Advice on puppy biting

[wornoutmumoftwo]

My pup is 9 weeks now, and likes a good chomp on the legs of my trousers as I'm trying to walk anywhere, I just wondered if this is a puppy phase and how to teach him not to clamp on when I'm walking. He has lots of toys, and I'm not sure if he does it when he's bored or not and thought I'd ask some advice.

Thank you in advance.

[Psylocide]

(09-08-2011 06:42 AM)wornoutmumoftwo Wrote:  My pup is 9 weeks now, and likes a good chomp on the legs of my trousers as I'm trying to walk anywhere, I just wondered if this is a puppy phase and how to teach him not to clamp on when I'm walking. He has lots of toys, and I'm not sure if he does it when he's bored or not and thought I'd ask some advice.

Thank you in advance.

I'm going through this exact same thing with my puppy... although he is ~13 weeks old.

The advice I have been given is this... trying to find the root of why he is doing this, be it for attention/food/potty break or possibly just stress relief, is the key to preventing the problem in the first place. If you notice him starting to initiate this behavior, trying to divert his attention to an approved toy is probably your best bet.

If that doesn't work, you may have to do what I have been doing. Bailey is now on lead in the house at all times... when he starts to go for my feet and I can't divert his attention with a toy or treat, I quietly lead him to his kennel for a short (~ 1 min) time-out. I had to administer ~7 time-outs last night before he gave up on my feet/legs.

Also... are his toys always out? It could be that he is bored of certain toys (or they hold less "value") because the puppy has easy access to them at all times. For example, there is a stuffed frog that Bailey never gets unless I am working with him on diverting attention. It makes it that much more special to him when I do get it out.

Anyway, I am still just a novice, surely someone more experienced will be in to give their advice. All I can offer confidently is to stay positive and reward the heck out of the good behaviors when they happen.

[only-borders]

You can also try stopping each time the pup nips at your pant legs. Say no as you stop and wait for the pup to look at you then take the next step.
The pup will more than likely nip again so you will have to repeat the process. Stop each time the nip occurs and say no. It won't be long and the pup should catch on.

[lornski]

Lola went through this annoying phase for a couple of months,wanting to round everyone up and the faster we moved the more attractive the game was! We too attatched a lead to lola in the house it made it more effective to stop the behaviour immediately. It was much worse when she was tired or bored, in the evening she would start to get naughty nipping and throwing herself around the sitting room. We started to put her into the kitchen at the point where this behaviour started. It will get better with time though lola has completely stoped this now...

[misskris]

Just a phase it is imperative, however, that u make sure it remains a phase and doesn't turn into a bad habit but it sounds like u got great advice on doing that
Daisy did the same thing for about 2-3 weeks. Although she never did chomp n clothes, she did have a crazy nipping phase. We used timeouts ... First we removed ourselves from the situation making it very emphatic that we weren't playing with her because she was "mean" then as she started to understand that, we removed her and put her in the laundry room (pitch black) for 2-3 minutes until she settled. I don't know if that would work in your case? But it's worth a try. Since BCs are so pack oriented and love being with their owners, it really affected Daisy thus causing her to learn quickly

[Nansee]

The time outs help a lot. Our pup was in the throes of this stage when we got her at 13 weeks. Now a month later she's much calmer and lost most of the puppy teeth. We are also working with her a lot on rewarding for calm behavior. Feet stay on the floor and she gets a treat

[OwellKube]

Try using the No command when he nips you then immediately give him something appropriate to chew on, toy ball ect.
They are very strong willed dog just keep up with training and he'll catch on. A word of advice never swat a BC for punishment they are very sensitive dogs and they never forget!