[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

I think this is the difference-when she's had enough she does it. We see them do it and say good idea. So we do it every time and the puppy is like what the heck? I didn't even get a warning? The adult dogs give so many warnings ahead of time and don't go right to that. But we do, because hey, if it works...but what we are NOT teaching then is inhibition and inhibition is what you want the dog to know most of all. That means they can understand and not bite even when they want to.

Does this make sense? I know what I want to say.

I'll use an example that I hope is more clear. Ilsa is the bigger red dog in the picture above-came to me with zero bite inhibition. I knew she was a danger in that way, and she also did not want to engage with me at all. So I decided the dogs do it better anyway and while I have that luxury, I will see if they alone can teach her bite inhibition. They did and now, while she wants to bite me and I can see her wanting to bite me, she does not. She has learned to control that desire. Had I clamped on her muzzle or done other things without letting that learning build, she probably would be one of those dogs that nails you out of the blue.

I hope that makes sense!

 

[Maryn]

I agree Jean. If you watch them, she will push him away, pin him slightly with a paw, etc before he gets a muzzle gab.
When he thinks my feet, pants, hands, arms, etc look good...he gets a 'NO!' and a toy to chew.
Physicality with puppy biting tends to get them even more riled up from my experiences. I do not want him to see it as a game.
That's why I say she's having more success than me...her approach is something he is familiar with from mom and littermates.

 

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

Exactly! I feel bad for people who have to do it on their own. I just sit back and let the dogs do the work and end up with soft mouthed, bite inhibited puppies! I DO do some of the other training though.

 

[Raleigh]

My 3 mo. puppy is a biter too. I have tried the water bottle, the muzzle grab, the redirection to a bone or switching her attention all together by showing her a treat and getting her to sit, shake, or lie down. She gets in these random moods where she just wants to bite everything and anything. Lately I've tried the ignoring thing but I have to put her behind her gate or in her crate because she will nip my legs.

Or I will be just sitting somewhere or standing and she will just nibble my leg. She seems to get more aggressive when I correct her.

I'm going to start carrying a pouch & have toys in it in case of these random bite spasms and see how redirecting her with that goes. She really has got my arms and legs pretty good with her sharp little teeth.

What is the usual time frame that puppies grow out of this biting stage?

 

[Pryght]

Well, I went with the spray bottle and it is working pretty well. I just hope this doesn't lead to a fear of water. Reading multiple threads on this subject matter, it almost appears as though female puppies are more likely to be biters than their male counterparts. Coincidence...? Also, my parents have had a couple male GSDs and they claim that biting was never an issue...of course this was many years ago so they may have forgotten.

 

[Maryn]

Originally Posted By: PryghtWell, I went with the spray bottle and it is working pretty well. I just hope this doesn't lead to a fear of water. Reading multiple threads on this subject matter, it almost appears as though female puppies are more likely to be biters than their male counterparts. Coincidence...? Also, my parents have had a couple male GSDs and they claim that biting was never an issue...of course this was many years ago so they may have forgotten.

I don't know. Reich is a female and never really puppy bit. She'd mouth a bit, but that's about all.
Although, she was in a kennel with mom and dad until she was 10-12 weeks old.

 

[UConnGSD]

All these puppy biting stories just reminded me of something that happened when my sister's GSD was an 8 week old pup. My sis was sitting on a couch watching TV, her hand stuck out over the side, her wrist limp, fingers twirling in the air. According to my young niece, her pup planted himself firmly next to the couch, watched the fingers intently for a while, grabbed ahold of her fingers with his needle teeth and gave them a good hard shake. (Sorry, but it is kind of funny in retrospect, even my sis says so.

) Needless to say, she was too speechless and in pain to give a correction at that point. Now though her GSD is 5 and half years old and loves to soft mouth while playing. Which is fine with me when I play with him.