9 week old growler and biter!!

Hey. I know I'm only new on here, but I need some advice.
We have a 9 week nearly ten week old blue staffy bitch. And she is a little bitch. She bites your face! I bet your laughing when reading this, but she goes for your nose everytime. You pick her up, she wants to bite. The second she wakes up she wants to bite. And if you pick her up when she's mood which is every day. She makes such a horrible growing noise. Obviously we tell her off when she does both, and resorted to smacking her nose. But she finds it funny and still tries to bite. I just need some advice if anyone else has resolved the problem?

Thanks Victoria

Never had that problem with Vinnie, but I think maybe rather than tapping her nose perhaps a firm no and put her down on the floor and completely ignore her for a few minutes. Saying that she is very young and they do tend to mouth and bite as sort of finding their boundries. Hope this helps a little:D

I don't think u need to be smacking her nose, I mean, don't think I'd like a smack on the nose everytime I've done something wrong. The following link will help..


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

Definitely stop the nose smacking if you follow the link matty posted it will help, it does take time and we've all been there before, with patience and persistence you will get there

Has she been wormed, are you sure there is no abdominal pain which may cause her to growl when picked up? (Don't panic, it is quite common in puppies. But its always better to be sure)

Yeah she's been wormed. They wormed her at the vets. I will have to have a look at the link tonight. thanks guy x

Only advise as above and no nose smacking , I've been though it and almost out of the other side with the advice in the link , and lots of patience

Thanks guys I will try it xxxx

Vicandben wrote: I bet your laughing when reading this

Yes, but not at you! Laughing only because it's such a common stafford pup thing! I know that doesn't help you much, but please be assured that she isn't being aggressive!

Don't tap her nose (I know it's temptong) because you'll end up making her head shy - there's nothing worse than seeing a dog flinch or cower every time somebody lifts a hand near them.

When she nips or growls, say "No" calmly but firmly & turn away from her (or put her down if you've picked her up) and then totally ignore her, don't even make eye contact. Wagging a finger in front of her won't work as she'll think you're joining in her game!

If she calms down then calm & quiet praise. If she carries on being a pain then put her out of the room for a minute.

If you do the same thing every time she nips/growls she'll learn pretty quickly!

Thank you I will keep you informed in the next month or so, see if we have got any where with her lol

P.S. What are you feeding her on?

Shes on Pedigree puppy meat with jelly and a few pedigree dry biscuits mixed in xxx

Vicandben wrote:Shes on Pedigree puppy meat with jelly and a few pedigree dry biscuits mixed in xxx

I'm afraid there's part of your problem. Pedigree really isn't a good food - it's full of fillers (wheat, maize, rice etc) and E numbers that are known to make dogs hyperactive!

If you can, try switching to a better quality food (Wainwrights from pets at Home is a reasonable, mid priced food) and you may well see a marked change in her hyper-energy levels!

I never thought it could be her food! Okay, thats something i will certainly try! Thank you so much for the advise xxx

Yes, don't panic Vic and Ben, all the above advice is very sound, and we've all been there when we've had a puppy! They play with their mouths and need to learn bite inhibition (what is acceptable mouthing and what is not) starting from when they are with their litter mates and mother, and carrying on with you, following the advice in the link above. Growling is very very often a play sound, especially in puppies, and it is important to learn to differentiate between play growling and warning growling (in the latter the lips will be drawn back from the teeth and the ears laid flat down). Smacking on the nose won't help at all and may well make matters worse, so please try not to do this. Especially if she only wants to play, imagine her confused hurt feelings.

Patience and time - it WILL get better!

when I say i smack her nose, its only a finger tap on it.... Please don't think i beat my dog!

But I won't do that any more, I will just stick to saying no firmly xxx

Vicandben wrote:when I say i smack her nose, its only a finger tap on it.... Please don't think i beat my dog!

But I won't do that any more, I will just stick to saying no firmly :)xxx

Don't worry, we know exactly what you mean!

That's alright then haha xxx

Great advise above, will a bit of work it will get better

Two pups in two years and I looked like a self harmer that lived in a razor blade factory.  I will bet you £10 here and now, you'll be posting of your releif when those lil razor teath start to fall out. And if your lucky enough to find one you will cherish it in some wierd kinda way like the past few months never happend :

Gwen was the same way! She was a little demon and still is at times and she is 6 months old now! This is VERY common for a staffy pup! Do not smack her nose! Their noses are very sensitive and this will not stop this unwanted behavior! I know how sharp those little puppy teeth are but with patience and consistency she will improve! The pedigree food is definitely contributing to her out of control behavior! Although changing her on to a better quality food will not stop it completely it will help! Just make sure you slowly mix in the new food with the old food over about a week or so to avoid an upset tummy! Good luck!

All great advice above, it does take time and patience, loads of patience, it will never completely stop though, whether its the face or hands or legs or anything they can get their mouths around! Definitely change the food and firm no's is the key! Hope to hear an update and that it all goes well

Bacchus is my first Staff and from what I can gather we've all been through this. Follow the above advice, these people know what they are talking about. The firm "NO" and ignore, positively no interaction until she calms down definitely works, but everyone in the household must do the same as consistency is the key. It only took Bacchus a couple of weeks to get the message but it can vary from pup to pup. But don't despair it will work.

reuben wrote:  The firm "NO" and ignore, positively no interaction until she calms down definitely works, but everyone in the household must do the same as consistency is the key. It only took Bacchus a couple of weeks to get the message but it can vary from pup to pup. But don't despair it will work.

perfect advice, especially the vary from pup to pup

Weller devided tonight that he would start growling and biting he had been very hyper for half an hour before hand. No amount of nos or ignoring worked so I sent him to bed and ge was fast asleep in 5 minutes!

Weller wrote:Weller devided tonight that he would start growling and biting he had been very hyper for half an hour before hand. No amount of nos or ignoring worked so I sent him to bed and ge was fast asleep in 5 minutes!

Like hooman babies, puppies can get over-excited and over-tired !

Hi, yes, we have a little biter too lol, and Kenny was the same. Kenny would hang off your clothes ( when he was a tiny baby) If i picked him up he'd bite your face. The more you react to them the more they will do it. It takes time, but try just putting her down and ignoring her, you could also yelp loudly (like a pup), sounds daft, but it does work. xx

I have this issue with Roman. Same age as yours, 9 week old blue staff. He doesn't seems to know where to draw the line with playtime and always uses his mouth to play except when he nips now it draws blood! We keep cutting his playtime short by saying no and walking away but it doesn't seem to be working. He's the most placid dog ever when not over excited

She's just grown out of it in like 4 days! Tried the no approach and it working. May have spoken to soon. But for now she's being a treasure! Lol x

Great news Victoria - she's learning! It's good to hear when this forum produces a success story  

Fantastic!