# Puppy Biting/Mouthing Issues



## Canadian Bacon

I have a 13 weeks old golden. He is OBSESSED with hands. He just wants to keep mouthing them, even when you simply try to pet him (unless he's tired). He has softened up considerably since being a pup by using the "yelping" response, but to a small child, this could really hurt still. I always stop play time when he starts to mouth my hands, which is every time. I don't EVER let him put his mouth on my hands. I've tried introducing toys every time, but quite frankly, he doesn't sit and chew on any of his toys for longer than a minute. I've tried kongs (with and without treats inside), ropes, rubber toys, bones etc. He'd rather chew the soles of my shoes or the rubber knobs on my mountain bike. So I bought him a ball with the same tread as my shoes and he wants nothing to do with it. I'm getting side tracked LOL. When I do stop playing because he is biting, he just barks constantly at me. I've read just be patient and he'll grow out of it, but what can I do in the meantime?


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## janababy

Welcome to the boards. Your pup sounds just like my last dog. When he started going at our hands, we would sit still and tuck our hands into our pockets or crossed our arms so he could not reach them. He would eventually wonder we didn't want to play. Once he calmed down we would start to pay again. If he started to mouth our hands we would get up and walk away. It took awhile, but he eventually learned, we were not his chew toy. Good luck.


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## wbetheajr

Same thing with my 11 week old. Riley has my hands looking like I am some kind of junkie or something. I try to keep a rawhide bone handy so when he starts I can stick it in his mouth. He wants to knaw on everybody that tries to pet him too.


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## Sammy&Cooper

try redirecting to a favourite toy of his. it does just take some patience and he will eventually grow out of it. I always used the redirect approach and it worked for both my pups.


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## Dexter12

Dex is a very mouth puppy, he's all about the biting so I can relate. I get really frustrated with him at times because it's a slow process although he has made some progress. 

Like Sammy & Cooper said, redirection. Get a toy and see if you can get his attention off biting you. 

A very firm "no" when he does the behavior with some eye contact. I've found that if you r voice is wavering at all he'll think that you're joking and he might want to start to play.

A time out! Our kitchen and living room are connected and we've installed a baby gate in. When Dex starts getting too rambunctious we tell him that he's going to get a time out and if he persists, he gets five minutes in the kitchen. He's now getting to the point where we tell him that he's going to get a time out and he (sometimes) stops the behavior and goes and distracts himself for a while. In a time out Dex usually goes and has a nap so usually he's a little calmer afterwards.

Keep on him! It's tough work.


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## GingersMommy

Same problem here with our 12 week old. We have two young children too. We are using a squirt bottle now and it seems to be working a little. The yelping thing didn't work especially with 2 little girls. She is also impossible to get a leash/collar on or do any sort of grooming. She just wants to sink those sharp little puppy teeth into me.


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## Aspen's Mom

We've also been dealing with lots of mouthing and play biting...and it hurts! It does seem to be getting to be a little bit less every day, but I'm really anxious for this phase to be over. We also try to redirect with toys, or distract her with games...but there seem to be times that all she wants to do is chew on us! We put her on a time out in the back yard until she settles down a bit...then she can come back in and play nicely.


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## dezymond

Going through this phase with my 10week old now. My mom loved him last week, but she looks like she's about ready to give him away. I warned her that carrying him and treating him like a baby would backfire if we aren't firm on training. She didn't believe me and we're paying for it now. She won't tolerate anything now LOL

Had to resort to using his crate as a timeout as we have no specific area we can give him a timeout without worrying about him destroying something. Luckily we start puppy classes tomorrow


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## MercyMom

I am dealing with this with my Mercy. We will not give up though. She jumps up and mouths on my son as well. She also jumps up on the couch to enjoy her chew toys. I keep telling her that chew toys are much more enjoyable on the floor!  "Off", "Drop it", "No Mouth" and "Off the Couch" are phrases that you will hear often in our household.:lol:


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## photomel

I can really relate to this right now! We've had a bad day with Augie with biting and generally being a real pain. He goes crazy and cannot seem to help himself. We'd go outside to run around and throw the ball and all he wants to do is eat grass, dig, pull on the leash, and bite me. 

We had a stretch of 6 days with no accidents in the house and he peed inside tonight. 

I've tried ignoring his bad behavior, a firm "no" and a "time out" in the laundry room for 5 minutes. It just didn't seem to make any impact. 

A very bad day indeed.....

Good thing he starts puppy kindergarten tomorrow so I can get some tips about how to handle these behaviors in a productive way. I get so frustrated and am at a loss as to what to do when he gets CRAZY.


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## Brewer24

When they go crazy it's normal... We used to called it " zoomies" where he would jus run Laps around the couch.. They will grow out of that eventually 


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## Renea

I have a 9 week old golden retriever (Annabel), she bites my husband sometimes to hard. From time I picked her up from the breeders I would not allow her to put her teeth me. I would firmly say, "NO BITE!!" So far its worked,


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## annabel

Take a look at the thread on "12 week old monster"...the compressed air bottle is working so far...and she is a different dog! We had tried everything, and nothing else worked....


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## Hyzerdad

For most of the people here nothing is working because you haven't been doing it consistently long enough. Your pup is only 9, 10, or 12 weeks old. It sometimes takes months before a pup "gets it" and quite the behavior you don't want.

Hang in there. It does seem like it takes forever. My 10 week old Golden likes hands. I always keep a chew nearby and will put my hands under me so he can't get them. 

Another thing I've found with my dogs is that when I ignore them and turn around they just jump on the back of my legs but if I turn my nose up and my head away they get the message. Most times I don't have to get up.

Also, keep trying different textured toys. I've found Hyzer likes his chews Ok but he loves his rope toy. I make sure he's not pulling off strings and eating them. 

Another thing to do is get something that you want him to chew and act like it's yours. Toss it around to yourself. Put it up constantly but make sure he's sees you. If you show value in the item the pup will put more value in it. I think that's why Hyzer likes the rope toy so much. I never leave it out because he and my Jack Russell will play tug forever and get way to worked up.


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## AJLM

My puppy is about 8 weeks old and I am so anxious for the mouthy phase to be over with, we discipline her every time we catch her chewing on something other than her toys, too. We do everything from redirecting, to yelping, to keeping hold of her collar until she lets go of whatever she's chewing. I have a very young child so it is not tolerated one bit when my pup tries to nip at fingers or clothes. Anyone have an estimate of when this phase stops? lol


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