My pup is now 11 1/2 weeks, hes an absolute star, Im REALLY happy and am totally in love.  Hes been very easy to train so far, he drops, sits, stays and is off the lead on walks, although he doesnt go far he comes back and sits when I call him.  He lyes on his back when he meets people and is very loving BUT Im really struggling with this biting thing :-(  Its only when I sit on the couch of an evening he does it, I have tried the yelp and walk away, soon as I get up and leave the room he stops but soon as I sit back down he starts again(Ive tried it lots and lots of times).  I have removed him from the room until hes calmed down-soon as I get him out and sit back down he starts again! I was told to get him by the scruff of the neck and pin him down-this didnt work. Is there anything else I could try or do I have to just keep on with the getting up and walking away?

Oh 0ne more thing-his lips come up like a snarl when he does it-this is normal isnt it?

Hi Angelz,

Firstly, you're doing much better than me - my little guy turned 12 weeks yesterday and doesn't sit, stay, lie down - zippo, zilch, nadda LOL!  But then to be fair I haven't even tried :)  He knows his name, comes back about 50% of the time as a coincidence when with the others and around 25% on his own decision so I'm getting there and house training has been very simple, particular with the awful weather up here (central Scotland).

Where I have made progress is on the biting, yep, even the "snarling darlings" can be overcome but it does take not only patience but consistency too.  I notice you've tried a variety of measures and I think therein lies the problem - you really would be better deciding on ONE course of action and sticking with it religiously (requires full co-operation of the entire household too of course!)

What I would say is please DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, go down the route of scruffing and pinning - you'll only frighten him and not necessarily into stopping the behaviour but possibly escalating it.

Personally I say "Ah, ah" in a firm, sharp tone when my pups are at this stage - some will respond appropriately to high pitched "ouches" or "yelps" but the tone can make it more exciting hence why I now favour a more disciplinarian deep tone.  I don't manhandle them in any way, even to remove them, as this only extends interaction.  Equally if I'm trying to sit and watch TV I can't honestly say I'm best impressed with standing up and turning my back or me leaving the room - I just sit my ground, say "Ah, ah" and then ignore him :)  It's worked for me with 6 dogs so far and a litter of 8 pups before 7 left for new homes so I think it's fair to say I can confidently recommend the approach as effective.

HTH you too!  Teri :) 

Yes, your right the standing up and walking away stops him, soon as Im up he calms down but no matter what tone I shout at him or how loud he pays no attention, like U said he gets more excited!
When you say 'remove them' do I need to shut him in the kitchen or is just walking in the kitchen enough and turning my back on him for a few mins? Its just he sleeps in there and I dont want him to see it as a place hes put when hes punished.  Which ever I do as soon as I go and sit back down he starts again, if I play ball with him hes fine but then I feel Ive let his behaviour bully me into playing ball and dont want him to link the two, is that poss or just me over thinking?
Also it does seem mainly to be of an evening-perhaps he gets nowty when hes tired, hes stimulated alot through the day as hes not on his own much and I now take him out off the lead on two 15 min walks a day. do you think hes over tired at night?  Shall I put him to bed earlier or will he then be awake at silly o'clock?
I didnt like the scruff of the neck thing, the vet told me to do it!
Hes a really lovely pup at ALL other times, I really cant fault him hes a pleasure :-) but my hands and wrists are in tatters and it needs to stop :-) I will continue with what you reccomed (lock in kitchen or turn back)

Thanks
Zoe (& Marley)

It is really frustrating when they keep biting.

Buster is 7 mnts now, but when he was younger, it was a nighmare. As he was so large for his age it really was quite scarey.

We used to shut him in the kitchen (where is bed was, with a stair gate at the door), the idea to seperate them isn't to punish them. It's show them they can't be with you when they are behving like that and it gives them a chance to calm down. Buster soon learned that the kitchen was a 'quiet place'. After a minute or 2 he would be let back out (most of the time he went strait back in for biting!!!) but if you keep it up they get the message :) (it also help teaches them the name of the room - now Buster knows where to go if I say 'kitchen' :) )

Also, try your hardest not to shout, or raise your voice it realy does wind them up even more. I found that once I stopped raising my voice and used a simple, firm 'no', and stayed very calm it worked much better.

The advice is to give them a toy when they bite & to praise them when they play with it. I also thought that it would just teach him that bite=playtime, but it does work. They eventually get the message that if they want to play/bite something it should be a toy.

Buster has always felt the need to wind up in the evening (he's not over stimulated in the day), I put it down to him finding everybody sat around to be rather boring or a captive audience :)

> Also it does seem mainly to be of an evening-perhaps he gets nowty when hes tired

This is quite right, it is like small children get overwrought and often it ends in tears before bedtime.

As with children a calm quiet routine will ease things.  As the other poster has said calm and quiet, the pup has excellent hearing so a firm low toned No or ah ah, is all that is needed,a nd distraction (another toy) or redirection (something you have trained like a sit or down or a series of training exercises),will calm matters down.

It is like putting an overwrought toddler down for a nap, or getting a child to sit and read a book or do a puzzle.

Hi again Zoe

I think you misinterpreted my post (I rambled so probably my fault :) )

I don't put my pups out of the room or go away myself etc - I just say "ah, ah" and ignore them or distract them if they're too hyped at the time :)   I find the less I do in response the less exciting it is for the puppy.  If a puppy bites too much and too hard during playing or handling then I would be more determined to stop the behaviour (with a sharp tone of voice) and then reward with (randomly) vocal, physical or play/treat praise for it stopping biting :)

As you'll see from the other replies most of us work on the same variation of a theme and it does get the message across - pups are baby animals so need that taken into account too.  The important thing is that household members all work from the same angle to stop this - i.e. ONE theme rather than a variation LOL.  Patience and consistency are pretty much the key to moulding all behaviours.

best wishes, Teri

Teri you are soooo right.
Whatever variation is used, it has to be done by EVERYBODY in the house. As soon as we got it into our 7 year old sons head that running away & screaming (!!) was just too much fun for the pup to ignore, progress was much quicker. :)

LOL - truth be told I have to stifle the odd scream of my own at times so can empathise with your 7 yr old :-D

Hi

I dont know if it will help but I fostered a dog a while back that did this bite thing in the evenings only.  I trained everybody in the family that when they sat on the settee they had a chew toy in their hand - and as soon as the biting started they did the 'ouch' thing and put the toy in the dogs mouth (not quite in the dogs mouth - I mean offered it to play and chew) - the best was the ball on the rope dangled near his mouth - he got completely distracted trying to catch the ball to chew rather than the hand and within two weeks he was looking for the ball and not the hand!

good luck with whichever you try

Maxine