# We should have calledAnyone have a perfect idea to stop them from biting. him Nipper



## Barb West (Aug 29, 2017)

Our Bijou is 5 months old and we have Tried everything we could find online to stop him from nipping and biting our heels feet toes legs clothes anything that he can get his teeth around.Anyone have a perfect idea to stop him from biting?


----------



## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

Does he have chew toys? does he like them? Is it because he's getting too excited?


----------



## Barb West (Aug 29, 2017)

*We should have called him Nipper*

Yes he has about every kind of chew toy but his favorite is bully sticks. We have so many and he does chew on them a lot. It could be that he is excited but it?s not something that we try to get him to be. It could be because he wants attention even though he gets a lot of that. He?s good about playing with his toys. Even when he wakes up in the morning and I sit outside of his kennel because he is not a morning person and talk to him he walks out of his kennel nipping.


----------



## Marni (Apr 1, 2017)

I really think Karen posted the perfect solution in another thread. Shriek, "Ouch", then put him in the expen, in isolation, every time, for just a few minutes.


----------



## Barb West (Aug 29, 2017)

*We should have called him Nipper*

We?ve done that too but maybe need to start putting him in his pen every time he tries to bite. Poor thing will be in there a lot.


----------



## Marni (Apr 1, 2017)

Barb West said:


> We?ve done that too but maybe need to start putting him in his pen every time he tries to bite. Poor thing will be in there a lot.


No he won't. It has to be every time. You can't laugh or roll your eyes part of the time (my issues), because that won't work. If he gets a positive reward part of the time he will be as set on nipping as a gambler is on horse races. Karen says for just one minute the Nipper gets a time out and you will extinguish the biting or mouthing. You have to yelp if you barely feel teeth.


----------



## abi38 (Mar 23, 2017)

Also don't play with him with your hands at all. Always use a toy so he doesn't think hands are play toys, hands are for petting only. The idea is all fun stops when he nips.


----------



## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

I agree - but don't see the expen as a punishment for nipping, see it as an opportunity for him to calm down (which might also mean using a crate in a different room instead of the expen - if he's still around everyone he might not chill out and might stay just as excited).


----------



## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

here are 2 articles

http://www.clickertraining.com/node/3249

https://www.dogstardaily.com/training/teaching-bite-inhibition


----------



## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

1. The crate and the time-out 
Yes, you can use a crate for time-outs without causing "crate-hate." Do you like your bedroom? Sure you do-even if you don't want to be there on a Friday night. Your dog can like his crate too, even if he doesn't want to be there while scheming to scam some chicken off the dining room table. Crates are okay for time-outs, because it isn't the crate that is punishing&#8230; it is the loss of freedom in the middle of fun times that is punishing (see my Summer 2004 article for more on rewards and punishment). The same reasoning extends to children: they can be sent to their room as a consequence for misbehaviour without learning to fear or hate their room. Your dog will only become afraid of his crate if bad things happen while he is in there-so never scold him while he is inside. Time-outs don't need to be long; 30 seconds to 3 minutes is plenty. And don't forget to give your Cool Hand Luke a clean slate once he's done his time&#8230; no grudge-holding allowed. Jennifer Messer A Trainer's Truth About Crates | Modern Dog magazine

2. "I never use the crate as a punishment; I don't want my puppy to have a bad association."
This is a very common statement I hear, and there is no basis to this. A timeout is used to teach a dog that the behavior that she did resulted in her getting taken away from where she wants to be. If you put her in the crate for a timeout, do so for a short period of time immediately following the inappropriate behavior, such as jumping on you, biting, or chewing on furniture. Then, take her out after 5-30 seconds as long as she is calm and then reward her for anything but the offending behavior. If she performs the inappropriate behavior again say, "Timeout" and repeat. As long as you make sure to reward good behavior and use a timeout for inappropriate behavior, she will learn not to do the inappropriate behavior because it doesn't benefit her. She won't hate the crate itself, she will not like the fact that she was put in there and taken away from all the fun. That is an important distinction. The only caveat to this rule is that dogs that already have separation anxiety often do not like being in crates and can have a panic attack. These dogs are not good candidates for using this timeout strategy. Learn about timeouts and teaching a dog to stop certain behaviors. Jeff Millman

3.Time out! - at your wit's end? Calmly and firmly give your dog a "time out." Pick out a spot - contrary to popular belief the crate is just fine - and place your dog there for a time out. Time outs are not loud, scary or very long: the point of a time out is social isolation, only for 30 seconds or at most a couple of minutes. Make the connection between the undesired behavior and the time out clear, and you'll see an improvement. As a bonus, you'll get a chance to regroup yourself. Eric Goebelbecker

Timeout specifics. Put him in the timeout area for 10 seconds up to a minute at the most and leave the area so he can't see you. Then, come back and say, "Ok, let's try again." Then when he comes out of the area and as he is doing it right you praise him "Thanks for not jumping, it is such a good decision to stay on the ground!" If he jumps, however, he does not get three chances, he immediately gets another timeout.

What you are doing is communicating to him using timing and consistency that his behavior has consequences. He can be with you if he does not jump, but jumping is not appropriate. Incidentally, if he is timed out for jumping and comes out of the timeout area and nips, barks or other inappropriate behavior that you are currently working on, you can instantly time out again.

If you have trouble grabbing him after you say "timeout" have him wear a short leash around the house. I recommend wearing a collar and leash only when you are home to watch him to prevent choking accidents.

You can also manage his behavior or time him out by looping a 4-6 foot leashes over a doorknob and attaching his collar to the leash and walking away. For jumping, you might walk a few feet away and then turn around "Good! You are not jumping!" If you walk closer and he leaves his feet, you would say "Eh! Eh!" and walk away again. This is very effective when guests come over as well.

With timeouts, make sure you focus on the correct behaviors when you take him out of the timeout area or before he makes a mistake. Talk to him or reward him for doing the right thing. Often novice trainers don't pay attention to when their dog until they do something inappropriate. Then the dog gets rewarding for acting up and he will do that again. Focus on the good behavior and your dog will learn to behave much faster http://watchandtrain.com/dogtrainin...sitive-reinforcement-training-strategies.aspx


----------



## Barbara Levy (Apr 22, 2016)

Everyone has given good advice. I will just say it does stop as they get older. I forget that my arms looked like pin cushions at one point. Loki still tries to mouth my hands occasionally but he is gentle now and since I know when he is likely to try (when sitting in my lap or beside me) I keep a toy close by to substitute for my hands. He is finally starting to bring his own toy with him to sit in lap.


----------



## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

As a puppy, Shama loved to bite us. We would give her time-outs in a crate where she could see us. We also gave her plenty of things to chew. She eventually grew out of the biting phase.


----------



## Marni (Apr 1, 2017)

*For Illustration*

Because the weather is still mild in the daytime, Zoe goes outdoors after putting the end of my nose in her mouth during an in the lap brushing. Normally, I wouldn't let K look at her, but it was really a photo op.


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Barb West said:


> We?ve done that too but maybe need to start putting him in his pen every time he tries to bite. Poor thing will be in there a lot.


That IS what you have to do. Very-single-time. The more consistent you are, the faster he'll get the message. It may seem mean to start with, but it's something he needs to learn. The sooner he learns, the sooner he can have more "quality time" with his peeps!


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Melissa Brill said:


> I agree - but don't see the expen as a punishment for nipping, see it as an opportunity for him to calm down (which might also mean using a crate in a different room instead of the expen - if he's still around everyone he might not chill out and might stay just as excited).


That's right. Used properly, it's not a "punishment" as much as a way to break off the behavior you want to stop. If you have a baby gate you can get behind, you can just as effectively move YOURSELF to the other side of the baby gate. The point is to keep him from biting again.


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I like most of this very much, except all the language. "Thanks for not jumping, it is such a good decision to stay on the ground!" is too much language for most trained adult dogs to manage... It's WAY too much for a puppy. Most positive trainers I know have a verbal marker that is used at time that are either inappropriate for a clicker, or for times when you don't have a clicker on your body. This can be "Good!" (as long as you don't say it all the time in other contexts) or "Yup!" or "Yip!" It doesn't mater as long as it's something you will remember and can spit out quickly.

Some of us also have either another word, or a word that can be drawn out for teaching sustained behaviors. The clicker and the "regular" verbal marker are used to catch a fleeting moment. The verbal marker for a continuing behavior works best if it can be drawn out, and said S-L-O-W-L-Y. (I use "Go-o-o-o-o-o-d", said in a low, quiet voice) It is followed by a (treat) reward, but means that I want the dog to continue doing what he's doing... It doesn't mean he's done. In daily/home behavior training, this is useful for when the dog is remembering to keep his feet on the floor and similar situations, where you don't want to ramp him back up with a "party" type response to good behavior.

I'm not sure what the point is of saying "Time-out" is. Simply quietly picking the puppy up (no language) and gently putting him where you want him is completely effective, without the need for him to learn what a certain word/cue means. In general, people talk WAY too much to dogs when training. It makes it harder for the dog to learn. IMO, you want his focus to be on what happened (social isolation) rather than distracted by puzzling out what a specific word means. If you are teaching a specific behavior, rather than trying to extinguish a problem behavior, then, for sure, you want to put it on cue (verbal, signal or both). But in this case, once the dog learns not to bite or not to jump (or whatever) you won't need a "cue" for it. The idea is that they will just not do it. Period.

Karen



davetgabby said:


> 1. The crate and the time-out
> Yes, you can use a crate for time-outs without causing "crate-hate." Do you like your bedroom? Sure you do-even if you don't want to be there on a Friday night. Your dog can like his crate too, even if he doesn't want to be there while scheming to scam some chicken off the dining room table. Crates are okay for time-outs, because it isn't the crate that is punishing&#8230; it is the loss of freedom in the middle of fun times that is punishing (see my Summer 2004 article for more on rewards and punishment). The same reasoning extends to children: they can be sent to their room as a consequence for misbehaviour without learning to fear or hate their room. Your dog will only become afraid of his crate if bad things happen while he is in there-so never scold him while he is inside. Time-outs don't need to be long; 30 seconds to 3 minutes is plenty. And don't forget to give your Cool Hand Luke a clean slate once he's done his time&#8230; no grudge-holding allowed. Jennifer Messer A Trainer's Truth About Crates | Modern Dog magazine
> 
> 2. "I never use the crate as a punishment; I don't want my puppy to have a bad association."
> ...


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Barbara Levy said:


> Everyone has given good advice. I will just say it does stop as they get older. I forget that my arms looked like pin cushions at one point. Loki still tries to mouth my hands occasionally but he is gentle now and since I know when he is likely to try (when sitting in my lap or beside me) I keep a toy close by to substitute for my hands. He is finally starting to bring his own toy with him to sit in lap.


It's also your choice whether you encourage "mouth play" or not, once the puppy learns not to use teeth inappropriately. (or if they never ARE nippy... none of mine were "nippy puppies", but I realize that was TOTALLY luck of the draw!  ) Both Kodi and Panda really enjoy "mouthy" play, where I "pretend" to bite them with my hand, and they come back with an open mouth. I use this as part of our "engagement" play, either before or during a training session... and sometimes just because we all enjoy it. Pixel finds it scary, so we don't play that game with her at all. I also wouldn't play it AT ALL with a dog who tended to get over-arroused and forget themselves with their teeth.


----------



## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

krandall said:


> I'm not sure what the point is of saying "Time-out" is. Simply quietly picking the puppy up (no language) and gently putting him where you want him is completely effective, without the need for him to learn what a certain word/cue means. In


When I put Perry in a time out it is completely silent. I think I'm actually telling him more by not saying anything because it's very different than how I usually interact with him which is taking to him all the time, do he knows something is different.

Sent from my EVA-L19 using Tapatalk


----------



## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

krandall said:


> That's right. Used properly, it's not a "punishment" as much as a way to break off the behavior you want to stop. If you have a baby gate you can get behind, you can just as effectively move YOURSELF to the other side of the baby gate. The point is to keep him from biting again.


no, used properly a timeout (being put in an expen) is punishment if it reduces the behavior in the future , it would be considered negative punishment.


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

davetgabby said:


> no, used properly a timeout (being put in an expen) is punishment if it reduces the behavior in the future , it would be considered negative punishment.


Yes, I understand what you are saying in a technical sense. And your article explained it better. My point was it's not the ex-pen, it is the cessation of human interaction.


----------



## Marni (Apr 1, 2017)

In other words: if I put myself and Kosmo in the expen on the front stoop and left Zoe in the house, the same would be accomplished; Zoe would learn if she wants to lose access to her playmates, she need only bite.


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Marni said:


> In other words: if I put myself and Kosmo in the expen on the front stoop and left Zoe in the house, the same would be accomplished; Zoe would learn if she wants to lose access to her playmates, she need only bite.


Pretty much... As long as you can trust her loose in the house. But that sounds like punishing yourself and Kosmo... You're likely to spend a LOT of time in there to start with.


----------



## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

One reason to use a marker for instant the dog bites is to help the dog know of exact behavior that caused his cessaation of fun. One of the biggest problems with timeouts is the time it takes to remove the dog. Timing is important and marking it helps the dog know , just like marking correct behavior when we reward /reinforce.


----------



## karidyne (Apr 28, 2017)

http://www.urbandogtraining.com.au/...controlling-undesirable-behaviour-in-dogs.pdf

Using a "marker" such as No or Ah-Ah is tricky and a lot of people use it wrong. That article explains how to use it the correct way.


----------



## karidyne (Apr 28, 2017)

Another post just on timeouts..

Time Out - how to have an effective and useful consequence - Positively | Victoria Stilwell | Forum


----------



## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

karidyne said:


> Another post just on timeouts..
> 
> Time Out - how to have an effective and useful consequence - Positively | Victoria Stilwell | Forum


Timeouts are considered negative punishment not what that article says. here is info on operant conditioning. What are Quadrants? Applying Learning Theory to Dog Training | Grisha Stewart


----------



## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

krandall said:


> It's also your choice whether you encourage "mouth play" or not, once the puppy learns not to use teeth inappropriately. (or if they never ARE nippy... none of mine were "nippy puppies", but I realize that was TOTALLY luck of the draw!  ) Both Kodi and Panda really enjoy "mouthy" play, where I "pretend" to bite them with my hand, and they come back with an open mouth. I use this as part of our "engagement" play, either before or during a training session... and sometimes just because we all enjoy it. Pixel finds it scary, so we don't play that game with her at all. I also wouldn't play it AT ALL with a dog who tended to get over-arroused and forget themselves with their teeth.


My DH likes to "wrestle" with Shama. His forearm and wiggly hand vs. Shama's entire body including mouth. She mouthes his hand but never bites hard. I don't like to play with Shama that way. If my hand goes after her, it's through "killer blanket." My hand is under the blanket, and she rears back (like a little horse!) and pounces on it. She mouthes my hand through the blanket but never bites hard. When she was a puppy, her bites really hurt. As I said above, however, she grew out of that phase (and lost her razor-sharp puppy teeth!)


----------



## Tux's Mom (May 24, 2016)

I tried a new move the other day for an obnoxious trait Tux just started to exhibit. It required no words, only calm actions. He was starting to yip at a closed door when he wanted to get to my husband who was on the other side trying to nap. This was not good. I just calmly and slowly body-blocked him and stood between him and the door without looking at him or saying anything. Every time he tried to go around and gain the "advantage" I would step in front of him very calmly so as not to escalate his emotions. It WORKED! It took several maneuvers, but something in dog body language said I was the leader and it was useless to protest either by moving in front of me or yapping. I told him quietly "good" when he finally gave up and settled. I waited a bit, and then opened the door (knowing my husband was awake). Yapping will get you NOWHERE!


----------



## karidyne (Apr 28, 2017)

davetgabby said:


> Timeouts are considered negative punishment not what that article says. here is info on operant conditioning. What are Quadrants? Applying Learning Theory to Dog Training | Grisha Stewart


I'm aware of the quadrants. While the desired result of a timeout is negative punishment, it is difficult to do this when you are physically removing the dog (and NOT removing the desired object) while at the same time executing the timeout so that the dog understands your purpose.

A much better idea is to just remove the desired object and to think ahead to create the environment to do this. For example, play in the ex-pen instead of near the couch or wherever. If the dog nips at your hands and redirection to a toy doesn't help, leave the ex-pen. That way you don't have to put the dog in the ex-pen - you just have to leave.


----------



## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

karidyne said:


> I'm aware of the quadrants. While the desired result of a timeout is negative punishment, it is difficult to do this when you are physically removing the dog (and NOT removing the desired object) while at the same time executing the timeout so that the dog understands your purpose.
> 
> A much better idea is to just remove the desired object and to think ahead to create the environment to do this. For example, play in the ex-pen instead of near the couch or wherever. If the dog nips at your hands and redirection to a toy doesn't help, leave the ex-pen. That way you don't have to put the dog in the ex-pen - you just have to leave.


We're talking about timeouts in general . It has nothing to do with removing objects. What you are removing is your attention either by removing your dog or yourself .


----------



## karidyne (Apr 28, 2017)

It's obvious that you are the desired object in a playful nipping situation.


----------



## Marni (Apr 1, 2017)

Well, Zoe learned that when she nipped and I yelped, then she had better run or I would pick her up and put her away from us. So, she decided to run away from me and that is something this dog has never done! As such, time in the expen has been curtailed. This was a couple days ago. However, as I key I can't remember the last time I felt those tiny teeth on me. My review on punishment is: mixed.


----------



## Tux's Mom (May 24, 2016)

I am not an expert, but after observing two Havanese over a period of 15 years, I have never done "time-outs" as a course of changing behavior. My Havanese by nature always want to be within eyesight of me or my husband. Neither dog EVER bit us out of aggression. The only mouthing (which was brutal in the early puppy weeks) was just that, brutal. I think dogs are born with an inherited set of skills, and learning to defend themselves is vital.

A dog is also like a young kid. If their excitement escalates during play, the brain seems to get its wires crossed, and reasonable previously learned behavior flies out the window. Emotions run high in a young puppy (think of survival in the wild). As the human, you need to be cognizant if you are escalating the behavior by your own movements, words, or sounds. I observed this when my husband couldn't get Tux to stop treating him like a human pin cushion. His reactions to Tux's unwanted behavior definitely did not exude a "de-escalation" of an out-of-control puppy mind. Puppies are cute when they get excited, but they need to learn how to return to calm. They can only get there if the human stays really calm in motions and words, and finds a way to distract that is calming and does not escalate to a tug of war with a toy, or being tossed into prison.


----------



## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Tux's Mom said:


> I am not an expert, but after observing two Havanese over a period of 15 years, I have never done "time-outs" as a course of changing behavior. My Havanese by nature always want to be within eyesight of me or my husband. Neither dog EVER bit us out of aggression. The only mouthing (which was brutal in the early puppy weeks) was just that, brutal. I think dogs are born with an inherited set of skills, and learning to defend themselves is vital.
> 
> A dog is also like a young kid. If their excitement escalates during play, the brain seems to get its wires crossed, and reasonable previously learned behavior flies out the window. Emotions run high in a young puppy (think of survival in the wild). As the human, you need to be cognizant if you are escalating the behavior by your own movements, words, or sounds. I observed this when my husband couldn't get Tux to stop treating him like a human pin cushion. His reactions to Tux's unwanted behavior definitely did not exude a "de-escalation" of an out-of-control puppy mind. Puppies are cute when they get excited, but they need to learn how to return to calm. They can only get there if the human stays really calm in motions and words, and finds a way to distract that is calming and does not escalate to a tug of war with a toy, or being tossed into prison.


I agree with much of what you say. Pups still need to learn bite inhibition not only from their littter mates and playmates but from humans. And this should be at an early age. It needs periodic training to be maintained. Timeouts are a second option if things get out of hand. Proactive training is always better than reactive. And I will repeat this article as it is very important to teach this to our pups and refresh it with adults https://www.dogstardaily.com/training/teaching-bite-inhibition


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Marni said:


> Well, Zoe learned that when she nipped and I yelped, then she had better run or I would pick her up and put her away from us. So, she decided to run away from me and that is something this dog has never done! As such, time in the expen has been curtailed. This was a couple days ago. However, as I key I can't remember the last time I felt those tiny teeth on me. My review on punishment is: mixed.


Not sure how you were approaching her when you put her in the pen, or how she could nip you without being within easy reach. But when doing this, it's VERY important that you not scare the puppy. And you NEVER want a puppy (or dog to learn that they can willfully avoid you. At this point, you will need to counteract that with your puppy by (over and over and over) catching her by the collar (or gently by the scruff) telling her what a good girl she is, treat and release. As many times as you need to so that she thinks that getting "caught" is a good idea!


----------



## Marni (Apr 1, 2017)

krandall said:


> Not sure how you were approaching her when you put her in the pen, or how she could nip you without being within easy reach. But when doing this, it's VERY important that you not scare the puppy. And you NEVER want a puppy (or dog to learn that they can willfully avoid you. At this point, you will need to counteract that with your puppy by (over and over and over) catching her by the collar (or gently by the scruff) telling her what a good girl she is, treat and release. As many times as you need to so that she thinks that getting "caught" is a good idea!


We are past the running away. Zoe is now running to, jumping in my lap and then on my chest. If I am not careful I get a tongue in my nostril. Zoe was sired by a Los Perritos dog and her enthusiasm is very real. I do stay very calm with her, and when I feel teeth and yelp (about once a week) she always licks my face to apologize or my hand if she can't reach my face. She is at 5 and a half months though, and my understanding is there should be no teeth at all.

Zoe wiggles, which I may have mentioned in another post: she wiggles her head, her shoulders, her middle and finally her little fanny. A wave of wiggle. It is a sight to behold.

I just want to add that I have read the article with the picture of a man with a Boston Terrier attached to his face at least four times, I am not sure I am retaining anything because my eyes keep wondering back to that picture. Is that dog stuck to his eye?


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Marni said:


> We are past the running away. Zoe is now running to, jumping in my lap and then on my chest. If I am not careful I get a tongue in my nostril. Zoe was sired by a Los Perritos dog and her enthusiasm is very real. I do stay very calm with her, and when I feel teeth and yelp (about once a week) she always licks my face to apologize or my hand if she can't reach my face. She is at 5 and a half months though, and my understanding is there should be no teeth at all.


Well, first, puppies, like children, do not develop on a set schedule. Anything you THINK should be "by a certain age"... MIGHT be... or might not. It's all normal. 

Second, whether they use teeth in play is entirely up to you and Zoe to decide. Both whether it is allowed at all and how much. Both of my girls will play with my hand, open mouthed while lying on their backs. It's cute, they NEVER close their mouths on my hand and I don't have a problem with it. But they could easily have been totally discouraged from touching me with an open mouth if I didn't like it. Panda has always done it... it's natural to her. With Pixel, I actually encouraged it to get her to actively play with me. Kodi has never wanted to do open mouth play, and he doesn't need encouragement to play in other ways, so I don't do it with him.


----------



## RedSoxFan (Aug 22, 2017)

Marni said:


> We are past the running away. Zoe is now running to, jumping in my lap and then on my chest. If I am not careful I get a tongue in my nostril. Zoe was sired by a Los Perritos dog and her enthusiasm is very real. I do stay very calm with her, and when I feel teeth and yelp (about once a week) she always licks my face to apologize or my hand if she can't reach my face. She is at 5 and a half months though, and my understanding is there should be no teeth at all.
> 
> Zoe wiggles, which I may have mentioned in another post: she wiggles her head, her shoulders, her middle and finally her little fanny. A wave of wiggle. It is a sight to behold.
> 
> I just want to add that I have read the article with the picture of a man with a Boston Terrier attached to his face at least four times, I am not sure I am retaining anything because my eyes keep wondering back to that picture. Is that dog stuck to his eye?


Our little four month old loves to bite. Can't tell if it's teething or she just loves to bite. But if she gets to "crazy mode" and starts to bite non stop - we found that if we yelp or act like it hurt us- It does NOT work. Yes you heard that right. It does NOT work for our pup for the owner to yelp or wince or pull away or give her a time out. We DONT give time outs for her biting because we dont want to associate time in her pen with something negative. She enjoys being in the pen and has no issue with it.

What DOES work for us is to gently squeeze her muzzle/mouth shut and say "no bite" firmly. Then we say kisses and she licks. We've had to keep repeating this and it works well for our pup. Hope this helps.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## karidyne (Apr 28, 2017)

RedSoxFan said:


> Our little four month old loves to bite. Can't tell if it's teething or she just loves to bite. But if she gets to "crazy mode" and starts to bite non stop - we found that if we yelp or act like it hurt us- It does NOT work. Yes you heard that right. It does NOT work for our pup for the owner to yelp or wince or pull away or give her a time out. We DONT give time outs for her biting because we dont want to associate time in her pen with something negative. She enjoys being in the pen and has no issue with it.
> 
> What DOES work for us is to gently squeeze her muzzle/mouth shut and say "no bite" firmly. Then we say kisses and she licks. We've had to keep repeating this and it works well for our pup. Hope this helps.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


I don't recommend yelping because the noise can instead excite the puppy into wanting to play more.

I really don't recommend grabbing her muzzle either. When muzzle grabbing occurs in adult dogs, it's the submissive dog that invites the other dog to grab his muzzle. It's a weird relationship confirmation thing that is actually reassuring to the dog whose muzzle is being grabbed. If you are trying to use it as communication to stop then you are sending the wrong message. The licking you see afterwards (if she is licking you) is her telling you that she's not a threat and to not harm her. It's very typical submissive behavior in puppies.

I taught "ouch" instead of yelping. If I say "ouch" (calmly) then Migo knows playtime is over for a few seconds.


----------



## RedSoxFan (Aug 22, 2017)

karidyne said:


> I don't recommend yelping because the noise can instead excite the puppy into wanting to play more.
> 
> I really don't recommend grabbing her muzzle either. When muzzle grabbing occurs in adult dogs, it's the submissive dog that invites the other dog to grab his muzzle. It's a weird relationship confirmation thing that is actually reassuring to the dog whose muzzle is being grabbed. If you are trying to use it as communication to stop then you are sending the wrong message. The licking you see afterwards (if she is licking you) is her telling you that she's not a threat and to not harm her. It's very typical submissive behavior in puppies.
> 
> I taught "ouch" instead of yelping. If I say "ouch" (calmly) then Migo knows playtime is over for a few seconds.


Thanks for the advice. Never thought about it in terms of other dogs using the muzzle. Will have to reconsider that. I do know that saying ouch or yelping has not worked for us. Now a bully stick or antler solves it but doesn't address the behavior really. So open to advice

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------

