[LuckyD]

Hi!

This is my first official post besides a brief intro. posted yesterday.

We have a 5.5 month old pup who just graduated from puppy kindergarten tonight! She is very smart (not biased or anything) and did really well in her class. When she's in the mood to behave, she's awesome.

However...

She is very mouthy and not finished teething as I found out tonight when she lost another tooth.

I've read, and we've tried, all of the tricks to get her past the alligator stage but she still enjoys a good human chomp. I have 4 kids and there's enough yapping and high pitched ouch in my house to make a pupster crazy so the verbal "act like an injured puppy" thing doesn't go very far since my kiddos are howling all the time. A little too much of the boy who cried wolf for our pup to take a high pitched squeal seriously.

So...we've been trying the "game over we won't play with you if you're going to be a bully" tactic. My problem with this (although when we can pull it off it works) is that the second we turn our backs to Lucky she nails us from behind by either jumping and biting or attacking our ankles to herd us back to the fun. If we just walk backwards, she continues to jump on us and nip and run. We end up in a physical confrontation just trying to get away from her to end the physical confrontation.

She is much better than she was a few months ago as our clothing proves. My son still will need a new coat and entirely new wardrobe for fall since our pup has nipped holes in all of his clothes and we all will need to replace holy sweaters and jeans she's got the better of (while being worn, by the way, not as a consequence of her dragging them off into the house). Our spring clothing is fairing a bit better but she's bigger now and stronger so even though she's nipping less, the nips she gets in are with more force.

All that to say, I know (hope/pray) she'll outgrow this whole nippy mouthy thing but I'd like suggestions how to get away from her when she's doing the hit and run. It's especially hard on my 9 year old son (who loves her like crazy) since he can't play ball with her without her getting overly excited. She loves to play, but she turns into an animal (small joke, there!)

Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer wisdom!!

 

[LUV_GSDs]

I used bitter apple spray on my hand and the puppy stopped grabbing my hand after a few tries. Of course this is loaded with alcohol so you wouldn't want a kid spraying it on themselves...alcohol absorbs through the skin.

 

[lcht2]

my boy is 5 months old tomorrow. he still mouths and playbites...the playbites have gotten to a minimum but the mouthing is still a constant. i just keep doing what i always have been,tell him no bite walk away, ingore. he stops after that and if he is really wound up i put him in his crate to settle down. there are times tho if he bites me too hard or just will not stop i will grab his jaw squeez, pushing his lip into his teeth. i will not say this is the best method but i do it and it works.

 

[TNGSD]

We have a long leather play tug- I used to carry this in the yard to redirect Radar when he wanted to bite my legs and so did my kids. It really worked and now he doesn't do it as much-- but he is much younger than your pup so maybe we will have this problem as he gets older too. Good Luck!

 

[scannergirl]

We have this problem as well, so I'm thinking it's nothing but puppyness! I had heard someone say put a toy in their mouth, I tried it, and now my girl grabs a toy herself when she gets excited. It has helped a lot. I especially like that she does it herself.

 

[aaron.whitney]

Kate,

Check out the teaching bite inhibition thread, there is a lot of good info there.
When I was going through that stage with my puppy I kept a tug in my pocket all the time and used that to redirect, redirect, and redirect some more. When Odin went into a "biting fit" he got some crate time.
One word of caution with the redirecting, if your timing is off you can teach your puppy that biting people is a good way to initiate play.
When my puppies are teething, I do leave one chew toy out for them all of the time. Frozen carrots and ice cubes or ice blocks seem to satisfy the pupps need for chewing during teething also.
You may also want to increase her exercise a little more. The only time you are guaranteed to have a good puppy is when she is sleeping. Good luck remain patient this stage will end.

 

[LuckyD]

Thanks everyone!

It's nice to know we're not alone. I'll have faith that "this too shall pass" and we'll try passing out a tug to everyone playing ball with her to help distract our little chomper. Our trainer recommended those dissolvable listerine strips on our hands so when she chomps she gets the nasty taste (not to mention fresh breath) but we haven't tried that yet.

She's such a good pup in so many ways but I didn't expect this much mouthy nippy behavior. I don't remember any of my family dogs growing up (from a St. Bernard to schnauzers to a lab/golden mix) being like this but I guess you forget the bad. Ah well!

We're still lucky to have Lucky Dog! She's a beauty and I know she'll come around.

Thanks again!

 

[GSD07]

It looks like some puppies are alligators and some are not for some reason. After my first dog Yana who was ripping me apart and no bite inhibition techniques worked on her (I still have scars on my hands left by her puppy teeth) I thought that my new puppy will tear me apart since he's a working line one. Well, I was up to a nice surprise and just couldn't believe how gentle puppies can actually be )

 

[Kayos and Havoc]

Havoc is an alligator. He is the worst nipper I have had. At 10 months he has pretty well just out grown it.

This too shall pass......

And you get new clothes - cool!!!

 

[Eve-Lynn]

Glad that I read this forum!!!!!!!! We have a 4 1/2 month old who will either bite at ankles or arms. Sometimes leaves scratches and bruises. Usually when he gets in that mood we put him in his crate for some down time. We will try some of your suggestions. Thanks!!