Land Shark 101

[Tryndamere]

Hey guys my 8 week old pup Tryn is a super landshark and I was wondering if I am just being unreasonable thinking I can get him to mellow out a bit. I am trying to reinforce positive training and inhibition so no "punishing" per se but his attention span is absurdly short and I can't get him to play with the toys versus my ankles/legs/hands/face/ anything he can bite really.. I've tried the loud yelps to show him that it hurts but I think he likes that and sees it as an invitation to bite even harder. We use a clicker to train him but that works maybe 60% of the time which I expected as he is still really young.

So am I just going to have to wait for this demonic little bugger to grow up a bit or are there any other methods I could try. Open to all suggestions!

Also, I have read and searched throughtout this forum but theres too much info! Sorry if this is a repost! =p

[Elaine]

Yes, you are going to have to wait for him to grow up a bit. I would suggest making the toys more fun by shaking them around to redirect him to them. For sure exercise the little guy as much as you can without pushing him as a tired pup is a good pup.

As for his attention span: he's just a baby. All training should be fun, positive, and very short. You can have frequent session, but they must be short.

[gmcwife1]

We have an 11 week old landshark! It's not so bad on me or my husband, but our daughter is having a hard time understanding why her puppy won't stop biting her

She is counting down to when the puppy turns 14 weeks old because she thinks that is the magical age that Nita will stop biting her Yes, I have tried telling her that's just a guideline and not a guarantee.

[PaddyD]

Originally Posted by Tryndamere

Also, I have read and searched throughtout this forum but theres too much info! Sorry if this is a repost! =p

Too much info? Is there such a thing? Why not read some of that info and learn from it rather than starting a new post that is indeed VERY redundant.

[katdog5911]

Seems so long ago....Stella is 10 months now and way past that stage. whew! My arms and legs were so full of marks and bruises!!!! My pants still bear the holes left by those little needle teeth.... I remember trying everything....it just seemed most everything just made the game more fun for her. I did stop walking if she started the ankle biting. And I tried to stuff toys into her mouth when she was going for my flesh! She looooved a belly rub so that was helpful in calming her down. And I just kept repeating....."Don't bite the mommy". I remember sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor more than once crying because I just couldn't take it anymore. But it did pass. Although just about 2 weeks ago she decided to ankle bite again. I put a quick stop to that....do not want to go back to that again.

[jluv41]

I understand about all the info (on this site and everywhere) it seemed like there were 15 dif't solutions and that there was 1 answer and the rest were 'harmful to dog.' I did the firm "no" with holding her snout, and firm "no bite" but these just seemed to rile her up. What slowed her down, for me, is when she'd bite my finger I'd stick my finger down her throat (short nails) just enough to stimulate her gag reflex, then extend my hand for her to lick. Also would put my hand in a fist, can't bite the fingers. Hang in there, I had bruises up and down my legs, arms and holes in the pants, but they do grow out of it.

[Sunflowers]

Originally Posted by gmcwife1

She is counting down to when the puppy turns 14 weeks old because she thinks that is the magical age that Nita will stop biting her Yes, I have tried telling her that's just a guideline and not a guarantee.

Sorry to tell you this, but I am here tonight because the landsharking escalated to new heights in the last week. He will be 14 weeks on Sunday.
Nothing seems to be working. Not yelping, not yelling NO, not saying "No teeth!" not redirecting to toys, because I guess hands and pants legs are better prey.

I don't know what I am doing wrong.

I need ideas, too.

[Sunflowers]

Originally Posted by katdog5911

I remember sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor more than once crying because I just couldn't take it anymore. But it did pass. .

I came close to this tonight, when he went crazy on me.
When did it stop? I am feeling a little overwhelmed right now...

[Bear L]

My girl just turned 5 months and she still bites some times when excited and still hurts. She's currently teething. But compared to when she first came, 2 months, she's 500% better. I've numerous scars on my hands and legs and all my pants that I wear at home got holes. I've tried everything (or so I thought) on this site and it just doesn't seem to work 100%. The only things that sort of work was giving her something else to do - like a game she likes or walks and more walks. As she gets older, I've learned to not react emotionally (ie. loud voices) or physically (ie. trying to pin her down or grab her mouth or pull the hand/leg away) but to calmly tell her it's not acceptable and stare at her without moving, leaving my flesh in her mouth, then she'd usually let go pretty soon and lose interest. Then I praise her calmly so as to not excite her. But it's super hard to leave my flesh in her mouth when her teeth is on some wounds that are still healing. I'm not sure how this works with a younger puppy but it definitely works well as she got older. She's my first GSD and I was totally frustrated, wanted to give up, thought she hated me, cried, despaired, threw myself pity parties. Now, though she's not 100% no biter yet, I see the light at the end of the tunnel and can finally honestly say that I enjoy her.

[Tryndamere]

The only things that sort of work was giving her something else to do - like a game she likes or walks and more walks. As she gets older, I've learned to not react emotionally (ie. loud voices) or physically (ie. trying to pin her down or grab her mouth or pull the hand/leg away) but to calmly tell her it's not acceptable and stare at her without moving, leaving my flesh in her mouth, then she'd usually let go pretty soon and lose interest.

I actually noticed today that if I calm Tryn down he gets a little better. When he is calm he seems to have more focus on his toys rather than us so that seems to be working out for now. Hopefully when he is up to 5 months this will still be working

And I have read a LOT of stuff on these forums and the reason I posted this was because I couldn't sift through what was more useful or not, hence the asking for suggestions and advice. I wasn't trying to say I was too lazy to read anything. Sorry for the misunderstanding and thanks for responding!