# 9 weeks old growling and biting!....



## cinnamonteal (May 16, 2008)

Ah, puppyhood.  First, this is totally normal behavior. Continue what you're doing and be consistent. She's trying to get you to play with her like a litter mate. If the play stops when she starts getting nippy, she will learn (eventually) not to bite. Don't get physical back with her because it just makes it worse. Turn into a statue, say "ouch!!" and leave the room. She'll get it, but it will take time.

Good luck and welcome to the forum!

ps. we love puppy pictures!


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

cinnamonteal said:


> Ah, puppyhood.  First, this is totally normal behavior. Continue what you're doing and be consistent. She's trying to get you to play with her like a litter mate. If the play stops when she starts getting nippy, she will learn (eventually) not to bite. Don't get physical back with her because it just makes it worse. Turn into a statue, say "ouch!!" and leave the room. She'll get it, but it will take time.
> 
> Good luck and welcome to the forum!
> 
> ps. we love puppy pictures!


Ditto this advice. And also you can put her in her crate for a time out if she is getting too wound up and mouthy.


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## Goldnbear (Dec 28, 2009)

This is all good advice, now for some pics please!


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

Also bear in mind that your pup may be at a disadvantage in the bite inhibition department. Mostly that depends on what you mean by a "couple" weeks. The last 1-2 weeks with the litter is a big time for learning this important life skill from both mom and fellow littermates. Generally, it is recommended that pups stay with the litter until 8 weeks of age. This isn't to say she can't or won't learn to play gently... just that it might take a little extra effort on your part.

It sounds like you're on the right track. The main thing here is going to be consistency. If your dog sees that every time her teeth hit your skin/clothes/whatever you become a boring, lifeless statue... whereas sitting patiently or playing with an appropriate toy brings out a fun, interesting playmate... she'll learn to make the right decision. The time outs you've been doing are also a good option, especially if she is overly persistent with grabbing you or your clothes while you're attempting the statue move (keeps her from getting any intrinsic reward from that behavior). It's not going to happen overnight. It's not going to happen in 1 or 2 weeks. And when she starts teething, she may have a bit of relapse where things briefly get worse instead of better. All this is just part of the joy of puppyhood! So don't let it surprise you. Just stick with it.... it will sink in if you are consistently consistent (LOL, have I overstated that?)

Thankfully, they're only pups for a small fraction of their lives. But rest assured, it won't be too long now before you find yourself missing some of her puppy antics and wondering where the time went! Best of luck. Welcomd to GRF!

Julie and Jersey


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Another good method is to teach them to "kiss" instead of bite. Put a little peanut butter on your hand and let the puppy lick it off, while she licks say "good kiss!". Practice that and eventually when she does want to play shark with you, you can say "kiss" and she should start licking instead of biting. Of course then you may have dog that licks too much, but that's better than biting!


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## jmamom (Dec 3, 2009)

I just lived through this, and keep up what you are doing, it will work! Josie is almost 15 weeks now, but we had these same issues at 9 weeks. It hasn't disappeared entirely, sometimes it pops up in a different situation, but the behavior stops much more quickly now! At first I freaked about the growling, but I have come to learn that my dog is just as loud and talkative as the rest of my family! Don't worry, you'll get there!!!


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## Romeo1 (Apr 19, 2008)

mylissyk said:


> Another good method is to teach them to "kiss" instead of bite. Put a little peanut butter on your hand and let the puppy lick it off, while she licks say "good kiss!". Practice that and eventually when she does want to play shark with you, you can say "kiss" and she should start licking instead of biting. Of course then you may have dog that licks too much, but that's better than biting!


What a cute idea.


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## GoldenTrio (Jan 11, 2010)

Hang in there.... it will get better. Like the others have said keep doing what you are doing and be consistent then you will see that this behavior will stop as Dana grows out of this stage. 

I have a 7 month old and he did the same thing at that age and I was certain he would not grow out of it. The other thing that worked with Jersey was to make a loud noise then have the toy ready. The noise seemed to snap him out of it and he would run off with the toy.


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## DanaDog (Jan 10, 2010)

*Thank you!*

Thank you all for your advice! It's nice to hear that it's a very normal stage for her to go through. We will definitely get some pics online ASAP, our camera cord that connects to our computer is MIA so as soon as we find it we will. Thanks again!!


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## Aphex (Jan 20, 2010)

My White Golden is 9 weeks, we got him at 8 weeks. First few days he was scared and sleeping/eating, now we get this same behavior that all of you are explaining. But the problem is he only does it to my GF and not to me. 
- On another issue: From day one in the home he never pooped inside, while 10 days after we have him he decided that his bed is good poop area.(any advice)
His name is Aphex btw, and we are from Veles, Macedonia


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## Goldenmomma (Oct 15, 2009)

Patience, patience, patience. I have plenty of scars from Sully nipping. Okay, they're baby-sized. Eventually they stop and learn what to do. She is still mouthy, but we just keep up the redirecting and 'no'. Scotty was such a good boy (and still is) that he didn't really go through this stage that I remember. Night and day. She cuddles at night and he is a day cuddler.


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