my puppy won't stop biting!

LWanous · #1 Aug 4, 2007, 01:25 PM

I have a 9 1/2 week old Golden Retriever. She is fine until it comes to biting. She is continually trying to bite my family members and I. Is it normal for her to be biting all the time? All the other people I know say that their puppies never bite that much. How can I get her to stop?

tickle · Aug 4, 2007, 01:52 PM

she is probably teething and if you have ever had younguns you probably know what that means! Give her some cold carrots (which are good for her) to chew on and she will leave you alone. We all have to put up with sharp puppy teeth !!!

RubyPitbull · Aug 4, 2007, 02:21 PM

LW, who told you that puppies don't bite much? They ALL do. LOL. Your puppy needs to be corrected and redirected. I don't have much time to get into specifics, so I am copying and pasting labman's directions here. He is away at the moment but this is the advice that he would give you if he was available:

Quote:

Originally Posted by labman

Young Labs, which I know best, and other puppies tend to very bad about biting. You see a litter of them, and all the ones that are awake are biting
another one or themselves. I am not even sure they realize that when they are
alone, if they quit biting, they would quit being bitten. At 3 to 4 months
they are getting their adult teeth, and it seems they spend every waking
moment biting or chewing. One thing you can do at that stage is to knot and wet a piece of cloth. Then freeze it. The cooling will soothe the gums. Only let the puppy have it when you are there to watch it. I maintain a Lab's favorite chew toy is another
Lab. Otherwise they settle for any person they can. They keep hoping to find
one that won't yelp and jerk their hand away, or growl "Bad dog." and clamp
their mouth shut. Then offer a chew toy. They keep trying despite hundreds
of corrections. Another good technique is to yell ouch and quit playing and go away. Be
sure to praise them when they are playing nice and not biting.

You just have to keep on correcting them, hundreds of times, not dozens.
Provide sturdy, safe toys such as Kongs and Nylabones. Avoid things they can
chew pieces off and choke on them. Keep them away from electrical cords.
Crates are essential for most young Labs and other dogs.

The pet stores are full of toys that many dogs will quickly chew up into
pieces they could choke on or cause intestinal blockages. If you are not
there to watch, stick to sturdy stuff such as Nylabones and Kongs. Keep a
close eye on chew toys and quickly discard anything that is coming apart in
pieces. Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed.
These problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive
chewers such as Labs.

There is absolutely no reason to seek professional advice with this common problem. You just have to keep at it. it has worked for us for 17 puppies, and hundreds more for our friends.

Nataliecb · Aug 4, 2007, 02:46 PM

I agree with a point made above..
We bought our Yorkshire Terrier pup when she was 9 weeks old and from the day we brought her home she wouldn't stop biting our hands!
I started taking her to 'puppy parties' at the local vets to socialise her properly and whilst there i asked the advice of the vet
She too told me to make a 'Yelp' sound and pull my hand away and stop playing, and also to praise her when she was playing without biting.
This really did work, once you've done it quite a lot to get the message across! but i also think she grew out of it eventually aswell
Hope this helps

hettie · Aug 4, 2007, 02:52 PM

It like nat say give a short sharp yelp when she bites u this should startle her and discourage the behaviour but do not worry biting is just a normal part of puppyhood it does not mean they will be an agressive adult as long as u work to rectify the problem now good luck and ihope ur new puppy brings u many years of joy

MobyD · Aug 5, 2007, 07:25 AM

my puppy likes to bite too, but I have found that she responds fairly quickly to the word "NO". I mean yeah, stop playing with her for a while and give her an appropriate chew toy, but if you use the same word for everytime she bites you, or anything else that you don't want her to do, eventually she will learn to stop when she hears it. My pup is 12 weeks and she knows the word NO pretty well. When I say NO she stops chewing the flowers in my flower bed, and then I give her lots of love and praise. When I say NO she stops chewing on my shoe, and then I hug her and kiss her and say YAY!!! All dogs be different though, so you gotta make sure you are calm, assertive, and most importantly PATIENT.

natetheskate · Aug 6, 2007, 12:15 AM

Consider the possibility that a family member is rough housing, a fun past time for some.



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