Hi,  This is my first post, and I really hope you can help me.  I have a 12 week old Whippet pup, who is turning into a fab dog and lots of fun, however he does get quite nippy, and has bitten my ear (twice), my nose yesterday, (I dont offer him my face as a sacrifice as a general rule, he just jumps up and is all teeth and legs!!)  I am 99.9% convinced it is high jinks rather than any form of aggression.  I say a firm 'no!' to him and show him my hand as in not pointing at him (hard to explain in words!) but then he just jumps up again and tries to nip my hand.

It happens either when he is playing, excited, or about half an hour before he needs a nap or bed!!

A couple of weeks ago it wasnt so bad, but those teeth are coming through now and rather sharp!!!

He has lots of rope toys, rubber chew toys and we do try and get him to bite those where possible, but not sure if we are doing right by that either.  I did think about getting him one of those rask things to give him something to chew if his teeth are coming through, but they say for 4 months and above, so again not sure. He doesnt destroy anything, just nips!

Any advice appreciated as I dont want this 'habit' to continue, although of course it may just be normal puppy behaviour and will pass when his teeth are through.  Other than this he is fine.

Thank you.

Hi! Don't worry, this behaviour is 100% normal. This is how puppies play with each other, and it takes time for them to learn that people are weedy softies who need to be touched very gently so that they don't break!

If you follow the advice given in The Bite Stops Here (click on the link) your pup will soon learn the correct bite inhibition he needs. Good luck - he sounds lovely!

The article that JeanGenie put the link to is brilliant :) I've used that with my pup, but I did have to tweak it a bit, my pup got even more exited with a loud 'ouch' which increased his biting, so instead we used a medium/quite, firm, calm 'NO', which worked better. I'm not trying to tell you to do this istead, but if the 'ouch' appears to wind him up more, you have another option :)

It's worth remembering to apply 'the bite stops here' to any biting of your clothes too, or they can learn it's OK to bite your clothes instead, which may be fine untill they bite your sleave & catch your skin at the same time :(

Or tear your best friend's very nice jacket.

My 12 week old Goldie is exactly the same, all he wants to do is chew you! Similarly when he is excited, hungry or tired he starts to nip. Nos and Ah ahs don't work at all on him, he is very bold and thick skinned. I have to really shout and often put him out of the room, he will then give a frustrated grumble and stop lol :)

I am glad to read your post and see that he is normal. We have started giving him puppy rawhides this week - they say from 12 weeks on the packet. He is probably a little young but they really do help. You could also try a piece of thick carboard - makes a bit of a mess though :)

You are lucky he doesn't destroy anything ours is hell bent on chomping his way though our coffee table, pine doors etc etc!

Thank you all so much, I do feel now as if I am not creating a monster!!!  The Ouch! seems to make him more excited too.  Generally I try an isolate him for 5 mins (no more) if he gets 'out of hand' that definitely seems to calm him down.

Also thank you jeangenie for The bite stops here - amazing when you know the science behind whats happening. Didnt realise that pups HAVE to do it to learn!!!!!! ;-))

I did laugh about the cardboard, every cling film/foil inner tube now goes his way (even a tube in a runner I bought in Tesco on Saturday!!!), as the toilet roll ones are demolished before I have even turned my back!!!

I am quite lucky he isnt demolishing anything yet, but never say never, in the last day he has realised he can bark (I thought Whippets were quiet sensitive things!!!!) and is now using this talent at every given opportunity...........!!!!

I know now I am not alone, or becoming a hapless owner!!!

Mines 15 wks and we're just about getting out of that stage, the link given above is great but my pup also became more excited at a yelp or loud noise so I used a small water gun, it stops him immediatley :-) I also used the raw hide chews as theses were the only thing he prefered to chew bar me but do a search on here about them as some are a choking hazard, I used the big cigar shaped one.

So glad its not just us :-)

Our 10 week Golden is the same. We find 'time out' in another room a good one. He gets put there for a small time when all else has failed and he is starting to realise that we wont play if he bites. My husband lets him get away with it more but I am working on training him after the Pup gets it, he takes longer to learn !!

Rx

I think that most humans are poor on timing/not convincing with the ouch or squeal, and it works best on very young pups, not older ones unless they are very sensitive.  Time out or distraction, slight aversive (like the water spray, but again not on a sensitive soul).

I too have that problem with my 11 week old Westie, I found if I said Ouch he would think it was fun to do it some more, A soft No does work much better I am only half chewed now LOL

you'll do fine, my sis's whippet was the same... if it's any help she was mental for the first year but now is really really chilled and so funny! last x-mas she insisted on lying on my (rather padded lol) belly on the couch. i had a cough at the time and if i coughed or moved she'd jump up like a cat, put her nose on mine and stare at you with those great massive eyes looking very worried- you could see that she was trying to say "wtf??? are you ok comfy human?? whats the matter with you?? be still please!"

> were quiet sensitive things

quiet yes, sensitive no... she runs with our bullies (gets called skinny bully) and can take on our big boy quite happily

Its definitely high jinks. When my dog was 6 to like 16 weeks he would grab hold of dressing gowns and hang on for dear life. My poor child who was 5 at the time would be snoops play thing so as he was only little too I would get him to fold his arms so no little juicy fingers hanging down ! and tell him to look up at the ceiling [he was only 5] and my pup would think after few moments of hassle "YOUR BORING" and would wonder off . Must add that my son who's 14 now is very proud to say he lost 5 milk teeth from our pup !! He couldn't help having that nose ! 

Our 9 week old mini schnauzer is also play biting (us but mostly our 2 yr old dog).  When she does it to us I use a detergent bottle half filled with pebbles - it sounds really loud when shaken and it stops her in her tracks.  Then I praise her when she is calm.  She is definitely thinking now before she bites so hopefully she is getting the message.

At nine weeks of age its a bit young to be using such a harsh method . rattling a bottle of pebbles !!
Just open their mouth gently when holding on to you or clothing and give them a tennis ball or any other chewy toy i think.

An aversive on a 9 week puppy   Why on earth would you want to introduce negative behaviours to a baby?  Far better to follow basic common sense as laid out by the Bite Stop article linked to above by Jeangenie :)  Pups understand us saying "ouch" or "oi"  remarkably well, particularly when this is followed by a cessation of fun, i.e. we stop playing with them - there should be no need to alarm or chastise them at all.

My latest puppy, as have all others before him, responded exceptionally well to this method and at 17 weeks his bite inhibition is almost perfected - despite cutting his adult teeth and probably finding chewing on anything (anyone LOL) particularly attractive.

We reap what we sow - if you want love, trust and respect we have to show it :)

Great advice.  However with my first dog, saying 'ooch' and 'ouch' went unheaded, so did spraying the pup with water (he just thought it was fun).  None of the usual methods worked, so when he drew blood from my 5 yr olds leg, I asked the advice of a dog trainer.  It was she who suggested the bottle method.  I only had to use in about three times with him and he stopped the 'play' biting.  Hence the reason I used it (only twice thus far to good effect) on the new pup.  By the way, our 2 yr old is a fantastic dog who is well behaved and sociable and knows his boundaries.

With all due respect having attained a mere 9 weeks of age doesn't suggest you tried very long

In this instance, in using an aversive method, you are not teaching your puppy to inhibit the bite - dogs which are taught to temper the contact and pressure of teeth against anything (but particularly against flesh!) do not go on to injure, even accidentally.  OTOH those which have no specific training towards inhibition do not learn the consequences of nipping even in play.  My adults still play bite when encouraged (a high energy guarding/herding breed so a natural trait anyway) but do not bruise or pinch skin - they are very gentle and biddable and have never had harsh methods employed to achieve that.

regards, Teri

When did you get your puppy ?

If you have tried everything perhaps you haven't tried any one thing for long enough I would hope you didn't get your puppy any younger than 6 weeks old, which would mean you have only had 3 weeks & TBH most puppies are better leaving the litter from 7/8 weeks or older. In the extra time the puppy teach each other & also should learn from their mother.

I know I got Wukee at 6 weeks old, but I have had dogs for  50 years this July & he is hopefully destined to be an Obedience dog. My Rjj came to me at 13 weeks old & had no issues with puppy nipping because his mother who he was with until I got him taught him his manners & behaviour.

I, personally, get up & walk away from a puppy that nips after saying a firm quiet no. We had a wonderful GSD who taught all the puppies that we had bite inhibition. She never ever frightened them, she would grump softly & walk away when they went over the top & when they were old enough(much older than 9 weeks nearer 6 months)she would really tell them off just once & after that she had a special "stop it"grump which stopped the behaviour immediately

I think debussy was refering to having tried the other methods when the 2yo dog was a puppy. Now having found a method that worked with that dog they have repeated the same method with the new puppy.