Hello Champdogs.
I wonder if you can help my family and I.
We have a 4 month old puppy, whom is lovely. However, like most puppies i am sure, she does nip considerably, particularly when she is excited. we have read all the books, the majority of which simply tell us to say "ouch" or "no" followed by ourselves walking out of the room. I can only assume that our puppy believes this is a fantastic game, and begins happily biting our feet, shoes, legs and clothing. Milly then attaches her bite to our clothing, resulting in her being dragged out of the room as she will not let go of our clothes. If we pull her of our clothes, she will bite our hands therefore we let go of her, and she can then get clothes again.

By the time we are out of the room, Milly thinks we were playing with her, therefore when we return to the room, Milly assumes the "game" is resuming, and continues to bite.
She will also often run and jump at the backs of our legs resulting in our legs giving way beneath us.
As far as I am concerned, this is not correct, and the method we are currently using does not work to full affect.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thank you.
Alison

smack her hard with a newspaper that way she will not associate the pain with you or your family ;-) if you require any more advice please feel free to PM me! ;-)

please ignore the extremely stupid "advice" posted by Blackpoolbites!  Physical punishment is not the answer to any problem.  Further sensible advice will follow.

HTH

Alison,

Please ignore the reply from the first poster. S/he is simply trying to cause trouble, and it would be a shame if your puppy were to suffer because of some idiot's idea of a laugh.

Have you got a copy of "The Perfect Puppy" by Gwen Bailey? That is full of very useful advice, and you won't go far wrong if you follow it. What breed is Milly? How long have you had her? When does she start doing this? What exercise and training are you doing with her? It often helps if you can redirect their chewing onto a toy - wriggling a ragger toy in front of them will usually make them let go and then you can play a happy game and praise the pup, and she will become less hyper.

Hope this helps.
:)

Think the OUCH only works on the very young pup after that it is probably best to distract or turn you back and walk away, the theory being that if the pup is not rewarded by your attention it will stop it, sounds unlikely I know but it does seem to work.

Ensure as well that all family members are consistent :) and that there is no playfighting with the pup at the moment which could lead to the puppy thinking it is OK to nibble at humans. Some pups do get overexcited with the Ouch method - if you can get the tone right, it may help - for some, a yelp works, for others, a shout such as one you may make if the pup was just about to chew an electric cable or dislodge a hot cup of tea.

My puppy was Mad and Bitey and i directed her onto toys, used my voice for approval and praise, and used an attached long lead to take her out immediately she had nipped. She was then brought back in, after maybe 3 minutes, and it was repeated as necessary.

Some pups will get worse and more "bitey" before they get better. Similar to us kickingthe TV which has stopped working! <g>

It's important to reward and praise if the pup does choose to do the right thing - it's easy to forget this. I could actually see my pup making the decision to go for the toy rather than my body :D

Lindsay