Nellie is now 9 weeks old, and she is biting a lot. I mentioned before about her biting Dads face (but he was asking for it!) and she has her mouthing nibbles which i just stop by removing my attention. But she sometimes has this "hyper-fit" where she won't take no for an answer. She ran at me a couple of nights ago and grabbed my jumper, when I said "no" really loud she just started growling and tugging it. I could hear it starting to rip, but I just COULD NOT get her off! It took me quite a few seconds to get her off me, and I just took her and put her in her crate and ignored her for half an hour. Tonight she has now bit my Dad again. He wasn't playing with her and she just came over and started biting, he said no, and she ignored...he pushed her away and really shouted NO at her and she just lunged at him. She has put a half inch cut in his arm, and there was blood everywhere! My mom had to run over and get her off and put her in the crate (I was out) and she was just howling in there. I will start her at puppy classes when she is fully vaccinated, but is her behaviour normal for a Bulldog? I know they can be a stubborn breed, but should she react to being shouted at a bit more? I don't want to shout at her at all, but ripping skin is not on! Help...

Tracey

Would it be ok if i email you?

Helen

I'm afraid by tugging at the jumper and your Dad by pushing at her you've turned it into a marvelous game for her.  When a dog has something you don't want them to get it's far easier to offer something you *do* want them to have, like a ragger toy to tug.  When they jump on you, turn away, curl into a ball - they will double their efforts to get your attention - but keep up the ignoring.  Make sure that you are paying her plenty of attention when she is being 'good' as well, so  it's more rewarding for her to be good than bad ;)  BTW - dogs don't understand what 'no' means......

puppies nip and some more than others, i use to shut mine out for 10 mins at a time when she started her mad hour until she learn to calm down,the bite was'nt meant its just that puppy teeth are so sharp they just rip into the skin without much effort,she will get out of this stage and go into another probably chewing things up so its one thing after another with puppies! i think dogs do understand no they know it means stop the same way they know what sit means a long with  any other command they learn.

Sorry for this being short but by curling away you are showing you are scared, I have a staffy puppy who did similar things  when they get down on your front legs to launch at you they will try growel your best answer is to act as its mother would either pick the puppy up and place it somewhere eg crate and leave it to calm down,   (i tried this it didnt help)  so when Bruno got down to pounce i DARKED with a deaply bass tone in my voice this would send him running to hide.  If the puppy is mouthing on your fingers etc  i found having a nylabone or similar to place in its mouth when it was mouthing got him out of this habbit (this way you are teaching him the correct things to chew arent your fingers) he is now 13 weeks with no mouthing but is very dominant over my fiance due to her turning away when he growls at her. another tried and tested method is to shout OW (exadurate the loudness) to show this can hurt also something a mother would do to her pups. its a trick of finding what works for your puppy.

Sorry don't agree, by ignoring and turning away you are showing you are not interested. The puppy is trying to get your attention or wants you to play, turning away does not shows you are scared it show you do not want to know and is the method I use. If you ignore it, the pup soon learns that when you call, you will playor give it attention, but if they bite you will not.

Hi,
One thing to point out - you mention the puppy <<getting down on your (? its?) front legs to launch at you >> Are you talking about the 'play bow'? The way a dog invites another for a game? If it is indeed this action, then you know it's all in fun and high-spirits, not aggression!

No - by curling away you are presenting the least interesting part of you which means there is nothing to grab hold of.  A dog who is scared of another will do the opposite - roll over and present his belly.......

disagree! if you curl in a ball the puppy gets even more excited and jumps all over you, you just need to teach them whats right and whats wrong thats how dogs have sucessfully learnt for years!

Who mentioned curling in a ball?

I have been training for 50 years and have never found the need to 'teach a dog right from wrong' who's right from who's wrong, yours. All you need to teach a dog is what is acceptable to you, not need for violence, just explain what you want and expect it. 

jackie H -i quote from diggers post "turn away and curl into a ball" who mentioned violence are you reading the posts properly? biting is wrong! am i right?

And that is called an 'extinction burst' and is to be expected - because after the pup does that, and finds you still don't make a squeaky toy - it will cease, and it's learnt the lesson you were trying to teach it - no smacking, no shouting, no negativity........

I do have to say that the first thing you should do is talk to her breeder you told me who you got her from and i think they would be happy to help you and the pup, as i would and have always made it clear any one that buys one of mine must come back to me as i know my dogs lines better than any one else.

Remember that when a litter of puppies is together, they will playbite each other - if one bites too hard, the other will give a loud yelp, which is telling the biting puppy that it is hurting.  It's normal for puppies to playbite their new owners when they are homed, but next time she does it, I wouldn't just shout no at her, I would give a loud yelping 'ouch' and then turn my back ignoring her for a few minutes - she should soon get the message I reckon!
  Hilda

Thanks everyone. I have really perservered with the ignoring today. I held her on my lap for a cuddle, and then when she started biting I just said OW and put her down away from me. I left her for a minute or so and picked her back up, she sat on my lap cuddling fine and I told her she was a good girl over and over again, she was good for about 5 min. When she started biting again, I just put her back down again. Trouble is she just bites something else then :) like my moms shoes!
Perhaps she just needs more exercise! Once she is fully vaccinated and I can take her out, she might calm down...? Maybe?
She is soiling her bed frequently too. Not just on a night, but if we put her into the crate during the day and go out for an hour, the crate will be in a right mess when we get back. We thought her cushion was too big so started putting smaller ones in there instead, she was ok the first day, but since then she has gone through 4 small cushions!! She has paper in the crate...yet she will wee and poo on her cushion, walk all through it and then jump up the bars! Yakky. She keeps having to have her feet bathed! I think I should have called her minx.

Some Bulldogs can be really hard to housetrain , you are just going to have to persevere.

I had one that was still not fully housetrained by the age of 12 months , and it were not through lack of trying  ;D

Tracy, the best advice I can give you is to read a book called 'Think Dog' by John Fisher, who is now sadly deceased, but who understood dogs better than anyone on the planet.  This book will give you a real insight into why your dog does what it does and how to get around problem behaviours.  In fact I would recommend this book to anybody who has a dog, experienced or not!

hee hee tracy - i have a 5 month old pup that we had form 8 weeks - she's really called ruby but does get called minxie more and more!

we also had similar troubles with the playbiting thing - it nearly broke me when we were trying to teach her, i was so dismayed at a couple of points and had a few tears but IT GOT BETTER!! DO persevere and she WILL get it. (Dunno about you but i found it actually hardest to 'train' my mum and dad re how to deal with the nipping!!)

You'll get lots of useful advice from different people on here about how to correct the nipping and they'll all be good idaes. The key things are to work out (a) WHY your pup's biting and (b) what MOTIVATES your pup. THat way you can make sure that biting as a strategy doesn't work for her (ie if you think she bites for attention, ignore her. If she bites cos she wants to play, make sure that your behaviour can in no way be interpreted as a game on her part. That way she'll try a different strategy......) Also, once you know what motivates her most you can use that to manipulate her behaviour. I found that our pup HATES to be ignored far more than she was bothered by a yelp personally, so we very actively ignored her when she nipped. If she tried tugging at our clothes/furniture, she got put out of hte room for 2 mins on her own in the boring hall.

Also remember that pups read body language and tone of voice FAR more than actual words. SO when i said i ignored her if she bit, i stood up (she's a cavalier so short and couldn't get my attention if i'm standing up, only paw at my jeans), crossed my arms, said nothing, completely avoided eye contact (v important) and stuck my nose in the air. She soon got the message that nipping me turned me into a VERY boring friend.

Another thing that i've found reallyl useful as Ruby's got older and i can imagine you might find useful earrlier with a more aggressive breed is that if she's in a minxie mood now we keep a houseline on her. Its jsut a @2m lnog piece of strong light cord attached to her collar with a clip (so it doesn't drag or bother her - although she does love to have a chew of it from time to time :) ) - its realy useful as it means htat we can always easily get control of her. So if, for example, she tries her current minxie plan of jumping up on the sofa arm to lean over onto the coffee table and drink someone's cup of tea, we can very easily and with no fuss remove her form the sofa by gently pulling her line. If we didn't have the line and tried to get hold of herr collar or pick her up off the sofa, she starts avoiding & nipping hands which she thinks is a BRILLIANT game. So line v easily cuts away any rewards for Ruby. I thought it was a bonkers idea when it was first suggested, but trust me its realy helpful. [ALso you do need to keep an eye on her while she's got a long cord dangling from her neck, but to be honest with little puppies you have to keep such a close eye on them anyway that i don't think it makes any difference. Just make sure you unclip it before she wees/poos on it!)

Keep persevering - it will all get so much easier as you learn about each other and you'll beable to relax and enjoy her that much more.

Have fun :)

Hi !
I am having exactly the same problem with my 11 week old Gordon Setter, he is so quick to learn everything else ie has mastered sit, down, come - but there are 2 things he just doesnt seem to be able to grasp - stopping biting and not jumping up. For the first problem I have tried shouting a loud " NO ", also the "OUCH " bit, but neither have had any effect. I do seem to be getting a slight degree of progress by holding his muzzle shut, looking into his eyes and a deep " NO " but it is very slow progress - any other advice from anyone?????
Second problem - jumping up - I keep pushing him down, again with a firm " NO ", but he seems to see this as a game! Its not just jumping up at people, but also on the furniture, and in the kitchen.
I really want to start to get somewhere soon, as we have family coming for Xmas, including elderly mother in law, and I dont ant to keep shutting him away in his crate - HELP!!!

First of all your puppy is 11 weeks, don't expect so much from him at such a young age.

Don't shout, be firm but calm.  He would not of mastered much at this age, but it shows he is quick to learn so you are off to a good start........I don't suppose you taught him sit etc by shouting at him........think about it.

All puppies mouth and bite, you just need to show him it is not acceptable.  It has been said many times on here before, but ignoring him as in turning your back on him is the best way to deal with it.  If he gets over excited, put him in another room to cool off for a period. He will learn far quicker that biting doesn't get your attention than by shouting at him. 

Don't forget he doesn't yet know what 'no' means and you are using it in lots of different circumstances and this will confuse him at this age.

If he jumps on the furniture, take his collar and lead him off, try not to look at him while you do it, I would use the command 'off'.

Jumping up, again try turning your back on him, walk away and ignore him. when he is on the floor, then don't forget to quietly praise him.

I wouldn't have an 11 week old puppy having a free run of the house, I prefer the  lounge to be by invitation only at this age.  Invest in a stairgate, they are so good for keeping him in the area you want him to be, especially if you haven't the time to monitor him closely, the great thing is they don't feel so shut out as they can see all the goings on.  You can then let him in when you have the time to spend with him and you won't get so stressed.

Hope this helps

Sandra