ,we understand he is a puppy , teething and wants to play but it's relentless ,biting feet, ankles when walking around the house and any given opertunaty . He often gets a bit mouthy barking when told no( his tail is generally wagging when doing this so I assume he's not being aggressive) , he does generally calm down in the evenings and lays with me and is very affectionate . Is this normal when does it stop , how do we approach this

Hi welcome to the forum!!! Gwen our staffy will be 13 weeks old tomorrow. we have the same problem! she gets SO rough, growling, and biting so hard it seems like she is being aggressive but we know its just in a playful way. they just dont know how rough is too rough when they are babies. the other day gwen actually bit through my boyfriends ear!!!!! it was bleeding for like 30 minutes. you have to teach them bite inhibition..find a method to handle this and be consistent is what ive heard..its so frustrating bc there are never immediate results..weve had her for a month and this problem has not gotten worse but has also not gotten much better! i think it takes time..we have this spray its called grannicks bitter apple you spray it on things you dont want them to bite..we give a little spray into her mouth every time she starts nipping us..this is the ONLY thing that works..saying no or making a loud yelping sound does nothing if anything gets her more crazy..she gets so mad and barks like a maniac every time i grab the bottle..it tastes really bad so this usually stops her at least for a few minutes..you just need to find whatever works for your dog and continue to do it until he/she catches on! eventually it will get better..we are praying gwen starts to catch on soon!!!!

Here is a link that will help. When he starts to teeth make sure to have plenty of frozen treats on hand to help with the pain

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

Hi
Thanks for your response I'll try this method with a mediate affect

Cheers
Richard

let us know how it goes!! and if you find something that works!

Ah, Loki was horrible with biting, he used to rag my arm around like it was a tug-of-war toy I used the yelping/saying no method and then ignoring him, and if he didn't stop, put him in another room for just a moment. It took a long time, but it's worked a lot. He does still have his moments where he bites, mind you, but they're very rare now. Don't despair if you feel like he isn't making progress though, because it can take a while sometimes, depending on how stubborn they are or how clever, but he'll get there in the end.

Good advice given for the biting already, the frozen treats and ice cubes go a long way in helping.

I'm glad to hear the knuckling improved too, I was looking forward to an update on that

The yelping and ignoring ( absolutely no interaction not even eye contact) worked within a couple of weeks for Bacchus. Never had to exclude him.

Good luck with it as those puppy teeth are murderous, and remember to retain one as a keepsake when they start to fall out.

Hope you find something that works... It can be frustrating but you have to remain consistent and set boundaries. I would also say from my experience with Otis let your hands be involved and set limits and when it gets to hard stop play and implement methods already spoke about and over time reduce the amount of pressure until it's licks. Also if he does get nippy play the tree game - puppies will find you much less entertaining if you stop moving. That's what we did - I did the yelp and no and yes it made him a little more hyper but I would then walk out the room out of view for about 10 seconds and then come back in and try again. Otis is very good now - He is still learning but 9 times out of 10 he doesn't use his teeth at all now.

for dusty we found ignoring and turning our back helped. as to teething we found the following treats worked well and still use them now as general treats.

frozen bananas, carrot and tuna ice are great teething foods.

tuna ice is
tin spring water tuna
tsp garlic
cup natural yoghurt
mix all together (inc water from tuna)
freeze in plastic cups

also great in the summer as ice lollies.

Good luck, will come right with time

awww thats great that you were able to get something from the advice given

I ca not really add much more as all advice given, i hope these work for you and i would just say persistence is the key with training

good luck

We did the "Owww", follwed with no eye contact or interaction. that really worked with us. just be consistent with whatever method you use.

I know ur pain!! Lola got really over excited the other day and instead of grabbing her toy she got my finger. I loud "ow" and she knew instantly what she had done and stopped play, whereas in the past when telling her "no" she tends to try one last little nip. Just be consistant and ur family members too. Good luck.

I have the same problem with my 10weeks old puppy.

my hands look like they've been put in spiky brambles.

sometimes i wonder if i bought a dog or a great white shark.

We had the same issues. We used a squirt bottle and when ever he bit we gave him a quick squirt and within 3 days he stopped the biting. We had tried all the other ways like no eye contact ignoring him shouting "ouch" and nothing worked. The squirt bottle also worked when he chewed something we didn't want him too as long as we replaced the thing he was chewing with his favourite chew toy in his case it was and still is a 4lb lump hammer as the wooden handle is tough and he can't run off with it so has a specific area to play in. If he gets a little too giddy now at 6 1/2 months old just showing him the squirt bottle he knows its time to stop.