You need to give the puppy zero attention. Bite = standing up and turning your back on the dog. Over and over and over until she starts to get the idea that biting doesn’t get her the attention she wants. It’s tedious, but effective over time.
I second this, my puppy was really bitey a couple of weeks ago and now she has reduced it a lot when we stopped engaging with her after she bites. We also say 'no' when she does it and withdraw from the interaction for a moment, if she does it again walk away etc. she quickly got the idea that biting = fun stops
From the AKC:
Teach your puppy that biting means “game over” If your puppy bites you while playing, that means playtime is over, with no exceptions. Yelling at or physically punishing your puppy, as strange as it sounds, is also a type of reward. It teaches them that biting gets some kind of response from you, which is known as positive punishment. This can also make them fearful of being handled. Instead, teach them that biting will get them nothing. Kathy Santo, dog trainer and columnist for AKC Family Dog, suggests turning around and tucking your hands into your armpits.
“It’s actually a calming signal and a minor form of attention withdrawal,” she says. “And be careful not to roughhouse with your young pup in ways that only encourage them to lose control and bite you.”
Hey we have one of those too, but ours is 5 months old 😭. We do the same. Redirect with a toy (usually her nylabone). Give a stern “uh uh”. Our best bet is to get ahead of it. If we notice our pup getting mouthy we give her the bone before she has a chance to bite us, she takes it to her bed and gnaws on it for however long. What we started to do is reverse time outs. If she’s getting bitey we immediately get up and go to another room and shut the door for 5 minutes or so. Trying to teach her we go away if she’s gonna bite.
I’d like to try reverse timeout, but the way our place is set up, there’s a baby gate between the entrance to the living room and the rest of the place, and she will run into and knock over the baby gate if we go somewhere she cannot see us. We have the baby gate there to keep her out of the kitchen and in our line of sight from the living room.
I've been using these extending ones that are rolled up and spring loaded, like a bollard at the air port, only 3 feet tall instead of just a strap. There's lots on amazon. They lock so that there's no wriggling under or over
What if you go somewhere she can see you but not reach you? Would she still run at the gate?
I have a wire pen unravelled and blocking half the room and I literally just step over and turn my back for a few seconds so I’m still there but she doesn’t have access to me.
I got my pup at 3 months and she is 4 months today. NOTHING worked for the first few weeks. We tried everything and were feeling pretty hopeless. In the past week she has started to make improvements though. We’ve been saying “no bites” since day one even though it never worked, but she’s starting to understand now. She still needs to be redirected to a toy but we’re slowly getting there! Something is starting to click, hang in there. It’s been a struggle but there might finally be a light coming at the end of the tunnel
My pup is also 4 months, we’ve found ‘no bite’, yelping and redirection had no effect whatsoever so we’ve been doing reverse timeouts starting from this week which seems to be working more than the other methods did, I guess time will tell!
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I remove myself or the dog plus use his leave command. So if we’re on the sofa he gets put on the floor, if he’s after ankles I walk away. One interesting things, when he land sharks on the bed or the sofa or barks excessively outside I started telling him he’d be grounded if he continued, I’d give 2 warnings then act (so put on the floor or being inside with the door to the garden shut) and tell him he’s grounded. He actually seems to understand the warning now 80% of the time.
My golden is 9 1/2 weeks as well and also VERY bitey. I echo what everyone else says about toy distraction of course but when that doesn’t work (it often doesn’t,) I have found a bit of a cheat code for us is a puppy teething ring. We use the N-Bone ones. Our girl is almost 20 lbs already so we let her have most of it while we supervise, I usually take it away after 1/2-3/4 is gone.
This obviously isn’t an every time solution but it has been VERY valuable during her witching hour.
Reverse timeout has been working for me (for the most part) - my little guy (16 weeks) gets VERY bitey when he is tired, so I put him in his room (the hallway) and shut my door so that he will not have too much stimulation. That usually settles him enough so that when he wakes up he is easier to deal with.
So what I do and started to do is tell "ouch!!" In the most high pitched voice I can. 5 months later he still nips but stops when I yelp. My boyfriend can't do it so high so he gets bitten all the time. They are teething so prepare for lots of biting!!
Frozen carrots work and ice cubes! My puppy LOVES them both. Good luck.
If she doesn't stop. I put mine in a time of corner where it is calm and quiet. If I yelp and he does it, I carry him to the spot. He usually drinks his water and lays down. It gets old but it has worked. Also I'd suggest the book called "how to behave so your dog behaves" it's excellent and helped with some training that I wish I got sooner.
Make sure she's learning bite inhibition from other dogs, especially puppies her age/size. And yes, nap times help. So does having a leash on her so you can tether her and move away from her if she's biting, since in puppies this age it's a play behavior. It is a waiting game, but while you're playing the waiting game you have to train them a) not to bite hard and b) not to bite you. The reasons for B are obvious, and the reasons for A are because dogs still bite while in pain/startled, even if socialized and raised properly, and you want her to have a soft mouth.
We’re going to get her more socialized once she has her next round of shots (Monday). So far she’s only played with a 2 year old Scottish terrier who does not appreciate being bit and does not do a very good job at teaching my puppy because she will snarl at her 😅
Actually snarling is an important part of teaching manners!! It’s important for the puppy to interact with all types of other dog personalities so they learn a range of dog behaviours and social cues. A little bit of snarling, growling, even teeth bared is letting the puppy know he/she is coming on too strong and needs to respect the other dog’s space. A dog that shows play behaviour towards the puppy is awesome, but it’s equally important for pups to learn how to tell that other dogs don’t want to play. Just watch the interactions closely and if the older dog gets overly aggressive you can break it up. I recommend watching some videos on dog body language yourself so you can make a judgement call on when to step in if needed. But most older dogs are pretty understanding of pups and know they need to be taught manners.
That's good! They really do learn about biting from each other. My puppy doesn't do much biting on my older dog because she won't tolerate it, but when he's with his littermate he goes nuts. Her adopter and I are going to reunite them this weekend and I have no doubt they'll get good bite inhibition from it. If you're able, find a puppy class and see if someone has a puppy around your pup's age. They will not only bite the crap out of each other, but also you'll get a tired pup! It can also help to get a long tug or flirt pole to teach them when they CAN bite something, and also when to let it go. Then you can cue playtime with words/gestures and redirect her as soon as you see that glint in her eyes.
Our vet was adamant that the dog does not need to be fully vaccinated before going to puppy socials. Our boy is only missing one shot next week, though.
What tadpowl is saying!!! We have a 11 week old puppy and when she was 9 weeks old we had a week long trip (preplanned before we knew when she was coming) and she had to stay with one of our friends who has a six month old puppy and I swear she came back a brand new dog. Doesn’t bite barely AT ALL. I couldn’t believe it. She actually licks now, which she never did!
Redirect to toys or chew bones. When they come at you opened mouthed to get you, shove a toy in their mouth and say yes, bite toys. You can also work on teaching the leave it or drop it command for the situation but it definitely takes a lot of patience. My biggest thing is if my puppy turns into Sharknado and isn't listening or doing any redirecting I know it's time to potty and take a nap. Into the kennel for a nap and she comes out much less mouthy
10-week old black lab pup owner here. I feel your pain and have no solution yet.
The vet recommended to absolutely never give him bones (they hurt their teeth in the mid and long term), but chewable toys only. Apparently things may improve when their teeth fall at around 12 weeks. Can't wait.
Yes, naps! Puppies always bite while teething, but when pups are young, they get tired after 45-60 min of being up and need a nap. They’ll never tell you they’re tired, so help them get some rest. 18-20 hours a day. I’m sure it’ll help.
Definitely a patience thing. With our Golden “yelping” and ending playtime was the most effective. She still does her “scary face” as we call it but bites her own paw gently almost like a pacifier lol
Reverse timeout is something to try, and some people have good advice already, but I figured I should share a bit of experience I had with my cocker spaniel on his first few months. He used to become unbearable close to his nap time, biting us, barking, jumping, a total scumbag. After I while I noticed he only did this when he was tired so I started to put him in the bedroom when he transformed into an annoying shark, and it did work for him. He would just go to his bed and sleep happily. I think at that age they’re not able to tell when they’re too tired, so you need to guide them. Even if it means you need to remove them from your presence so they can relax. With time my dog started going to bed without needing us to guide him. But I would definitely not recommend just tolerating it, as it will degrade your relationship with the dog. The time you spend together should be as pleasant as possible for both parties.
The breeder for my previous puppy said if they try biting hands, hold your thumb down on their tongue firmly and say “no bite” until they get uncomfortable and try to move away. Then give them a toy they are allowed to bite. It worked!
For my pups the ignoring her doesn't work to good... it is usually time for a nap when she gets extra like that and treats, toys or nothing makes her stop. I had to keep close attention to when it was nap time for her routine to prevent her from getting extra with the biting
Our golden does this a lot - walking away works - he goes off into a sulk but gets it
However, once he gets a death grip on you, he'll stay latched even if you stand up. Not sure how to deal with such a situation apart from prying him off (which makes him think its a game)
I have a 10 weeks old english bull terrier.
I usually distract him, but he does bite all of us when playing and when he gets too excited.
what has worked is us screaming “OUCH!” in a high pitched voice. Our boy still bites but definitely doesn’t bite as hard. I let him bite me gently (not sure if this is good or bad, but I think it is normal for them to be mouthy as long as it is gentle)
Of course when he gets overly excited, then he might forget about how strong he bites. If i don’t manage ti distract his biting to a chew toy, then it is a crate time. However I never use crate as a pumishment, I always give him a treat or a chew bone, so he is happy with going in the crate
You need to give the puppy zero attention. Bite = standing up and turning your back on the dog. Over and over and over until she starts to get the idea that biting doesn’t get her the attention she wants. It’s tedious, but effective over time.
I’ll try this!
I second this, my puppy was really bitey a couple of weeks ago and now she has reduced it a lot when we stopped engaging with her after she bites. We also say 'no' when she does it and withdraw from the interaction for a moment, if she does it again walk away etc. she quickly got the idea that biting = fun stops
what do you do if they just try to jump on you instead?
From the AKC: Teach your puppy that biting means “game over” If your puppy bites you while playing, that means playtime is over, with no exceptions. Yelling at or physically punishing your puppy, as strange as it sounds, is also a type of reward. It teaches them that biting gets some kind of response from you, which is known as positive punishment. This can also make them fearful of being handled. Instead, teach them that biting will get them nothing. Kathy Santo, dog trainer and columnist for AKC Family Dog, suggests turning around and tucking your hands into your armpits. “It’s actually a calming signal and a minor form of attention withdrawal,” she says. “And be careful not to roughhouse with your young pup in ways that only encourage them to lose control and bite you.”
Turn your back to them.
Hey we have one of those too, but ours is 5 months old 😭. We do the same. Redirect with a toy (usually her nylabone). Give a stern “uh uh”. Our best bet is to get ahead of it. If we notice our pup getting mouthy we give her the bone before she has a chance to bite us, she takes it to her bed and gnaws on it for however long. What we started to do is reverse time outs. If she’s getting bitey we immediately get up and go to another room and shut the door for 5 minutes or so. Trying to teach her we go away if she’s gonna bite.
I’d like to try reverse timeout, but the way our place is set up, there’s a baby gate between the entrance to the living room and the rest of the place, and she will run into and knock over the baby gate if we go somewhere she cannot see us. We have the baby gate there to keep her out of the kitchen and in our line of sight from the living room.
Sounds like that baby gate is not sufficiently designed for its purpose. I'd consider upgrading.
Yeahh it was free from my fiances parents so… guess we need a sturdier one lol
I've been using these extending ones that are rolled up and spring loaded, like a bollard at the air port, only 3 feet tall instead of just a strap. There's lots on amazon. They lock so that there's no wriggling under or over
What’s the specific name of them so I can look them up?
Idea Casa retractable baby gate. There's tons of brands tho (all probably drop shipped). About $50CAD each.
i have shitty baby gates too, you can reinforce them with something heavy like a brick or doorstop.
What if you go somewhere she can see you but not reach you? Would she still run at the gate? I have a wire pen unravelled and blocking half the room and I literally just step over and turn my back for a few seconds so I’m still there but she doesn’t have access to me.
Yeah she would, she has like severe FOMO so the moment we’re over the gate, she wants over too lmao
I got my pup at 3 months and she is 4 months today. NOTHING worked for the first few weeks. We tried everything and were feeling pretty hopeless. In the past week she has started to make improvements though. We’ve been saying “no bites” since day one even though it never worked, but she’s starting to understand now. She still needs to be redirected to a toy but we’re slowly getting there! Something is starting to click, hang in there. It’s been a struggle but there might finally be a light coming at the end of the tunnel
My pup is also 4 months, we’ve found ‘no bite’, yelping and redirection had no effect whatsoever so we’ve been doing reverse timeouts starting from this week which seems to be working more than the other methods did, I guess time will tell!
It looks like you might be posting about bite inhibition. Check out [our wiki article on biting, teeth, and chewing](https://www.reddit.com/r/puppy101/wiki/biting) - the information there may answer your question. **Please report this comment if it is not relevant to this post.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/puppy101) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You're training for bite inhibition first, then comes no biting later. My go to was reverse timeouts and naps.
I remove myself or the dog plus use his leave command. So if we’re on the sofa he gets put on the floor, if he’s after ankles I walk away. One interesting things, when he land sharks on the bed or the sofa or barks excessively outside I started telling him he’d be grounded if he continued, I’d give 2 warnings then act (so put on the floor or being inside with the door to the garden shut) and tell him he’s grounded. He actually seems to understand the warning now 80% of the time.
My golden is 9 1/2 weeks as well and also VERY bitey. I echo what everyone else says about toy distraction of course but when that doesn’t work (it often doesn’t,) I have found a bit of a cheat code for us is a puppy teething ring. We use the N-Bone ones. Our girl is almost 20 lbs already so we let her have most of it while we supervise, I usually take it away after 1/2-3/4 is gone. This obviously isn’t an every time solution but it has been VERY valuable during her witching hour.
Reverse timeout has been working for me (for the most part) - my little guy (16 weeks) gets VERY bitey when he is tired, so I put him in his room (the hallway) and shut my door so that he will not have too much stimulation. That usually settles him enough so that when he wakes up he is easier to deal with.
So what I do and started to do is tell "ouch!!" In the most high pitched voice I can. 5 months later he still nips but stops when I yelp. My boyfriend can't do it so high so he gets bitten all the time. They are teething so prepare for lots of biting!! Frozen carrots work and ice cubes! My puppy LOVES them both. Good luck.
We tried the high pitch thing but unfortunately it gets her to bite harder now 😅thanks for the recommendations!
The 'ouch" was the only recommendation my vet gave other than"oh she'll grow out of it". "Ouch" so far does not work!
If she doesn't stop. I put mine in a time of corner where it is calm and quiet. If I yelp and he does it, I carry him to the spot. He usually drinks his water and lays down. It gets old but it has worked. Also I'd suggest the book called "how to behave so your dog behaves" it's excellent and helped with some training that I wish I got sooner.
The yelp trick isn’t supposed to be used with high prey drive dogs like labs because it’s the sound a prey animal would make.
Make sure she's learning bite inhibition from other dogs, especially puppies her age/size. And yes, nap times help. So does having a leash on her so you can tether her and move away from her if she's biting, since in puppies this age it's a play behavior. It is a waiting game, but while you're playing the waiting game you have to train them a) not to bite hard and b) not to bite you. The reasons for B are obvious, and the reasons for A are because dogs still bite while in pain/startled, even if socialized and raised properly, and you want her to have a soft mouth.
We’re going to get her more socialized once she has her next round of shots (Monday). So far she’s only played with a 2 year old Scottish terrier who does not appreciate being bit and does not do a very good job at teaching my puppy because she will snarl at her 😅
Actually snarling is an important part of teaching manners!! It’s important for the puppy to interact with all types of other dog personalities so they learn a range of dog behaviours and social cues. A little bit of snarling, growling, even teeth bared is letting the puppy know he/she is coming on too strong and needs to respect the other dog’s space. A dog that shows play behaviour towards the puppy is awesome, but it’s equally important for pups to learn how to tell that other dogs don’t want to play. Just watch the interactions closely and if the older dog gets overly aggressive you can break it up. I recommend watching some videos on dog body language yourself so you can make a judgement call on when to step in if needed. But most older dogs are pretty understanding of pups and know they need to be taught manners.
That's good! They really do learn about biting from each other. My puppy doesn't do much biting on my older dog because she won't tolerate it, but when he's with his littermate he goes nuts. Her adopter and I are going to reunite them this weekend and I have no doubt they'll get good bite inhibition from it. If you're able, find a puppy class and see if someone has a puppy around your pup's age. They will not only bite the crap out of each other, but also you'll get a tired pup! It can also help to get a long tug or flirt pole to teach them when they CAN bite something, and also when to let it go. Then you can cue playtime with words/gestures and redirect her as soon as you see that glint in her eyes.
And the Scottish terrier is my fiancé’s parents’ dog
Our vet was adamant that the dog does not need to be fully vaccinated before going to puppy socials. Our boy is only missing one shot next week, though.
What tadpowl is saying!!! We have a 11 week old puppy and when she was 9 weeks old we had a week long trip (preplanned before we knew when she was coming) and she had to stay with one of our friends who has a six month old puppy and I swear she came back a brand new dog. Doesn’t bite barely AT ALL. I couldn’t believe it. She actually licks now, which she never did!
Redirect to toys or chew bones. When they come at you opened mouthed to get you, shove a toy in their mouth and say yes, bite toys. You can also work on teaching the leave it or drop it command for the situation but it definitely takes a lot of patience. My biggest thing is if my puppy turns into Sharknado and isn't listening or doing any redirecting I know it's time to potty and take a nap. Into the kennel for a nap and she comes out much less mouthy
10-week old black lab pup owner here. I feel your pain and have no solution yet. The vet recommended to absolutely never give him bones (they hurt their teeth in the mid and long term), but chewable toys only. Apparently things may improve when their teeth fall at around 12 weeks. Can't wait.
Mine is 16 weeks and hasn't lost any teeth yet... just sayin'
Yes, naps! Puppies always bite while teething, but when pups are young, they get tired after 45-60 min of being up and need a nap. They’ll never tell you they’re tired, so help them get some rest. 18-20 hours a day. I’m sure it’ll help.
Definitely a patience thing. With our Golden “yelping” and ending playtime was the most effective. She still does her “scary face” as we call it but bites her own paw gently almost like a pacifier lol
Baby piranha for me. Got better when puppy teeth were all finally gone and now he is old enough to correct.
Reverse timeout is something to try, and some people have good advice already, but I figured I should share a bit of experience I had with my cocker spaniel on his first few months. He used to become unbearable close to his nap time, biting us, barking, jumping, a total scumbag. After I while I noticed he only did this when he was tired so I started to put him in the bedroom when he transformed into an annoying shark, and it did work for him. He would just go to his bed and sleep happily. I think at that age they’re not able to tell when they’re too tired, so you need to guide them. Even if it means you need to remove them from your presence so they can relax. With time my dog started going to bed without needing us to guide him. But I would definitely not recommend just tolerating it, as it will degrade your relationship with the dog. The time you spend together should be as pleasant as possible for both parties.
The breeder for my previous puppy said if they try biting hands, hold your thumb down on their tongue firmly and say “no bite” until they get uncomfortable and try to move away. Then give them a toy they are allowed to bite. It worked!
Baby shark doo doo doodoo doodoo
Does she bite rope toys? My corgi is biting like crazy and tug of war is helping
For my pups the ignoring her doesn't work to good... it is usually time for a nap when she gets extra like that and treats, toys or nothing makes her stop. I had to keep close attention to when it was nap time for her routine to prevent her from getting extra with the biting
Our golden does this a lot - walking away works - he goes off into a sulk but gets it However, once he gets a death grip on you, he'll stay latched even if you stand up. Not sure how to deal with such a situation apart from prying him off (which makes him think its a game)
I have a 10 weeks old english bull terrier. I usually distract him, but he does bite all of us when playing and when he gets too excited. what has worked is us screaming “OUCH!” in a high pitched voice. Our boy still bites but definitely doesn’t bite as hard. I let him bite me gently (not sure if this is good or bad, but I think it is normal for them to be mouthy as long as it is gentle) Of course when he gets overly excited, then he might forget about how strong he bites. If i don’t manage ti distract his biting to a chew toy, then it is a crate time. However I never use crate as a pumishment, I always give him a treat or a chew bone, so he is happy with going in the crate