Hi there,

I'm sure you will be able to help.

Hugo is 11 weeks old and has drawn blood on several family members - we don't have children - luckily!!!

We were told by the trainer to make a loud yelping noise - this worked for a while - but now he ignors us - so then we were told to put him in another room to let him know he has done wrong - but he seems to be spening a lot of time in the other room - lol.

Please help - any advice would be great!!

Thanks in advance

S x

Hello,

I'm not brilliant with this and sure someone else will be along shortly but, does Hugo bite in play I mean when he bites is it when he's playing/chasing someone. If so what games he's a Stafford all be it a baby stafford but just the same don't encourage him to play rough be in control of the games get him to "give" whatever he's got hold of be consistent in what you teach him you can't play too excitable then cut him off wen he gets excited. All puppies bite/mouth it's how they learn what you need to do is to teach him that biting is not acceptable. Get him things he can play with chew and replace your hand with that.

Puppy teeth ar erazor sharp so I don't envy you but it won't last, Staffords are cleverer than people give them credit for just don't let him be cleverer than you ;)

Karen
(owner of a 9 month old Stafford)

Thankfully this stage doesn't last too long cos those little teeth are like needles. What worked for us was continuing with the high pitched yelps and when they are ignored, placing the pup in another room or his pen for 1 - 2 minutes so that the pup realises that biting equals not being with the people that he wants to play with. What also helps is keeping your hands away from him as much as possible E.g. if you are sitting on the floor with him and he is trying to bite, yelp, fold your arms and turn your back on him. Also, have a good supply of toys to substitute for hands. Be consistent with the methods and in a few weeks things should be much better. ;) Good Luck

Take a look at 'Should we really let him bite?' by Debbie88 on 15.08.03 - there were quite a few suggestions here.

have you tried giving him chew things as welll as your method?he needs something to focus his biting on like a rag or chew toy.try it out.he needs to itch his teeth!he just teething,should stop as time goes on.

Hi There,

Just wanted to thank everyone for thier suggestions - looks like we are on the right track and just need to stick with it!

Thanks again

S x

Its perfectly normal so please dont despair :)
It will pass - just remain consistant and dont let the kids try to turn it into a game ( kids can sometimes get carried away without realising ) :)
Lel ( owned by a 10 month old Staffy)

Yelping works to an extent - but then encouraging the puppy to play correctly by offering him something he can play with you with (and Raggers are great for Staffs :)) helps the message to get in quicker. Imagine somebody keeps telling you to stop tapping the table when you're bored, but doesn't tell you what to do instead....... Then imagine that the same person gives you a Rubix cube to play with, and teaches and encourages you to solve the puzzle - which is more fullfilling from your point of view?