HELP! Serious Biting Problem
 

My boyfriend and I just brought home an 8 week GS puppy weve had her for almost 2 weeks now and she bites us HARD, any chance she gets.

Feet, hands, arms, face, etc. I feel like its not just puppy nibbling. She has the gumma bones, soft toys and bully sticks, and gets plenty of exercise. We are at a loss at how to curb the biting.

We are starting puppy training in about 2 weeks, any ideas until then??

What do you mean, any chance she gets? Is it literally any time you are near her, or is it only when she's active (as in, could you walk into a room while she's tired out and sleeping and she'd still get up and go for you)? How hard are these bites--is she breaking skin and/or refusing to let go, or are they painful nips?

Also, how old is she? Is she 8 weeks old now (you got her at 6 weeks old), or is she 10 weeks old and you brought her home when she was 8 weeks old?

What do you currently do when she bites?

Get a kong ball, maybe the medium one, and roll it for her. She'll chase, then teach her to bring it back ( I do this with having a 2nd ball in my hand t 'tease' her back.

When she drops one, roll the second.

She'll soon be engaged in the game and directed to teeth on ball.

Start traing simple sit (with) treat.
Etc.., etc...

She sounds like a normal GSD pup to me.

Remember, she wants attention, has no 'hands,' and needs mental exercise as much as physical.

Hang in there - this will pass!

We got her at 6 and 1/2 weeks, so she is now 8 weeks.
Anytime we play with her she goes directly for our hands, feet, leg, arm, etc. even if we have toys in our hands and are trying to distract her with the toys. She isn't breaking skin but we definitley have marks all over our bodies. At first they were not painful though they have started to get harder and harder and now she is not wanting to let go which is why I was worried about the biting.

Currently when she bites we just try to do redirection to a toy, as our puppy trainer discourages grabbing the muzzle and/or yelling no at her age.

She does well with the little training weve done at home so far. She is learning sit and come already and does those pretty well for a puppy her age.

Thanks so much !

Sounds like a very normal little GSD puppy.

And don't forget - you got her VERY young and so your baby didn't have a chance to stay with her mother and littermates to learn any bite inhibition, so you will have to teach her that.


AND, some GSDs are just generally very mouthy - our 5yo male GSD is STILL mouthy and loves to grab a hand or an arm. The BIG difference is that he has learned bite inhibition so it is just mouthing (thank goodness!).

That is how dogs communicate and play - with their mouths and the better they learn BI the better. I can now have my 90+lb dog take a tiny biscuit from between my lips (and not have a trip to the ER!).

So also train your dog to take things from your fingers "Gently"!

I have scars on my hands from my puppy's teething phase. Normal. Hang in there. Always have a toy on hand to offer her. Redirect redirect redirect.


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I agree that it sounds very normal. I also have scars from teething puppies, and when they leave their litter young like your dog did, they've missed out on some socialization that probably would have included mom and siblings teaching not to bite so hard. Keep up with the redirection every time she does it and she'll outgrow it.

You sound just like me a few months back when Tess, my 5 month old GSD, was the same age. She was a notorious land shark! Let me tell you, when Tess would bite, which was pretty much all of the time, she would break skin, her teeth were that sharp and still are. I was worried that Tess was an aggressive puppy and that it would continue when she grew older. Even though I had puppies in the past, none of them were as hard as she was. I tried everything but nothing worked. I would go into my bedroom, close the door and cry at times. I found this board and listened carefully to what everyone else had to say and what they were going through with their puppies....pretty much the same as me. I read back over most of the posts regarding puppy behavior and learned that GSDs need a lot of guidance and very strong leadership. I hired a trainer, put her in some daycare classes to socialize her better, and work with her every day.

As you mentioned, your pup is very smart and picks up on things easy and that's a good thing. Use that, tire her out by stimulating her mind, make her think. Work on teaching her the easy commands first, like sit and down and then go from there. Most importantly, get her in some training classes!

My girl is 5 months now and is doing so much better, she's actually a different dog now, but I had to work at it. Tess wouldn't even walk on a leash outside of our backyard, I would get her as far as the corner, if I was lucky, and she would run all the way back to the yard, pulling me behind me. Now she will walk with me all over the neighborhood, staying pretty much beside me on a loose leash. We're still working on her healing but I know she will eventually get that too.

Hang in there, you have a very normal puppy. I know it's hard when all they do is bite. I can remember mornings when I would open up her crate to let her out and she would charge right at me biting every part of me that she could reach. I had scratches and bites on my hands, arms, legs and ankles, she even bit me in the face one day. They get so excited and want to play, they are babies and they don't know any better.....yet...;)

Hang in there, it will get better!

When she bites, say "NO" firmly, and substitute a toy for her to chew on. Or, when she bites (shes trying to play) jump up, scream "OW!", make a huge fuss about it, and go into another room. After a few minutes, go back and play with her, if she does it again, do the same thing. She will eventually catch on to the idea that biting human = losing play buddy. It takes a while to curb, but it worked for my pup.

Also, praise her when she is biting/chewing something she is SUPPOSED to be.

your pup is doing what pups do. with age and training
she'll stop.