Hi

I have a 11 week old West Highland White Terrier 'Mitzi' she is lovely and she has
settled in her new home very well.  The only problem I have is her biting me....this only
happens when she plays with me she can get quiet excited and then she starts the nipping
and biting at me instead of playing with the toys.....she never does this to my boyfriend only me....I tell
her NO and she totally ignores me and carrys on and she seems to do it more when I do
say NO.

If she attemps to do this to my partner soon as he says NO she stops and walks away....I have
tried to use a deeper tone in my voice when I say NO and still this makes no difference...
I dont understand as she follows me around a lot and always looks for comfort and
attention from me more than my boyfriend. 

Can anyone give me any advise to this?? Is there anything Im doing wrong and I just dont understand why
she will target me rather then anyone else. 

Thanks

Suzie

Have you actually taught her a command 'no'?  Dogs don't understand english, or even particularly the tone of the voice at this age - they speak 'dog' and most dog communication is done via body language, so maybe there's something in your partner's body language that she understands which you don't use.  I tell most puppy owners to try and mimic the behaviour of the puppies litter mates at this age - when the biting starts, the playing stops.  So as soon as the teeth make contact (or hurt, depending on how tolerant you and your visitors are) you let the limb go limp until the contact stops (this prevents it becoming an even more interesting game of tug of war) and then refuse to play for a short period. When you do start playing, make sure you have an acceptable toy to play with - and most terriers adore a ragger or similar, and encourage the dog to play with you with that, rather than with bits of you.

HTH

Thank you so much  for your reply and I can see exactly where your reply is coming from I will try this when I get home and I will let you no how I got on.

I do have to admit that when i have said NO to her I have carried on playing and I have'nt refused to play for that short period of time.

Will let you know.

Thanks Digger.

Hi Suzie,

Digger is bang on - just to add that I also "squeek" sharply when a pup's baby teeth make contact with flesh, easily done even when playing with a toy, (& not always put on either ;) ) - as this is a further signal to them that they have gone too far.

Regards, Teri

Some folk swear by this - but I often find, particularly with terriers, that this can lead to the 'oh look I've turned Mum into a squeaky toy!' effect.....  :(

As you say Digger >"I tell most puppy owners to try and mimic the behaviour of the puppies litter mates at this age"<

But their littermates are prone to squeaking, screaming, yelping or squealing when rough play turns painful - pick one,anyone :o !  I've never met a dog yet that couldn't differentiate between another dog or human's squeak or "yelp" of pain and that of a stuffed toy - maybe I've just been lucky :rolleyes: or perhaps my powers of impersonation are greater than I'm given credit for LOL

Regards, Teri :D 

Hi to all of you that replied back to my email

Thanks for the info and I did try this with Mitzi....she did respond back to me and I immediately stopped playing with her when she started to bite me instead of her toy.  I walked away or I just ignored her and sat back on the sofa.....she now trys to attack my leg when I walk away...I still say NO and Ignore her but she carry's on....If I sit on the sofa and ignore her after I have said NO she will charge towards me at the sofa and bark for me to carry on playing....It sounds funny but I have to keep my legs up as she will go for them....

Is this something that I am still doing wrong???

PS. sorry for the late reply I have been away for the festive season...hope you all had a lovely Christmas!!!

Thanks again

Suzie

This behaviour is called an 'Extinction burst'  because her attempts at getting you to become her plaything have always worked efore she is trying extra hard to push the right buttons to get you back into the game.  You must continmue consistently making it unrewarding for her, and the behaviour will stop.  This is why it is far easier to stop unwanted behaviour before it starts than to break bad habits/associations.  You know it works as it does for your other half.  ry as far as possible to keep tyhings calm.  don't play with her at all if necesary, just feed groom and talk to her but no playing for a little ehile, until she learns a little self control.

Hi There

Thanks for your reply....I have found that she has improved a lot over the last week or so...and I have continued with all the advise I have had from the email I have posted to you all...

She is now 13 weeks old and she has been going out for her walks now and I have found that she is a lot more calmer with me.

Thanks for your advice

Suzie