Hi All!!

We were given a puppy at Christmas and he is house broken, generally a good dog except trying to eat off the table (he is part husky/boxer/lab generally a big dog). Our biggest problem is his biting. Husband and I don't enjoy playing with him because he gets too rough and always bite me breaking skin....I also have two little ones 2 and 1 that are having the same problem. Beating the tar out of him has minimal effect.

Help! I would like him to be a family dog....but when he is full grown and still biting he might have to go up the river.

-- Storybook Farm (mumaw@socket.net), February 28, 2001

Answers

He should be outgrowing it soon .Is he still teething ? Give him tube socks with a big knot in the middle or go to the store and buy the rope toys .Cow hooves and rawhide will help .Find a toy to play with him with .Have plenty of toys around if he bites you bite him back ! Dont laugh it sometimes works .Or you can take him by the scruff of the neck , pick him up and yell no in his face .Put him down and go about your buisness.The other thing maybe to put him flat on his back when he does it , look at him and tell him no , then let him up .It will get better honest .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), February 28, 2001.

Do as his litter mates or mom would do--say NO -make it loud and clear and then grab him on the skin of the neck and repeat NO holding is front feet of the ground -so you have control. Hold him for a few seconds, release him and do not play with him, speak to him or comfort him for a few minutes.I have seen this in lots of dogs that are removed from the litter very early and don't seem to understand that it is not exceptable in "play" to hurt! I had this problem with a puppy that was thrown out at the age of 2 wks. The people who found him- let the puppy bite them, as he grow older it was no longer "cute" and they were going to put him down I took him and with in 3 days he KNEW it was not exceptable. He is now 9 yrs. old and a sweetheart! He weighs 88lbs. and it would be terrible if he had not learned this lesson. BTW -he looks like a boxer/lab mix!

-- Debbie T in N.C. (rdtyner@mindspring.com), February 28, 2001.

First, quit beating him! That will only make him either mean or afraid of you. What they said above works great. If he bites, shout no and walk away! Let him learn what it is when you're unhappy with him. He is also probably teething and anxious to gnaw at anything. Remember,yor dog wants your love and approval more than anything in the world. Your job is to learn to get him to understand what you want from him. If you don't want him eating off the table, don't let food on the table for him to get to and don't feed him from the table. I suspect he is typically a puppy and ALWAYS HUNGRY! I remember that well. Feed him well and often-away from the table! Good luck!

-- Ardie from WI (a6203@hotmail.com), February 28, 2001.

I train all my pups at 5 weeks old and up not to bite. When you pick them up and they go for the face, I hold them by the back of the neck and say "here" real forcefull, with a voice that means it. I would not put them down untill they learned to be held without biting and sitting still.

None of my dogs will every play that way cuz I won't let them. Hold his mouth shut when he does it and say "no". Don't just put him down, make him be nice, no matter how long it takes for him to learn, and then put him down. Hold his collar with one hand and pet him with the other, and if he bites, hold his mouth, but don't let the collar go. Don't let him run from punishment. Instead, end on a good note, with praise. He will stop biting and he will learn that being good is allot better than biting. Give him lots of love when he is good and make a big fuss over it.

I teach all the new puppy owners this when they pick up their pup, and I talk real firm to the kids about letting the pup do this. It's not funny and it hurts. Puppy teeth are sharp.

I put my dogs on their backs when I need to, if they get into a scuffle between each other or something. Get right in his face and be the boss dog. It works.

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@hotmail.com), February 28, 2001.

Yes, put him on his back and talk firmly to him. Don't hit him! All that does is make him afraid of you then, regardless of whether or not he wants to obey you at other times, he CAN'T because he's too afraid to think straight. It will also make him resentful of you ~ one of these days that just might cause him to bite you. You're supposed to be a member of his pack and since dogs don't hit each other, he won't understand what you're doing ~ all you're telling him by doing that is that you are hurting him. Pain breeds fear which breeds anger and with two small children, the last thing you need is an angry, resentful dog.

Talk to him in his language. If you put him on his back like the Alpha Male and Female ("top dogs") in the pack do, then stand over him looking him right in the eye, one hand across his throat (NOT choking ~ just letting him know it's there), talking loudly and sternly the whole time, you are telling him in "dog speak" that you are boss and he'd better listen to you. Make him stay there and you stay there until he drops his eyes and quits squirming trying to get up.

Just last week, our 2 year old 100+ lb. male lab mix decided he was old enough to try to overthrow the Alpha Male in our family (Hubby), so he reached up and bit Kenny in the face (Kenny's okay ~ just a scratch). Kenny immediately put Blue on his back like I described above, holding him there for a good while. Immediately Blue was a different dog. At first he was a good bit nervous and wary of Kenny, but after a few loves and pets he calmed down. The next morning, Blue was back to normal, only more obedient than he'd ever been. Kenny did this a couple more times over the next few days to cement the deal.

Two more ways dogs assert their dominance is by humping and staring at you while you're eating trying to get you to give up your food. Don't EVER let him hump a member of your family. If he tries it, put him on his back like described above. And don't EVER give him any food while you're eating ~ wait until you're done, then give him what's left or feed him his own food. In the wild, if the dominant dog gives up his food before he's done, it's a sign of submission.

Teach your kids all this, but don't let them do the "put him on his back" thing without you being there with YOUR hand on the dog's neck. Better yet, just you and your spouse do it ~ your dog will probably recognize your children as Alpha Dogs' "pups" and will treat them with respect. But still don't leave them alone with your dog until they are much older, you are SURE he knows his place in the pack and you are SURE they know how to treat him and read his signs.

Good luck!

-- Wingnut (wingnut@moment.net), February 28, 2001.

If the dog IS teething in addition to not knowing how to play gently, something I used to give my teething dogs to help with the itchy teeth is a frozen bagel. The cold helps numb the gums, and chewing on a bagel (so long as they're not trying to break off chunks and wolf it down) is a good diversion and nutritious as well.

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), February 28, 2001.

The Monks of New Skete have a few good books out you should read .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), February 28, 2001.

Storybrook, sounds like you've gotten some great(free)advise from professionals. My personal add on would include-never hit. I have a 6 yr old chow/retriever/etc. mix that was abused and nasty, and though I was advised to put her down, I chose instead to crate/collar train her. A more affectionate, well behaved dog you have never met! If anyone were ever to lay a hand on this dog, I would break their arm. Pinch collars may seem cruel to some, but we only had to use it for the 4mo or so train period, the crate was the best idea and when she outgrew the crate she took over the bottom of my closet. So now the closet is her 'house' and thats where she goes when she wants to alone (wish I had a closet) Good Luck!

-- Kathy (catfish201@hotmail.com), February 28, 2001.

Hi, Storybrook I have trained many dogs, cats and small children not to bite it is simple and direct, with young animals while the teeth are still sharp put their own foot,[or hand] in the mouth while playing, causing them to bite themself, if they are over excited and don't 'get it' squeeze the snout,[or chin] just enough to get a ouch sound from them, saying "ouch,ouch,ouch" [for a protection dog use a different word of course] when they learn ouch equals hurt, they stop biting. If you watch the eyes closely you will their pain look just before the ouch sound, reward the 'ouch' responce with calm praise.

For an older subject or one that is quick to grab fingers, roll the skin of the lips over the teeth and press the teeth into the lip until you get the pain responce, and add mock crying "ouch, ouch, it hurts" and so forth in a manner that comunicates that the teeth and the pain are connected after a few days of either of these most will not bite further.

For the more stuborn among us,[in my case, two cats,four dogs, maybe five cousins, one little brother, and my youngest son] aversion training is needed, for the first 2 or 3 training sesions, sit with the subject in a quiet room,have help if needed, and useing only the amount of force needed to control them calmly force your fingers/hand into their mouth as if to choke them, saying,"Here bite me," or what ever you deside to say. Explain to anyone who will be around the 'biter' what is going on so that they also know what to do if they become the object of a bite, it will take very little time for the biteing to stop as they will associate skin in the mouth with gagging. After each event, reward good behavior 'gagging' with calm gentle loving praise, with animals a food treat, and if they ever try to bite, gag them immediately for reinforcement.

-- Thumper (slrldr@aol.com), February 28, 2001.

We have always let our puppies bite us, but only softly. This seems to teach them to have soft mouths. We play with them, and if they bite a hand hard enough to hurt even a little (and you know how soft that can be with those sharp little puppy teeth!) we grab them around the muzzle and give them a little squeeze and shake and say, "No" calmly, but with authority. We squeeze hard enough that they notice, but it doesn't really hurt unless their tongue happens to get in the way, in which case they whine and we let go enough that they can get their tongue out of the way. Then we continue playing. It usually only takes a few lessons and they catch on. Our dogs can carry eggs without cracking the shells.

-- Laura Jensen (lrjensen@nwlink.com), March 01, 2001.

I guess I need to clear a few things up...I use the word 'Beat' much too liberally my husband tells me.....this just means that I grab his muzzle when he bites and yell at him and if he is too out of hand I take him by the collar and put him on the dog run out in the crappy weather. I should use scold instead of beat...don't want you to think I abuse my critters.

-- Storybook Farm (mumaw@socket.net), March 01, 2001.

Puppies are like children. If the punishment does not fit the crime, they are lost. Tapping him on the nose while making him sit is a much better idea than putting him outside (even in 'crappy' weather).

Most dogs outgrow this by the time they are a year old. But, all dogs use their teeth to hold your hand, it is natural behavior. That part they will never outgrow.

He must be taught the meaning of the word 'gentle' - which should not be that hard to do. Tap his nose while telling him no. Make him sit - he is excited, and its really hard to learn when you are excited. When he is calm, let him take your hand, and softly begin to teach the command 'gentle.'

It does no good to get loud, get angry, or whatever, as this will reenforce that undesireable behavior. Make the punishment fit the crime - playing too rough, sit quiet. Biting, "no" with a tap on the nose. Putting him out will only confuse him. Think about it.

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), March 01, 2001.

I've taught all my animals not to bite in the same way. The first time they bite me HARD I take their leg and bite them HARD. I've never had one bite me twice. You should see the suprised look on their faces,like "Oh that does hurt doesn't it" I don't think they realize it hurts until it is done to them.

-- solid-dkn@msn.com (solid-dkn@msn.com), March 01, 2001.

We breed great danes and every one of our puppies go to their new homes having already been broken of biting. We do this within one day. DON'T DO THIS AROUND YOUR CHILDREN BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT THEM TO TRY IT BECAUSE THEY MAY HURT THE PUPPY. When the puppy bites you or your husband in play, just take your index finger and stick it in their mouth and push down on the back of their tongue and make them gag. Just like you would if you were trying to gag yourself with your finger. At the same time, say, "NO BITE". They will gag and back away from you. Call them to you and play with them and give them loving. As soon as they try to bite you do it again. Within just a couple of times, they will quit biting. It doesn't hurt them if you are just gagging them (don't do it if you have long fingernails). Our puppy buyers are amazed that our puppies don't bite when they come to their homes. It is extremely important to teach a great dane not to bite people when they are puppies. You don't want a biting great dane. Occassionally, after the first few times they may try biting again but just giving the NO BITE command is enough by that time.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), March 01, 2001.

We had a puppy who did that ALOT when she was little. We would grab her snout and say "DON'T BITE" And give her the 'evil eye' We did that for about a month and she finally stopped biting. Good Luck!

-- Cosmic Country Girl (CosmicCountry@Yahoo.com), March 02, 2001.

There are so many answers to this already you probably have the idea of what to do. But I can't resist contributing my two cents. I have had dogs since before I can remember and they all bit playfully when they were puppies and juveniles. And they bit hard and painfully. But a puppy doesn’t normally bite unless it is playing. If you reach out a hand to pet a puppy and it wants to play this is a good enough excuse. It thinks you are playing and will reach back with its mouth. As a child I was never bitten except when I was playing with puppies. If it hurt I stopped playing with them and they stopped biting me. Because of this natural reaction puppies normally aren’t much of a threat to children. Dogs use their mouths for everything and need to learn a lot about their mouths in a short space of time from 2 months to about a year . They don’t know how to use their mouths. This is something they learn from the response of the dogs and people they bite. My solution to biting puppies is to play with them in ways that avoids my getting bitten like a gentle game of tug of war with a soft rope or old towel that won’t hurt the mouth or if there is an inclination, chasing a ball. (dogs with out retriever in them often have no taste for retrieving) When the puppy nips your hand too hard, let your hand go limp and slowly and gently take it away. If you jerk your hand away the puppy likely will respond by trying to hold it back and that really hurts. Stop playing and act as if you have completely lost interest. Get up and go away. Be calm this will cause the puppy to calm down. It takes a while but the pup begins to learn that if he's rough, you aren't going to play any more. If you can find some one with a dog of the same size and age, ask them to bring their puppy over for yours to play with. Chances are that both puppies are biting much harder than they should or would be if they had grown up around other puppies. They will teach each other a valuable lesson. This works for children too. I know a boy who was terrible about biting until he went to kindergarten. He bit and was bitten and quickly stopped biting altogether. Think of puppies as children. They need as much attention as you and everyone else in the family can lavish on them. Their future good behavior depends on the affection and attention they get. A socialized dog is extremely attentive and picks things up with out being taught. But it takes a year or two for the dog to gain this kind of insight. Until then they need a lot of instruction. Be patient, firm and consistent and you will have a good family dog. Your dog will stop biting naturally. Be kind to the dog and it will respond in same manner. By the way the smartest dog I ever owned was a lab boxer cross. He was so amazing I never taught him anything, he just seemed to know what to do.

-- sarah (sarahs@awod.com), March 03, 2001.

Oh boy,I am getting to practice what I preach, We now have 2, 7 week old Blue Heeler puppies. One has shown excelent responce to the 'lip on teeth' method the other has progressed to adversion/ deversion [which I forgot to mention before](gentle teeth are ok at our house) Wherein bare skin in mouth equates to pain and an ok to bite object is offerd in its place, "Jacob" our biter, is showing all the signs of the Blue Heeler 'nip and duck and weave and bite' instinct, Lunatic tryed the 'bite him back' method and got an increase in the face targeting just like puppies do to other puppies Jacob has a dominate personality so trying to boss him could have a negative effect on his temperament. It's more work and more tooth scratches to guide instinct where you want it to go, but working aganist instinct can(will?) ruin a good dog.

-- Thumper (slrldr@aol.com), March 06, 2001.

ok, this aint an answer. I have read all your guys and ladys Oppinions, i was getting kinda worried about my Little (Growing fast :-) ) Rottie, i have read through all those answers, and it has set my mind at ease a great deal, because knowing how big and strong ritties can become, i did not want to have a nasty one on my hands, and one thing i NEVER wanna have to do is Mussle it.. i hate the things. But hey thanks to you all, and thanks to the Lady who asked the Q, if anyone eva asks what to do about a biteing Dog, i will give them this cool site.. thanks, learned loads (The only prob i had was itwas aimed at parents and stuff, im Sixteen and it is my dog :-) and my prob, not really the parents :-) not only parents have dogs... ) God Bless you all. Dave

-- David Eric Hayward (Daivehayward@hotmail.com), April 09, 2002.