Nietzsche the LAND SHARK..UGH

[NietzschesMomma]

Nietzsche is now 11.5 weeks old. Every afternoon, I take her for a walk, teaching her how to heel and also, we work on sit while out. She is MURDER with her teeth no matter WHAT I try to do. She also loves to jump which I address every time she tries. Today while walking, she jumped up, tore the sleeve on my coat (with her teeth). I corrected her (NO BITE!,) made her sit, made he stay, then praised her and then we started walking again, at which time she again jumped up again and tore the pocket right off of my jeans (with her teeth.) Any suggestions of how to get her to stop this? She doesn't seem to care about NO BITE-I use a very stern voice and she knows I'm not happy when she does this-yet she continues. She LOVES to bite...very high energy pup, plays very rough with an older dog, he knocks her into line when she bites too hard...any and ALL suggestions welcome!

[RocketDog]

My pup was just like her. It drove me crazy and to tears once or twice. I have never had a pup like that before him. Turning my back worked just long enough for him to bite my a$$. Grrr. I had lots of rips and holes and blood.

I swear I was firm in correcting, consistent and I tried everything. Everything. I carried a toy everywhere and engaged that instead. He did finally outgrow it. The worst was over by 5 months or so. Just a little here and there when overstimulated. After a year he would still occasionally nip if he got over-the-top excited but at that point a very firm "NO BITE" would stop him. I don't really know what I could've done differently but I also know not every pup is like that. There are many many posts like yours, though. (I too started a thread about mine even).

It's fairly normal. you're not alone. Stay consistent, keep doing what you're doing. Use a flirt pole, lots of stuffies or things she likes to play with. Also, make sure you don't carry on much past 10 minutes or so with an activity. When they're overstimulated or tired they're worse. You are using a crate, right?

Hang in there. Soon it will be over and you'll have puppy fever like me!

[NietzschesMomma]

Thanks for your response RocketDog. YES, she is crated. I put her in an even smaller crate because she is still hit and miss on housebreaking-any extra space and she just doesn't care.

I've dealt with a lot of pups in my life, but she takes the cake, frosting and all! You should see my hands...everyone who sees me asks "what happened!" I keep redirecting her...she stops, then does it all over again. Bite, bite, bite! The jumping up and biting at my clothing is new...she has occasionally gone after shoelaces, has bit at my jeans at ankle/calf level and pinched me good once...has been murder on my hands, but this is new...and redirecting her was next to impossible! I finally picked her up, held her on her back like a baby...close to me-until she stopped squirming. Some say do that, some say don't, but for her it seems to break whatever is going on in her head. Once she stops squirming she gets praise, ear scratches, etc. and seems to love that...she looks at me like "OK, you're the boss, I was a naughty puppy now love me please...and does the cute puppy groaning..." I put her down, she behaves for a while...but then, no warning and WHAM! I tried redirecting her to a toy she loves today, she tossed it around like a rag doll for a minute, dropped it, and started in on me all over again.

I'll keep on keeping on...but wow, is this pup a pistol and I am MORE than happy to read ALL suggestions!

[RocketDog]

Yep. Sounds like mine. I have a very nice 800 fill North Face Summit Series down coat with two nice patches in it. My family (siblings snd parents, not kids and DH) and friends thought my arms and hands were absolutely horrid. Ha!

I should've been more clear--by redirecting I meant you engaging her in play. She doesn't want the toy unless you make it fun and play tug or a fun game! I also exercised him safely off leash hiking a LOT. If that is an option, I'd go for it. Sniffing is mentally tiring, you might start teaching "find it". I promise, with patience and consistency, she will outgrow it.

Others with more experience will hopefully chime in about the correction route. It didn't work for me, but I didn't want to damage our developing bond at a very young age so I'm not sure if I just didn't do it "hard" enough or the "right way". But he is a fabulous dog now, so we got there. You will too.

[Sunflowers]

I still have scars from the land shark phase.
Nothing I tried worked except for the passage of time.
Try to enjoy your little bundle of teeth

I know I enjoy Hans much more now than I did when he was a furry piranha!

[NietzschesMomma]

That is kind of what I was afraid of! Furry piranha? You aren't kidding! I'm going to have scars on the tops of my hands, no doubt about that. I have never ever had a pup that so mouthy!! She's something else...and time...oh boy...to be able to turn the clock ahead just a couple of months...sigh....

Originally Posted by Sunflowers

I still have scars from the land shark phase.
Nothing I tried worked except for the passage of time.
Try to enjoy your little bundle of teeth

I know I enjoy Hans much more now than I did when he was a furry piranha!

[Capone22]

I have scars still fading from rogue. She's 8 moths old now, all I can say is that it does get better. "This too shall pass." Keep up with what your doing and you will have a great end result. There was a good couple moths of "holy crap, what have I got myself into?!" Lol


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[Jag]

Been there... have the scars to prove it! Nothing worked but time. I used every single suggestion here. He is my 4th, but is nothing like my previous shepherds! I couldn't pet him for months, no holding either. He just recently started being a cuddle bug. It will pass. Just to be near him I had to wear long pants, socks and shoes... I'm not kidding! I have scars on my lower legs from when I forgot or still had sleep shorts on, LOL! I had a doctor's appt. where they were asking me what had happened, too. I have an incredible bond with him now, though. My wife passed on it because of his biting. He's not bonded to her at all. One person dog now! Just hang in there. I did find that if he was tired (he would only sleep in his kennel) that it got worse. I promise you, it will get better!

[NietzschesMomma]

My last GSD (he died at age 16 1/2, about a year and a half ago) was from German WL. He was a little mouthy as a pup, but NOTHING like this. Nietzsche is Czech WL...probably has nothing to do with it, but when going through this, you can't help but wonder...She is a happy and healthy pup and is growing like a well-watered weed...just SO full of herself with those teeth. She is learning her other basic obedience easily, and really fast, but NO BITE is obviously NOT a part of her vocabulary. One one hand, I don't want to teach her that using her mouth is bad, (I do want to get her into Sch) and I don't want her to think that biting is always naughty, on the other hand...I need to survive this-with as little blood loss as possible!

Originally Posted by Capone22

I have scars still fading from rogue. She's 8 moths old now, all I can say is that it does get better. "This too shall pass." Keep up with what your doing and you will have a great end result. There was a good couple moths of "holy crap, what have I got myself into?!" Lol


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[Jag]

Originally Posted by NietzschesMomma

My last GSD (he died at age 16 1/2, about a year and a half ago) was from German WL. He was a little mouthy as a pup, but NOTHING like this. Nietzsche is Czech WL...probably has nothing to do with it, but when going through this, you can't help but wonder...She is a happy and healthy pup and is growing like a well-watered weed...just SO full of herself with those teeth. She is learning her other basic obedience easily, and really fast, but NO BITE is obviously NOT a part of her vocabulary. One one hand, I don't want to teach her that using her mouth is bad, (I do want to get her into Sch) and I don't want her to think that biting is always naughty, on the other hand...I need to survive this-with as little blood loss as possible!

I think it does have something to do with it. Grim is Czech WL. He is the most stubborn pup I've ever had. When he's got his mind set on doing something... forget about it! He refused to grasp 'no bite' either. He did a little better with 'gentle'. He's still mouthy (although NOT like before) and he's finally now better about 'no teeth!'. He will sometimes "hold" my hand or arm when I'm scratching him, but there's no pressure. He's just a very mouth oriented dog. At the first hint of pressure, he's corrected. So even if she continues to be 'mouthy' her ears will start working later, LOL!