# At my wits end - biting



## BeausMama (Jan 14, 2012)

Btw - Beau is 3 months old. He'll be 4months on Feb 10th


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

I have to say....right now we have a 14 week old puppy that is not very popular in our house (Kira). She is a biter as well and has torn holes in several pairs of pants (including 2 of my husband's work slacks)....just generally, I'm not a huge fan of hers right now because of the biting. She can be sweet but a majority of the time she's bitey if we're playing with her. Jack isn't her biggest fan as well because she hurts his ears. Chloe really is the only one that really likes playing with her when she's in bitey mode. We can't quite figure that one out. But over all, Kira is kind of a pain in the butt right now. 

The thing is, I have some perspective. Jack was equally as bad, if not worse, as Kira and he is now the sweetest boy in the world. It will get better!


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## My Big Kahuna (Dec 14, 2011)

Do you have stairs? I worked on teaching Kahuna to up and down the stairs before he had his shots to drain his energy (you have to keep an eye on them to make sure they aren't stressing their body) and it WORKS


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## inge (Sep 20, 2009)

You are not alone...try the search function. I don't know if it helps, but when I took Tess to puppy class the first time ( she was about three months), I was covered up to my elbows in scratches and bite marks. No one would believe that sweet little puppy had done that. Well, she had. At that age, they still have to learn that biting humans is not acceptable. However, they need you to indicate how far they can go. When we found out that Tess goes nuts about milk foam, we taught her to lick our fingers and hand instead of biting. The command became: lick lick. We still use it. 
Another thing I did with her, was teaching her a command to calm down. I still use it: she sometimes gets too hyper when playing with my sons, the moment I start stroking her and say: shhhhhhh, in a soft voice, she calms down and enjoys the moment...
I would not use the muzzle grip thing. Your hands should not be associated with negative things. And believe me, I know where you are...a lot of us (maybe all of us?) have been there. It will pass. Exercise is good, a tired pup is a happy pup. You can also tire him out by doing mental exercises, repeat the commands you've taught him so far, make him sit and stay (terrific game!), teach him 'leave it' (very useful)....buy a kong wobbler to give him his food or some other game thing to feed him, redirect, redirect, redirect! And above all: it will pass! ( and throwing him across the room is something I won't react to, other than: no....) he needs you to show him the way!


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

Put the bitter spray on yourself. If you spray it in his mouth he will associate you with something unpleasant instead of his biting.

I'm not a fan of the muzzle grip. The crate should be a happy place not a place for timeout.

When Lucky was a puppy every time he mouthed, chewed, or bit us we would say "ouch" and the immediately give him a toy. 

Hope this help with your little land shark.

I do take my pups outside to play on leash only before they complete all of their puppy shot in my yard or friends yards.


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## rhondas (Sep 10, 2010)

You're going to hate me when I say I have a puppy who will be 4 months old on January 30th and has never been bitey and he came home at 9 weeks old.

Some things I have done since he came home was to have toys he can chew on and he gets bully straps to chew on. When your puppy starts biting give him something appropriate to chew on. I wouldn't muzzle his mouth with your hands.

When you say he doesn't have his vaccines you must mean that he needs his third puppy booster. You can do things even after the first vaccine, but definitely after the 2nd.

Not only does your puppy need exercise but he also needs mental stimulation. What type of training are you doing with him? Is he enrolled in puppy kindergarten yet? What type of socialization is he getting? 

Puppies are like sponges and learn rapidly. My puppy is in two classes - Puppy Kindergarten and Agility Foundations (actually he's the youngest dog, the others are over 1 year old)

A puppy can have walks even at 8 weeks old. By 4 months old they can easily walk 2.5 miles 4-5 days a week.


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## Golden999 (Jun 29, 2010)

rhondas said:


> A puppy can have walks even at 8 weeks old.


This is true. I had my puppy out for a short 15-20 minute walk each day within 5-6 days of getting him. So he would have been just under nine weeks. The key is to keep it short and keep him out of extreme temperatures when he's young.

The only reason I didn't have him out sooner is that he'd yelp when I tried taking him for walks the first day or two. So I briefly stopped. It took my brain a few days to figure out "Um, he doesn't like the hot pavement, take him for walks near dusk when the pavement has cooled off. Duh.". Should have been obvious right away when he loved running around in the yard with dirt and trees for shade.


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## BeausMama (Jan 14, 2012)

rhondas said:


> When you say he doesn't have his vaccines you must mean that he needs his third puppy booster. You can do things even after the first vaccine, but definitely after the 2nd.
> 
> Not only does your puppy need exercise but he also needs mental stimulation. What type of training are you doing with him? Is he enrolled in puppy kindergarten yet? What type of socialization is he getting?



Yes - he gets his last vaccine (with rabies, etc) on Tuesday. I walked Beau around the neighborhood for about a week, every day, and he liked it. When I told my vet (when we went to get Beau's second vaccines), the Vet told me it was a bad idea to walk him in any areas where other dogs were because they might not be vaccinated and he could get Parvo. When I came home, I read the same thing on the internet so I haven't taken him anywhere except puppy kindergarten (once - the experience was bad and the whole class has been postponed til mid-Feb.) I did take him to the park with a neighbor the other day so he got to play with a few kids and play on the jungle-gym stuff. As for training, he gets as many training sessions a day as i/he can manage. When kids come over, I even get them to make him sit/lay/etc so he knows he has to listen to even kids. He usually plays in the backyard (staked so he won't run away - 30ft tie out) with me and we run around and play with some training, too. I took him on two walks in the woods before, too, and he got his neck rubbed raw from pulling his collar and I was once again told it is not a good idea to take him out of the yard without all of his vaccines done. I've been counting down the days til I can walk him again and let him go to the park and petco and such.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Get lots of toys and chew ropes and keep them within in reach, when he starts being a shark actually put a toy in his mouth and encourage him to play with it. Praise him when he takes the toy instead of skin or clothing. 

You can also try teaching him to "kiss", put peanut butter on your hand and let him lick it off, say "good kiss" while he is licking the peanut butter, practice that, the goal is to be able to tell him to "kiss" when he goes to bite and he will lick instead.

Keep a leash on him, step on it if he starts to jump up and give him a command like sit or down, and use treats to reward him. 

Get a treat dispensing toy or even an empty GatorAid bottle and put his food in it, have him bat that around to dispense his meals or treats. 

Since you aren't walking him yet, do a LOT of ball retrieving in the house. Or get a 50 foot lead and throw the ball in the yard for him with him on the long lead.

Please DO NOT wrap his muzzle with your hand, you are making him want to bite more. It is an older method and has been proven to back fire more often than not.

Search through the Puppy Under 1 year section of this board, you will find a lot of threads with exactly this problem with lots of good advise for dealing with it. This will pass, but you do need to teach him not to do it.


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## Golden999 (Jun 29, 2010)

BeausMama said:


> Yes - he gets his last vaccine (with rabies, etc) on Tuesday. I walked Beau around the neighborhood for about a week, every day, and he liked it. When I told my vet (when we went to get Beau's second vaccines), the Vet told me it was a bad idea to walk him in any areas where other dogs were because they might not be vaccinated and he could get Parvo. When I came home, I read the same thing on the internet


Far be it from me to disagree with both your vet and the Internet, but I'd walk the dog anyway in your shoes. The leading cause of death for dogs in the United States is poor socialization (i.e. biting people too hard and being euthanized, that sort of thing), not parvo. Eight to twelve weeks is a key time for socializing a puppy. The advantages of him getting out and about and getting used to seeing people, dogs, cars, sidewalks, and all the typical things he'll see every day the rest of his life, and getting comfortable with them, outweigh the very slight possibility that he might contract a disease.

My understanding also is that even though the first and second vaccinations in a puppy don't give it full immunity to parvo, it does make it less likely that the puppy will contract parvo relative to an unvaccinated puppy. So, it's a risk, but not necessarily a huge risk. Just avoid shady areas and letting him drink out of puddles.


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## Stef_Walsh (Sep 3, 2011)

I took Ace for walks to several different places, starting the day I brought him home. I minded what dogs he met and wouldn't let him sniff at anything. He never got parvo, and he's a perfectly socialized, friendly dog. From my vet's perspective, it's worth the relatively small risk of parvo in order to properly socialize a puppy, and I fully agree.

Now, that said, my very first post on this forum was exactly like yours. I thought that I got the puppy from hell, and there were times where I was very close to calling the breeder and giving him back. Reading the experience here really helped put it all into perspective. 

Ace was horrible for biting and I literally tried everything. Somethings helped, somethings didn't, but up until 2 1/2 months ago he was still very bitey. Truthfully, the thing that helped the most was time. I always corrected him, and if I had to I put him in a time-out, even if he would come back and do it again later. It's all about consistency and even though you feel like he's not getting it, somewhere in that head of his he is, and eventually one day it'll just click. 

Even now Ace has his moments, sometimes on walks and sometimes at home, when he becomes so overcome with excitement that the teeth come out to play. But I correct him and now he stops, and 90% of the time he doesn't bite at all. When he's calm, I can literally do anything to him and he's perfectly docile. Even my niece can get down and play with him now, whereas 3 months ago she couldn't.

BE PATIENT! It's will get better!


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## Selli-Belle (Jan 28, 2009)

Look at this position statement by the American Society of Veterinary Animal Behaviorists which states that early socialization is more critical than a risk of Parvo.


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## BeausMama (Jan 14, 2012)

I wish I had posted something about this earlier. I've been counting the days til I can finally walk him and I could have been walking him all along! Tomorrow (if weather permits) I'll walk him for the first time in about 2 months. (other than the woods/the park). I'll hold off the park until next week, when it'll be dry again. (hopefully) Thank you all so much


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## Phoebe's mom (Jan 17, 2012)

My puppy doesn't bite often but when she does this is what i was told to do..
Put my thumb and press down on her tongue or under it, hold for 20 seconds (when they get smart they will shut their mouth on your hand, take your other hand a.d put the lip skin over the top back teeth then if he bites down he bites himself.) He might aligator roll and all to try and get away make sure you hold for at least 20 seconds then let go and continue doing what ever you were doing to make him bite and he will bite again, just repeat. After about the third time they say this isn't fun anymore and walk away. An hour later he will come and bite again, do it then too. Eventually he will get it.


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## TheGoldenDream (Feb 25, 2008)

I've recently discovered the "kong wobbler" via this forum (food/treat dispensing toy). I was looking for something that would engage Honey's brain because she gets very bored with doing things the "normal" way. Well, we tried it yesterday..... she.had.so.much.fun. You could see the look on her face as the little pieces of food came out; complete surprise! The wheels were turning, finally! It has really helped bring down her excitement level during a time when she can't get outside as often as she would like (stupid weather!). The other thing that has worked for us is bones. Lots and lots of bones. She has a somewhat sensitive stomach, though she tolerates the elk antlers fairly well... otherwise we've used just plain hollow bones filled with peanut butter. You can also freeze them to prolong the experience! 

I agree with the other posters: the kennel/crate should be a happy place. From what you describe it sounds like he is biting out of excitement. Honey, who is 3 now, barks when she gets excited (and the shark mouth comes out on occasion).. it's as if she has to get it out somehow and barking is the most convenient (???). When she does this I usually give a firm "no" and stop whatever it is I am doing (the idea being that either I or the situation is causing her to turn into an uncontrollable ball of excitement!). So far, that has helped. I am still figuring out what works for her, but she is the kind of dog that needs lots of new experiences. 

I am willing to bet that once he is able to get out to do new things he will begin to settle down. Maturity helps, too.  However, you are definitely not alone: I am constantly asking myself whether my dogs need more physical or mental exercise...or both!!


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## sunni'smom (Jan 26, 2012)

Our 10 month pup isn't a biter but he is VERY hyper at times and we have a 5 month baby too. We are diligantly trying to teach him several commands: Easy is when he starts to get too rough or is pulling when we walk. Settle is what we say when we want hm calm NOW. We use a louder, deeper, sterner voice for Settle. He is starting to catch on. Today I told him to settle and he stopped playing and sat still for a moment, then nosed his toy and took it under the tree and laid down and chewed on it! I walked over calmly and "settled" myself and pet him and gave him a treat.


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## BriGuy (Aug 31, 2010)

BeausMama said:


> Tomorrow (if weather permits) I'll walk him for the first time in about 2 months.


Unless there is lightning, then weather permits! 

Please take a look at this link:
Teaching Bite Inhibition | Dog Star Daily

It will give you some advice to teach your dog a soft mouth, and to decrease the biting. It does take some time, but after a few months you will see a huge difference.


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

BeausMama said:


> I wish I had posted something about this earlier. I've been counting the days til I can finally walk him and I could have been walking him all along! Tomorrow (if weather permits) I'll walk him for the first time in about 2 months. (other than the woods/the park). I'll hold off the park until next week, when it'll be dry again. (hopefully) Thank you all so much


I walk my dogs ran or shine. I do bundle the girls (yorkies) up under their rain coats if it is cold and rainy. They dry but their walks are not as long because after 20 minutes they want to go back home. 

Only Buddy walks in the mud and gets a little dirty. He does not mind the squisting between his toes but a he is easily hosed off. Rain or shine Buddy must walk or his is a crazy man and you can't turn your back on him for a second. (He will be 3 years old in April but stopped maturing mentally at 6 months old. He was previously abused.)

I imagine your's would be fine too. Getting dirty is part of puppyhood. Baths always exhaust my crew. Who wouldn't want a spa treatment?


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

I totally sympathize with you... and just want you to know it DOES get better!! I had a puppy who I could literally not come within 5 feet of without getting bitten like crazy. My hands looked like I tried to get in a fight with Edward Scissorhands. A combination of ALWAYS redirecting his biting to appropriate chew toys every single time, ignoring him when he got too wound up, and ultimately him just growing out of it after teething was over.. and now he is the sweetest cuddly dog who wouldn't dream of biting us. Wait til teething is over... it makes all the difference in the world.


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## Deber (Aug 23, 2011)

I am also from a Parvo state and you have the right to be scared. Parvo is the #1 killer of our puppies and if not fully vaccinated, in my area, they Will get it. Because of this I was overly cautious in our socialization outside our own yard. Carry him instead of walking and find places in the open, not shade areas, but he should be out and about and needs all the stimuli you can give. Just don't go where other dogs go, find out of the way areas.

The teething stage will subside soon. My arms still bear the scars, but when adult teeth come, the biting seems to wain. We kept toys all over the house, when the pup wanted to bite, I stuffed a toy in their mouth until I could get some brain control. Not a good time, but thankfully short. 

Lots of threads here about this and a great amount of help. Good luck


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

BeausMama said:


> Yes - he gets his last vaccine (with rabies, etc) on Tuesday. I walked Beau around the neighborhood for about a week, every day, and he liked it. When I told my vet (when we went to get Beau's second vaccines), the Vet told me it was a bad idea to walk him in any areas where other dogs were because they might not be vaccinated and he could get Parvo. When I came home, I read the same thing on the internet so I haven't taken him anywhere except puppy kindergarten (once - the experience was bad and the whole class has been postponed til mid-Feb.) I did take him to the park with a neighbor the other day so he got to play with a few kids and play on the jungle-gym stuff. As for training, he gets as many training sessions a day as i/he can manage. When kids come over, I even get them to make him sit/lay/etc so he knows he has to listen to even kids. He usually plays in the backyard (staked so he won't run away - 30ft tie out) with me and we run around and play with some training, too. I took him on two walks in the woods before, too, and he got his neck rubbed raw from pulling his collar and I was once again told it is not a good idea to take him out of the yard without all of his vaccines done. I've been counting down the days til I can walk him again and let him go to the park and petco and such.


Honestly, I think this idea of not taking puppy out has gone over the top. No, I wouldn't take my puppy to an area that many strange dogs toilet (the grassy patch outside the vet's office or at the Petco), the dog park or the small common area at an apt. building. Don't allow him to sniff 'piles' or dead animals in the woods. But other than that I'd continue walks around the neighborhood and nearby woods. A puppy needs exercise, socialization and exposure to new situations.

The biting , well that's a pretty common problem with Goldens, my first Golden was _really _bad with that. Most of our clothes had holes and tears not to mention scratched hands and arms. Fortunately they grow out of it. Sometimes a spray bottle (water & vinegar) will help. With Maggie (RIP) it didn't, it just made her smell like a salad! Hank wasn't as bad but having many stuffed toys around to redirect him helped.


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## BeausMama (Jan 14, 2012)

Thanks a ton for the advice in this thread! I definitely took it all to heart! I implemented lots of things in the past 24 hours. 

Last night, I moved the kennel from my room upstairs (We only sleep in there, and that's where Beau stays when I'm at school, with a baby-gate so Memaw can watch him) to the living room downstairs. We let our other dog, Willow (mutt), use it so she can have bones. She's very food and bone aggressive to the point she has to be locked in the bathroom by herself to eat. She's never gotten bones b/c of this. And since she's downstairs, Beau couldn't have bones downstairs. Now, with the crate, Willow goes inside it to get a bone and while she's inside there, Beau gets a bone downstairs too! So that occupies him and his teeth for a while. 

He got a training session when I got home from school. 


Next, I bought a dogzilla treat ball (cheaper than kong) and fed him his lunch out of it today. He had fun rolling it around and nomming the food as it fell out. 

After lunch and a potty break, he headed to the school with me and my mom to pick my sister up. Lots of kids pet him through the car window and he's great riding in the car. 

Next, I bought a retractable leash and took him on a good, nice, long walk. He came home and is currently plopped out on the floor. 

He'll get another ride in the car to go pick up my sister's friend

He'll get another training session 

A meal half-dogzilla-dispenser/half-bowl (it takes a LONG time for him to eat the whole meal from the ball) 

Then a last walk around the neighborhood again before dark! 


So far, only a little biting today! 




Tomorrow, he'll probably get 4 walks since I don't have school.


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## TheGoldenDream (Feb 25, 2008)

So glad to hear! He is lucky to have you.


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## BeausMama (Jan 14, 2012)

Just an update on Beau:

His biting still gets out of hand sometimes, but its mainly early in the morning and late at night - before he gets a walk (while we're getting ready for school) and late at night (the hour before bed). Luckily, he's finally teething. He's lost four of those dagger-like gator teeth. 

He's still getting two walks a day and going in the car any time we can bring him out with us. Today, he got his first in-store experience at Sportsman's Warehouse! He's currently passed out on the floor in exhaustion lol. 

Though Beau's biting has lessened a lot, when he bites now, he gets a squirt on the head with a water bottle. To anybody who says its a bad idea - stuff it, its working!  I recommend it because it is the only thing that has helped us.


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