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Maddie1110
Mar 29, 2007, 07:24 AM
Our 5 month old Australian Cattledog won't stop biting. She play bites, bites your hands when you are trying to pet her, tries to bite you while you are tying to disapline, and bites when she is flipped over when you are tying to clip her nails.
Any suggestions to make this stop? We have tried holding her mouth shut and also flipping her over like the mother dog would do and that is not working. Now we put her in the bathroom (after cleaning it out of distractions) for a minute of time out. Still she continues to bite.

What is my dog trying to tell me?

labman
Mar 29, 2007, 09:43 AM
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 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.

You might try a Dremel as I suggested in https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/dog-toe-nail-clippers-77049.html

DocWill
May 20, 2007, 11:19 AM
Our 5 month old Australian Cattledog won't stop biting. She play bites, bites your hands when you are trying to pet her, tries to bite you while you are tying to disapline, and bites when she is flipped over when you are tying to clip her nails.
Any suggestions to make this stop? We have tried holding her mouth shut and also flipping her over like the mother dog would do and that is not working. Now we put her in the bathroom (after cleaning it out of distractions) for a minute of time out. Still she continues to bite.

What is my dog trying to tell me?
That he is truly a Australian Heeler! Actually a very simple method of distraction of this behavior is putting a toy directly into his moving little chompers. This took me some time to convince myself as well as my monster mouth heeler to continue. After almost 19 years, he still picks up a ball to chew for me while I reflect on how clean his teeth are an what a great Vet I am, when actually all I did was stick toys in his mouth as a puppy.