Proud new owner...some usual questions!

Hi all

Me and my girlfriend became proud new owners of little Bolo on Saturday. He is a 9 week old male with beautiful brindle and white markings, with a panda face!
He is being quite good so early on for sleeping at night (only having to get up twice per night so far for the toilet) and is in a crate by our bedroom door so he can still smell us. We do get an occasional wee inside but I have some odour spray and biological washing powder to try and stop him soon that.

The main problem we have is the biting which is happening a lot every day now! I know this is so common but I was after some advice because some of the things I have tried from reading here are not working yet for us. Perhaps I'm being impatient as we haven't even had him a week, but please read on and let me know what you think.

So bolo is quite calm at playing with a toy which he will run and fetch and bring back to me. After a few throws he will start going for fingers instead. I will say a short loud no to him which he will not really pay attention to, so I will use a toy to distract him and say good boy, but he will soon come off that and go nipping at fingers again!
So I will say no, stand up still and ignore him and not look at him. This doesn't work because he will either start nipping my toes and legs so I can't stand still! Or he will get distracted with grass or something else so he doesn't get that nipping is not allowed! He gets quite bouncy and really goes hard for the feet and I don't want him to start thinking he is dominating us!
Can anyone offer any advice?

Thanks in advance
James

Hi &

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Hi there and welcome from me and mia firstly your training sessions have to be consistent and limited to 10 minutes each time once you have mastered that move onto what you next need the dog to do what you have done so far sounds great just be consistent and firm when you have a moment come and say hi here https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/f7-new-member-introductions. We also love photos .heres how here https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t12017-how-to-post-a-photos-onto-the-forum. A link also you may find useful http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/stop_your_staffy_puppy_biting. .

Hi from me and Marley Marley is the same and he is now 15 weeks I've tried everything swapping to a toy ignoring him saying no firmly but it doesn't work. The only thing that seems to work for me is to me tell him to sit, give paw etc then give Marley a treat that seems to distract him enough so he forgets about the biting, I give him his fav toy then and he usually just waddles off and plays with that. Hope that helps

I thought from reading somewhere that I may have been playing too much and that he was getting nippy because he was tired.
So if I play with him for 10 minutes and he keeps coming back do you think giving him a toy to go off with so he forgets about biting? Because he will waddle off and then come back for attention a few minutes later and will whine if he doesn't get any!

He is biting because he is teething when he sees your toes move he think this is a game . To relieve his gums id recommend frozen teatowels frozen carrots and a puppy nylabone they are all good ways of relieving the pups gums.

Ok thanks all. I shall see how bolo reacts later and I'll let you know!
I have discovered an empty cereal box with a few treats inside and some small holes cut in the box keep him occupied for a good time as well so I may try that after my 10 mins of training and if he starts to nip!

He is still very young looking for reassurance as he would from mum

They do say not to play tug of war too much yet, but it seems to distract Marley enough for me to get up of the floor and walk off, I've had the problem to off ignoring him so he will bite my legs instead, and telling him to sit tends to work the best for me. Also frozen kongs are great hours of entertainment for them

We tried a frozen long and he couldn't get anything out of it!

*kong!

Ah the frozen kong is good its just getting them used to it i would try half frozen until he gets used to it

Yh that's wat I did too till Marley got a little older I filled his with biscuits and kibble played with it for hours till he worked out how to bounce it all out haha then I went onto frozen banana and yogurt maybe frozen towel would be best for bolo till he's a little bigger

I bought Buddy the kong in the shape of a bone so you just fill the two ends as he got frustrated with the big Knog as did I trying to clean it - the bone with frozen yoghurt or peanut butter is enough to calm him and ease him into a sleep -once he is bigger I will go back to the bigger kong - Buddy is 18 weeks now and still nipping at feet and hands when tired or playing- if he goes to bite shout "ouch" as loud as you can and then distract him with a toy - keep training to ten mins at a time whilst so young - he will need to sleep every couple of hours at this age and you will find he will become naughtier when tired- good luck

Sound advice above. They do see fingers and toes etc as fair game toys and I promise you that if you keep consistent he will calm down. He is still really young so won't understand it's not fun for you. As for dominance, he won't know what that is at this age so don't worry. Ensure the training is good at this early age and you'll reap huge benefits later on.

Welcome to the forum btw, would love to see some pics of Bolo sometime

What do you guys think is the best thing to train him to start with?
He was really good earlier and was responding to no when he nibbled at something he shouldn't.
But when we were eating dinner we gave him a frozen towel to nibble on which he did for a bit and then turned himself onto furniture and us so we put him in his crate for "sleepy time!"
We left him for about 50 mins and woke him up, and he was quite nice for a few minutes and then got really bitey again and not responding to commands!
So we got a cardboard box for him to chew which again he did for a bit but then he started going for us again and not responding to NO commands or to high pitched OW's so just put him back in his crate for more sleepy time.
Do you think we are doing the right thing??

Here is little bolo!

Stunning boy I think a partly frozen kong with something really yummy in might distract him longer. And just keep swapping your hands for toys also when you do get nibbled on stop play all together and leave him with a toy. The high pitch ouch noise doesn't work for me either Marley just tilts his head then starts all over again. Another thing I find that works well to distract him from my hands is to play fetch with his fav toy, he gets so excited about getting a treat that he forgets about all the nibbling. But bolo is still young the more you practice commands the quicker he will get them

Gorgeous markings too

Thanks, he is a looker! Do you treat Marley each time he brings you his toy when you play fetch? I don't want to feed bolo too many treats that it puts him off eating his regular dinners.

The most important thing at the moment is to decide on a method and stick to it - changing between methods with just confuse him. I agree that he could be getting overtired - but also remember that he is exploring with his teeth, just as toddlers do with their little hands (and sometimes mouths..) Keep him occupied by interactive feeding, short fun training sessions and exercise around the house and garden until he's had his vaccs (chasing toys, gentle play with a flirt pole, teaching recall etc). Mouthing/biting doesn't completely go away at this stage a lot of the time, but you can dramatically reduce it by teaching him what you would like him to do - by swapping to toys, changing the game to a short training session instead or withdrawing attention (if he's persistent when you stand up, leave the room closing the door behind you for a few seconds.)

Oh also, he more than likely doesn't know what "no" means - try teaching "leave it" instead as a command, and then you can use it when he's mouthing.

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/teaching-your-dog-leave-it

he is lovely such great markings..- you don't have to treat every time he does what you want - a big happy "good boy" and loads of praise and a belly rub will let him know he has pleased you as much as given a food treat will - he is nipping and mouthing because that is how puppies in a litter play with each other and learn the rules of play - just keep doing what you are doing and change the NO to Leave or Enough - Buddy ignores NO but will respond to leave and enough ( most of the time) - I use leave if I want him to walk past something like the cat or the washing and Enough when I want him to stop doing something - as he gets older start to purposely stop the game with the enough command and then praise and then restart the game that way you will teach him to stop what he is doing on command helpful later when he is off the lead playing with other dogs if it gets a bit full on- don't worry enjoy your little bundle of trouble and have fun together

No not all the time, and I tend to break his treats up into 3s lol I'm the same don't want him being fat haha bolo has the face of a panda he's stunning fair play

Ah ok! We have been using leave it and no this morning and he is responding better. He seems to be getting better at sit as well.
If he gets too bitey we put him in his crate and say it's sleepy time so he doesn't think it's for being naughty or anything. And we leave him a frozen tea towel to nibble.
He howls for a bit but soon drops off to sleep.

try a frozen Carrot they love them!

Got some of those in the freezer and some frozen cucumber. He seems to like that too!

Hi all. Just wanted to update on progress and get some feedback!
Little bolo is picking up sit and down very well. He can do these after commanding it a few times and is given a button click and a treat.
He is still getting very nippy and bitey after we play and train for total of about 45 mins to an hour. His nipping is getting very painful and he really launches and holds onto ankles and legs.
Using leave a few times and distracting him with a treat works for a second but then he is straight back into nipping at legs.
Its easy to say use distraction with his favourite toy, it only works briefly. We can't get him in another room to teach him as he just gets distracted with something else in there and the lesson is not learnt!
Are we playing with him too long? When he gets bad like he just did we are putting him to bed for sleep and he goes down pretty quick. When he comes out he just seems to get mischievous again very quick and we go around in circles again.
Any ideas???

Gorgeous picture

Staffies a extremely human orientated so telling him no or whatever command you use & totally ignoring him should make the penny drop. Remember he is still very young and it will get better... Honest

It's so hard to ignore him as he will keep jumping at our ankles with his teeth and biting! We have to move away and he just chases and goes for a bite! And if we do manage to get him in another room he will just wander off and chew on something he shouldn't be!
Tried the frozen towel for a day and it worked but he loses interest very quickly even with us encouraging him and making new things seem fun

Some pups learn quicker than other it will take time for him to learn biting and nipping isnt allowed . Just be consistent stick to training for 10 mins . Use the crate as a safe haven only he may start to see it as a punishment when things get too much and resent the crate it takes time for the biting you will get there

Marley still does this now, we have a play then he gets very nippy if I stop play he nips at legs and ankles so I usually tell him to sit and he does then ask for paw etc then say treat and he stops all the biting. If that doesn't work I put him in the kitchen and say naughty and shut the door, after about 10mins in there he's calmed down and doesn't bite maybe you could try that? Ignoring also works for me even if he hurts my leg I try and stand still and not show it and he usually looses interest

Jgoodwin81 wrote:

Here is little bolo!

oh my goodness

Well a few days ago I did put him in our downstairs loo as he had been biting badly (this was only the 3rd day we had had him) and he cried a lot and wet himself so I think he was really scared rather than knew he had been naughty.

We don't really want to put him in the kitchen as eventually that's where he will sleep and we don't want him to associate that with the naughty room.

Does Marley be quiet when you put him in the kitchen or does he cry and wee or chew things he shouldn't like doors etc?

He may feel closed in with a door have you thought of baby gates ?

Baby gates could be an idea...

Would stop panic if for instance you put bolo in a room for a timeout

Marleys always been fine usually lies on the floor and waits till I let him in but he is older than bolo, when he was his age it was constant swapping to toys and training, Marley got very nippy when he got tired so I used to put him in his crate with his fave teddy put the blanket over and he'd sleep for a good hour. He would come out a new dog then. but ignoring worked well too and just getting up and walking off to show play was over. It's hard and you've got to be consistent lyk I'm still having to do it and he's nearly 15 weeks

Interesting. I think he was tired. We woke him up to play in order to tire him out before we went to bed.
I think we would just let him wake up when he is ready?
We were also thinking that he gets more nippy in the garden, do you think he might be saying this is my area? Because when he came back indoors he was a little bit calmer?

Yh I'd let him wake when he's ready just check up on him like, I usually give Marley his kong towards the evening because that's when he's mostly nuts and nippy so that chills him right out for hours till he just takes himself to bed. Could be yh or he's just really excited from being in the garden, Marley goes mental when he's in the garden, jumpy nippy etc but comes in and settles down and has a kip hard work pups haha

Jgoodwin81 wrote:

Here is little bolo!

Well hello Bolo! what a gorgeous bubba, Hiya from me and Vinnie

Hi and welcome from us and Suki

To the OP - I stopped our Ruby from nipping pretty quickly. Here's how -

When playing, as soon as she mouthed our hands, we yelped, just like another dog would do. We did this loud.

Google/Youtube Dr. Ian Dunbar to get a full set of steps.

Yelping loud didn't work for us but he has definitely improved with using a firm no and leave it. And if he persists then we put him in a naughty room with a child gate for 1 minute and only take him out when he stops yelping.
He then is really calm again.

Sounds like you're getting on top of it, just be consistent and it'll come good

Hi all. Bolo is getting along well, a lot less nippy and picking up commands well. My girlfriend taught him to give paw in 4 attempts!

Another question though. We are finding bolo is not eating his dinner like he used to. He almost seems scared of it! Not sure if it's because it's in a shiny metal dog bowl and he can see his reflection or it makes too much noise?
We are still feeding him 1/4 of food given by the rescue and 3/4 dried dog food. He just doesn't seem that interested and only eats about half. Even putting kong paste on it doesn't work as he just licks that off!
Anyone had similar??

They can be fussy and it might take some trial and error to find out what he likes. Have you tried putting a little warm water on top of the dry food to release the flavour/smell ?

When you say a little how much are you talking??

Just enough to make it damp not enough to make a gravy if that makes sense

Cool. Will give that a try, thanks.