# Singleton Puppy Biting Terror



## chelseadawnrowe (Oct 23, 2018)

Hi there,

About a week ago we brought home our puppy, "Poppy" at 8 weeks old. She is a singleton puppy and the breeder didn't have any other litters at the time so I don't think she learned much about bite inhibition. She is constantly trying to bite my hands, feet and pants legs to the point where she is leaving marks and holes. Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions at all about things I can do to not only help with the biting, but also to try to avoid any of the singleton behavioural issues I have heard are so common. Its just really frustrating as I feel the biting is interfering with my ability to bond with her now at this critical stage.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Bumping up


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Your breeder should have been on the front line of addressing this. Reach out to her TODAY and ask for her help with her network. She should have given you concrete things to work on and specific tactics. Hopefully she can help you find someone in your area with a younger puppy who you could meet for puppy playdates. Closely supervised puppy playdates. It's a bit of a risk since puppy hasn't had all her shots but it's not nearly as risky as living with a dog who doesn't have properly developed bite inhibition.

If your breeder won't help you, I'd reach out to your vet, call any and all local dog trainers, obedience/dog training clubs, AKC kennel clubs, etc. for someone who would be willing to help. If you're really desperate, even a rescue with healthy older puppies. You can also try reaching out to your neighbors, co-workers, friends, anyone who might have a friend, neighbor or acquaintance with a healthy puppy who would be willing to meet up for 20 minutes a couple times a week for playtime. 

If I were you, I wouldn't waste a single minute in getting on this. 

My next suggestion is that you need to give the puppy immediate feedback when she hurts you. I would always play with a stuffed animal in my hands to redirect her and put in her mouth. I would start working on obedience immediately. But I would give her feedback that she's hurt you. Grab her gently but firmly by the scruff of her neck and give her an "eh-eh" in a deep, growly voice, remove her and walk away. Use baby gates or an ex pen to isolate her IMMEDIATELY. Give this a try for a week, be EXTREMELY CONSISTENT and see if you notice a reduction in biting, keep a log on the kitchen table and document all incidents. Notice whether she's tired or hungry or whatever at the time. Be sure she's getting adequate down time. Keep her on a leash if you need help controlling her. 

If this doesn't work, my next step would be curling her lip under her tooth she she bites and giving her that firm, deep voiced (not loud) but deep voiced, correction so she knows she's displeased you and use your finger to curl her lip around her own sharp tooth and give it a little squeeze, again firm, controlled pressure. You're trying to give discomfort but not injure her. She has to learn that biting humans is not pleasant. 

In the mean time, smear your knuckles with a little butter and teach her to "kiss kiss" the back of your hand. 
Hand feed her some of her meals every day. WOrk on obedience multiple times a day, always have treats onhand to reinforce good behavior. And just as important, get her out in the world every single day to get her exercise, both physical and mental. Off leash hikes or on a long line, introduce her to lots of things. This will tire her out. She needs proper chew items and proper exercise every day, to help give her the right outlets for chewing. Good luck. If you're not signed up for obedience classes yet, I strongly suggest you do so this week. You will want a good trainer to help you in person going forward if you have trouble. Establish a relationship early with a good, highly recommended person. DO not neglect socializing and training.


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## Jmcarp83 (May 4, 2018)

Redirect. Biggest thing. Stella didn’t start the biting until about 4 months. Which started around the time her teeth started coming out. Redirection was the biggest thing with her. Get the puppy to do something else. 

Also, once your vet says okay for puppy play, Petco has free puppy playtime on weekends for about 30 minutes. All varieties of puppies come. Good up until six months. Stella encountered dogs who had never been socialized and she is the queen of socialization. But she was the one the trainers often put the never had other puppies around because of her play style. 

Also, enroll in a Puppy Kindergarten as soon as she’s allowed. Stella started at 14 weeks and it honestly made a huge difference I think in when she did bite during teething.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

I had an extremely bitey puppy - even though she came from a litter of about nine. She left my arms and hands a bloody mess. So right from the beginning, I started to teach her that she had to have a stuffed toy in her mouth in order to get my attention. I said, "get a toy!" and in the beginning, I got it for her and she'd hold it and then she'd get love. It didn't take long for her to learn "get a toy" and very soon, I would say it and she would grab whatever stuffed toy was closest, and then she'd get love. I really didn't pat or give her attention without it because she'd grab my arm. Once her sharp baby teeth were gone, she no longer hurt, and she actually had a very soft mouth, but she HAD to have something in her mouth - and if there was no toy, it was your arm. Not out of aggression, it was just who she was. She was very, very mouthy her whole life - but she knew that she always had to have something in her mouth. When I got home, she'd get a toy first and then come to greet me. When friends came over, I'd tell her to get a toy. When we were out walking, I'd give her my mitt in the winter if someone wanted to pat her, or I let her carry a ball or toy with us. If she forgot and started to get mouthy, I'd literally say, "do you need a toy for that mouth?" and she'd be like, oh, right, sorry! And she'd go get one. 

Some retrievers are just like that. My next puppy wasn't a biter at all. It was a surprise - but a pretty nice one! :smile2:


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## ms_sinn (Jan 8, 2019)

Yelp and walk away. It's a sound she should respond too- much like when puppies play. Agree with the above poster about getting more help from the breeder, a trainer and / or your vet too.


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## Casco (Jan 21, 2019)

The place where I've trained some of our other dogs has drop in puppy socialization classes. I was hesitant because Huckleberry wasn't finished with his shots, but the other dogs were all in the same situation, and the school is very careful and all dogs were as up to date as they can be at this age, so I decided that, on balance, it was a worthwhile trade-off. We did supervised meeting and greeting, a little play, work with different "scary" objects (an exercise ball, a skateboard, traffic cones) and we played "pass the puppy" so that the puppies were all exposed to different people. I think it was good for our puppy, although he could also be better on the bite inhibition front (we're working on it). Perhaps there is a class like it near you. The school we use only employs positive training techniques and has classes ranging from basic obedience to advanced nose-work and agility.


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## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

My now 2 yr old was a bitey puppy from a litter of 10.
I sat in the floor and began shaping behaviors with her kibble. Don't remember how old she was before she was fed a bowl of food. This teaches the pup that hands provide good things and gives the pup a chance to learn an alternate behavior. Right now he is being a puppy, it's what he knows. So by 4 months we could loose the sweatshirts and she knew how to retrieve kibble, sits, downs, did circles and recalls. I also kept kibble in my pocket and anytime she laid down and was quiet I told her how good she was and gave a kibble. 
My girl had a serious UTI so had to go out like every 20 minutes so by the time we put on the harness & leash, walked about 10 minutes in the yard she was a really tired puppy. Puppies can be very time consuming for the 1st few months. 
By 6 months the teething was less painful, potty training was about done and life was so much better. Hang in there, it gets easier.


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## Golden9 (Jun 13, 2016)

We had a Golden puppy like this. Very sharp teeth like razors. We called her shark, as if those teeth came in contact with your skin, your skin would tear, cut and rip bleeding. This was a puppy so typical puppy behavior, she was biting out of excitement or biting for fun. We were covered in bites and slashes from those razor sharp teeth. People would ask me what happened to you, as it looked like my arms went thru a blender. 

At the time, we said NO BITE in an authoritative tone and put on a mesh muzzle for 2 minutes. That worked pretty quick. I kept the muzzle in my pocket, ready to use if I was bitten or attacked with teeth. She didn't like the muzzle so she learned in about a week what No Bite meant and soon learned to grab a toy to control her mouth. I kept the muzzle on me for some 4 - 6 weeks, just incase she forgot and bit, I could immediately put the muzzle on to remind her biting flesh was bad. She got the point.

The stuffed animal in mouth before love, looks like a very helpful tip mentioned above.


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## Brodys Rockies (Jan 8, 2019)

When River was a puppy, and especially as he began quickly growing, we went through the biting phase, which I believe is quite common in pups. Like Golden9, I used the words, NO Bite with a firm voice each time River bit hard, though to him he was playing. I never had to use a muzzle, but think this too is a good idea. I would grab him by the snout and look into to his eyes when I used the words, no bite. I'm not suggesting being dictatorial, but your pup needs to learn that you're the pack hound and she isn't. As mentioned, the key is being consistent with the method, words and tone of voice used. The pup needs to learn her boundaries and fast. Just as with a child, teaching your pup not to bite is something you have to get control over before your pup grows and becomes potentially uncontrollable. All too often this can lead to the dog ending up in a rescue shelter and in time labeled aggressive which leads to possibly being put down if not corrected at an early age. A dog that bites is not a playful dog... 

Hang in there...You and your girl will get through this, but start now, and be consistent in your approach. Repetition, Repetition, Repetition!


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## David Pearson (Aug 30, 2018)

I have a biter since day one from a liter of 8. He stop biting hard about 3 weeks ago. I am now working on no teeth on skin. He stills like to nip my clothing.... I am not buying new clothes for a while. If you see me, I will be that guy with the holy pants, shoes and shirts you see in the chewing section of the Pet store. Stuart is also strong will and high energy which I like that about him, it is never boring in my house (think Marley and Me).

The ouch trick did not work, Stuart would bite me again to get me to go ouch... It became a game. 

Things that did work for me. 
1. Stand up, turn away, and stand still
2. Redirect with toy
3. Training clicker: 



4. Redirect to a Seat command 


Each puppy is different so you might need to try multiply methods until you find the right one for your puppy.


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## ken71 (Jun 15, 2018)

I learned not to turn away as our puppy would just bite the back of our legs.

Instead we would put our knee up. Not to hurt him and certainly not to knee him in the chest but simply to keep him at bay. It helps if you can avoid eye contact and not engage verbally or visually. Then we would command a sit and give him a treat. I carried a treat bag on my belt for many weeks from morning until night!


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