Play Biting in Puppies

[PupNamedPilot]

Pilot has been such a great dog, his only downfall is his play biting. And it is some extreme play biting. As far as the major biting, thank goodness it is only directed to me and not the many children I have had him around. It's gotten so bad I have small punctures in my arm, clothing, etc. Any way to deal with this? I have tried the small bop on the nose, the compressing the lower jaw and tongue together, and holding his muzzle shut. All of these make him want to bite my hands(who have gotten the worst of the biting) even more. He originally bit my face but has, for the most part, stopped after he left some good bite marks on my upper lip. I'm sure its just the beginning of his teething but he has plenty of things to chew on. A knuckle bone, a marrow bone, two rawhides, old shoes, rags, plush squeak toys, everything. What else am I missing? Any help would be great. Thanks.

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[Natalie]

Hehehe, Pilot is so cute

I'm with you there... Absolutely stumped with how to deal with play biting. Sophie is worse with Adam, so we decided he will take charge of her obedience. Nothing really seems to help though now Right now we are trying the, "Here Sophie, have this instead... Goooood Girrrrrl" routine.

[PupNamedPilot]

Thankyou. And congrats on your new little addition, as well.

Yeah we try that with Pilot. He will put whatever I give him in his mouth for about 10 seconds and then he proceeds to leap on top of me and bite bite bite. He's seems to do it more in the evening. :/ Can't wait until he is out of this teething phase.

[Samwise]

Play biting is very much part of being a puppy, but they do need to learn the boundaries. Have you tried giving him a "time-out"? When he starts biting, try giving him a firm tap on the nose, and a forceful "No!" If he persists, do the same again and then put him in his crate to calm down. Stop all play activity for a while so that he learns that not listening means that all the fun stops.

[only-borders]

When the biting starts have you tried to get up and walk away or put the pup in it's crate? Stopping whatever you were doing when the biting started. Since you said it happens most at nighttime, could it be that Piper, like a small child, is getting over tired at the end of the day.
Maybe this would be a good time to hook on the leash and go for a walk just before bedtime.

It is always hard to know what is going not seeing it, but redirecting to another activity or removing yourself, or the dog, from the area usually works.

Looks like we were posting at the same time Samwise.

[Tassle]

House rules are as follows.....

1) Play ALWAYS involves a toy (dogs play by using thier mouths - this is going to happen so you must give them something to bite on)

2) teeth on skin is not acceptable....even if you think it was a mistake. Any teeth on skin leads to the end of the game - remove the toy get up and walk away.

With youngsters I have found this works really well - as long as you stick to it 100%.

[jayvee]

My collie,Murphy, was an extreme play-biter as a pup(he's now almost 4). I have to tell you, I think I tried EVERYTHING I read and heard to get him to stop; from bitter apple sprays(he liked the taste), to bops on the nose, to holding his muzzle shut, to time-outs, etc. Nothing I tried seemed to work. For me, the time-outs saved my hands for as long as he was isolated, but he didn't seem to learn anything from them, and went right back to attacking hands, feet,clothing, etc. as soon as he was out of time-out. I remember being so concerned that he would grow up to be a vicious dog. All of a sudden though, as he became older( I don't remember what age), the play biting stopped, and all of my worries were for nothing. He's now a super-sweet and loving dog--he still has quirks that make him uniquely Murphy, but no more biting and out-of-control behaviors. I'm not a canine behaviorist, but in my opinion, I don't think play-biting has to do with teething as much as just the fact that the pup thinks it's fun. My Bailey, who's now 5 months, isn't a play-biter. When she did start to gnaw on hands, she was easily directed instead to her chew bones. I also wet and freeze wash cloths for her to gnaw on. I guess what I'm trying to say is, some technique may work for your pups, so I'd try, but if not, they WILL outgrow the behavior in time.

[Tassle]

Time outs are funny things with dogs. You have to be sure of a couple of things..
Firstly that the dog associates the time out with the action....this means that you have to a) pair the time out with the action EVERY time it happens and b) ensure that is happens swiftly enough for the dog to link the 2 together.

People often fall down at (a) as there are times when they will allow the dog to mouth fior whatever reason, and they often fall down at (b) due to the fact the timeout cannot be applied swiftly eough.

Secondly the timeout must be done in such a way as to be a punsihment to the dog (ie - make the behaviour less likely)

This means that the time the dog is isolated has to be taken into account - if the dog is isolated for too long it will forget why it was out there - if it too short the dog will not see it s a punishment.
It also means that you need to ensure the dog gets no attention from yourself (or anyone else) as the T/O is being administered.

If I have a pup who needs time outs I administer them as follows.
1) the pup is always on a house line
2) as soon as the undesirable behacviour starts the pup is given a quiet warning...(no or off etc)
3) if the behaviour continues, I get hold of thje lead and remove the pup form the situation (usually to a different room, no talking touching or looking)
4) the Pup is allowed back in the situation either a) aftern 1 min or b) as soon as they have stopped yelling/scratching etc.
Again - there is NO attention when they are allowed back in the situation.

IIf pup behaves, it is rewardede with chew, toy or attention, if pup continues (most likely situation) the same thing is repeated.

T/O's do work - but you have to be 100% commited and consitant. If you allow the pup to get away with it one time you are telling it that the persitance is rewarded and you will give up so they keep trying.

I hope that makes sense.

[PupNamedPilot]

Thanks everybody. I have tried these methods and so far his biting is minimal today, but we will see how he is tonight.

I'm sure he will grow out of this, but I would like to nip it in the bud, and save my hands the damage. :lol:

I have been keeping him on a lead while in the house, and as you said, Tassle, it really seems to help and he understands what I am trying to communicate to him much more.

[AllieFay]

Maggie bites a lot too. We just spray her with a water bottle. She gets the message. But we then had to make sure she wasnt afraid of water, it was more the shock factor that made her let go and then we would tell her no. She isnt afraid of water at all, loves swimming at the beach. But it seemed to work for us.

[Michelle]

When Twig tried play biting (we got her at 7 months) she only went for my daughter (who's 16, so not scared at all, just annoyed). The rest of us were apparently not as much fun. Courtney would say "yipe" really loud and high-pitched like she was hurt and and then get up and walk away. Twig learned really fast not to bite her. She's 13 months now and doesn't do it anymore at all.

[Natalie]

Michelle, I have been using the 'yipe' technique all morning! FANTASTIC She reacts instantly, before we even get up and walk away from her. Piper is a bit unsettled by it though :lol:

[PupNamedPilot]

Natalie Wrote:Michelle, I have been using the 'yipe' technique all morning! FANTASTIC She reacts instantly, before we even get up and walk away from her. Piper is a bit unsettled by it though :lol:

Wow I really need to try that out Had Pilot out all day today with his best friend, an Aussie/GSD mix named Roxy. He's been good and will hopefully sleep like a baby.

[Natalie]

Hahaha! Can totally relate- SLEEEEEEP puppies SLEEEEP!!! We love it when Piper wears herself out at the Dog Park. She makes everyone there exhausted with her energy alone It is just so hard to get them tired.

[PupNamedPilot]

Oh I know Natalie. But it seems like they are wide awake when you need some down time. That's why I put Pilot to bed an hour before I go to sleep, so I can just chill. But yeah they are the cutest, sweetest pains-in-the-butts.

I tried the "yipe" thing after the movies tonight as Pilot wanted to say hello by sinking those wonderful puppy teeth into my ankle. It worked like a charm.