puppy biting everything!

ene

hi i have a 10 week puppy who is very mouthy!

i have tried to swap whatever he is biting with a toy and i have never told him off only did a high pitched yelp but it is not working.

he is obviously getting bigger and he bites our ankles/toes/hands a lot

i really need some advice- i have tried bitter apple spray is well!

Cindy85

Just accept it and continue doing what your doing... He is experiencing his world through his mouth and will continue to do so for another few months... All you can do is try to distinguish what is fair game for chewing and what is not... Buy him lots of bones and chew toys and leave them in his area and give them to him when he goes for your hand etc. Also, continue with yelping he will eventually get it!

DBB

Hmmm, I'm afraid if he's a persistent pup, which most of them are, whilst simply yelping does work at first, it becomes less effective as the pup realises that it's only a noise.
You've got to go a step further OP, when your pup is ignoring your yelp, and do pretty much what his littermates did to him when he got too mouthy with them. Remove him, or yourself, from the situation. It's called a Time Out.
So, the sequnce is that you yelp... this gives the pup the opportunity to stop. But when he comes back for more, he gets a verbal warning "Enough!", or "ah ah!", and is put on the Time Out, for 30 seconds.
To put him on Time Out, either lead him out of the room to a boring, secure room (utility rooms are usually good) without saying another word to him, or, stand up and walk out of the room yourself without another word.
You HAVE to be consistent with this, and the first few days are the hardest because it takes a good few repetitions for the pup to make the connection, that his biting causes your disappearance.
As he becomes less persistent, simply withdrawing your hand, or taking a few steps away from him, is usually all you need to do, until he stops doing it altogether.
Time Outs are a punishment, but they're effective at teaching pup that there are consequences to his actions, without causing any lasting harm.

ene

DBB that sounds like great advice! I think the issue for Lotso at the moment is that he has too much energy- but come saturday he can go out for walks so hopefully this will resolve itself!

I will try your advice but just figuring out where to put him is tough! Also would you lift him into the boring room? Or like lead him by his collar?

Hooked

ene wrote: »

DBB that sounds like great advice! I think the issue for Lotso at the moment is that he has too much energy- but come saturday he can go out for walks so hopefully this will resolve itself!

I will try your advice but just figuring out where to put him is tough! Also would you lift him into the boring room? Or like lead him by his collar?

I would think lead him by his collar, on a lead?

And this will also help (if you attach a short lead) for when Saturday comes. He'll be more familiar with the concept of a collar and lead, if you're using it for a few days indoors first...

Or so I'm told.

DBB

Yep, what hooked said
Having a short length of ribbon or twine on the collar when you're home is very handy, as it means you can lead him to the Time Out zone without touching him, which may itself be rewarding.
If there's a lead attached, you can leave him on the far side of the door with the lead jammed in the closed door... For 30 seconds only, longer if he's whining as you don't want to release him if he's making noise.
One vital thing to remember though.. leave nothing attached to his collar unless you're there to supervise