Can't stop her from biting.

Hi. First post here for me.
I have a 10 week old female pitbull terrier. I have had her since she was 7 weeks old. Most of the time she is the sweetest little thing, but she gets in the moods where she gets really hyper and bites a lot. I can't stop her. I have tried yelping loudly and turning my back which worked at first, redirecting with a toy, putting her in the crate, shaking a can of coins. So far I am not having any success. It has been said that she was taken from her mother to early and has not learned bite inhibition.
Other than this issue she is very smart, potty training is going very well, and she is learning things quickly.
I am just looking for more suggestions on things I can try. Thanks.
P.S. This is my second pitbull terrier. My first one passed last year. I remember him doing the same thing but not as bad. I can't remember what worked with him, but he did eventually get better.

Riley was the same way as a puppy, nothing made him stop biting, he even liked bitter apple spray. He eventually just grew out of it.

Have you tried any bitter apple spray or lemon juice? Just put it on your arm before you play with her. But don't tough any food or your face before you wash it off, that stuff tastes terrible!

You also might try just getting up, walking away, and ignoring her for a few minutes.

I have not tried the sprays, i found a bottle from my last dog, but i am afraid to use it because it's about 9 years old and I don't know if it goes bad.I forget the name of it. There was a spot on my stairs in my that my last dog used to chew. Every time i sprayed that spot he would lick it off, it didn't phase him. I tasted a drop and could not believe how bad it tasted.
I'll try that and ignoring her.
Thanks.

I say this to all my puppy owners that come to me for training and that is look at the protein that you are feeding especially if it is processed wet food. That could help if you reduce the amount of protein in the food. eg:wet food has very high protein when the moistuire content is removed. Dry food then feed something that is less than 24% protein. Obviously if you are feeding natural diet then that isn't the problem. All the rattly cans etc won't work. It is down to training and finding something that makes the dog understand that biting is a no no. I will look for our notes that we hand out and post it on here.

Your ‘play’ biting puppy


Puppies bite because:

They are testing to see how far they can press down with their teeth before you withdraw your hand/leg/ankle/trousers/hair etc
You or someone in the household has encouraged it by ‘playing hands’,
You have young children, who run around squealing in play which winds the pup up,
They are hyperactive because of their diet.
You have laughed and thought it ‘sweet’ in the past or have accepted it as normal behaviour.
They don’t want to do something.
They are teething.


Puppies should be taught not to bite by:

Being told the first time they lay teeth on you ‘NO’ and withdrawing the area they are chewing on.
Not dangling your hair in their face.
Replacing human flesh with a toy they can chew on.
Not ever ‘playing hands’ with them or laughing when they chew you.
Not allowing children to run around making lots of high pitched noises near the pup (or adults for that matter!)
Ignoring them if they get too over the top (this does not mean shutting them away).
Possibly changing their diet, depending on the original food and the protein content.
(If teething) Giving them toys to chew on or a frozen, wet, knotted cloth (like a tea towel or flannel), to play with. (This numbs the pain in the gums which is often a cause of the chewing).


If this is done soon enough then the pup will learn ‘bite inhibition’ and know not to put teeth on people, even in adulthood and will prevent problems later.


If in doubt always ask your trainer.

Bite Inhibition.

Some dogs are nibblers! If food and teething have been taken into account and changed/managed appropriately and your dog is still you/biting people then you have to teach them bite inhibition. Most nibblers are doing it to seek your attention “Don’t ignore me; play with me!” or because they don’t want to do what you are trying to make them do i.e. a sit exercise. “If I grab you and bite you, then you won’t make me do things!”

So, we teach the dog that they can get our attention but in a gentler fashion. The basics for general use:

1. If the dog lay’s teeth on you say ‘No’ or get up and walk away. (Continue training exercises later if that’s what triggered it)
2. If the dog licks you use a command word (i.e. “Lick”) and praise the dog.
3. If the dog touches you with his nose use another command word (i.e.”Touch”) and give lots of praise and a treat.

The Set up Exercise:
Have the dog attached to you by a lead so they can’t wander off.
Sit on the floor and have a fabulously smelly and tasty treat in your hand.
Encourage the dog to get the treat out of your hand.
He might try 3 or 2 to get it out, possibly 1 and sometimes a 4th option; pawing with feet (you could put a command word to this too if you like, but it won’t help in the bite inhibition exercise that you are teaching, so best to ignore that attempt at gaining food!).
If he tries 1 stand up and ignore for a few seconds, then sit down and continue. Hang on to the lead.
If he tries 2 use your command word and verbally praise.
If he tries 3 use your command word, lots of verbal praise and give the treat.
Repeat until the dog only touches your hand with his nose to get the reward.
In practise:
Once your words have been taught, if your dog tries to bite you say No, Touch. If he’s learnt them well he should stop biting and just touch you with his nose.
If he successfully stops biting and touches you, do something else with him – play a short game or do a bit of training. Reward his soft touch attention getter with a bit of attention 
If he continues to bite – walk away and withdraw all attention for a few minutes.

I have put two lots of notes on see if they help.

Hey' i have been through this scenario with my own dog' and the best solution for that is a training course!!
I took this course when my dog (called tony) was a puppy, and it did so greats with him! HE used to bite me and my friends, even in the eyes somehow haha, and I just took this course and with time he stopped!
This course doesn't cost that much at all and it's highly efficient, so you can save money and do miracles with your sweet pitbull tarrier!
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Good luck!

Thank you!
lots of good information, lots of things to try.
her food is hills science diet puppy food, large breed. according to dogfoodadvisor.com Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content protien is 30%, then it says calorie weighted basis, 25%. Maybe i should try something else. I only bought it because that's what she was already eating.
Thanks again

I'd definitely recommend a different food. Dogs can't digest corn and it has a lot of carbs. Dogs don't use carbs like we do and benefit better from more fat than carbs.

I would recomend something with meat and meat meals as the main ingredients and no or limited grain. Depending on you're budget Orijen and Acana are some of the top highest quality brands, but crave, taste of the wild, and fromm are some good quality more affordable foods. Of course there are a ton of other brands, those are just off of the top of my head.