hi all...i have a 9 week old bullmastiff pup (dog). hes a lovely dog but over the last few days has been coming out of himself. When having a good play on the floor, he has started using his mouth and teeth alot....to me in a playful mode but not knowing when to stop!!..if i tell him no or push him away...he comes back for more each time, and this will cary on. up to now if it happens...i give him time out in another room...which tonight i did...after a few minutes i let him back in...and after a few minutes it all started again!!!...in the end i had tyo put him in his crate!!..Now i didnt want to do this as i didnt want it to seem as a punishment....however...he did go straight to sleep when i did, the only worry i have is my 6 yr old son sits on the sofa with his feet up...he thinks its quite funny..but with those sharp teeth..i would hate him to get nipped!!!...can anyone tell me if this is normal puppy play?...and what the right thing to do is when it does happen?...many thanks for ur replies in advance

hello
our cocker pup (also 9 weeks) is doing this too. We've tried keeping hand/toes still or making a fist as soon as he nips so he thinks it's not an exciting thing to play with. We've also tried making a "yelp" noise as if we were a littermate trying to tell him to play more nicely (feels abit silly though!). If we have a treat or toy handy, we put that under his nose instead to chew that. Sometimes, he goes into a frenzy (we think when he's hungry or abit wound up because he's been running about retrieving everything in sight!) and nips and nips but just ignoring him and walking away seems to stop it eventually (if you can get away when he's tangling in your feet...!). I suppose he's just getting to know his environment with his mouth (the only way he knows how) so we're hoping it's normal puppy behaviour!!

good luck!

wisleyma

I have an 11 week old lab puppy and 3 weeks ago when we got him he did what you are describing permanantly. My poor children went to school with holes all over them and I am suprised social services didnt call round. I would love to tell you he has now stopped but he hasnt. We have just learnt how to handle him better. The children for instance now tuck there hands behind their back or their feet under their bums instead of holding them out of the way as this just used to make max go in for the kill. Also the children now know to stop playing with him if he gets rough and I would say that 50% of the time he remembers not to bite and now he licks us to death a lot of the time instead. Just stick with it and always remember to be firm but kind at all times and not let him do anything you wont want him to do when he is fully grown!

Hi! If you do a 'search' on this site (top right-hand corner of the screen) and type in "puppy biting", "pupy mouthing", "mad bitey puppy" or similar, you will find umpteen threads on the subject. It is a perfectly normal stage of puppy behaviour, and they need to be taught that we humans are silly delicate softies who can't play like dogs! It takes them time to learn this, and in the meantime it is best to keep a lid on play, and not let the pup become too excited.

Have you got a copy of "The Perfect Puppy" by Gwen Bailey? It is an excellent book which will answer this, and many other questions that you haven't yet thought of!