Hi..I have a 12 week old german shepard/lab mix puppy Maggie..I got her at about 8 wks..she was borned and raised outside, but I am trying to make her an inside dog..She had a UTI which was cleaner up with antibiotics..My problem now and has been, her excessive nipping and chewing at your hands even when you try to pet her...I have tried the penny can, loud noises, holding her down and of course "NO" and also have hit her a few times on the rump....When I do any of this she just turns on me and gets her teeth in my hand...She also likes to jump on you while you walk and put on your clothes or bites the back of your legs and feet..I am not one to give up on an animal, but I am at my wits end..She lives in a nice 10 acre farm with chickens, (which she likes to chase) horses (which she is afraid of) and cats.
Also if anyone has any ideas on how to make her an inside dog, please let me know...I tried crating her but she just cried for days...but when I put her on the porch she was fine. I bring her in several times during the day but I have to keep an eye on her cause she doesn't go to the door when she wants out.

Thank you all for your time and response.

At wits end in Pa.

Hi there,
I've not got any amazing cure I'm afraid, but don't give up on her yet, she is still only a baby, and if she started out kenneled I would hazard a guess that she didn't get much human socialisation so she doesn't know how to behave. I'm sure the more experienced regulars on here will give you some helpful advice and I'm sure plenty of other people can say they've had similar problems. I have a 4 mth rotty who still doesn't ask to go out, just does a little puddle to let you know he needs to go and then does the rest when I let him out!

Hi

I have a 9 month old Dobe, the Mockodile. His biting [$ nipping drove us mad and I'm afraid that it was a very long haul until he noticably stopped this. :( If you put biting in the search engine on here, I]m sure you will find many desperate postings from me about this subject. For the first six months, I was covered in bruises and scratches from his horrid little teeth and was getting really frustrated that everyone was telling me that I HAD to get on top of it when I was doing all the things they say to and getting nowhere. He stopped the worst at about 6 months and now if over excited he'll try it on but as he's now older, he is more persuaded to stop by our obvious displeasure. He always thought it was a game before and we kept just being consistant but he didn't seem to care that we were not pleased. Thankfully, with a bit more maturity, it now seems to matter more whether we are pleased with him or not !!!!!! But he has also learnt bite inhibition (thankfully) So the only advice I can give on that score is that if you have a biter (which it seems you do) just be consistant and think of some other things that he DOESN'T do (Jake has never chewed anything else in the house for example, just us !!!!!:p ) and hang on in there. Considering dogs are supposedly so intelligent sometimes it takes an awful long time for things to sink in.

Re the toiletting issue, I'm afraid we also had this until about 6 months and I got used to heading to the mop often even before I'd opened my eyes but once again, be consitant in taking her out and praising etc and doing nothing if they do it indoors (except then take her out and praise) and she WILL get it in the end.

I know this hasn't really been really practical advice but believe me, I worried day after day that things were never going to come right, I frequently had hysterics and often wondered why I got the damn thing :D :D but if you hang on in there, things just suddenly seem to come together a bit more.
Just wanted to let you know, you're certainly not on your own. Incidentally, I was also really worried that I hardly seemed to take any pleasure from my pup until about 6 months old but suddenly we just bonded. It's not a given that you will instantly fall in love with each other, nor is it a given that they will do what you want them to in the time you expect. Only a 9 months do I see flashed of the fantastic dog that the Mockodile, with time, will turn out to be.

Good Luck and let us know how you get on

Beth

HI

First of all your pup is still young and needs your kind leadership, but don't forget that all pups will nip and bite - it is natural. Tell me a pup who hasn't done this :)

The best idea imho is to totally ignore the pup when it nips, (so it gets no attention for this - eye contact, voice, nothing.)

Then show the dog what you DO want, which is no bitingyou - so re-direct the pup onto toys.

Some recomend squealing like a hurt pup, this does work but only with very sensitive pups. Yours being a GSD/Lab cross will most likely see this as fun and you as the new squeaky toy.

Smacking will possibly make her hand shy.

It will get better - but you need to remember this is normal, and you must have patience.Quick fixes are not a good idea because ideally the pup needs to learn to regulate the bite which is what would happen in the wild. A dog who has been stopped quickly may not understnad the power of its own jaws when adult and this is important if say at the vets.

Please please do treat yourself to a copy of "The Perfect Puppy"by Gwen Bailey, this will help you so much, I guess Amazon might do it, or try www.crosskeysbooks.com

Bythe way, my Terv was known for a few months as the "Mad Bitey Puppy", but she was trained with the above outlined methods and bites no more!!!! :D :) ;)

Also, have you considered a good puppy socialisation class? It is a must - and you will meet other pup owners coming out the woodwork with bitey pups......LOL!

Lindsay