AussieLover Posted May 11, 2003 Share Posted May 11, 2003 My 12 week old Australian Shepherd bites you when you are petting him, I know it is just to play but he has some sharp little teeth. What are some suggestions on how to get him to stop. I know he is teething and won't really stop until he is like 4 months old but my kids try to pet him and he bites them. HELP!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarFox Posted May 11, 2003 Share Posted May 11, 2003 Oh my dog did this too when he was a pup. For him it was perty easy for him to stop. Everytime he would nip or mouth us when we pet him we would imediatly say "NO!" and stop petting him. He will learn that bitting only causes no pettings but when he stops bitting that's when he gets to be petted. I'd also suggest that you get him some teething toys and if he bites give the toy to him. :P You could get some cloth towel and soak it with water then freeze it and let you pup chew on that so his gums and teeth feel better. But you MUST watch him when he uses that and if he starts to eat any bits or you think he will start tearing it up take it away right away! There are many teehthing toys out on the market...but i can't think of any right now :oops: . Ask around at your local pet store. People with pets always love to help! :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie_Gurl Posted May 11, 2003 Share Posted May 11, 2003 Aussies are hearding dogs, and hearders bite/nip to herd their flock or herd (except some... some like the BC give them The Eyeball). Unless you stop it now, that cute little puppy with tiny sharp teeth will eventually turn into a big dog with big teeth that thinks it's exceptable to nip/bite. When I had my GSD I had the same problem. What I did was basically what StarFox said: sharp no, stop petting. A couple times he wouldn't stop so I had to look him straight in the eye (hard to explain) which stopped him. Don't worry. Just keep on working on it and it will eventually stop. It'll take some work though! *wink* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieLover Posted May 11, 2003 Author Share Posted May 11, 2003 When I am petting him and he does it with me i yell NO at him and then sometimes I wil grab his mouth and hold it closed, my sister did that with her Pit Bull when he was a pup and it worked. Most of the time when I yell NO he stops but the kids just don't have a firm enough voice to phase him into stopping. He isn't as bad now but he still does it but like I said he is only 12 weeks old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarFox Posted May 12, 2003 Share Posted May 12, 2003 May I ask you how old your children are? I'm assuming that they are perty young. If they are very young i'm sure you know not to leave them alone with a dog because you never know what can happen. About holding him mouth shut. I dunno if that is a very good idea. I tried that with my dog when he was a pup and it did the exact opposite. He thought it was play and he niped at me even more. I think maybe you should stick with the sharp "NO" and if he tries to bite again, walk away and ignore him for 5 mins or so. I think you realy want to enforce that when he is bad he gets NO attention at all...that means no holding his mouth too. But when he is good pet him and talk to him in a nice voice and tell him his is a good boy. Oh and when you are telling him "NO" try not to use his name..it just confuses dogs. :D Good luck. Keep us updated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieLover Posted May 12, 2003 Author Share Posted May 12, 2003 My kids are 6, 5, 4, and 2 the only boy is the 6 year old, my kids are never alone with my dog. When they are around the dog I am right there. I never leave them alone with my dog cuz I know how my 2 year old is and in a second she could hurt my dog. But they know to be nice and everything. When I tell my dog NO he listens to me, it is just the rest of the family that he don't listen to. I guess that goes to show you who is boss in the house!! :P :B-fly: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie_Gurl Posted May 12, 2003 Share Posted May 12, 2003 Now that I think about it, I think I did that (shut his mouth) with Kodak (my GSD) too... yea, I did. Hmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarFox Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 Maybe you could have your kids help train your dog. Just basic 'Sit', 'Down'..that kinda stuff. It would show your dog that the kids are the boss too. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbiro Posted May 14, 2003 Share Posted May 14, 2003 Sharp little teeth, aren't they? My suggestion is to do what I did with Lady -- yelp!! Really loud and then walk away. She would get this puzzled look on her face as though saying: "What did I do wrong?" After a few days of doing that, she got the message. But make sure you yelp [color=darkred][size=6]REALLY LOUD[/size][/color]!! That's actually how their mother teaches them not to play rough or bite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosebud Posted May 14, 2003 Share Posted May 14, 2003 [quote name='Barbiro']Sharp little teeth, aren't they? My suggestion is to do what I did with Lady -- yelp!! Really loud and then walk away. She would get this puzzled look on her face as though saying: "What did I do wrong?" After a few days of doing that, she got the message. But make sure you yelp [color=darkred][size=6]REALLY LOUD[/size][/color]!! That's actually how their mother teaches them not to play rough or bite.[/quote] It really does work, Rocket was really bad about mouthing and his teeth hurt, we tried it and within a week he quit mouthing. I figured it out by watching him with Sandy, she would yelp when he got to rough with her and he would quit so I figured if it works for her it should work for me too. :angel: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogPaddle Posted May 15, 2003 Share Posted May 15, 2003 Hmmm . . . Tyr our 10 month old GSD/Malamute cross [i]still[/i] does this, but mostly when excited or playful. We have used the NO and then remove the stimulus method and it has [i]reduced[/i] this behaviour. I despair of ever breaking of this habit short of taking a bitter apple bath daily. Oh well, Tyr always has . . . required numerouse repatitions to pick things up so we just keep trying, I figure we will have him trained by the time he's 4. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieLover Posted May 15, 2003 Author Share Posted May 15, 2003 He responds to NO when I yell at him. And he is starting to learn that he doesn't chew on anything but HIS toys. Although ther are still times when he chews on some of the kids toys or the bottom of the kitchen chairs. I have my local pet store ordering me some Marrow bones cuz I saw on animal planet that those are good to keep the dog from chewing on stuff you don't want them to. Ugh, the time when he is bigger and not teething anymore!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyell Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 i am reading this book "puppies for dummies" and we are trying this "Kisses" thing where you slather your hands with butter and encourage our Georgia to lick instead of bite when she starts to bite we say Kisses and maybe one day soon she will start to listen ;) she is quite the nibbler! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyell Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 if you are still reading this topic -- i have an update with Georgia she started biting quite a bit in the last few days and we found a trick that really helps - spraying her with a water bottle. i also drown my pant legs and shoes with bitter apple and she's starting to learn that human feet and ankles taste icky! the spritz of water works pretty good .. i think i got that off a puppy training website they said not to let her know that it is you spraying her so my and my boyfriend take turns hiding with the water bottle all 007-ish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommacat Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 We have the same problem with Maya - The yelping has really helped, and the kids love to do it, they see who can yelp the loudest!! :lol: I've gotten to where I say "OW" and she quits with me, like your dog, she listens to me better than anyone else. Since the kids have started trying to train her, doing the tricks I taught her, she has been better at listening to them, also. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieLover Posted July 21, 2003 Author Share Posted July 21, 2003 Well here is an update on how my now 5 month old Aussie is doing on the mouthing thing, he no longer bites you when you pet him and when I pet him he like puts his mouth around my arm but he don't bite down, it looks like it is some kind of security thing or something. He don't hurt me so I don't yell at him for it. He is getting to be a big boy. And he is spoiled too!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellieangel Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 Sounds like a breakthrough to me !! :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyell Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 I found a great article on biting [url]http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/archives/bite.txt[/url] tell me what you think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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