Jumping and Biting

My Bailey is now 13 months and getting stronger by the day.

Lately he has taken to jumping and biting me ALL the time, when I come home from work, when I just walk in the room and this morning when I was walking him on the lead in the park (he has never done it whilst out walking before) and he actually really hurt my hand, which is why enough is enough now and this need sorting out.

He is totally trained, on and off the lead, he does all his commands sit, paw, lay down, roll over etc but he seems to almost be bullying me (as silly as that sounds).

Its actually really getting me down as I don't seem to be getting anywhere with this.  IF he does it to my boyfriend, he will lay him down and keep him calm on the floor until he has completely calmed down, but I don't have the strength to do that.

I know we have to be consistent with what we do and as I cant pin him down, I know we need to change tact.

Any advice would really be appreciated from anyone.

Thanks for reading

Jules xxx

Hi there, how often is he exercised and what do you do when he jumps and bites?

Here's a great link to look through
http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/stop_your_staffy_puppy_biting

He's walked at least twice a day (both for an hour) and sometimes three times a day.

I have tried yelping when he nips me, but this just excites him also the turning away/folding my arms/firmly saying NO/ but he just launches himself at my back or the back of my legs and comes round the front of me, so I end up turning away again, which I think he thinks is a bit of a game.

when he starts this I have tried saying 'where's your toy' and he goes off to find his toys then, but im not sure if I am winding him up more or is this a good way of redirecting his excitement.

My boyfriend, pins him down until he calms down, but I cant do that, not strong enough and he just doesn't respond the same way - he is worse with me than my boyfriend.

I wouldn't really suggest pinning him down and restraining him until he is calm. You can't expect everyone who comes in the door to do this if he gets excited and jumps at them.
Also if he finds it at all fun, like a bit of a wrestle then he is learning that jumping=wrestle time.

We found the ignoring worked wonders. When I come in from work, if he gets excited and jumps I say "down" or "sit" in a low stern voice. If he does it, he gets a fuss, if he doesn't I just walk past him and carry on with other things completely ignoring him, not even looking at him. It does take time, but Staffys don't like to be ignored. I find Bane eventually comes and sits next to me with big eyes waiting to have a fuss!
You just need to be consistent, so when you find something you want to teach, you all need to be able to use that same method otherwise there is no consistency and reinforcement.

Ignore him and dont feed the excitement. when you come in walk straight past him with your hand in your pockets. if that doesnt work just stay calm and say no! or whatever your keyword is for no nipping. do dont gesture with your hands at all. it wont happen over night but over a few days he will get the message.
i know its gonna be hard but it will pay off and just think that you will be able to fuss with no nips in a few weeks time.
personally i think pining is a big no! if it is done in the wild its always prior to a kill bite. pack mates dont do it they shun to get the message accross. its only ever been observed in rivals, i wouldnt want my dogs to live in fear that my next move was going to be a killer blow them.

I totally agree that the pinning him down doesn't work either. I tried the ignoring thing last night and I can see with persistence that it could work. When I got home from work I had to walk out of the room 3 times before he calmed down - what I don't get is that he doesn't do any of this with my boyfriend?    

When I walk away from him he lunges at the back of my legs and holds on to one of my legs with both paws, biting the back of my legs, which really hurts; I find it really hard not using my hands to push him away, but if I do that it makes him wild...if I say 'NO' loudly it just excites him....   

Im in the same boat as you with my 9 mth old, exactly the same except I do grab him and pin him down if he doesn't calm, then he sulks lol.im sure he sees my other half as the alpha male then thinks hes next in line, im slowly proving otherwise. Keep persisting is my advice.

Best to ignore as pinning does not work. Takes time and patience though

Could you maybe go out of the room and shut the door then return - say - 5 mins later?? Just a thought

Niffer - that's what I am putting into practice. I think It's starting to work, but its not always practical to walk out of the room 5 times every time you enter it lol.... I know this is what I will have to do until it starts to take effect, I did see an improvement just last night after doing that (I came home and had to leave the room 3 times, for at least 30 seconds each time).....

Wish me luck everyone   

Do you feel stressed/uptight when he does this? I had a lot of dogs in kennels that did this as a way of getting attention - positive or negative - and the more stressed that the kennel staff got in tone of voice/body language the more that they did it. I just used to brush it off and give as low key a response as possible and they'd get bored, then give a command and praise like hell! The way that dogs use their senses is so different to ours and they pick up on so much more. Pinning dogs isn't going to get anyone anywhere, well, other than eventually getting bitten!

I only really feel stressed when he hurts me, or it tends to go on for quite a while, I cant seem to sit down, stand up, walk into a room without being pounced on lol....

It does def get to a point where if I come home from work and actually cant do anything but keep walking back out to my hallway for the first half an hour or so, then yeah, that definitely does stress me out.     

I know dogs feed off the way we feel, so I know I need to try and be calm when I go in although I think a part of me is now so prepared to be lunged at when I walk through the door I most probably am quite anxious which wont help....lets see how it goes tonight anyway!

What worked for me was walk into the room when the dog attempts to jump just keeping putting your back toward them with your arms folded ,then once they are at your feet sit on the chair if they lunge at you stand up and fold your arms in front of you again keep doing this till they get the message soon as they are calm and are ur feet praise them . Then next time u come if the dogs calm give them a treat.

I will def try that thanks Mia05......

I will let you all know how I get on tonight :0)

:-D

Its so exasperating and painful. Little buggers - so adorable but they certainly have their moments. It's all worth it in the end and you can look back in the years to come and say - do you remember when......... - and not hardly believe it cos of the quiet contented sweet staffy at your feet (or in my case on your lap)   

Specially when they leave teeth marks !!

Yup !

I know how stressful it is and how testing they can be Don't we all! Just keep going with it! You will soon see a difference in his behaviour.
It feels like it will never end sometimes but just be patient Fingers crossed for you!

I don' want to talk too soon but after just two days of walking away/walking out of the room/praising heaps when he is calm hes already improved. Not 100% yet but the difference after two days of being persistent is amazing!!!

Lets hope we can both keep it up  

Really glad that it is working Well done too Bailey!!

Well I can report that I have had an amazing weekend with my boy! I have ignored and walked away EVERY time he has attempted to jump up at me and he is totally getting it. He sits down now knowing that he will get loads of attention if he is calm, bless him, such a quick learner!

Thanks everyone for your input and advice you have no idea how much I appreciate it! I was at my wits end last week  

Sounds like he has been a star Keep it up!