Crying & biting dog

Hi,
I took on a street dog who walked into my garden about a month ago & am trying to give him a home even though I know nothing about dogs. The two main problems I have come across so far are 1) He cries constantly if we go out & leave him & 2) He is trying to bite me constantly. Not nastily in fact I am sure he is just wanting to play but I need to know how to get him to stop both of these. He is only a young dog & is very affectionate but it worries me that if he makes to much noise or happens to bite a neighbour he will be taken away again & he really needs a settled home.
Any ideas??

Firstly well done for giving this dog a lovely new home

BITING:

You need to teach your boy that it is never OK for him to place his teeth on anyone's skin.

From now on, ANY time he either tries to bite OR bites OR nips, even 'affectionately', you should either say a firm 'NO' or yelp loudly AND then turn your back for one minute.

This must be done every time!

If others live with you, tell them to do the same.

This worked with my own rescue, a young Lab who constantly tried to bite and nip us.

But you will need to be consistent for it to work.

RE CRYING:

How long is your dog being left for? Do you exercise him first? It's best if you can as a tired dog will tend to curl up and go to sleep!

If it's a real case of separation anxiety then you may need to seek a bit of help from a good trainer.

One thing which helps: when you go out, make the 'goodbye' a very matter-of-fact-one. No long, drawn out farewells on your part! Keep your voice cheerful and brisk.

Make a point of going out several times a day, just for a few minutes each time. Keep practising this and gradually build up the time that you are away for.

I'm sure some more experienced forum members will be along shortly to give you more advice on the separation anxiety.

Best of luck

With the biting, he has probably never been taught "bite inhibition". One way to teach this is to not react if he nips you & get up & walk away from him ignoring him for a minute or two. You can also offer him a soft toy(like a soft knotted ripe)to chew instead. Yelping or saying No rarely works with dogs as the yelping can & often does encourage the dog to continue & treat it like a game. An adult dog when it is fed up with the attentions of a puppy will get up & ignore the puppy uttering a low grump-not a yelp

The crying is because he has probably had someone disappear from view & never come back & so he cryies instinctively to get attentiuon. You need to very slowly teach him that when you disappear you will return. One way is to give him something special when he is left-a stuffed kong or treat ball are good rewards-he will then learn that he will not be abandoned again.

You can also pretwen to get ready to go out & leave the room for just a minute & then return treating him when you return, gradually lengthen the out of sight time until he is no longer bothered

None of this is a quick fix-but very worthwhile in the end

I don't have anything to add after the last 2 posts but I just want to congratulate you on taking on this poor dog. Bless you....and I hope things sort themselves out xx

Oh good on you. You have one anxious young dog that needs time to settle. You don't say how long he has been on the street but a change in routine and environment will take some getting used to for him.

Some good advice given just take your time and be patient with him. Good luck.

I think it's worth mentioning that yelping can and does work with some dogs. It worked with my dog - when combined with then turning my back for a minute.

I also know other dog owners who have used the yelping/ignoring technique with great success.

I have worked with many people for whom this"technique"has had the opposite effect & worsened the dogs behaviour, because it is what happens in the litter.

I personally simply do not react at all if my puppies nip & bite me, they learn that all it results in is being totally ignored, which is the ultimate in deterrants. However I think this dog is older than a very young puppy, so the adult dog reaction to an older puppy is appropriate-the adult dog never yelps(& obviously never says No )they get up walk away, sometimes with the low grumpy grunt & ignore the puppy until the behaviour ceases

What a good and kind thing you've done to take this stray in. It will take time as everything will be so new and as other say, he suddenly has a routine to live by and in a strange place.

Regarding the 'nipping' I have two boy litter-mates. One learnt almost immediately that 'mouthing/biting' is a definite no-no, but his brother took a lot more persuading that this wasn't acceptable behaviour. I have to admit I tried the yelping technique as that is what I was told and I know friends who have had this work. However, it didn't work for my dog and it just made him even more excited. I tried all sorts of techniques from pushing a soft toy into his mouth (replacing my hand) etc etc. What eventually worked was: When my dog 'mouthed' I would say a calm 'no' and just get up and walk away out of the room leaving him behind. He is now the most loveable and cuddly dog of the two. (love them both tho' the same!!). Try one technique at a time or you will only confuse him but I'm sure you will get this sorted. Good luck.

Yelping can work with some youngsters, but it is more likely to work when the pups are very young (I'd say under 10 weeks) and also don't try it with terriers as they just see it as the "squeaky human game"

As always,there will be exceptions, nothing is set in stone and dog training isn't prescriptive

Wys
x

Thanks for all the advice. I will try both ways regarding the biting & see which works best. I think he is around 4-6 mnths old but could be wrong. It is difficult getting him exercise here as he seems scared of other dogs & they can roam in pack here so I do my best in the garden & walk him for half an hour or so when it seems quiet. A young dog is the last thing I wanted but you just couldn't turn your back on this chap so my trip back to the uk has been cancelled & we will see if we can get him settled. With all this good advice I feel I have a chance of making him a happy boy
Thanks again.