I know i got everyones back up last time i posted with regards to this topic she was 8 weeks old then thought maybe it would have calmed a bit by now but no she still biting at every given oppertunity not just whilst playing we could be sitting quietly watching tv and she pounces she is now 3 mnths is it still early days And i apologise if i upset anyone ladt time :)

I can remember you got in a behaviourist, what did they recommend generally? :)

12 weeks; is not unusual for a puppy to be like this :)

Lindsay
x

Trackie :-) I've PM'D you

Tia is nearly 13 weeks and she is still at it ! lol

ive got a lovely bangle  round my wrist where she jumped and her tooth dragged round it :'( OUCH!

she is definately getting there though just try being patient Tia is not biting as hard or as much

and i am stopping all play and saying no as soon as she does it if i have to i put her behind the

safety gate away from every1 till she settles and she can rejoin us once she settles a bit :-D

it helps too that the other 4 are learning her when it husrt too and to be more gentler

good luck it will ease through time ;-)

Michell & gang xxx

My 'pup' is 13 months, I've had from 8 months. It has taken the whole 5 months to even let it sink in what it is I am complaining about. It may well be that it has taken longer because it has become such a habit after all this time but now when I say no biting or even hesitate, he stops himself. Keep persivering.

Thanks for the advice i just want to state that its not just through playtime so to stop and turn our backs ect doesnt work as she attacks for no apparent reason at time and my son cant even walk through the room slowly she goes after him as soon as she sees him

yes we have that too as well as the biting during play

Tia goes after my daughter who doesnt handle it that great shes a screamer :-( lol

but she is learning to stand still not to run away as Tia will just see this as part of a fun game

my son is older so he has a bit more understanding on what to do :-D

so im training both lol!!

they try their luck i think to see how much they can get away with pounce on you etc

hopefully as with Tia it should pass with time and patience they both are still very young :-D

Michell & gang xx

Yes i have to say my son screams as soon as she charges after him its so hard getting him to stand still and be calm when she is hanging off his socks (lol) but he is trying bless him it hurts me so cant imagine how much it hurts him :)

It sounds daft but it's worth him wearing his wellies indoors so that it doesn't hurt. If it doesn't hurt, he won't react. If he doesn't react, it's likely to stop because it's not fun any more ...

Good idea but one more thing is shes just the right size to reach his bits n peices which he doesnt appreciate  (lol)

Trouble she is getting a kick out of this chase game.  Did you try keeping a lead on ehr at all times in teh house so you can stop ehr being able to chase him by standing on it or picking it up when she goes to chase.

HELLO, I THOUGHT I WAS ALONE WITH THIS PROBLEM UNTIL REGISTERING HERE... THIS MAY HELP YOU TOO.   I AM USED TO OWING DOGS AND NOW HAVE MY 5TH DOBERMAN BITCH FOLLOWING THE SAD DEATH OF MY LAST ONE IN fEBRUARY.  SHE EXHIBITS JUST THE SAME PROBLEMS Y0U ARE EXPERIENCING.  ALL DOGS MOUTH AND BITE A BIT AS PUPPIES IT IS COMPLETELY NATURAL, AND I THOUGHT SHE'D JUST GROW OUT OF IT, BUT AFRAID NOT.  SHE IS NOW ALMOST 7 MONTHS OLD AND IS STILL AT IT...  I WENT TO PUPPY CLASSES AND WAS TOLD ALL THE USUAL ' REMEDIES' NONE OFWHICH WORKED... AS FOR THE WATER SPRAY... THIS JUST MADE MATTERS WORSE AND SHE THOUGH THIS WAS A REAL GOOD GAME.  TRIED THE IGNORING TOO BUT DIFFICULT TO DO SO WHEN YOU HAVE AN ALMOST FULL GROWN DOBERMAN MOUTHING YOU ARM.  SHE DOES NOT DO THIS BADLY TO MY HUSBAND IT IS JUST MYSELF.  I AM FINDING THOUGH THAT OUT WALKING, WHEN OFF LEAD SHE USED TO CHASE BACK AND I WOULD GET THE ANKLE OR FOREARM TREATMENT FROM HER.  BUT AM PLEASED TO SAY THIS IS ALL BUT CEASED NOW AS I HAVE WORKED HARD AT THIS....  I HAVE THE TRAILING LEAD IN THE HOUSE IN ORDER TO CATCH HER AND PUT HER BEHIND THE CHILD GATES IN THE KITCHEN FOR A FEW MINUTES, THEN LET HER OUT, AND SURE AS EGGS IS EGGS, IN MINUTES WHEN SHE TRIGGERS AGAIN, WE ARE OFF, THE MORNINGS ARE OK, SHE IS JEKYL AND HYDE, WITH THE WORST TIME BEING EVENINGS.  SHE LEAVES ME ALONE WHEN IN THE KITCHEN BUT IT IS USUALLY WALKING OUR LONG HALL FROM LOUNGE TO KITCHEN SHE JUMPS UP ALL THE TIME.  I AM OF THE OPINION THAT THIS IS PURELY EXUBERANCE AND BOISTEROUSNESS ON HER PART, THERE IS NO MALICE THERE, JUST AN INVITATION TO PLAY AND THIS IS ALL IT IS, IF A BIT OVER THE TOP BUT AM SURE THAT IF SHE WERE IN A LITTER STILL, HER MOTHER WOULD HAVE GIVEN HER A STEER IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION ABOUT NOT GIVING INVITES TO PLAY IN THIS WAY.   IF YOU LOOK AT YOUNG LITTERS, THEY TEAR AT EACH OTHERS LIMBS IN PLAY.  I AM HOPING THAT WITH AGE AND NOW ENLISTING A ONE TO ONE WITH A GOOD DOG HANDLER, WE WILL ALL BE ABLE TO LIVE TOGETHER MORE CALMLY.

the trainer said put her out the room every time which we do but still she comes straight in and off we go again out in out in ect doesnt seem to be working i could understand if she got like this through play being excited and all but its all the time we cant even stroke her without her trying to bite its awful :(

>we cant even stroke her without her trying to bite its awful       

when Tia does that  we give her something that is acceptable

to chew and prasie her she then stops chewing us and usually

lies back to gets her tummy rubbed at the same time 

Michelle & gang xx

We do that too but she seems to prefer feet occasionally she is persuaded to take something on offer  which is a good sign im sure i have pmd you also hope you dont mind

Put an empty Jiffi Lemon thing in all of your pockets filled with watr. Every time she bites, give her a face full of water. It is quite radical but it will work. I certainly wouldn't have a puppy behaving like that. If he did it to an adult dog he would be flattened.

Hi thanks for the jiffi idea but she loves water and thinks i am playing unfortunately i hope she does it to an adult dog she maywell learn a valuable lesson (Lol)

When the trainer said to put her out the room, she/he probably meant to put her out behind say, a childgate for just a few moments, is that what you do? It sounds as if you put her out the door but she can come right back in

Have patience, everything that is happening is normal :P
However, if your son continues to react it will be much harder to stop the puppy as she will think it's fun and games, and that he is playing with her and inviting her to chase him.

The Perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey is a great book for help and guidance.

Lindsay
x

Hi Trackie :-) Even though your puppy loves water still try squirting her in the face....i've heard a lot of people mention it and apparently it does work :-)

I really do feel for you and your little boy :-( it must be horrible when you have to watch your puppy hanging off your little boy.
Let us know how you get on :-)

Yes she is behind a stair gate

Its perfectly normal behavior for a pup of this age. If you follow the advice given without faltering I bet she will just stop overnight.

>Its perfectly normal behavior for a pup of this age.

I suspect lack of experience and so the wrong approach has escalated this pups behaviour but I don't class what this pup does as normal. No puppy or adult dog should run and bite ppls feet and hands for no reason. Trackie has said this pup does this unprevoked not just when playing. It could well be that a squealing child has turned it into such a great game that the pup now initiates the fun for himself but he now needs to learn that it is not acceptable. Some may disaggree but I always take a firm approach in situations like this, especially when a young child is involved. This needs to handled now and firmly before it gets out of control and we have another 'meandpero' situation.

Trackie, all three of mine play with hoses and in the sea and with squirty water of any description but believe me, I have an old frontline bottle downstairs and any unacceptable behaviour they get a jet of wet stuff in their faces. Not one of them attempts to play with it. If your pup does you aren't doing it right! They know the difference between play and telling offs.  

Thanks colliesrus i will give the jet thing a go see how  i get on i didnt think it was normal pup behaviour not when it was for no apparent reason :)

I take it you use the spot-on version now then!

The children aren't going to be able to use this spray though, are they?  The pup may learn that it's only rewarding to bite children's hands and feet when mum's attention is elsewhere.  And/or to check whether mum has anything in her hand before biting.

>No puppy or adult dog should run and bite ppls feet and hands for no reason.

No, they always do it for a reason; it's just that we don't know what that reason is.

With every litter I've had I've found myself wading across the floor as though wading through treacle with puppies trying to kill the hems of my trousers. And these are pups that grow up to be the softest, gentlest adults ...

So are you reccomending i don't use a jet of water? slightly confused as to which advice to take now :)

Almost anything will work as long as you're all 100% consistent. Choose something (obviously not something that will traumatise the pup! :D) and stick with it.

Thanks JG i will do just that then :)

Remember, between your son and your puppy, your son is the intelligent one who'll learn quickest how to stop this!
:)

Be careful with the jet of water thing.  All dogs have different temperaments and react differently.  Sometimes squirting water in their faces makes them more aggressive, sometimes it frightens them to the point where they hide everytime you raise a hand and sometimes they are so confident they don't react at all!!

True, I would imagine that other methods woudl have already worked on a timid dog. 

The only dog I have seen try and fight the water back was a Terrier. 

Your confident independat free thinking types seem to cope very weel with the mildly unpleasant consequences of being aquirted when doing something you don't want them to :D

all of my dogs at 1 point in their puppy hood have nipped at my legs or feet unprovoked

or so it seemed to me but...... they all had their own reason as to why they did this

e.g Tia my 13 weeks old pup loves to steal slippers and shoes so she attacks at my feet when im

walking along to me this at first is not a provocative thing to make her do this but it clicked after

a few times about the slippers and shoes she is trying to get them from me to take them back to

her crate where we usually see her scurrying into when she steals something  :-D

also 3 of my 4 adults who i have had since puppies are all gentle  well behaved adults now even

when they were little terrors when they were puppies who attacked my feet and jumped up and

nipped at my hands ;-)

Michelle & gang xx

My 13 week old Flat coated retriever pup Freyja s attacks my feet and has just started to jump up and nip the edge of my shirt, hands or anything else that she feels is fair game. I'm doing all the recommended things "yelping" when she bites ( I don't have to act as her teeth are sharp ),distracting her with another toy,ignoring her, and if thast fails leaving the room. Flatcoats are very exhuberant I don't want to stem this I'd just like to get through the nipping stage sooner rather than later!
Emma

Mine used to do this when he was younger and only did it to me. He used to do it through over excitement and not necissarilly through play. I could walk past and the noise of a bracelet jangling could set him off or if I was sitting on the sofa and it was getting close to his 'mad time' if I moved, he would go for me. He was quite nasty too sometimes and it was upsetting as it was directed at me. My mum has also had dogs like this and again with the right firm approach they stopped very quickly. This will be harder for Trackie with little ones in the house.

I suspect that you are right and the child is unintentionally exciting the dog in some way. With mine, we religiously gave a firm no and then ignored him til he calmed down and after a few weeks of this he literally stopped doing it overnight.

Yep I have several Frontline bottles around teh house to shut up barking and end any over silly games.

Priceless aren't they Brainless? Dog fights, hoover herding, senseless barking, pacing; out comes the bottle and it all stops immediately. I don't even have to use it most of the time. My youngest used to bark and throw himself at the French Doors as soon as he was finished outside. For nearly five months I did the ignoring until he has stopped for 30 seconds before letting him in but patience ran out evetually. Now if he barks I open the door, squirt him and come back in. It took three days to stop him completely. :)

HI there

I was always taught that this type of "discipline" should only be used when the dog doesn't know where it is coming from i.e. a certain action creates a negative reaction from the environment - not the owner.  If the dog knows it is coming from you then it can damage the relationship between owner and dog and the dog "fears" the owner.  The way I see it, Trackie29 has a puppy that is living with children.  Children by their very nature are excitable and the puppy is picking up on this and hence the behaviour.  Therefore, the puppy is not doing anything other than being a puppy.  If the child is screaming every time this is happening (which I am sure is the case because he is sore!)then the puppy is thinking its a game. 

I personally don't think that dogs/puppies and young children are a good mix because of this very thing.    Squirting a baby with water IMO is not a good thing because he doesn't know he is doing wrong and is reacting to a situation.  He's not old enough yet to know right from wrong!  I would advise the OP to follow the advice of the behaviourist, after all, they know the situation completely and we don't so we're really not in any position to help other than give verbal support.  But whatever they do, consistency is the key.

Annie

In response to the comment on young children and dogs not mixing i have to say, no offence intended to you,  that i totally disagree! My parents bought a cairn pup when i was 6 mths old, and we apparently had a great relationship from the start. As long as parents are responsible enough to prevent any rough handling from the child/children, and never leave them alone with their dog, i can't imagine a more perfect up-bringing for pup or child. I have brought my children up to have ultimate respect for our dogs, and this is reflected whenever they meet a strange dog, which is just as important.

Hi Caz

My remark about young children and dogs is generalised.  There are of course families that cope very well with children and puppies but, as above, when children run and scream (which is a natural thing for a child to do!) then puppies think it is a game and hence the behaviour we are hearing about from trackie29.  It is often more difficult to divert a puppy's behaviour once it has learned a habit i.e.chasing after the little boy and biting his legs!!!  While your parents situation worked very well, it is not the case for everyone, particularly inexperienced owners.  So, if I were a breeder, I don't think I would be placing a pup with an inexperienced person with young children.  There are always exceptions to the rule of course and every case would be judged individually.  Hope this makes my remark a bit clearer.

Kind wishes
Annie

Do you check the premises where your pups go to then? As some people lie through their back teeth if they want a pup badly enough ive seen it for myself as i was manager of a pet store years ago.Besides that dogs will never learn to get along with children if they are not allowed to live with them surely.I think having a puppy grow up with young children is ideal even if some of us are inexperienced as you so nicely put it :)

Hi Trackie29

I don't breed and I don't think I ever will to be honest.  I agree with you that people will lie through their back teeth to get a puppy and that is one of the reasons I wouldn't breed.  Yes, I would visit the premises if I ever were to breed, but I won't.  I am not getting at you.  You may be teaching your children to grow up to respect animals but the problems you are having definitely have their roots with the children being children and the puppy finding this exciting!!!  That's not a criticism.  It's a fact.  It does make it harder to bring up a puppy in that environment but plenty of people do it.  In answer to your question about how will dogs ever learn to get along with children.  Well, you socialise them to children when they are a puppy and throughout their lives.  Dogs don't have to live with children to be able to get along with them.  As long as they are socialised and learn how to behave around children then they should be fine.  If you think that having a dog grow up with children is ideal then that's fine but I personally don't think it is an ideal situation to bring a puppy into a family who are inexperienced dog owners.  As you yourself are finding out, owning a dog is not easy - add small children into the equation and it makes it doubly hard.

I have no doubt that your puppy will grow out of this and you are taking the time to find out how to solve the problems but what you have to remember is that many people don't and dogs end up in rescue that have had little or no training, no socialisation and are a nightmare around kids.  That's life and if I were breeding I would want to make sure that my puppies didn't end up in rescue.  However, I had added that every potential owner would be taken as an individual which is as it should be.

Hope this sets things straight.
Annie

Got to say I don't like the idea of squirting stuff in a puppies face, bit humiliating for the puppy and I wouldn't want it to be scared of me.  My 11 week old gets a bit carried away sometimes and nips hands, feet etc, but if I put something else in his mouth instead, one of his toys, a cardboard roll, anything really, he plays with that instead.  I've found a good way of stopping them is to train them not to snatch when giving them a biscuit - offer them a fist and then when they dive for it their nose bumps into your hand, you then open out your hand so the biscuit is in you flat palm and they 'take it nicely' say this a couple of times and praise when they do it properly.  You soon find that when you offer treats between two fingers the 'take it nicely'.  This has put you in control of the way they behave towards you using their mouth, and a NO, BE NICE, when he has a nip usually stops him.  Worth a try, I would think rather than the squirting thing.

Must say, owning Briards, squirting them in the face with water is not an option!

My dogs just LOVE water, so this is counterproductive. If I decided to use this tactic on my morons they would just think, Oh great, mum wants a game and means that the behaviour I was displaying was totally acceptable" :D

Must also say that it never worked with my GSD's either.......but each to their own, this particular method has/will never work for me ;)

When trying to teach bite inhibition, I try to distract and put something in the puppys mouth that is acceptable  to bite. I also never try to stop biting as this also can become counterproductive. I too, work on the "nicely" method and it has never failed me yet. IMHO, *nicely* is far easier to attain than no biting at all.........for a pup that is :)

Hi Trackie, i haven't read anyone elses posts.  All i'd say is you need to read up on some puppy books because it does need nipping in the butt as soon as possible,  when you play with her make sure she is only allowed to play with the toy, so if she's really enjoying herself and she then nips you shout ooh then stop playing the game completely and ignore her.  Also if she plays with the toy and never nips you praise her over the top and give a treat make sure she knows in play that she is to chew the toy not you.   Secondly when she nips you while your sitting there get her a bone and give her that to chew or find something she likes chewing if it's not a bone and when she chews it praise her for doing so.  It's just a question of letting her know what she can chew and what she can't but you have to be constitent and put time into your puppy because if you dont you wont get nothing back.

Warm regards susan