The Biting Won't Stop

[pennylane]

My 5 month old yorkiepoo won't stop biting. I've tried everything! I sprayed the fooey in her mouth, I gave her plenty of toys, I put her in time out away from me and the family, I've even resorted to a newspaper. Nothing works. I know she is just playing; she is wagging her tail the entire time she bites, but it hurts! If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. I don't want her to get older and keep this habit!

[Carrie]

It really should work if you're really truly....and I mean really truly ignoring her and walking away, ending all playtime with her when she does this. When there is a moment in time whe she is not biting, are you rewarding her, a special treat and praise? If you're playing with her and she has 5 seconds where she is not biting you, do you reward and praise? Does she know what "no bite" means? For sure? You can tell her, "goooooood no bite" when she is not biting you.

Be careful that you're not rewarding her for biting. Don't give the treat/toy the 1st second she stops biting...wait just a few seconds...like 5 slow counts. Normally you want to reward the instant they're doing the right thing, but I think sometimes in this sort of case, a little seperation in time needs to be present....a distinction between biting and not biting. She needs to restrain herself for more than 1 second, in other words in order to get the treat or praise.

When you give her toys, are they appearing as a reward for her biting, do you think? Is she perceiving your frustration, or whatever your response is, as attention/reward? Somewhere....somehow there is a payoff for her behavior... for her to continue biting. You're just not seeing it. Try to determine what that is and eliminate it.

Also, some dogs are kind of hyper by nature. If she is, don't add to her excitability. Don't play with her in a wild way. When my Doberman was young and even now, I don't get him too riled up. It's just no fun. They get out of hand. Another thing, a lot of people don't tend to exercise their toy dogs much....don't think they need it. While they don't need what a large, working dog does, I think it's good for them. My Chihuahuas go on hikes along with my Lab and Doberman. They go as far as the big ones....in spring or fall when there's no snow and it's not too hot, we go for anywhere from 1.5 to 5 miles in the woods. You wouldn't need to do all that, but a good run and some mental exercise of obedience training would be helpful.

Have you done any obedience training? That is a must in order to indicate to the dog that you are the "Mom." You are to be respected. Your dog may not be respecting you to be continuing this so long. I suggest a puppy obedience class, making certain that the trainer you find is reputable and uses positive methods/ gentle with the dogs. You can watch one session first. Don't let anyone mistreat or be too stern with your little dog. That can ruin them. That is not to say that you shouldn't be firm, assertive, insistant, consistant, make rules etc. You should. But don't forget the reward/praise with every single thing the dog does that you ask and even things he does nicely that you didn't ask. If you see your dog lying there chewing on his bone, being a good boy, let him know you like that behavior. If your dog is doing something cute and you want him to learn that behavior on command, give a command and say, "good whatever." Eventually that behavior can be learned on command. I'm teaching Lyric "bow." When he stretches and sticks his rear up, I say, "bow." Then, "good bow." We've just started this so he doesn't know the word yet. I could actively try and teach him faster with a treat held just so, so he bends down that way, but we're kind of busy lately. (online on Global Paw.) LOL.

Good luck.

Holy cow! This is long.

[sunny98]

Sunny wasn't too bad of a biter as a pup but she did have her moments. The one thing that really worked besides ignoring her was saying OUCH in a stern voice. Not yelling or striking or anything else. By the tone of my voice she knew I wasn't happy and she would stop and give me kisses. She like to play rough with my brother but if he says ouch she immediatly stops and starts giving kisses. I hope you figure out something that will work, puppies have the sharpest teeth and they really do hurt! Keep us posted.

Erin, Sunny and the gang

[gaddylovesdogs]

Let her know that it REALLY hurts. Whenever she bites, yelp. "OUCH! OW! OOOO that HURT!"

And might I ask you where you got your dog?

[Ritz459]

Petstore dogs often have troubles with housebreaking and the nipping problems because they were wisked away from their mom way to soon so they never learned that biting can hurt and kept in cages where they were told to eliminate where they slept/palyed/lived. Carrie gave you some pretty good advice. Good luck with your Yorkie/Poodle mix!

[flyndog]

Originally Posted by pennylane

I've tried everything! I sprayed the fooey in her mouth, I gave her plenty of toys, I put her in time out away from me and the family, I've even resorted to a newspaper. Nothing works.

Part of the problem here is that you are tried everything. You need to pick one method and stick to it. And it takes time. Give the method time to work before trying something else.

I don't know what "fooey" is but I don't think it sounds like something you should put in a pup's mouth. Please don't swat your pup with a newspaper (or anything else for that matter).

I agree that you need to let the pup know that he is biting too hard. Yell Ouch! Show him what he can chew on instead of you. A nylabone is a good substitute. Praise him. Do this whenever he *starts* to bite you. Don't wait until he is biting you. Praise and reward him whenever he is doing something good...like not biting. Biting, even in play, isn't an option for this pup. Give this a couple of weeks to work. If the pup isn't better after that time, then use time outs...that is leave when he plays too rough.

Good luck!
Kit