We just got a 9 week old German shepherd. Problem is that it likes to play bite on you. It had 4 other puppies it was doing this with prior to us getting the dog. It has sharp teeth and it hurts when she does this. I guess we got her a bit too late when she was old enough to wrestle and bite her other puppy friends. Anyway how can we break her of this or is it a lost cause. The dog does seem very smart so I hope there is a way to break her of this....
Thanks

 

Yes, for one, you can take her and seek a professional dog trainer. My pup has been through 3 6 week training sessions. I think what they will tell you is to use POSITIVE reinforcement. So when he plays, try to reward him. The second he bites at you, tell him NO in a stern voice, and then immediately quit playing, ignore him, go sit down, whatever. You may even be able to thump him on the nose, with reasonable force. You dont want to hurt him or make it fear you, just understand that you dont like what he did. It will take a few times, but he will get the idea that if he bites, playtime is over, or whatever he is doing that he LIKES is over. It seems slow and tedious, but it works, dogs pick up on this quickly. You must always do it this way, as soon as he figures out you can be pushed around, hell try to do it again. You do need to break him of it as a pup though, the older he gets, the harder it will be.

 

ag-ford-4x4 is right on target.

Our puppy trainer tells us that when the pup puts their "pirrahna teeth" on you that you should immediately get up, cross your arms and walk away. If they aren't getting any attention for their behavior they will eventually stop that behavior.

It will take time and patience. Good luck.

aerostargal

 

I wish I had axcess to a puppy trainer (I better get looking). All the advice is greatly appreciated.. I hope to get more I need all the help I can get. Thanks

 

Do you get National Geographic channel on TV? If so Watch the Dog Whisperer he always has great tips and help for puppies and full grown dogs.
Conrats on your new German Sheperd she will make a great pet for you once you get her trained.

 

i have had and trained dogs all my life, both my sister and uncle are breeders, so i have recieved alot of info from them. you have to train a dog in a manner that the dog understands. K-9's understand dominance, you have to train the dog from a dominant position. if the dog does something you dont want it to do, take it off its feet and lay it on its back and grab the skin around the cheak/neck area and stare it in the eyes until it stops struggling. you are establishing or reiterating your dominance over the dog (which you must have) and letting the dog know that you did not like what it was doing. you dont hurt the dog but you make it very clear who is in charge. also reward the dog for actions you want it do. you have be carefull that you reward the right actions, for instance you come home and the dog jumps up on you, you push the dog down and say "hi boy hi are you doing" and start peting him, you have just rewarded an action you dont want. heres another example, i was camping with some friends the wife and our at the time 1 year old dog. we starting doing some target shooting, our dog was a little confused and concerened about the noise, upon seeing this my wife called the dog over and starting comforting him and did so the whole time we where shooting. when i got back and saw what was happening i said "what are you doing..."! she had just trained that dog to be gun shy...and it has been ever since

 

I had a vet give me that advice, to hold the dog on his back to assert dominance, it worked wonders with my dog. He was about 12 weeks old when I got him from the pound and already developed some bad habits. Once he understood he wasn't the alpha dog it was fairly easy to get his behavior in check.

 

Ok the dog came up and done her nipping thing. I said no and grabbed her putting her on her back. Wow what a fighter she was kicking and whining and trying to bite i finally said no very loud and stern she then paused for a couple seconds and I then let her up. I think it will need to be done more than one time. Did I hold her too long or not long enough? Does it take a few times she did not like that at all. She did however go lie down and has not moved for 10 minutes. You hold till she stops the fight right? anyway it was exciteing... Anymore info on this would be appreciated.

 

My mom has a lot of experience training dogs. She told me to get a puppy to stop play biting, push the dog's lip into its teeth until it squeals and then let go. This is what the mama dogs do to get their pups not to bite them. It shouldn't take very many times for the dog to catch on. Just remember that whenever you discipline the dog, sometime afterwards (not immediately) make sure you make friends with the dog again by praising & playing with it so the dog doesn't become afraid of you and avoid you all of the time for disciplining them.

Eva

 

I'd hold on to her longer than a couple of seconds. My dog would calm down and then after a couple of seconds start again. I'd hold him for a good 10-20 seconds after he was calm. The important thing is that you let go when you are ready not the dog. Keep repeating this whenever there is a behavior problem and she will catch on to both that you are the "pack leader" as the dog whisperer says and that her behavior is not acceptable. Good luck.

 

Boy...........this isn't going to go over very well....................but here goes anyway.............

First, I totally disagree with the "put-them-on-their-back-and-establish-dominance" theory. You run the risk of making the animal scared of you, instead of solving the immediate problem. You want him/her to be your friend, right??? Don'r run the risk of painting yourself as a threat and get "fear-bitten" later.

Second, it is NORMAL for a puppy to use their mouth on you. They have no hands. They pick up things, taste things, and explore with their mouths. It's their nature. Don't try to change that.

Third, as your pet grows and matures, you are going to constantly be put in situations where you have to teach. TEACH, not scold or reprimand. While teaching sometimes requires scolding and punishment, it takes care to get your point across without causing problems.

I would suggest that you try something else. See for yourself what works best......................

When you get these "play bites", you have to discern whether they are efforts to hold on, or an effort to play.

We tolerate (to an extent) the hold-on bite, as it is actually nothing more than your pet's efforts to be attached to you. Kinda like holding hands. OK? If they hold on too tightly or exert excessive pressure, just expand your hand inside their mouth and say "EASY!", "EASY!". (they get the idea very quickly if you don't try to pull away and make matters worse.)

Now, if these bites are efforts to play, (usually accompanied by pulling or tugging), these are to be discouraged. I have no problem with a light tap on the nose IMMEDIATELY upon this happening, accompanied by a sterm "NO!" You aren't going overboard with all of the "dominance" efforts, but are showing them in no uncertain terms that play-biting is not going to be tolerated. And.......it's OK to pet them and hug them afterwards. You already corrected the mistake.....don't overdo it by ignoring them. (But don't be surprised if they do it again as soon as you give them love. Just pop their nose again. They soon understand.)

I have owned, personally trained, and successfully campaigned field trial retrievers (labradors....and they LOVE to mouth your hands!) all over our country for many years. I am now retired from this sport, but I feel that I have much more insight into a dog's overall mental makeup than most of the general public. My wife is a veterinarian and has been practicing for 23 years. We have seen it all......Mean dogs, scared dogs, crazy dogs, and wonderful dogs.

The MAIN thing to ANY type of training (and not mentioned above) is to remember......

If you make a mistake by making an incorrect correction, it will take your dog a LONG time to get over it.

Everything that you do goes directly to their memory bank. Sometimes they choose to ignore it, sometimes it causes immediate changes. Just remember that they are very simple animals, and they pay close attantion to EVERYTHING that you do. So be careful when you administer correction. It stays with them forever.

Be careful with your methods, and build a lasting relationship with your new friend!

 

Fair 96,

WillDog said it all.

Those that recommended following the teachings of The Dog Whisperer (Cesar Millan) need a reminder that he has recently been sued by someone for using excessive negative force on that person's dog. To those of us in the dog world, he's a hero only in his own mind.

Go back and re-read WillDog's words.

Pop

 

Agree with Willdog. Some breeds tolerate the negative discipline approach better than others, but all puppies want to be your buddy. A dog raised via positive reinforcement training is a heartwarming sight to behold.

 

Puppies go thru teething like children and chewing is a part of that. I have always given them an acceptable toy of theirs for chewing / teething anytime they were too aggressive with me or chewing on something not acceptable. In some cases it was necessary to enforce this with a stern no and a mild pop on the nose. It has always worked.

A lot of good information in this thread.

Good luck and love your puppy, she loves you.

 

This has worked with all my dogs. When they bite you, give them the mild pop on the nose and a stern no. And then put something in their mouth that you want them to chew on. Puppies take a lot of work, but it will pay off.