# 9 week old puppy biting everything in site



## KatzNK9 (Feb 27, 2007)

I feel your pain (some pun intended) as I just went through it this past year with my now 11 month old pup. We have to remember that we have "retrievers" who always want something in their mouth. My plan was to firmly say "NO" and remove my hand or whatever was the object of the moment & replacing it with an appropriate chew toy & then praise for appropriate chewing.

It took months so I'm not trying to tell you it is easy as it certainly wasn't. My golden was my worst ever dog about this (but has been the best dog ever for absolutely everything else). Patience & consistency is key to winning this battle of wits.

Good luck! Hope this helps.


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

If you've chosen to give the pup access to you, you need to be prepared with an apppropriate chew item in-hand. When the shark-face opens up, pop the toy in there and praise for chewing that.

Consistency and patience is key.

-Stephanie


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## ourpuppy07 (Dec 19, 2006)

Hi! I also have a 9 week old. Her nipping is out of control! In fact, if you look back a few days I wrote a post just like yours. Like you said, you cant even go to pet them without the nipping. Unfortunatly nothing has worked for us this far. I have come to the realization that this is a phase and whatever tactic I use to get it to stop I will just stick with, no matter if it is working right now. What I do is say a firm "No bite" and put my hand around her mouth (not squeeze or harsh) just showing that I dont want her to bite. If she gets really crazy and cant settle down I say no bite and put her in her crate. When she stops whining (usually a few minutes) I let her out and walk away without saying anything. That seems to work for a short while...but some time is worth no time at all. Im just waiting for this phase to end!! Sorry I dont have better advice, but you arent alone!


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## Jazzys Mom (Mar 13, 2007)

Typical puppy! You have to remember puppies grow at a very fast rate ----- and so do their mouths! They are in the process of teething when they do this. Just like human babies try to chew on everything and drool and cry ---- puppies do the same exact thing but because they are dogs and their little teeth are like razors they HURT! Fortunately this stage doesn't last too long and their are a few things you can do to minimize it. 

1. When puppy begins to chew on you say "NO" firmly and QUIT having ANY interaction with the puppy. This will tell puppy that when his mouth is in use on your hand you won't play with him.
2. I puppy continues to bite at you put your hand OVER the top of his muzzle and firmly say "NO BITE!" Then walk away from him.
3. When puppy bites your hand you can put your thumb in the side of his mouth, way back towards the back teeth and press down on his tongue. This kinda catches the lip over his teeth and is slightly uncomfortable. Say "NO BITE!" 
4. Every time puppy bites or mouths you say "NO BITE" and as soon as the puppies mouth is off you give a treat. This will tell him that if his mouth is not on human skin he gets rewarded.

Some of these may work ------ maybe NONE of them will work while teething is at its peak. Take heart - this stage doesn't last forever, just seems like it does. Our Jasmine is now 11 months old and all she does now is put her mouth around my wrist and "hold" it. We are in the process of breaking her of that now ----- not that it hurts but it is a dominance trait and I don't want her to have any dominance traits at all. I think the actual biting stage lasted about a month with Jazz ---- from about 9 weeks to about 13 or 14 weeks. I could see this stage waning as I found little razor teeth on the floor!

Good luck

Jazzys Mom


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## aglide (Feb 12, 2007)

I came to the forum today to post about my 9 week old puppy's biting being out of control only to find the exact same post from you at the top of the page.

Caesar is also out of control with the biting. Telling him No and walking away is not an option, because anytime I'm walking anywhere in the house at all he's right behind me, jumping up and wrapping his front legs around my leg, biting me.

If I'm sitting on the couch he's trying to jump up and is biting my legs and the couch cushions.

If I try to pet him he bites my hand.

It's good to hear this is a phase. I worry about not handling it correctly and it ending up being a real problem later on. when exactly are they teething? I remember someone saying that isn't until they are 4 or 5 months old. Are puppies teething at 9 weeks?


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## bensfamily (Mar 8, 2007)

I also have this same issue with my 7 week old. Does this mean that it will last longer? Did your puppies start this behavior right away? We have only had him for a week and the biting and nipping is getting progressively worse. I've also tried walking away and putting a toy in his mouth, I guess from what I've read we just need to stay consistent, right? When does this stage pass again?? 

Thanks,
Ben's Family


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## aglide (Feb 12, 2007)

I got him at 7 weeks and it started pretty much right away.


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## Molly's Mom (Jan 1, 2007)

I literally feel your pain. Been there, done that. Molly's almost 5 months old now and it's finally starting to go away. Not much worked with her either. We had to just ride it out. My vet recommended a citronella spray when we were in yesterday. I don't know if you can use that on the really young ones though. He said the dogs hate that. Right now I have a spray bottle with a mixture of vinegar and water. I just spray it at her when she starts to jump and bite. She's finally starting to get it. 

Just plan on spending the next few months wearing ratty clothing and keep Neosporin and bandaids handy. It really does go away eventually but it's kind of miserable while you're going through it. Good luck to all of you.


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## Bailey & Bentley (Feb 25, 2007)

My Bailey was the same way. The only thing that worked for him was puppy socialization classes to learn "bite inhibition" while playing with the other puppies. Bentley is 8 weeks old and is starting the biting as well. He will start his class in two weeks, once he has had all his shots. It costs us $10 every Sat, but, boy is it worth it.


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## Jazzys Mom (Mar 13, 2007)

lol - this is really dejavue for me! There is another method you can try. Some don't want to do this but most of the time it will work. Try putting a little Tabasco or hot sauce on your hand and let puppy bite away! Most of them don't like the taste and will think twice next time he goes to nibble on human flesh. Then, there is that rare dog that actually LIKES the taste! Our Dr's Dane cross LOVEs Tabasco! So, go figure! The best thing I think is to just rise it out and know that this stage too shall pass!

Jazzys Mom


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## Charlie06 (Feb 10, 2007)

Yeah.....we all have normal puppies. At 7 mths Charlie doesn't do it near as much as he used to but the stronger he gets the more it hurts. I have the black & blue marks to show for it. We don't have the crate on the bottom floor so I started putting him in the corner, I just make him sit in the corner for like 2 minutes. I stand there and make sure he stays. It's funny now cause I say "Do you want to go in the corner" and he usually stops. I taught my parents cockapoo to do that and sometimes when she gets something she shouldn't have we just look at her and she goes and sits in the corner...


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## Jazzys Mom (Mar 13, 2007)

Ohhh, that conjures up such a picture! I can just see the bird walking into the corner and sitting there!:lol: 

Jazzys Mom


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## DaisyMay's mom (Feb 27, 2007)

We got Daisy at 7 weeks and she pretty much started biting and nipping right then. It has been getting worse but i heard that between 8-14 weeks is the worst and she's only 12 weeks. So hang in there, this is all normal.


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