At what age should puppy stop biting on your hands etc ?
He is only young at the moment ( 11 weeks ) but those teeth are sooooo sharp . When can we expect him to slacken off - will it be when new teeth are through ???? My partner is worried that this behaviour is not normal as pup bites so much - I think its not something to worry about as he is still so young ??
He is a Staffy by the way , if that makes any difference .
He has lots of chews and toys and he is also very loving as well - when he isnt chewing :(
By the way he hasnt been at all destructive in the house or when left alone - its just hands he seems to love !!!
Lel

Hi,

some bull & terrier mouth more than other breeds. However, you should not tolerate it and put a stop to it. Let the dog know that this is not on, tell him NO and then ignore him for a while. He has to learn that human skin is off limits when it comes to his teeth.

Taylor

Hi Taylor,
we do always tell him NO - we have two children so obviously we dont want them hurt . Sometimes he reacts as though he understands when we tell him no - ie his ears go down and he looks really sorry- other times he doesnt take a blind bit of notice . Especially when he is excited and running around like a loon.
What would you suggest ?
Lel

Hi,

they tend to get carried away sometimes whilst playing. If he does it again, just stand up, say NO, turn around and ignore him. Also, you only play with him, when you want to. Make sure the kids follow the same rule. He will also be a bit more mouthy when teething. Gibve him some good strong toys to chew on. I have mine trained on *Leave* if they do something undesirable, it takes awhile for them to come around, but persistence is important.

Taylor

Get a copy of "The Perfect Puppy" by Gwen Bailey. It will explain the reasoning behind mouthing, and many other problems, and how to cure them.

Don't worry so much about it, although definitely keep working on saying "No bite!" very loudly and pulling your hand away. I thought my lab wasn't normal because he bit so much, but he finally quit when he was about six months old. It's a long time, but they do it gradually. Eventually, you'll just notice that he doesn't do it anymore.

we have a 13 week puppy (mini schnauzer). He was going through this stage about 3 weeks ago but it has really cooled off. We have been yelping him, moving him away and ignoring as advised by others but this didn't seem to work. So we have been using the words "NO BITING", in a deep angry tone as opposed to screaming(he may have confused for laughing) or just "NO" (which we were using for a variety of things-no good).

It seems to be working for us anyway.

Hi Lel
I posted about the same thing a couple of days ago (we have a 8-1/2 week English Bull Terrier). One tip we were given in the last few days was to hand feed your puppy a couple of times during the day (ours is getting meals 4 times right now)...the thinking being the puppy won't really want to "bite the hand that feeds it". It really seems to have worked for us. Mind you it's only been about 2-3 days but it does seem like he is mouthing us much less already. Before he was really insistent and persistent...First we have something to eat (showing him we eat before he does), then make him sit and then give him his food. He has no problem eating out of our hands. For the next handful he has to sit etc etc. Hope that helps
Sonja

It is normal, and if you think about the amount of posts on the same subject on here.....!!! But then when do you ever see a mature dog indulging in this sort of behavour? Not very often unless like a rescue BSD I was involved with the dog is left alone all day and then at home from work time, the man of the house inititates rough housing play almost as a greeting .

It will improve, but you could also try putting a foul tasting spray on your hands, such as Bitter Apple, and a lot of pups do then think twice :)

Lindsay