[Cosmotion]

Ok, so I know that puppies grow out of the phase of biting, and that sometimes yelping and ignoring seem to curb this sort of behavior, but NOTHING works with Cosmo. It's getting to the point where my girlfriend and I can't go 5 minutes into playtime without crying out in pain, the serious real type. His teeth are SHARP! I've gotten him a hard type nylabone yesterday, and he's almost all the way through it! This kid has some chompers on him! Ignoring him doesn't work, he just runs up to you and nips your feet and barks at you. I've tried the "instant muzzle" with my hands, but as soon as I let go he's back to biting! We try to steer him into the direction of toys when he bites, but eventually when you go to play with him sans toys, you will get the wrath of Cosmos needleteeth. He's broken the skin a few times, and he likes to chew on my hair, lol. He's 8 weeks, when does this behavior usually subside? I've got him a few different kongs, some air kong tennis ball type toys, and some assorted plush toys, but he just really seems to love to chew on humans.

Is my best bet to grin and bear it? I might have to start wearing those gloves that Hawk and Eagle handlers wear every time I play with my puppy...

 

[LokiMom]

I know this is going to sound disgusting but it really does work. I learned it off the snow dogs movie and researched and it does work. You need to show him who is boss. The next time he bites you guys you need to bite his ear and that will teach him that you are the boss and that biting is not allowed. I had to do that with my german shepard. I bit her on the ear she never bit me after that and she had total respect for me. Don't bite hard just bite hard enough to apply pressure to the ear. Trust me I know it sounds disgusting but it works.

 

[lillyzmomma]

Advice from a professional trainer:

DO NOT BITE YOUR DOG!!!!!  He could become more riled or upset and lash out.  See a trainer about this.  He needs some behavior modification.

Hope everything works out...

 

[Kate]

Puppies learn bite inhibition from each other.  I'm told that taking them away from their mother and littermates makes it harder for them to learn this lesson - which I found to be true because I got Sophie when she was six weeks old.  I did have the advantage of having Kane (who is older and better behaved) and thankfully she directed her biting towards play with him.  He's very gentle and submissive with her until she gets really rough and then he straighens her out.  The needle teeth biting does subside, you just have to keep doing exactly what you are doing.  Yelp when you get nailed, ignore them for doing it and praise them when they play nice.  Redirecting their biting to a toy also helps a lot - you may have to literally put a soft toy (so you don't hurt his mouth) right in his mouth.  Just be consistent - it will stop.

 

[samsonsmom]

You are doing everything right, some pups are just a bit more hard headed than others..I wouldn't recomend the biting back tho...That could cause other issues you don't need....Be consistent and it might be easier not to get involved in play with Cosmo til you can get this resolved....He went thru a Nylabone already? Wow....

 

[mylittledeers]

Wasn't sure I wanted to  reply to this cuz I'm pretty sure my answer won't be a popular one, but here goes. I'm a firm believer that it's NEVER ok for Donner to put his teeth on me! If he did it on purpose as a baby I'd do the yelp thing and walk away, if he tried to continue by nipping my feet  I'd say NO firmly and step toward him (making him give way to me) if he continued or barked for attention I'd go into another room where he couldn't see me for a couple minutes and when  he quieted I came out acting as if nothing had happened. Never tried the "hand muzzle" but I'm pretty sure he'd have thought that was an invitation to continue playing. Now that he's older if we're playing and he gets me with his teeth by accident, I just stop the game and walk away.  I'm sorry that I sound like such a hag about this, guess it's a reflection of my childhood. My parents always had hunting dogs and that was the one unbendable rule "No dog teeth on people for ANY reason" In our case it's worked really well, Donner is  very gentle and conscious of how hard he plays, good thing as he approaches 80 lbs!! Cosmo is still just a baby and will learn with time what's appropriate. Hopefully, someone will share some other ideas. Good Luck

 

[mylittledeers]

LOL took me so long to word my reply you already got lots of good advice! Keep trying Cosmo will get the idea!

 

[Cosmotion]

You are doing everything right, some pups are just a bit more hard headed than others..I wouldn't recomend the biting back tho...That could cause other issues you don't need....Be consistent and it might be easier not to get involved in play with Cosmo til you can get this resolved....He went thru a Nylabone already? Wow....

Yeah, it was a smaller type, only about 5 inches long, but it was pretty hard. It came in a 3 pack with an opaque chicken flavored bone, and a blue grooved dental bone. The bone he took to right away was the bacon flavored bone, it was way harder then the other two. It's almost down to an inch stub now, I'll probably throw it away now I don't want him to choke on it. I guess we'll keep plugging away. I don't think I can bring myself to bite my dog.

 

[Newcastle]

Don't bite your dog.  It won't teach him anything except that you're not to be trusted.

I do agree the end result should be no teeth on humans - however I also believe it is vital to teach dogs to control their bite first.  There is always a chance a dog will bite someone, especially in an emergency situation if they're in pain or extremely fearful; it is far better for all concerned if the dog has learned bite inhibition should they find themselves in such a situation.

Yelping sometimes incites more biting, so be aware of how your puppy reacts.  Ignoring the dog often isn't enough at first - you need to physically separate yourself from the dog (ideally you step out of the room, but if the puppy's not in a safe room then you remove the dog from the room to a safe place (crate, ex-pen, gated off safe room).  You also need to be consistent - as does everyone in the house.

There is an excellent article about teaching bite inhibition here:
http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm

 

[sully]

Puppies learn bite inhibition from each other.  I'm told that taking them away from their mother and littermates makes it harder for them to learn this lesson - which I found to be true because I got Sophie when she was six weeks old.

That makes sense.  I didn't get Oggie until 12 weeks and he's never had a biting problem.  He did have a small mark on his head from where one of his siblings bit him!  Guess he learned his lesson....

 

[JayJay]

Wasn't sure I wanted to  reply to this cuz I'm pretty sure my answer won't be a popular one, but here goes. I'm a firm believer that it's NEVER ok for Donner to put his teeth on me! If he did it on purpose as a baby I'd do the yelp thing and walk away, ...  if he continued or barked for attention I'd go into another room where he couldn't see me for a couple minutes and when  he quieted I came out acting as if nothing had happened. Never tried the "hand muzzle" but I'm pretty sure he'd have thought that was an invitation to continue playing. Now that he's older if we're playing and he gets me with his teeth by accident, I just stop the game and walk away.

I do it quite the same.
But I only turn around if my dog is barking for attention (when he does it outside and sometimes he do - there is no room where I can go in ...  :wink: )
What I sometimes do, when a puppy does not finish its biting: I put my fingers to the lower jaw and when the biting is getting more and more, I simulate the pressure of the bite with my fingernails to the lower jaw (is it possible to understand what I want to say?). If the puppy presses more the teeth in my hand, I press a bit more my fingernails in its lower jaw. Oh it sounds brutal, i think, but it isn

 

[FREDOSMOM]

What we do when Fredo gets a little to hyper and goes to nip is we give him a little pinch, not hard..just kind of simulating a nip from a litter mate. We got that from the dog whisperer and it actually seems to work pretty well....either that or i pretend to cry....he stops biting but then tries to jump on my head...haha