Is this much biting normal?

Hi everyone.

I'm very excited to be here and read all this information on staffy's! I'm all new to owning a dog so everything is a challenge.

About 2 weeks ago, megan, our now 9 weeks old female staff came to our home. She seems to settle really well!
Toilet training is going good, goes on the puppy pads almost all the time She doesn't mind sleeping downstairs on her own.
Being at vet last week we got told she's a monster, which was good to hear as we thought she's a bit thin and didn't eat enough.

But one thing is very hard. The biting! I know its part of being a puppy but should be told of as soon as possible. But is 9 weeks not to soon to be very strict? And all the tips I've been reading to prevent her from biting our hands, feet's and faces don't seem to work. Playing with a toy is ok for a couple seconds but then she'll attack us again. We bought her bigger stuffed animals to get her attention, that works for a little while. Same as playing with a ball, loves running after it AND bringing it back but that doesn't go without a bite or 2 and after a couple throws she's back at biting me. Sometimes she goes absolutely mad and then there's nothing else to do then to put her in the other room. But there she'll bite and drag the puppy pad,the wooden corners, the chairs, anything except her toys.

As she's so young and maybe a bit to young to leave her mum I'm unsure in how far this biting is part of being a pup and how far it might be something else.

I would very much appreciate some advise on this because the information on internet isn't to specific about the age when talking about puppy's.

Thanks in advance!!

Here is a link that should help

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

Don't worry it's a very normal thing. She may get a bit worse when she is teething at about 4 months or so. Just make sure she has plenty of frozen treats to help with the pain.

Thank you for this reply. I do still have a question about it though.

As soon as your pup starts to bite your hands just let out a firm "No!" and replace your fingers with the chew toy: doenst seem to impress her. No attention for the toy only my hands or anything else thats part of my body.

The trick is to startle your dog with your voice, and then pull away and stop playing with your puppy for a while. Your pup will soon learn that when he starts to bite, his playmate (you) goes away: A loud ah, auw, eek sounds doesn’t do much. Sometimes for a second but then she’ll quickly goes back at biting again. Stop playing , would mean I can’t play with her because she only wants to go for my hands.

In bad biting cases as soon as your puppy latches onto your hand say "No!" and quickly put your thumb inside his mouth under his tongue, and your other finger under his chin. Hold it there for about 10 seconds (not too tightly). This will feel uncomfortable to your puppy plus he won't be able to bite you. How many times in a row can or should I do this? I tried it yesterday and she doesn’t like it but as soon as I let go she’ll grap me again.


I'm afraid to be either to strict or to nice. I'm not sure what a young puppy like this can handle and what is a good way to teach without making her afraid of me.

Welcome to puppy hood. All part of the fun. If she's 9 weeks you got her at 7 bit young I think even 8 weeks is to young as they need to learn off their mom one man tried to give me a dog at 4 weeks!! What I'm trying to say is now your her mum so you have to guide puppies bite a hell of alot but your doing ok she will grow out of it.

In my opinion the most powerful tool with my Lexi is 'the ignore' any unwanted behaviour gets ignored and all wanted behaviour encouraged. She is biting u coz she wants to play with u. Maybe teach her leave and then play tug. Puppies learning stage is at it's peak at 10 weeks so take advantage x

In my opinion the most powerful tool with my Lexi is 'the ignore' any unwanted behaviour gets ignored and all wanted behaviour encouraged. She is biting u coz she wants to play with u. Maybe teach her leave and then play tug. Puppies learning stage is at it's peak at 10 weeks so take advantage x

It's definitely not too soon to start putting some boundaries in place. You don't have to be nasty or ask anything very difficult, just decide from the off what is acceptable and what is not, and be super, ultra consistent. I use the yelp, take hands away, and turn away method and find it works well. But, you have to do it EVERY time at the first nip.

When she's playing with, try to keep the energy levels down a bit. Excessive biting can sometimes be due to high excitement, so if you can try and moderate that it might help. And when you are playing, at the very first nip just walk away. Even if she is nipping you as you go, walk away. If it's still bad, wear wellies, they're very hard to nip! But, the second she stops biting turn back and praise her, quietly and gently, but let her know that not biting is what gets your attention.

I'd also suggest getting some more interesting things that make her think a bit more. One of my favourites is an old cardboard box - a cereal packet maybe - or a cardboard tube with treats in that she has to work out.

What food's she on? That can sometimes have an impact.

And one more thought - is there another dog she can play with anywhere? The best way for puppies to learn is through another dog.

All good advice above its never too soon to start training your staffy .

Couldn't agree more regarding getting boundaries in place, Baxter is 9 months now and doesn't bite much anymore, it's more just mouthing when he's excited. When he was younger he was a terrible brighter, we had to be really firm with him before he got the message that it wasn't acceptable. Stick with it though it will get better and they are so worth it.

Thank you all for the advise! The wellies is a good idea as she'll just go for my shoes when trying to ignore her or walk away

Games to make her think more is definitely on the list to. We noticed that she's so smart and looks like she needs a bigger challenge every now and then.

We got told that she can't really play with other dogs until she's got her second vaccinations which is in 3 weeks. After this we'll take her to puppy class straight away. Unfortunately we don't know anyone with a dog she could play with. We do have friends with a cat.. but that's not the same I guess.  

Oh and we are feeding her Red Mills engage mother & puppy food. This is what she was on when we got her.

Thanks again! Great forum!

Try your local Facebook page for othe dog walkers ;-) it's important to socialize x