# My puppy wont stop biting please help



## CHAMP09 (Jan 8, 2009)

My golden retriever is 4 months old and he will not stop biting. Over all he has been a great dog, but when he gets excited or playful he bites hands, arms, feet, etc. We have tried punishing him by putting him in his crate, yelling, hitting him on his nose, saying no!, and replacing our hands with one of his toys. This only delays it untill he goes right back for more. He does not give out vicious bites rather there more playful and he feels as though he is doing nothing wrong. It gets very annoying when you just want to pet him or lay by him. Is this just a stage puppys go through? Is there anything i can do to help stop him from biting? And suggestions would be great!!! Thanks so much


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## SimTek (Dec 21, 2007)

It's normal.. I would tell our Sammy when she started biting...NO BITE.. NO BITE.. kisses..give kisses.. and then she would start licking my hand I say good girl...such a good girl..good kisses... She finally caught on..
If she kept biting I would turn around or get up and tell her I'm not playing anymore..


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

This is probably our most asked question here on the forum. You are doing everything right except hitting on the nose. Goldens at that age are little land sharks. The only other thing I might suggest is some Bitter Apple spray to put on your hands. This is a phase and will pass. Keep the faith and please don't swat your pups nose.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

Here is a thread on the forum that I put a link to with some good hints. Right now with the teething it is extra hard for him. Can you give him something like frozen carrots or a wet washcloth frozen to help the teeth. The little hit on his nose is like playing to him and will egg him on even more. I used to do a spray of the bitter apple in his mouth whenever Bama bit me. Shortly he learned.

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/showthread.php?t=52257&highlight=puppy+biting


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

At 4 months old, he's in full teething mode and biting is really normal. Discourage him to bite, and make sure he has plenty of things to chew on to soothe his gums, they are probably aching pretty bad right now. A frozen washcloth helped a lot when mine was teething bad. And when he bit, I made a high pitched "OW!" sound and turned my back on him... he quickly learned that he bites mom, playtime is over. Also if he is biting, you can replace your hand (or whatever he's biting on you) with a toy.. over and over.. enough repetitions, he'll start to learn that its ok to bite his toy, but not you.


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## Sienna's Mom (Oct 23, 2007)

missmarstar said:


> At 4 months old, he's in full teething mode and biting is really normal. Discourage him to bite, and make sure he has plenty of things to chew on to soothe his gums, they are probably aching pretty bad right now. A frozen washcloth helped a lot when mine was teething bad. And when he bit, I made a high pitched "OW!" sound and turned my back on him... he quickly learned that he bites mom, playtime is over. Also if he is biting, you can replace your hand (or whatever he's biting on you) with a toy.. over and over.. enough repetitions, he'll start to learn that its ok to bite his toy, but not you.


My arms were really beat up when Sienna was a puppy. She still is very mouthy when she gets playful but MUCH MUCH better. Like Marlene suggests an OUCH and turning your back so playtime ends. Replacing your hands with a toy. We sprayed bitter apple, but it was hard because it inevitably came back to us if we forgot and rubbed our face. We do find that all we have to do now is show her the spray bottle though LOL.

One other thing we did was hold her snout shut firmly but not harshly and said NO BITE! If we did it enough, she got the picture after a bit.

My son is 9, but he was 7 when we got Sienna and many times she would nip at his clothes and run after him because he was active too. I will tell you they now curl up together and cuddle, with my son using her as a pillow. 

Show him that playtime ends when he won't stop biting. Unfortunately it takes A LOT of repitition!! Hugs, we all understand!!


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## avincent52 (Jul 23, 2008)

missmarstar said:


> . And when he bit, I made a high pitched "OW!" sound and turned my back on him... he quickly learned that he bites mom, playtime is over.


FWIW, we tried the "yelp like a puppy" idea with Tessie and it just plain didn't work. She thought I was just playing and tried to play/bite harder. 
Your mileage may vary.

What worked with Tessie was simply shoving a chewy toy in her mouth and praising her profusely. At four months, she's now grabbing the toys herself when she needs to chew, which seems to calm the biting impulse.

The other thing is bite inhibition. Take this opportunity to make sure your pup learns how to bite gently. He should understand that when he feels human skin in his mouth, it should be nothing but licking and gentle mouthing. 

Here's a link to an article by Ian Dunbar.

http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm


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## lizamartin (Feb 3, 2010)

Wow, so happy that I found this forum! I've been very concerned over the play biting that my 11 month old Soda is still doing. Good to know that others have experienced the same behavior with their goldens. It is getting better now --- our reinforcement of NO BITE is slowly taking hold.
The jumping up when anyone comes to our house is another thing ---- is this also a common problem???


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## momtoMax (Apr 21, 2009)

Another note, think of the crate as time out. Your puppy should not feel like it's a punishment. Meaning, you shouldn't be yelling bad dog!!! and shoving him into the crate. Just a simple no bite! put him into his crate for 5 minutes. It's super important that your dog sees his crate as a good place, not a bad place.


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## Tanyac (Jun 18, 2008)

I have found that staying calm whenever I am with the puppy is always the best way to be. Raised voices excite the puppy - if you are quiet around the pup, speak quietly, give instruction when training quietly, you will find he/she will pay attention on the occasion when you need to raise your voice.

Stick with the forum, there are so many things to learn about our dogs, it's a great place to learn...


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

A good positive training class can help you teach your puppy appropriate ways to get attention from you and play with you. 

This article from the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior tells how to find a good dog class: http://www.avsabonline.org/avsabonl...sition_Statements/how to choose a trainer.pdf

You can leave the room when the sillyness starts, stepping out over a gate or go behind a door for 20-30 seconds and then return. When leaving, move calmly and silently. 

Having your puppy get all his food through training sessions or food toys can also help.


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## Blondie (Oct 10, 2009)

This has happened to my 10 week old Maggie with the biting. She is officially deemed a "Land Shark." I spoke with a lady about this the other day when picking up some food for Maggie. The lady told me that this is why so many goldens end up at shelters and rescues, because owners don't give the dog the allotted 2 year comittment to get through all the unbecomming behaviors.


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## ODIN (Aug 15, 2012)

Hi guys. My puppy ,Odin , almost three months, has the biting problem too. I'm always talking to him very soft and look as his eyes directly and say odin no biting! no biting. and then put his bone toy or a carrot in to his mouth sometimes it works sometimes he just starts barking and tries to bite me and ignores the bone. I put a little bit tooth paste on my hand but its like the smell makes him so much angry. its like he wants to attack my hand. I don't know what else to do


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## dezymond (May 3, 2012)

ODIN said:


> Hi guys. My puppy ,Odin , almost three months, has the biting problem too. I'm always talking to him very soft and look as his eyes directly and say odin no biting! no biting. and then put his bone toy or a carrot in to his mouth sometimes it works sometimes he just starts barking and tries to bite me and ignores the bone. I put a little bit tooth paste on my hand but its like the smell makes him so much angry. its like he wants to attack my hand. I don't know what else to do


Have you tried getting up and turning your back toward him? Have you tried leaving the room? If so the next step, imo, would be the timeout method. Find a designated timeout area and leave him there for a minute. 

He needs to know that biting brings all play to a stop. It may take awhile but he'll get it. Forgot to ask, have you tried yelping?


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## IrishDaisy (Aug 9, 2012)

Hi guys,

I'm having a similar problem with Daisy at the moment. The minute I come into the kitchen in the morning and leave her out of her crate she latches onto my pijamas pants and when I tell her to stop her barks at me and snarls so i can see all her teeth. I've tried the yelping thing, it worked for a while but now she ignore it. I'm terrified what would happen if she does this to a child.


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## jaxdepo (Jun 21, 2012)

I recently looked up the Eruption (exfoliation) stages of a dogs teeth. 
I found this helpful. It helps us to deal with them if we can get to undertand them better.
You will see on the charts the stages when teeth are falling out and when knew ones are coming in and then you are able to look in the mouth and say hey I get it. 
My husband often will hold Jax's teething bone while he chews and he will hold it on the spot where you can tell he is feeling it the most. Jax loves this. 
The most important thing is to keep many types of teething toys around. Cold ones, dry ones, whatever you can. 
it will pass I'm sure. We are in the middle of it too and all you can do is keep trying and trying. 
I'm not sure how it will work for you and if others will agree but Jax doesn't bite me anymore and I use to have him on my lap and hold his teething rings while he chewed and like Isaid my husband holds the bones. Not always but sometimes and jax isn't about biting us anymore. The only time he is would be when he has to poop.
Worth a shot anyways.....


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## jaxdepo (Jun 21, 2012)

dezymond said:


> Have you tried getting up and turning your back toward him? Have you tried leaving the room? If so the next step, imo, would be the timeout method. Find a designated timeout area and leave him there for a minute.
> 
> I really agree with this method too! We have done the leave the room thing and oh boy does his attitude change!! He HATES being away from us so this is a punishment in itself for them! As much as we do not like it, we have used the crate 2 times as punishment. Once with biting and once with barking.
> He doesn't associate the crate whatsoever as a bad place but it has shown as a time out spot for him to chill out for a minute.


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