Baby BC Bite Inhibition

[Medic4taz]

We just welcomed a new puppy, "Kaycee" into our family. We brought her home @ 7 weeks old, she is currently 9 weeks old. We are very new to BC, but we have the motivation and desire to care for her every need. Our family has not raised a puppy since we were pups ourselves. Our loved one has a very large bite habit (typical of most puppies i'm sure). We have used everything from the thumb under the tounge to a yelp. She does stop with the yelp, but shortly goes back to biting. I again realize she is sooo young and this is normal, but I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing so it doesn't become a problem in the future.

 

We already began her clicker training which she is doing fantastic with (although a normal short attention span for a pup) She is coming when clicked and sitting. Ring a bell at the back door to go out. Amazing for such a young pup from my stand point. any other advice on clicker training and bite inhibition? We do live close to the breeder and are welcome to stop by - should we stop and let her play with her litter mates ? Thanks everyone for all the help...

[osioda]

Well the best thing to do is to keep plenty of things for your pup to chew on, because they are going to bite cutting teeth like they do, and if you don't want them to bite you or something like, best thing is to just flick there nose with your finger and say no, and it will eventually kick in to them not too bite you but they still have to have something to bite and chew on for there teeth, and also when you tell them NO make sure you use a louder stern voice don't just use a common soft no.

Steve

[Bo Peep]

I was just about to reply but Steve chimed in the perfect answer. I'm a little more harsh and give a flick to the nose- nothing serious, but dogs have to realize people are NOT chew toys. I hope you have a crate and look at the Kong thread. A bumpy one is great for teething and will keep her busy at night. You have one beautiful gal there and it sounds like she is learning very quickly.

 

Welcome to the boards! There is a TON of advice here. Keep coming back and you know to take lots of pics. They grow up so fast and we love to watch them grow up.

[Medic4taz]

These boards are so wonderful and full of great advice. Yes, we do have her crated and she does have a Kong. Doesn't really take to the Kong all that well. Loves the nylabone we got that has has small little bumps on it. Need to get another though - shes already making mincemeat out of it. She has a tiny tire with rope attached to it. She has a ton of toys to chew, just loves to get her "ramies" and runs around frantically around the house like a spead demon growling and attacking anything in her path (not a sign of aggression, just play)

 

We also have a 9 y/o shep/dingo mix who I trained and she is very docile. Kaycee has a big habit of attaking her and biting her, but sadly enough, our shep has yet to nip her back. She just runs and barks at her. Our cat has already put Kaycee in hr place, but working on our shep to do the same. I trained her to be non-agressive towards other animals. I wish our dog Dixie would just bite her back to teach her a lesson....Well I hear puppy getting riled up again....

[bsms99]

Given the number of cuts and scratches on my arm, I'm not the best for giving an answer! My wife yells at me, because the puppy & I both like a good 'fight'. Unfortunately, his puppy teeth and puppy claws are a lot more effective than my skin. Guess it is time for me to start saying no.

 

There is a difference between that and gentle chewing. When our pup gets in trouble or just is feeling overwhelmed, he likes to chew on our fingers. Not hard, never breaks the skin - just a gentle chew, chew, chew. That is just saying, "I'm OK, aren't I? I get to stay? Tell me I'm loved..."

 

Also, our older dog rarely puts him in his place. That has been my experience with most of my pups/older dogs - the older ones show incredible patience. Rusty will be hanging by his mouth from Dan's cheek, and Dan just looks...well, like a medieval painting of Job. When I distract the pup, Dan hides in our bedroom. Rusty seems to understand that Dan curled up next to our bed means, "I say, I say, Don't bother me Boy".

 

30 years ago, the original Dan the Dog was a 35 lb Aussie. I got a BC/shepherd mix (Chris) that grew to 105 lbs. When Chris was about 8 months old, he would be chewing on Dan's neck - and at 80 lbs to 35, there wasn't much Dan could do about it. Still, Dan never looked angry. Just very resigned. Not much after that, some black labs down the street who liked to torment Dan learned to their dismay that there was a 105 lb dog who would go to any length to protect Dan - so I guess it worked out OK.

 

[MrSnappy]

I'm not really a fan of flicking a baby in the nose for biting - I think that's sort of like smacking your infant for crying. Puppies bite things - it's how they explore their world. I generally just shriek at them when they put their teeth on me, stand up and walk away to end the interaction. It usually does not take them long to figure out how to be gentle with their mouths, but I give them some time to make the connection. Two weeks is not a lot of time to overcome something that is natural for a puppy.

 

I would rather have a dog that grows up with a soft mouth who can learn to inhibit its bites, than one who grows up with an all-or-nothing approach to putting teeth on people. I don't play games with my puppies that encourage teeth on people, and I spend quite a bit of time teaching them to take treats softly. I would much rather they figure out that humans are wussy wimps who can't take much tooth action, as it's a lesson they hold onto for their entire lives. They get a lot of stuff they CAN chew on, and redirection to those things.

 

As for letting the pup go and play with her littermates at the breeder's, I'd ask the breeder that. Some would not be happy to risk a pup bringing in potential disease once it's been out and about. Socialization is definitely important, but whether or not she plays with her littermates or other puppies is probably a less important distinction.

 

RDM

[Dal & Mad's Mom]

A good loud oww and ignoring the puppy(the game is over) will teach them not to bite. It teaches them they are hurting you. I agree lots of toys you arent one. Currently I have a tiny chi pup here who is trying to shred my fun fur dog bed cover. She just keeps ripping and ripping. it's keeping her busy. Depending on the puppy they need alot of things to do with their mouth.

[vaporflowers]

I agree with RDM. I don't think that nose-flicking is kind, and I don't think expecting a puppy to COMPLETELY control their mouth is fair. What bite inhibition is really defined as is having a soft mouth, rather than no mouth at all.

 

What a puppy learns from his littermates and mother is to play gently, without using jaw pressure. I allow some light nibbling during the first couple of weeks home because that is NORMAL puppy behavior. If I feel any increase in pressure at all, I shriek and remove all attention. If we're playing tug and the puppy "misses" the toy or "accidentally" hits my fingers with his teeth, I also shriek and stop all playtime.

 

What I strive to teach is self-control. There is a theory that teaching your pup to have a soft mouth, rather than no mouth at all, goes a long way towards preventing bites and creating a dog that will give plenty of warning. It's just a theory, but all the puppies I've worked with have grown up to be extremely gentle taking treats and playing, and are very conscious of where their mouths are. They also "play fair" with other dogs, and don't go over the top with their corrections.

 

One thing you can try is holding a treat between your fingers. If the puppy snaps at it or tries to take it hard, shriek and pull back your hand, then try it slowly again. When the puppy is gentle trying to take the tidbit, release the treat into his mouth.

[vaporflowers]

Oh also, did you say she was "coming when clicked"?

 

The clicker is usually used as a reward marker (a replacement for "good dog" basically, but more precise). The proper use of a clicker during the come command is encourage the dog to come, then click when she does, then treat.

 

The clicker must be "loaded" first (click-treat, click-treat, click-treat, many times without asking for any specific behavior) so she associates it with a reward. Then you can free-shape, lure, or use whatever method appeals to you and click when you have gotten the right behavior or an approximation of a behavior.

 

Clicker training FAQ

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

Here is a link on mouthing, I think it will help.

 

http://www.arf.ab.ca/learn/trainingtips-mouthing.shtml

 

Also, puppies usually get a bit of a "grace" period with older dogs, they let them be puppies and tolerate their BS for a while. I think your other dog is just allowing her to be a puppy. When puppy time is over the other dog will let her know. (well, that's usually how it works anyway).

 

She's really cute too! A thread of her puppy pictures in the gallery wouldn't be a bad thing!

 

ETA:

I used to soak clean dish rags in water and freeze them. Once frozen I'd let Daisy chew till her hearts content on them. I think the cold, hard cloths feel good on the gums when teething!

[RuthBelle]

Belle was a nippy, baby biting machine with a penchant for hands, arms and ankles. That apple bitter spray stuff was just a wasted effort, it appeared she liked the taste of it. I found out by accident that she hates the smell of oranges, so I bought some of that concentrated citrus air freshener spray (I think it's called "just citrus"), sprayed it on my ankles and hands---and that was the end of that---no more "bites". Since this stuff was very drying to my skin, I would spray just a tiny bit of it on my hands and arms. On the downside, I walked around smelling like an orange grove.

 

Of course, I also used some of the methods previously mentioned (making ouchy sounds, stopping play, etc.) but the applying of the orange "nipped the problem in the bud".

[dfrank7262]

How do you go about teaching one to ring a bell (or step on the "that was easy" button) to let you know when they need to go out.

 

I understand the mechanics of clicking (initially) when they touch the object, but I'm unclear how you transfer that to needing to go potty.

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

Try this;

http://www.ehow.com/how_2127772_train-dog-ring-bell-out.html

 

You can google EVERYTHING!!! or I spend too much time on the internet....

The bell might be easier for a puppy to learn over stepping on an easy button, there might not be enough pressure from a small dog to set it off, and it might scare the daylights out of it..

[vaporflowers]

Personally, I'm not a fan of the bell-ringing. I've seen it go very wrong, especially with a smart breed like a BC. They often just learn to ring it for attention, or to go out 957387924 times a day.

 

I prefer to just supervise my dogs very carefully while we're housebreaking, and eventually they've all come up with their own way of telling me. When I "catch" them doing something I want them to use as a request to go out, I reward them with praise and immediately take them outside.

 

With Scorch, it's going to the leashes and whining. With Wolfie, it's going to the door and giving me "that look". Most of my dogs, foster and owned, have been at least somewhat vocal in trying to communicate their needs, but for some I just have to watch for them to go near the front door and out we go. They make the association pretty quickly.

 

That being said, you can teach the behavior by first associating the sound of the bell with going outside. (i.e. - ring the bell, put the leash on the dog, go outside, repeat any time you go out) Then encourage the dog to nose touch it, paw at it, have any interaction with it... and instead of a treat reward, you take them out.

[fotobridget]

Libby was a little 'nipper' as well. I found that stopping playing and turning around, crossing my arms worked best--it taught her that 'mommie's attention is a reward, and biting made her lose that reward'. She did go through a spell about 13-15 months where she was nippy/biting again (teething again, I think) plus a bit of attitude. Whenever she would do it, I'd GENTLY grab her bottom jaw and say "no-no". She never broke the skin, and to this day, if she is mouthing my hand(which she likes to do) she's never hurt me. Not even once. I have no fears about that, and the only thing she even dares to chew on that can chew back is Justice, the big Lab/St. Bernard...and he doesn't seem to mind.

 

 

Libby also rings a bell. We had trouble potty training (poor thing was so sick that SHE never knew when she had to go..it would just happen) until she was over the illnesses at around 10 months. That's when we started the bell training as well. I put peanut butter on the bell, and let her sniff/lick a few times. Then I'd ring it whenever she went out.

 

Took two days for her to figure it out...barely an accident since.....

[Root Beer]

Back when I had my puppy, I knew next to nothing about raising a dog. Speedy wasn't particularly mouthy, but of course he did some puppy biting. I don't remember doing anything in particular to teach him not to. I know that I would pull away and give him something else to chew on. He has always been gentle with taking treats and stuff, so maybe with him it just wasn't a big thing.

 

Dean didn't learn much bite inhibition in his former situation, so he came to us at 10 months old quite grabby. I learned a really good lesson from watching Maddie with him.

 

They were playing together on the floor and Dean suddenly grabbed her ear and bit down on it! She yelped a little and turned her head away very pointedly. She held her head away from him for a little while and he watched her with great interest. She finally turned back to him, he leaned forward and grabbed her ear with his teeth very gently and then she started to play with him again. Honestly, he learned a lot about bite inhibition and regulating himself from playing with her, but he was a good deal older than a baby puppy.

 

So, with my next puppy (did I really say that?), I will take that approach - pull away, stop interaction for a brief period, and then re-engage with the dog and encourage appropriate behavior.

 

For the bells, I just have them hanging on the front door. Dean is the only one who rings them when he wants to go out. Somehow he just knew to ring the bell when he wanted out and he has never really abused the privilege, so I'm not much help there.

 

One thing you might do is to reserve the bell ringing for potty breaks. Dog rings bell - you take dog out to potty. If the dog starts to play, etc., you go right back in. I would imagine that if you are consistent, the dog will get the idea. Of course, you take the dog out to play when the dog is not ringing the bell.

[JoeA]

in my experience the best thing you can do, get a spray bottle from the dollar store and fill it up with water, and everytime she bite or does something you don't like, spray her, trust me they hate the spray bottles, she will stop biting in no time.

try it, it works

Joe

[Shadows Mom]

I did the loud OUCH idea with Shadow when she was a puppy... worked wonderfully! Also taught her "uh-uh" which works great too, anything she is doing wrong she hears "uh-uh" and she stops.. that was an idea from the people who did her "training" at puppy socialization classes (she trains dogs agility, he is an ex police dog trainer). The dogs seemed to all genetically know that "uh-uh" meant no/stop hehe, smart little buggers.