Hi i have a 8/9 week old beagle puppy. He is very playfull and loves people.
i expect puppies to nip and bite when they are young but he wont take a telling sometimes.
i have to put him in a seperate room to calm him down as he gets very exited and just wants to keep going. Will this phase pass or is there something else i can try. you can just be sitting on the floor and he will have a nibble at your toes and things like that.

If you put puppy mouthing/biting/nipping into the search option you will get loads of advice, as this has been a common problem of late,
Anne

Hi I think you would need to worry more if a puppy of this age wasn't playing, nibbling toes etc. and anything else he can get his little baby teeth into. This is normal.
tangle.

Thanks for the advice. He has been a lot better tonight and is actually listening to me. he probably wont listen tommorow but i will just have to try even harder.

he's still very ,very young --it will come in time but not overnight -he's a baby for along time yet :)
Liz

Hello

I have a 10/11 week old beagle and he nips and mouths everything and I mean everything. He is so very young that we withdraw the finger, hand, foot from his reach and state a firm 'no'. This works 100% of the time but only for a short period. He trots off, does something else and then returns to the mouthing again...sound familiar?

However, the time between his returning to do the same thing is getting longer by the day. I mean he returns but not to nip straight away. I always have a toy or chew he can have handy by my side so upon his nip I state 'no', wait a few seconds and give him a toy he can chew. I do not want him to associate nipping as a request for the toy, hence the waiting a wee bit.

I tried the squealing method (not too loud) but this distressed him, he thought he had really hurt me and tried to lick me to death and sit upon my chest. I felt sorry for him so I don't do that now. (Each dog will be different)

So I will stick to the firm 'no' untill he realises this is not good behaviour. It is working and it is not too upsetting for him.

I would like to hear how you are getting on as your post was two weeks ago.
Kind regards
Jackie

It's very natural for dogs to nip and play, it's how they learn what's hard biting and what's not.

Telling the dog NO in a firm voice usually works as well. However (i'll probably get loads of criticism for this one too) it's usually not a good idea to discipline a puppy at the tender age of 9 weeks because their brain is not fully developed. They may listen to you at first but they soon forget and you will just have to keep on chastising him. In effect, damaging the relationship between you and your puppy in some instances. (Remember, this is only my opinion and it's based on research i've done over the years and the advice of various more qualified proffessionals such as my vet. Some people may disagree with me so it's up to you if you want to try it).

There is a product on the market called Bitter Apple. It's a taste deterrent. Try spraying this on anything that you don't want him getting his jaws on. This has ALWAYS worked for me until their tiny little brains mature enough to understand the concept. However, i have heard of some puppies that like the taste, but it's rare.

If the bitter apple doesn't work, try mixing 1 part tobasco sauce with 1 part water. After he tastes this for the first time he will stay away from anything that has the scent of tobasco sauce. Hope this advice helps you! Good luck and be sure to keep us briefed on your progress! =)

Rob

IF bitter apples doesn't work , look through your cupboards for something that your dog doesn't like the smell of. Hudson loves bitter apples so we had to go back to the drawing board ..we found he doesn't like Oil of Cloves , Dune perfume and Deep Heat so we used one of those ;)

Melody

Edited from Oil of Gloves ;) I dont have sweaty palms 'onest guv :D

His Mouthing is getting better towards us, i just keep removing him from the room and after about ten atempts he kinda stops for a while. He's not bad with it he just wants to play. He is starting puppy class tonight so hopefully that will help. Our beagle hates the taste of air freshner so i use that but its not long lasting, i will give the bitter apple a try though. I know the mouthing phase will pass but it can be quite sore sometimes, he has a tendancy to go more for my 11 year old son and he takes him out the garden to play all the time to play football. he used to go more for our 8 year old but he leaves him alone now and likes to cuddle up to him on his lap.
He is also clear today from his jags and will stat getting walked around the park etc.
hopefully this will occupy his mind more than our hands,feet,legs etc.

David

David

Another thing you need to do is to instigate play with a toy before he comes and nips. You start the play and end it. Beagles have lively minds and need to be kept occupied but you must control it. You are right to be wary about him learning to associate getting to play with a toy with nipping you. That's why you need to instigate the play before he comes to nip.

I am a firm believer in the removing from the room technique if "no" etc doesn't work. With perseverance it does work and in my experience -very effectively. Do start to get him used to the lead and going out - but don;t over-exercise him. It can damage their frwoing joints etc and could put him at risk of developing joint problems in earlier life rather than later.

hth

Pam n the boys

Oh Mel, you always bring me a smile....oil of GLOVES? Must be sweaty palms lol xx

lol Phil ..that will teach me to post before my eyes are fully open :D

Broxi is now 12 weeks old and is doing just fine. He has been at puppy classes for 2 weeks now and this has helped 10 fold. The help and information from the trainers has been superb, his mouthing is getting better although it can still be sore when he catches you. I now realise it wasnt his fault but ours for not correcting him properly, it still takes a lot of work but he isnt the worst puppy in the world, i have seen worse much worse. He does all the usual stuff like sit, lie down 'eventualy', come, stay, no problem, Last night when we walked in all the other puppys were getting a bit of free play. A boxer and a white German sheppard both came right up to him and were a bit forward with him, he just sat down ignored them and they left him.The trainer said thats what he learned when he was with his litter mates and knows how to tell them he isnt interested in behavior like that and we should do the same with him.The only problem we have is when he is out walking, that can be a pain but i knew what i was getting. i did nearly 9 months of investigating all about the breed and searching for a reputable breeder. I know you cant let them of the lead and that doesnt bother me but i know he will get better walking on his lead, and i cant wait until he gets a bit older and summer comes round, hopefully by that time his lead walking will be fine so we can all enjoy a walk with him including Broxi.

Hi Broxi

Your puppy is lucky to have you. No matter how much one researches about a breed does not make it 100%. Each dog is different.

Our 12 week old beagle mouths and sometimes this hurts a bit. BUT when I was playing with him he wanted MY part of the toy, he jumped and crunched down so powerful that it broke the skin rather badly resulting in bleeding. He knew immediately what was wrong and let go. I did not make a fuss or scold him as he had corrected himself. Now that tells me that when he is mouthing and it hurts a bit, it is not anywhere NEAR the power he is actually capable of.

So I think your pup is probably the same, he is capable of far more than you think and is not using this power on you, thus he is only playing. I agree he must be taught what is accepted and was is not but that will take time.

I too researched for some time even though we have experience with the breed but no information is too much. In the end we have to react to each individual according to behaviour.

You are a good and kind person to take him to training classes and I am sure this will all pay off ten fold in a few months. Our pup has not finished his injections yet so we have not taken him out. I have walked him around the garden and house on his lead to get him used to it. You will know if and when you can eventually let him off his lead for a run. Our other beagle came back every time with no problems.

I am now using clicker training on this new pup and it is going great, far better than I hoped and we have three adult cats to deal with too. Teaching him to 'leave' them was not hard at all. They are a bit wary of him but as time goes on and he leaves them they will relax more. One was already used to dogs, the other two were rescues.

Best wishes to you and Broxi

regards Jackie

See my answer about the Golden retriever biting

Bobbi