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Bullmastiff - Puppy biting

MiniBK

Active Member
I'm a new dog owner and have a 10 week Bullmastiff which has been with me for 2 weeks now.

He is at the nipping stage at the moment and I know that eventually it will be something that he will get over through training as well as age. As a general idea, when would I expect him to be getting better (e.g 4mths, 6mths etc etc). I'm not expecting miracles but it's just the kids are a little weary and I keep him on a tight leash when in the house so he not chewing and biting things as well as shoes, trouser legs.

I do all the Ouch, turning my back, giving him a chew toy but you know, puppies will be puppies


As well as this, what was the most difficult age you experienced with your Pups?

This question is out for all breeds!

I really appreciate any replies.

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glen

Super Moderator
Staff member
Hi from the uk you need to stop him, we always did a stern no a shove its got to be one that you mean and he will soon stop.are you crate training there great for times when they need time out and for when you can't watch them.where about in the uk are you.
 

Nik

Well-Known Member
Puppy school solved it for us. Diesel met an even more mouthy puppy in play and didnt like it. He immediately stopped biting after that.


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lexinrose

Well-Known Member
When our puppy was biting we would lightly flick it on the nose enough to get its attention and say no bite. She learned real quick still gets excited sometimes but 199% better then day 1

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MiniBK

Active Member
Hi from the uk you need to stop him, we always did a stern no a shove its got to be one that you mean and he will soon stop.are you crate training there great for times when they need time out and for when you can't watch them.where about in the uk are you.
Hi, we are from Windsor just outside of London near Heathrow.

He is crate trained and does most if not all his sleeps in their due to him biting the Furniture and kids.

When he's on one, he'll be biting my trouser legs, and even if I stand still or I'm saying NO, even tried the Yelp, he'll stop soetimes and I'll give him a chew toy and some minutes later he comes back for my leg, other times he'll just ignore and carry on. That's when I give him timeout in the crate.

I've only had hum him for approx 14 days and the only started mouthing maybe 10 days ago. So am I expecting to much for him to have learned already or will it take a couple more weeks for him to finally figure it out.

I can't take him classes as I'm still waiting on his 2nd injection (19th Aug)

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MiniBK

Active Member
Sorry it would be wrong of me to say he biting rather he is mouthing but with teeth sometimes touching skin, or piercing holes in clothes

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JamieHalverson

Well-Known Member
Redirect with a toy. Have lots handy and play with him for a minute with the toy, tug a little, wave it in front of him, get him really excited about the toy and interacting with you. Please don't flick his nose or grab his face; this is a normal part of puppyhood and redirecting to an appropriate item works great! You just don't want the puppy to learn that your hand coming towards his face is ever a negative thing. I redirected and stayed consistent with my girl and it wasn't long at all before she was grabbing toys to bring to me to play rather than grabbing pants, feet, hands etc.

If the pup is way too wound up and keeps coming at you, put it in the crate with something to chew for a bit and settle down. My girl is 16 months old and STILL grabs a toy to show off when she gets excited!
 

marke

Well-Known Member
i agree with Jamie , i'd tell him no and redirect him , distract to bite or do something else ....... i wouldn't make a big deal out of it , pups bite , they don't have hands to grab stuff ........ you don't like it , they'll become aware of that , they'll grow out of it no matter what , i wouldn't intimidate them over it ..... your kids definitely need to a wary , such is having a pup , i've gotten stitches off those puppy teeth ..... the puppy teeth will go , and the pup will settle down ..........
 

MiniBK

Active Member
Thank you all for your responses. Our pup (Bruno) is such a lovely well behaved boy otherwise. I just want b to get to the point where he's able to sleep freely around the living room while we are there too rather than in his Crate for all his sleeps. Although the crate is also in the living room.

From my research I should expect the play biting to stop or ease around the 4 month period.

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MiniBK

Active Member
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DennasMom

Well-Known Member
Denna didn't stop using her mouth on humans until she was about 7 or 8 months old.
It did get better every day... but it was a slow process.

She now has one of the softest mouths of any dog I've ever been around. Even when rough-housing now (4 years later) she won't ever close her mouth on a human body part. If we put our hands in her mouth, she jumps up and runs to grab a rope toy for a game of tug. She knows the rules, even if the humans ignore them! HA!

It's natural for puppies to test things with their mouths (same as human babies do). So keep up with the "YIPE" and then immediately redirect to an approved chew toy. When the puppy bites on the approved chew toy, PRAISE and PLAY with the puppy. Make chewing on the toy FUN!!!! make chewing on humans boring (or worse).

I would get the kids some gloves to they can help with the training without getting hurt. They can also "yipe" when teeth touch skin (or gloves), and then all play stops (that will be the hard part to get the kids to do). Even if the play only stops for 5 minutes, that will make a huge difference. The puppy will learn pretty quick that biting means fun time is over. But... it will take MANY, MANY repetitions for it to really sink in.

I would recommend against any hitting or 'flicking of noses' to punish the biting. That could lead to a reactive puppy that bites in retaliation. It's much better at this young age if you can teach by example and redirection to something you can praise. An earful of "no, no, no" gets old fast, and the puppy will more likely learn to just ignore the "no" instead of understanding what it is you want him not to do. Teaching what you want him TO do is much more productive in the long run.
 

JamieHalverson

Well-Known Member
Oh, he is cute! I used a crate for a long time with Lillie... She was so naughty if left unattended! Up to a year old I don't think I could leave her out of sight, at all... She was never really rambunctious or a handful, just very curious and wanted to get everything! I'm not sure when the puppy biting stopped, it was never really a huge deal because I only have one child who's old enough to grab a toy and everyone stayed pretty consistent.
 

Iulicris88

Well-Known Member
If he's to tired to move, he's to tired to bite. So, play a lot with him, you can even start training him on some basic commands. Distract him if he's getting nippy, find some thing for him to do, like chasing a toy or a treat. And tel him no if he gets overly pushy. You don't ruin a dog because you tell him no when he does something wrong. Usually they stop chewing after their teeth change, at 4- 6 months.
 

MiniBK

Active Member
He gets a good play around the garden for a good amount of time and has been trained in some basics which we go over several times daily (sit,stay,come,drop,paw and a little heel training)

It's just when he gets into that frame no natter what I give him to stop (unless treat) he keeps coming back to my ankles. He tends to do it to me more than other members of the family. Maybe because he belives i am the pack leader or perhaps he just likes to play.

Sometimes I think it's when he gets work up after a play around chasing a ball on a stick which I make him chase to tire him out.

Now I've just started to give him time out, there seems to be a marginal improvement and I'll let you know how I get on in a weeks time.

Sorry for any errors, I'm typing on my phone.

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MiniBK

Active Member
By the way he's fine in his crates. Goes straight in. Sleeps fine in there without crying.

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Hiraeth

Well-Known Member
Redirect with a toy. Have lots handy and play with him for a minute with the toy, tug a little, wave it in front of him, get him really excited about the toy and interacting with you. Please don't flick his nose or grab his face; this is a normal part of puppyhood and redirecting to an appropriate item works great! You just don't want the puppy to learn that your hand coming towards his face is ever a negative thing. I redirected and stayed consistent with my girl and it wasn't long at all before she was grabbing toys to bring to me to play rather than grabbing pants, feet, hands etc.

If the pup is way too wound up and keeps coming at you, put it in the crate with something to chew for a bit and settle down. My girl is 16 months old and STILL grabs a toy to show off when she gets excited!

I completely agree with all of this. It did take my pup a bit longer to stop mouthing me than 4 months (probably around 6-7 is when he mostly stopped), but because I was patient and redirected whenever it happened, I never taught him that my hand coming towards his face meant that something bad was about to happen.