Puppy help

[imjustagirl]

I'm Facebook friends with about half of you, but I guess this goes to the other half. :D

I adopted a three-month-old lab/hound mix puppy yesterday. Super sweet little guy who loves to cuddle and is about the cutest thing ever.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/388465_10150936504750632_897745631_21390311_310576060_n.jpg

However, he is a nibbler. And by nibbler, I mean it's getting REALLY violent. I'm bleeding in at least three places. He has a rope toy, a nylabone and a Kong toy. Every time he starts, I put the rope toy in his mouth. It stopped working. I've put peanut butter on it, and he won't touch it.

I expect chewing. Hell, my couch is torn to shreds by my cats, so I don't care. But he only seems interested in chewing on MY FLESH.

So what kind of things can I do to stop him? Sharp "NO"s with a pop on the nose don't work (he just bites my hand). I keep trying to put toys in his mouth.

Help?

 

[Bristol Whipped]

You need to be a bit more patient, IJAG. You got the puppy yesterday, and it's going to take more than a day to teach the puppy not to bite. When puppies play with one another, they bite, and sometimes they bite one another too hard as well. When it happens, it sounds like you're handling it the right way. Swat it on the nose, say no, and I would also leave the room (this way the puppy loses its playmate). If you're consistent, the puppy will learn.

 

[imjustagirl]

Yeah, Bristol, that's kind of where I am. But I can't really leave the room because my house is kind of all interconnected with no doors except the master. And he's never more than a foot away from me.

:D

And like I said, I don't expect him to stop biting. I just want him to stop biting ME. :)


And Creosote: he won't lie on his back. Plus, he's only 2.5 pounds. Not sure I can hold him down without hurting him. :(

 

[doogie448]

When our dog was a puppy and he would bite my wife would let out this really big dramatic scream to scare him. He stopped after a couple of days.

Of course he may pee on the floor from being scared.

 

[imjustagirl]

Oh, we've already crossed the "pee on the floor" thing off the ledger. We're well past that. :D

 

[outofplace]

Yeah, Bristol, that's kind of where I am. But I can't really leave the room because my house is kind of all interconnected with no doors except the master. And he's never more than a foot away from me.

:D

And like I said, I don't expect him to stop biting. I just want him to stop biting ME. :)


And Creosote: he won't lie on his back. Plus, he's only 2.5 pounds. Not sure I can hold him down without hurting him. :(

You'd have to be careful, but he's right. Sometimes the firm no and tap on the nose aren't enough, but dogs instinctively understand asserting dominance. Gently, but firmly, putting him on his back and holding him there will get the message across with most dogs. Honestly, I like that better than the tap on the nose, which he seems to be taking as you playing with him.

One more thing. Do not give him toys or treats (like peanut butter) after he bites. That is like offering him a reward for the bad behavior. Even if he doesn't take the reward, it sends the wrong message.

 

[imjustagirl]

I can see that. I took it as teaching him what he SHOULD bite on, but I see your point. I'll try the "putting him on his back" thing next time. He's turned his attention to gnawing on my coffee table right now, so my feet are safe.

 

[Boom_70]

You could lather up in bitter apple or keep a squirt pistol filled with water.
Every time he bites you give him a squirt in the face and give him a firm no.

 

[imjustagirl]

Yeah, the squirt bottle is my next step. I've just seen it not work on my parents' cat, so I had no interest in trying it. But in the interest in saving extremities, I might have to. :)

 

[outofplace]

I can see that. I took it as teaching him what he SHOULD bite on, but I see your point. I'll try the "putting him on his back" thing next time. He's turned his attention to gnawing on my coffee table right now, so my feet are safe.

Oh, I understood the reason why you did it. It makes some sense. But he'll try chewing on anything that interests him on his own. All you need to do is teach him which things he cannot chew on, including you.

Never heard of a squirt bottle with dogs, but it can't hurt to try. I've always thought of that one as more of a cat thing. Dogs aren't nearly as uncomfortable with water as cats are.

 

[Care Bear]

I find that wearing a gimp suit cuts down on the pain level. Puppy teeth generally can't penetrate rubber.

 

[Boom_70]

I can see that. I took it as teaching him what he SHOULD bite on, but I see your point. I'll try the "putting him on his back" thing next time. He's turned his attention to gnawing on my coffee table right now, so my feet are safe.

Oh, I understood the reason why you did it. It makes some sense. But he'll try chewing on anything that interests him on his own. All you need to do is teach him which things he cannot chew on, including you.

Never heard of a squirt bottle with dogs, but it can't hurt to try. I've always thought of that one as more of a cat thing. Dogs aren't nearly as uncomfortable with water as cats are.

Works great if you startle them with a stream on the grill.

 

[Boom_70]

I find that wearing a gimp suit cuts down on the pain level. Puppy teeth generally can't penetrate rubber.

You could also wear a gilly suit so he would not see you.

 

[bydesign77]

Asserting dominance is the way to go.

Watch the Dog Whisperer.

 

[imjustagirl]

I find that wearing a gimp suit cuts down on the pain level. Puppy teeth generally can't penetrate rubber.

So no luck on the puppy recipe, then?

 

[Care Bear]

I find that wearing a gimp suit cuts down on the pain level. Puppy teeth generally can't penetrate rubber.

So no luck on the puppy recipe, then?

Sounds like he's the one looking for a recipe.
:D

 

[imjustagirl]

No, he apparently prefers the raw bar. :(

 

[Beef03]

The water bottles work great. My sister has a giant lab/mastif cross. Pretty sure he is half horse. It has been the most effective tool in training him, especially in combination with assertive dominance.

 

[e4]

i highly recommend ian dunbar's book, "before and after getting your puppy."

the most important thing to realize is that your dog doesn't understand anything you're saying to it right now. it's only starting to make connections between the words you use and the associated actions. positive reinforcement is key, which means patience and calmness are paramount. reward the hell out of good behavior, ignore what you want to go away. tone of voice is important when you use your words to train, but most everything right now needs to be conveyed through your actions. if your puppy is nipping, nipping, nipping, especially to the point of drawing blood, and you say "no!" or "stop it!" or "ouch!" -- well, that's not really doing much because the puppy doesn't understand you, but it's getting a reaction out of you and the "game" keeps going. the bad manners are being reinforced, even if you don't realize it.

when puppies play with each other and one gets too aggressive with its mouth, the hurt puppy will yelp really loudly (you should do this and take your hand away, stop the game momentarily) and if the bad behavior continues, the hurt puppy will run away to end the game (you should do this too, to signal that what you did hurt me and i will not play with you when you do that). of course, when the puppy settles down, come back to it, put it on its back (this asserts your dominance) and praise it and give it a belly rub when it chews a toy (positively reinforcing the good manners). you should play with your puppy's mouth as much as possible early on so it learns to have a soft mouth, i.e., what is too strong a bite and what can hurt people. i think, according to the book, the puppy should learn by five months that using its mouth for anything but eating or toys isn't acceptable. it's something that gets phased out.

there are many methods to puppy training. i can't stress how well this book worked for my wife and me when we recently got our first dog. just my two cents. hope you are enjoying puppyhood!

 

[imjustagirl]

Thanks, e4. I think I do a lot of that, but I just must not be doing it right. When he nips at me, I pull my hand back ... but he takes that as an invitation to jump after it. An invitation to continue the game, as it were.

So I'll keep working at it, and I'll try the yelp next. :)