Hey everyone. My large puppy has a new habit I need to break. When she wants to play she starts biting in a playful way but it hurts and I don’t want her to do that.
If I say no, she bites harder and becomes more aggressive. I actually have to firmly say no and push her off me.
I’m a patient person luckily but I do need to immediately stop this behavior. Guests are not going to want a dog to playfully bite them, even if she’s happy, wagging her tail and simply trying to play.
Before, I would stick a toy or bone in her mouth when she started to bite. But now, she circumvents that and still bites my hand.
I’d recommend “yelping” in surprise when the dog bites you… it’ll startle him and teach him that the mouthing hurts you. That’s what I did with my dog when she was a puppy.
I second the yelping like a pup. A high pitched yelp. Thats what i did with my puppy and she stopped in about a week. She needs to understand in doggy language that shes hurting you. Pushing her off is just playing with her.
Ok. I’ll keep using the chew toys and bones. I’ll add yelping. I don’t punish or hit but I have been firmly using No with her. Not yelling, but firm. I’m not a yeller. But I’ll be sure not to say no until I’ve tried other things.
Thanks everyone!
I tried this with my moms dog. Huge mistake. Dogs get more excited by high pitched squeeks. Thats why dog toys have squeekers in them. It will only encourage the behavior.
It only made my moms dog more vicious. It worked better to praise her and say “be nice” when she was licking and not biting. Then that taught her what be nice meant. Then when she would bite i would say “be nice” and she would start licking. As she got a lot older eventually she stopped biting but it took a long time.
She was born to a wild dog underground in a den and didnt see a human til we got her. And we got her too young before her mama dog could teach her not to bite. She was 6 weeks old. So she was a very wild dog. We had to have her on prozac for a couple years to train her. Now she’s 6 and she’s very sweet and good to us. She still cant be around other animals or people tho.
Pain will only increase the issue. Ignoring can work but not for all dogs. But I have a pain free low stress method I use with bully breeds and a large Belgian Tervuren. When they grow to grab your hand, quickly and firmly grab the bottom jaw from the front. Thumb forward into the space under the tung and grip with fingers closed like a fist. And hang on and don’t say anything. The dog will pull back after two or so pulls, release and ignore him. After just a few seconds while he is looking at you smile and praise him. It make the biting play not fun. And rewards the still action afterward. It is a painless and effective method I’ve used for years.
my wife is the dog whisperer…I asked her and she said to tuck the gums of the lower jaw on the dog and push it against the teeth until they feel mild pain…do this only when they bite.
I think the OP got their question answered. I don’t like some of the suggestions used to discipline the dogs. Usually physical means isn’t necessarily good, and sometimes humans and dogs get really hurt in the process.
