Biting

Hi there!

So we've had Harley for two weeks now and he is a persistent nipper of hands and feet. We're continuing our replacing of toys and ignoring/turning away (which we end up having to sit on the sofa with our hands and arms tucked in as if you turn around standing up he will just attack our feet haha) and hoping he catches on! Obviously we know it's super early days and it's all typical pup behaviour but I was just curious as to other people's experiences with biting - what worked best and how long it took for your pups to ease off? Today is one of his more nippy days, can't touch him without him trying to bite or if I sit down to play with him he just jumps at me and bites my jumper (knitwear seems to be a fave of his), although I gave him his Kong with some food in and frozen peanut butter on the seal and that occupied him for a while haha!

In more positive news he picked up 'sit' and 'paw' super quickly and we're currently trying to get him the hang of 'leave it' (which we're hoping will apply to when he latches on to our clothes haha).

He's also getting bigger by the day, here's some photos!:




His next vaccinations are on the 4th Feb (had to wait 4 weeks) and once he's able to go outside hopefully we can burn some of his energy off!

Hi Jordan...the method your using is pretty perfect. It takes time for puppies to learn...like babies, they like to explore with their mouths so just be patient and Harley will soon learn, its typical behaviour.

I never had my pooch from a tiny pup so I cant say how long it took for him to grow out of it! But im sure theres plenty on here who can share their experience.

Gold star for Harley or learning 'sit' and 'paw' already!

aww he is beautiful and you are going through exactly what we are going through, though thankfully Roxy has calmed down a bit in the last day or two.  We have taught Roxy sit and paw too, and leave is a good one, but we are not 100% on that one yet, but we are getting there.  Sometimes we get a high five too, she is so eager to learn. Yes I have to change into my old onesie when I get in from work as otherwise all my clothes would have holes by now  Here is a lovely pic of Roxy at 10 weeks

Bane was a big nipper as a pup and would go for any kind of loose clothing! Didn't help that the OH thought it was fun to wind him up with his hands!

We tried all kinds of things but found that the getting up and walking away from him worked the best along with distracting him with training. He learnt a lot of party tricks as a pup Different things work for different pups though it just takes a bit of time and consistency

He is adorable though! Can't help but forgive the little buggers!

Thanks for your replies guys! He's got the hang of 'leave it' when there's a treat in our hands but he can't apply it to anything else yet haha, getting there though!

Yeah the loose clothing is really what he loves! He's started having mad little sessions where he runs around really fast and chases our feet, so we've just had to keep getting on the sofa while he's biting but last night he was good at redirecting the biting onto his toys!

He's got a bit of an issue with the stairs, chases us when we go up and tries to stand on the first step - think he's a bit scared/unsure of them and barks at them sometimes. We've carried him up to show him around but should we help him to understand the stairs now or wait til he's a bit older? As he's still a little clumsy we don't want him tumbling down!

Ps. Roxy is adorable!

Know what your going threw Ruby was the same, feet ankles hands LOL shes a lot better now at 15 weeks and theres no more nipping apart from stealing anything she can find when she walks past like shoes and clothes/washing LOL . You have a gorgeous pup there x

He will soon get to use them when he's big enough The step out to our back garden was so big Bane couldn't get up them so we had to put a few bricks in between for him to use
I would just watch to make sure he doesn't tumble down as could do some damage to legs and what not I don't actually remember how old Bane was until he started to use the stairs!

Hey Jordan!

Really random but I totally follow you on instagram and flickr - small world!

Harley is bloody adorable by the way, lovely blue boy. With the biting it sounds like you're doing all the right things but it he catches you off guard its sometimes worth letting out a high pitched 'yelp' to let him know he's hurt you (like his litter mates would do).

fay_elizabeth wrote:Hey Jordan!

Really random but I totally follow you on instagram and flickr - small world!

Harley is bloody adorable by the way, lovely blue boy. With the biting it sounds like you're doing all the right things but it he catches you off guard its sometimes worth letting out a high pitched 'yelp' to let him know he's hurt you (like his litter mates would do).

Hey!! I've just found you back on IG and remember you from Flickr! Such a small world thanks for the tips! We've been trying to yelp when he catches us off guard but it seems to just spur him on, the past few days he's been getting a lot more giddy with running around like mental and at us/our feet, and now getting on the sofa seems to spur him on too so he starts trying to jump up. Thinking we might have to start leaving the room as the form of 'ignore' when he bites too hard?

Just a little update: I feel like he's got worse with the biting of people. I try to sit with him to play with him and can be distracted by his toys for a moment but would rather bite me and it's really starting to hurt. Clamping down on the backs of my arms, legs, going for my face and recently got me quite bad on my thumb. It's making me a bit sad even though I know it's just puppy behaviour and that he wants to play. He has learnt 'leave it' in regards to treats/food but doesn't apply it to anything else but we have been practicing 'off' with him - but when he gets in his giddy state everything just seems to rile him up even more.

He has his next vaccinations on Wednesday, and he'll be attending puppy classes from the 20th.

Hey Jordan, we have just recently passed this phase of behavior and It can be such a testing time my Harley was a bugger for nipping and loved to sink those fangs into me lol i used to find myself in tears some days lol and then just one day he stopped, sounds like you are doing everything perfect and puppy classes will help no end and getting out and about walking  Honestly it will stop just be consistent and he will eventually get it. we used to give a firm no and time outs or just get up and walk out the room if hes running around. hope that helps and by the way Harley is a little cutie x

I have also been in tears more than once (partly from the pain, partly from not wanting him to bite haha) and it is getting quite testing the worse it is getting. Thanks very much for the advice though, I think we are needing to be more persistent in the time outs and be more clear with making it known we don't want the biting. We're going to try the leaving the room and hoping it gets across!

We're looking forward to being able to take him out for walks though and hopefully that will be a better release for his energy. I've been trying to read as many posts on here as I can about biting too but I guess every dog is different and we're just going to keep at our training!

They do all figure it out in their own time and what works for one may not for another it is just a case of persistence I'm afraid!
I agree with Beth though it felt as if Bane just stopped doing it one day. You'll just be sitting there with him and realise and be like oh remember when he used to do this?

I hope he enjoys puppy class

When the pup tries to bite stand up and fold your arms in front of you if the pup tries to jump up and bite keep moving in a circle when the behaviour stops reward with encouraging words or a treat .

You are on the right track. The biggest things are patience and consistancy. Everyone he is around has to do the same thing. Also be aware of when he starts to teeth and have some frozen treats for him to chew.

aww Jordan, I know what you are going through, as I am too Roxy has had me in tears too.  My wrists and arms are just covered in scratches and bite marks,and when I am tired it sometimes all gets too much.  We are starting puppy classes soon as well, and walks will start in a week and a half.. I just cant wait.  My problem is that she just wont leave off sometimes and the more I shout no, the nippier she gets, however I have noticed she doesnt bite my husband hardly at all, so I think my voice is just not powerful enough for her to stop, even though I yell.  If I cross my arms, she just goes for my clothing instead.. yes time out works best for me too .. good luck xx

I know your pain people! We have a 10 month old so we were going through this in the summer, when everyone had shorts and flip flops on, so think yourself lucky!!
What you're doing is the correct way, even if at times you think it's not.
The strange thing is you'll probably not notice your training work because it is a gradual thing. One day you'll wake up and say " remember when she used to ........"
It might have been just our pup, who became a little too smart for her own good with the sit and paw training, when she started doing the sit and paw in one movement. All nice and cute, but not really what you want, so my tuppence worth is don't teach paw yet as it was something we had to train out of her.
Good luck to all you pup owners and enjoy!
Pete

Thanks a lot for your replies guys! And same with me Mich - he seems to bite my boyfriend less than me! I've been trying to sound firmer but I just don't think my voice has the same effect... haha. This morning he was super giddy when I got up with him with his biting, so each time I immediately gave the firmest 'no' I could give and went into the kitchen for a few minutes, after doing this a few times he seemed to calm down. So I'm going to keep persisting with this!

Well done, I have found something now, a bottle of water spray.. most of the time I dont need to spray it, I just shake it around and pretend I am about to spray and she barks at me and stops biting.. maybe you want to try that too .. good luck xx