German Shepherds Forum banner

Landshark!!!!

2K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  CatMan900 
#1 ·
OK, I do NOT remember Sasha or Wolfgang being this relentless with the biting! This one is a stubborn one for sure! The firm tap on the nose just didn't do anything but encourage him. Thankfully there are some great resources on this site and "phase 2" does seem to work better (pressing thumb under tongue with light pressure under the chin) - He hasn't drawn blood in a day or so :surprise:

Now with Sasha, I distinctly remember she would mouth me but after a few corrections when she was teething. Clearly this guy is teething a lot too from how he chews his teething toys... but should i forbid the mouthing as well? At least at this point?

I will admit, its been 11 years since we've had a puppy - and I do feel better prepared this time around but Holy **** we sure have a tendency to block out the bad stuff and only remember the good stuff!!!

Any additional bite inhibition tips would be greatly appreciated.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Yeah Max was very mouth as a pup he still likes to communicate with his mouth in a gentle way though like grabbing my hand for a pet etc. at this age redirecting is important show him what is okay to put his teeth on. Constant redirecting with toys. Schedules work best with structured outings. It’s so gradual you won’t even notice when it goes away much patience needed. Lots of threads on here about “puppy biting thread”
 
#3 ·
Jenny without a doubt I ALWAYS have a toy either near by or on me! I think its really a matter of not remembering the "bad" LOL!
 
#4 ·
Do whatever works to make him uncomfortable when he chews on you.What worked best for me is making a fist and pressing (carefully!) into puppy's mouth towards his throat.The puppy will pull away from the discomfort,then animate a toy for him that actually fits in his little shark jaws.
 
#5 ·
I redirected to other toys a lot and also if it becomes VERY bad my breeder recommended grabbing the scruff and making the puppy lie down. The puppy will fight you for about 30 seconds then give in. The puppy will keep coming back and You will have to do this 4 or 5 times in a row until the puppy realizes you will not give in then he will go find something else to do

I know some ppl do not like grabbing the scruff or holding the dog down but in certain situations it’s worked well for me and it helped my puppy stop biting. I also gave lots of different chews like moo tubes and beef pizzle
 
#6 ·
I remember those days :( Mine is 10 months now and still likes to go for the hands, wayyyyy less than before, but no matter how many times we direct or correct they seem to be his favorite play toy. It def gets frustrating at times when you see your cute little pup resting and you go to pet him and the great white land shark comes alive and starts attacking. (im pretty sure theres a post from me breaking down about 7 months ago asking what I did to deserve this and thinking no other dog can be like this LOL) Just keep up with the training and redirecting, THIS TOO SHALL PASS hahah
 
#7 ·
Redirecting has been a godsend!!!! Last thursday I had that breakdown too - what did I do to deserve this dog - but then I realized, I was part of the problem. I wasn't consistent enough at all and yea, great white shark indeed. I actually nicknamed him Chucky (remember Child's Play) when he gets totally out of control because he gets that "look".

Whats been really working lately is doing basic obedience when he gets super crazy. As soon as I reach for the treats and start sits and downs and watch me's... Marco comes back and Chucky leaves! Is he perfect. Not at all. He forgets - but some of the things I'm doing now consistently, he knows when I'm not going to play or indulge his bad behavior and he backs off.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CometDog
#8 · (Edited)
Redirect! It works. My 14 week old is the sharkiest of the sharks. We personally don't want to do anything negative reinforcement that involves his mouth. We always have a bite rag or puppy tug on us. And just in case we forget to carry one they are stationed around the house in human reachable places, like we are preparing for a swarm of puppy zombies to descend up our home lol

My daughter was walking across the room tug and ragless and she yelled MOOOOOMMMMM REDIRECTION DEVICE! I juked left through the living room, did a layup snatch of the tug up on the wine shelf and chucked it to her like it was the last intact grenade and we were in a foxhole. It's kind of like that.

He is starting to get it now though. When he is let out of his crate (prime shark time) he looks for something to carry while he says hello.

Once the initial crate happiness explosion is done he is becoming more affectionate (hooray) and his biting on us is more mouthing than piercing. He is starting to bring stuff to us to engage rather than savage us. They can be pretty smart cookies with consistent direction.

It's flip flop weather now and he still makes mistakes. Especially with feet. And I won't lie, I can keep it together and do redirection etc UNLESS it involves my bare foot. He usually gets unintentionally "lizard brain in full effect" yeeted when he chomps down on my foot. I can't "not" swing it and launch him. Which he thinks is a game, which makes him come back even harder with a fuller grip lol which makes feet fun...so yeah. Shoes, or diligence about having a tug or rag tucked in pants.

Good luck and savor every moment! You will miss the puppy stages one day :)
 
#9 ·
Something else you can do is gently hold their mouth closed after they bite. Hold it closed for around a minute. Don’t grasp hard just lightly. This works very well with my dog. He now knows If I grab his mouth he’s being bad

Hold it for about a minute. When you first start this the dog is gonna flop around and try to fight you but keep holding his mouth shut and say NO. I do this for around 30-45 seconds and it works great. My dog only bites my hands now if I start wresting him which is fine with me. Just be sure to not grasp hard or you can cover his nostrils. Some folks don’t like this method because they say the dog won’t like you petting his head due to the dog thinking you’re going to grab his mouth again. But my dog doesn’t care about it. I only use this method when my dog is really really biting hard though. Otherwise a redirect by grabbing his collar and focusing him on a toy works fine
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top