[daisymactx]

We got a "choodle" or "chipoo" or whatever nickname you have for a cross between a chihuahua and a poodle. She is 11 weeks old, and we have had her about a month. So far she is doing pretty well with training. Still having some potty training issues (it's us that really needs to be trained to be responsive) but when I take her out she is good about going potty. It has been extremely rainy here for the past couple months, so we use puppy pads inside. She already knows the sit and stay command. She recognizes me to be her alpha dog.

So the thing that drives me crazy is that when I pick her up to pet her, or lay in my lap, she like to chew on my fingers. It isn't painful, but annoying. I want to nip this in the bud, now. What I have been doing so far, is to roll her on her back, hold her tightly, keeping my fingers out of reach and tell her "no" while she struggles to get my fingers. As soon as she settles down, I praise her, rub her belly and roll her back over. That almost works, but is very time consuming and doesn't have lasting effects. The other thing I have done is try to keep a chew toy on hand so when she starts chewing on me, I say NO and then give her the toy. When she chews on it I praise her and pet her. That, again, only work for a minute or so.

Am I expecting too much for such a young pup, or should I try another method?

[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 outch, 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.

[hettie]

A good way to stop a puppy from chewing on your fingers is to give a sharp yelp as if they have really hurts you the noise will startle them and they should learn to stop this upsetting behaviour

[daisymactx]

A good way to stop a puppy from chewing on your fingers is to give a sharp yelp as if they have really hurts you the noise will startle them and they should learn to stop this upsetting behaviour

I let out a yelp today and that startled her. She stopped biting and started licking. I don't like licking either, but it is better than biting! Thanks.

[myminpins]

When puppies are playing with each other and one gets too rough with another, the one that didn't like the other's behavior will ignore the rough one for a while. IMO you should say "ouch" and then ignore the puppy for a minute or two. Walk away from the dog, don't let it lick you or try to make it up to you in anyway. It will learn that the biting is unacceptable and will not get any attention for a couple minutes if it does bite you.

[MOWERMAN2468]

Try Putting Hotsauce On Your Fingers, A Taste Of That For A Couple Of Days And The Pup Should Get The Idea.

[RubyPitbull]

Daisy, how is it going with the "ouch" method? That IS the way to correct a puppy. Usually the biting/nipping problems are corrected by other dogs in a pack. That is how dogs learn what is acceptable behavior. You are her Alpha and her pack now. Mowerman, I notice you are great with the parts & appliance questions but you are starting to scare me here! I will have to have a talk with my buddy Ballenger about you. LOL. Using hotsauce is a great way to keep a dog from ever coming anywhere near you again, but it doesn't teach her/him not to bite other people. Daisy, her licking you after you "yelped", was her way of letting her know that she understood that she hurt you and it is the doggy equivalent of an apology.

[MOWERMAN2468]

Well , if you don't like the hotsauce idea, how about the idea of taking an old pepsi can and placing about 50 to 75 bbs in it and taping it up with duct tape to where the bbs will not get out. And then when the dog does something you do not wish for it to do, shake the can briskly and give the command to stop. I know of this working with someone that was raising a rottweiler. And I have a problem with them dogs as well. If you were attacked at the age of three and had to have your face, left palm, and arm more or less re constructed, not to mention all the hundreds of stitches, and other claw marks, you to would have problems with certain dogs. But labs I like. They seem to be well rounded and gentle dogs. I guess if there were two dogs that I would trust, in the large dog group, it would be the coarse haired collie, and the black or chocolate labs.

[labman]

Likely quitting playing to get the can to shake it will be more effective than shaking the can once you reach it. The nationally known trainer at the seminar I attended last fall liked the yelp and quit playing technique. To train a puppy out of a natural behavior requires absolutely consistent and timely corrections. It is much easier to always be ready with the yelp, than the can. I would forget both the can and the hot sauce.

[RubyPitbull]

Mowerman, I am sorry that you had such a bad experience with a dog as a child. You were the victim of a HUMAN BEING, who did not take their responsibility of training their dog properly, did not take the proper precautions and chose to leave a small child alone with an improperly trained dog. Very sad and completely irresponsible on the part of the adult. I know a great deal of people that have had the same experiences. You cannot base your expertise on dogs solely upon that incident and one friend who trained their rottweiler. Both the can & the hot pepper sauce are bad ideas and outmoded training techniques to use with puppies who have biting issues. You are encouraging people to create an unbalanced dog with your techniques. Our purpose here is to help people create well trained and socialized dogs that will not pose a threat to anyone.

[MOWERMAN2468]

Rubypitbull, I was not alone with an untrained dog at the time of my attack. I was walking through the salvage yard business building in a single file line with the owner of the business in front, then my father, then my grandfather, then myself. And this dog was trained to be an attack dog, and for some reason this Saturday morning the dog was inside the business building, and was not restrained in any matter. All of a sudden the dog ran to me and attacked for no apparent reason. If it had not been for the owner's son, and my father I may have been killed by the dog. Needless to say that was back in the early 1970s and the dog was locked up and then killed. They said that I could sue the man myself when I became 21, but I did not as I did not wish to sue the man. But even now an ankle nipper (small size dog) can put me up onto a truck hood in a matter of seconds if it startles me. No I was not left alone with an untrained dog, I was being attended to and was attacked for no reason. And I think it is great that some of you have had special training in these areas. So I think I will keep my opions (well most of them) to myself on this subject. I did not really intend to offend anyone, just voucing my opions.
Have a nice day.

[daisymactx]

daisy, how is it going with the "ouch" method? That IS the way to correct a puppy. Usually the biting/nipping problems are corrected by other dogs in a pack. That is how dogs learn what is acceptable behavior. You are her Alpha and her pack now. Mowerman, I notice you are great with the parts & appliance questions but you are starting to scare me here! I will have to have a talk with my buddy Ballenger about you. LOL. Using hotsauce is a great way to keep a dog from ever coming anywhere near you again, but it doesn't teach her/him not to bite other people. Daisy, her licking you after you "yelped", was her way of letting her know that she understood that she hurt you and it is the doggy equivalent of an apology.

Ruby - Sorry it took so long to answer - I had a hard disk crash and a nightmare to recover all the data!

The Ouch/Yelp seems to be working pretty well, but since I have been holed up in my office with the computer problems we have taken a step backward, so I have a lot of re-training to do. I'm going to put that in another post. Having some problems with Chloe.

[lablove]

Hello,

I just got my second black lab. My dear Maxi passed from kidney failure after a long struggle with diabeties. She was an older, awesome rescue dog that needed minimal training when we got her. After she passed, we decided a house is not a home without a dog and got our second lab - Xena. She is 5 and a half months and likes to chew. I found this site looking for answers as to why she chews on me and wanted to say koodos to all you dog lovers for establishing a site like this to help those of us with minimal experience but want a well trained, well balanced dog.

KOODOS,

Lablove

[Catsmine]

lablove

You first need to click on the button that says "ask about dogs" to start your own question thread. This question was asked and answered years ago.

[Luv_a_bull098]

Nipping is just a stage that puppies have to go through. Its called their bite recognition. They're basically testing out the water to see what they can bite and how hard and if anything happens to them. Rolling her over it a bit harsh. The "alpha roll" is a major spanking that the mother gives the puppy when they over step her boundaries. What I did with my pit puppy when she was a baby was I squished her mouth shut tightly until she squeaked a little and said "no bite" in a very "disciplinary" voice. She got it immediately and to this day when we play rough she will never put her mouth on me. IF you play with her and she nips at you. Play time is over. "Yelp" and leave. If she wants to play with you and keep the game going, she will learn to keep her mouth off skin and clothes. The key to keeping a puppy from biting is being consistent and never changing the rules. I'm not a big fan of using sprays because its something you have to carry around all the time.

[shazamataz]

Thanks for the kudos lablove, however this thread is very old so I am going to close it.

All closed threads remain visible for everyone to read but no-one can post on them.

When someone posts on an old thread it bumps it back to the top, pushing newer questions down the list.

Thanks.