Any tips on Biting?

Heya! I am the proud owner of an Australian shepherd puppy who is coming up to 4 months old

He is beautiful, and he can be sweet (when he wants to!) but he has one massive problem- biting. Especially when he is hyper, he tries to bite us! It is a hard thing for us to correct, because we end up getting upset/frustrated, he thinks it's a game, and ultimately doesn't learn from it.

It is a hard one, because it's so tempting to lure him away with treats, which I'm almost certain would teach him to bite and get a treat! So, long story short, does anyone have any tips? Thanks!!

(We are taking him to a private training session on Friday also)

http://en.uniteddogs.com/forum/24/fl/71/t/34186

the bite stops here by ian dunbar

Thankyou, I will read through it!

This depends if it's biting for play, or "puppy-frenzy". When he's playing, squeek, like you were a puppy yourself, that was hurt. If it happens when you are playing with him, or cuddling, stop doing that and ignore him for 10 secs.

When he gets the "puppy-frenzy", you can use a timeout. If he's used to crates or being in a separate room, put him there until he calms down. If he's not used to being away from you, you can hold him in a way that forces him to be still and not bite you. I.e. between your legs, while stroking his chest (that is supposed to be calming), until he's calm.

Worked on my dog, and works on my tenant's puppy these days.

Thanks for posting the link to the article - just read it as having biting problems with our puppy...
xx

Young Labs, which I know best, and other puppies tend to very bad about biting. You see a litter of them, and all the ones that are awake are biting another one or themselves. I am not even sure they realize that when they are alone, if they quit biting, they would quit being bitten. At 3 to 4 months they are getting their adult teeth, and it seems they spend every waking moment biting or chewing. One thing you can do at that stage is to knot and wet a piece of cloth. Then freeze it. The cooling will soothe the gums. Only let the puppy have it when you are there to watch it. I maintain a Lab's favorite chew toy is another Lab. Otherwise they settle for any person they can. They keep hoping to find one that won't yelp, jerk their hand away, and leave.

You just have to keep on correcting them, hundreds of times, not dozens. Provide sturdy, safe toys such as Kongs and Nylabones. Avoid things they can chew pieces off and choke on them. Keep them away from electrical cords. Crates are essential for most young Labs and other dogs.

The pet stores are full of toys that many dogs will quickly chew up into pieces they could choke on or cause intestinal blockages. If you are not there to watch, stick to sturdy stuff such as Nylabones and Kongs. Keep a close eye on chew toys and quickly discard anything that is coming apart in pieces. Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed. I don't trust any of the consumable chews. The dogs just gnaw them down to a dangerous size too quickly. These problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive chewers such as Labs.

If you squeak you are inducing the puppy to bite more. The way this is dealt with by other dogs is to get up, give a low grump & move away. Puppy have "puppy licence"upto about 6 months with adult dogs, until this age they endure the biting, ear chewing etc etc etc.

Never ever use a crate to punish your puppy, the crate should be a place of safety & not punishment.

Restraining the puppy won't help much either & can increase the puppy's biting

Stopping the puppy nipping/biting needs consistency, calm & patience. Everyone needs to be singing from the same song sheet in the home

With puppies, one effective way to train them not to bite is to say 'ouch' in a pained way when they do and then leave puppy and turn your attention to something else. Deterring or distracting with toys or treats at the moment he bites will only make him think he's doing something good. At a young age they are used to biting their litter mates and would see no harm in continuing it with their human friends. What they want most is your attention and to play with you. If you take that away from them for a time when they do bite, it will begin to reinforce that it's not a good thing.

You are humanising dogs here. Puppies learn about life using their ears, nose, mouth & eyes. They need to learn bite inhibition i.e. they need to learn what is acceptable & what is not. Adults dogs do not make a pained noise when they have had enough of a puppy nipping & biting them, they utter a low growl-the puppies learn that means the adult is annoyed & the adult will walk away. If the puppy persists the adult will lightly pin the puppy tummy down across the neck with a paw & tell them off.

If a puppy is biting too hard swopping your body for something that they can chew & bite on, isn't rewarding the puppy at all. Treats can be used to reward the stopping of biting when used in conjunction with a clicker.

I have never had a problem with a puppy biting me to excess with any of my dogs from my first in 1958 to Roodee in 2009. Roodee still mouths, but is gentle & stops when I tell him to. I did go through the hanging onto trousers stage with him, but solved it by wearing 3/4 trousers for a while, he never offered to bite my legs or feet.

When a puppy is bit too hard by a litter mate, it yelps and leaves. Doing the same, builds on what the puppy already knows.