puppy biting

[jennarae]

So our 8wk old cane corso bella is biting like crazy it's very playful biting but i don't want her to make a habit out of biting for fun or play. We have bought several toys for her to chew on and she does but whenever we pet her she wants to bite she even bites my toes every chance she gets. I just don't want to end up with a 100lb dog that likes to bite. I know it's a puppy thing just wondering if anyine has tips on how to deal with the issue

 

[grazefull1]

lol im with u but mines is 6mons n still bites when he plays to hard n he is close to 70lbs

 

[Smokeycat]

There are a few things that you can try.
1. Redirection. Every time that she bites you, you yelp/say no. Once she releases she is given a toy to bite and then praised when she bites into it. This should teach the correct things to bite.
2. Ignore her. She bites and you turn your back on her or leave the room. This should teach her that biting instead of getting her attention makes her lose it.
The first two work for most dogs/owners. I got a puppy at 6 weeks that had no bite inhibition training from his siblings/mother that the first two only worked partially to stop. I had to make him understand that biting was hurting me. I did this by causing him a slight discomfort, a small pinch, every time he bit me. You don't want to hurt them just make them realize that every time they bite they don't like how it feels to them. This works because they eventually figure out to stop the pinch all they have to do is not bite. This is a somewhat controversial method and is not for everyone.

Good luck and have faith the biting will stop once you find a method that works for you and your puppy.

 

[Jadotha]

Yep, agree with Smokeycat's suggestions. Re: The ignore her advice -- in my experience timing is very important. With our bitey pup, we did the redirection with a toy, and if he persisted in biting, told him 'no'. If he continued we immediately stopped play, turned our back and left the room until he settled. Again, our experience has been that the bitey behaviour persists whilst gradually improving until about 14 or 15 weeks. Then there is rapid improvement. Our puppy is now almost 18 weeks. If he wants to play he immediately picks up a toy and brings it over instead of biting us

 

[grazefull1]

thanks

 

[jennarae]

Thank you all for the helpful advice as i'm reading the posts to my husband he did the yelp when Bella was biting and it really worked so thanks again!!

 

[futureowner]

So what do you do when the biting is not only we as adults but also babies?? I have a 15 month old son and my 3 year old can tell him no but my son doesn't understand and even though he turns around to get away, Colossus thinks its all fun and will bite his diaper in the rear and pull him!!
He listens when I say no, for the most part, but when we step over him to get up the stairs he bites my sons feet!!

 

[Smokeycat]

Supervision and consistency on your part to teach puppy that he can't bite your children. You will have to be the one to say no and in this situation you may have to remove the puppy from the area instead of you turning your back or leaving leaving. This should have the same effect of teaching the puppy that biting ends playtime instead of it being a fun thing to do.

 

[DennasMom]

Beyond yelping and ignoring - which worked wonders with out pup, also. We on occasion had to resort to a more physical negative consequence. My choice was to hold my hand in the puppy's mouth and hold her jaw open until she found it uncomfortable and wanted to 'spit it out'. Something similar to the Monks of New Skete's recommendation of 'causing the gag reflex' - without diving so deep into her throat (which I could never do successfully, anyway).
Biting children is a bigger problem - children look and act so much like litter mates that they become targets of hard play... making sure your pup recognizes the kids as "human leaders" and not litter mates takes some doing.

 

[Rocco's Mom]

my CC pup is 4mths and STILL bites! my arm looks like a chew toy . i've tried everything

 

[Sadies Mom]

It seems like biting is a common thing with mastiffs. Sadie is 7 months old and she still does it on occasion. I have mostly done the leave-the-room method, but since she does it for attention, it got worse when I returned. It is getting much better i.e I have no bite marks or bruises anywhere. She does take the "Velcro dog" reputation to a whole new level. Consistency and patience is key and at times it is very hard when you do not see a light at the end of the tunnel. But know this, it does get better. I found a somewhat controversial method, but when all else fails, I had no choice. Grab their muzzel with one hand and tap your hand with the other hand and say NO BITE and then imediatley let them sniff/lick your hands. And when I say Tap, it is just a slight tap on your hand and don't grab the muzzle to hard either.

 

[bellareea320]

Yes sadies mom and I are pros when it come to biting lol!!!

To be honest I got a trainer to come to my house and help me! We just had our first session and he said: being that Luna bites me outside alot I have a collar on her now and when she attempts to bite I say NO loudy and then correct with collar. It has worked wonders. I dont suggest you try this unless you consult a trainer to show you the proper correction with a properly fitted collar. She had been doing really well and now most times all I have to say is no and she stops. My girl was testing the waters as she comes into her dominance. Also when she does stop right away I praise like crazy!!!!! She loves when I say good girl because she wants to please. Also you must perfect walking!! This is where your trust and bond form. Luna will walk at heel and sit when I stop. we are working on the turns at heel now. This has changed our relationship tremendously. The walk is key!!!

 

[Sadies Mom]

Yes sadies mom and I are pros when it come to biting lol!!!

To be honest I got a trainer to come to my house and help me! We just had our first session and he said: being that Luna bites me outside alot I have a collar on her now and when she attempts to bite I say NO loudy and then correct with collar. It has worked wonders. I dont suggest you try this unless you consult a trainer to show you the proper correction with a properly fitted collar. She had been doing really well and now most times all I have to say is no and she stops. My girl was testing the waters as she comes into her dominance. Also when she does stop right away I praise like crazy!!!!! She loves when I say good girl because she wants to please. Also you must perfect walking!! This is where your trust and bond form. Luna will walk at heel and sit when I stop. we are working on the turns at heel now. This has changed our relationship tremendously. The walk is key!!!

Yes, walking/exercising is key. I have always been afraid of walking her too much, but I think she needed it. A tired puppy=happy owner. Sadie responds best to a regular buckle collar and now when I see her going for my hip, leg or what ever looks tasty at the moment, I just grab her collar with one finger and say "no" and she looks at me waiting for me to tell what to do instead. I had a behaviorist tell me that, her biting is due to anxiety and frustration, so I have slowed way down with all the trips to Petsmart, petco, Lowes etc. I was thinking that the socialization was good for her, when in fact it caused her anxiety. We now only walk mornings and evenings and she gets her social fix picking up my son at school. She LOVES the kids and all the attention she gets

 

[LeoMax]

If you want your puppy never bite again then use Plastic Dog Muzzle No. 1. I also use this i buy this from all4petsmart.com.
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[Robtouw]

Putting a cage on a puppy's face/mouth is not the answer. Puppies bite, nip and play. It's how they explore and learn. Repetition, teaching, correcting and redirecting is going to be the answer, in short work. They can learn and you just have to find the right method for your pup. Its frustrating, yes, but be patient as they mature they begin to understand what hurts and what does not and will become more gentle as you teach them. At 8 weeks she is teething, exploring and playing like a baby which is exactly what she is! She will be teething for quite a while, once her baby teeth are all in, the process begins again with loosing them and regaining adult teeth. Teething does account for alot of the mouthing. Cruiser was a major pain with biting, nipping and over mouthing. At five months he is now doing quite well and has learned that it is ok to mouth without pressure. He has become very aware of his teeth and watches you when he does grab your hand or arm in play. It took alot of work and patience and was a very difficult process, but we worked through it with success! Keep trying different methods or combine techniques, they will work!

 

[Atlas_Mama]

My puppy seems to enjoy biting more as he got older and more into his adolescence stage-when he was a young pup I was hoping it was a teething thing. Now at 9 months old he especially likes to bite me when I first get home when he is going his whole “excited to see me routine” instead of licking- and when he wants to play he likes to try to bite my pants- and a few times has bitten me while trying to do this and caused me to bruise :-/
I just tell him to stop and try to redirect.
I am praying this latest phase will end.

 

[Massive Mastiff]

My 5 month old English Mastiff likes to bite when she "plays", I do not reinforce this behavior. I sternly say "No", then I give her the tug-o-war rope, to associate to her that when she wants the stimuli of biting she is to get her rope, then I play with her for a few minutes no matter how busy my life is at that moment. When biting or chewing on objects around the house that's she's not suppose to chew on, I again say "NO" then give her her raw hide to chew on. These systems work for me and keep my puppy Binta and myself both happy. Rowdy puppy's tend to want to bite when they play, they have a so much energy that they need to release. Start a structured daily routine with scheduled play times, I play ball or fetch 20 minutes after her breakfast for about 10-15minuites ( shes tired out after that and naps for a while ). After her lunch I walk her around the property line of my yard a few times ( I have almost an acre, with no fence I do this to establish her boundrys, she's never left the yard not even once) then go over her comands, and play ball or fetch again. In the evening after dinner, i walk her around the neighbor hood about a 1/2-3/4 mile walk is all my puppy needs she tires out easily. In addition any time she has spurts of energy I take her out to play, I try to keep her tired when in the house and it seems to work because she's rarely ever mischievous or has the energy to have a biting fit.

 

[Jakesmum]

We did the yelp and tell him gentle when he would bite or mouth us, we would also occasionally have to but our hand in his mouth and hold his jaw open until he was uncomfortable and released, every time we would tell him "gentle", now he rarely tries to bite or nip at us and all we have to say is gentle and he stops, he will still try to play with children when they come over and we are very vigilant to make sure he is gentle so that a child doesn't get the wrong idea and think that he has bitten when all he did was give a lick and we keep him out of kids faces (we don't have any children). We have also noticed that will all the training we did he now will cover his teeth with his lips/jowels if he's playing or taking a treat or giving a kiss so that he doesn't inadvertently bite or scrape us with his teeth.

 

[Rocco's Mom]

... We have also noticed that will all the training we did he now will cover his teeth with his lips/jowels if he's playing or taking a treat or giving a kiss so that he doesn't inadvertently bite or scrape us with his teeth.

now thats the key! my breeder's corsos are like that as well. if he tries to stick his arm in Rocco's dad's mouth, he will turn his head. I dont know what to do because i've tried the leave the room, the redirect, every toy in the store, and even the time-out method but he still bites my feet and hands... i might just try this hold his jaw method. last resort is a chain

 

[musicdeb]

Titan has regressed and has starting biting while we play. He will stop biting if I tell him easy. Once I say easy, he licks my hand. If he gets too excited and starts biting, I tell him no and he will stop biting me.