Puppy mouthing and attitude!! Help!!

[Annetty1]

My 8 week old puppy is adorable and has settled in well to her new home, now the problem (and the only problem) is the constant mouthing, she really does hurt and my ankles have come in for a lot of stick! Thinking of getting some shin pads in fact, but I have read and heard losts of different things about how to stop this. The breeder recommends a rolled up newspaper and just a tap on the bottom, other people said a tap on the nose but i will never hit my dog ever so have gone down the route of firm telling off, growling, yelping in high pitch voice.... all to no avail, she doesnt want to let go and sometimes have to prise her mouth off certain parts of my body. when she starts on the ankles there is no way of stopping her she will just chase me or anyone else she feels like gnawing on!! Is is possible for an 8 week old to have attitude and sulk, she has come into the lounge after being told off and thrown herself down on her bed like a spoiled teenager hahahah I want to know the best way to curb this behaviour in a dignified manner, I keep reading that these beloved dogs live to please their owners.... when does this start happening because right now Jess only wants to please herself haaha I love her dearly and she makes me laugh so much, I have got her booked into puppy socialisation classes but not for a few weeks yet and need to know how to stop this biting, all advice very welcome guys!"

Thanks

Annette and Jess xxx

[paulsuzy1991]

The only things that worked with Sienna was a Kong toy filled with treats and walking out the room for a minute and ignoring her when you return.
Screaming in a high pitch voice just made her worse.
Sometimes ice cubes stopped her for a bit but the Kong worked the best

[Annetty1]

Ive tried distractions with toys etc that works sometimes but when she has her mind set on chewing my feet or hands she cant be distracted, its the same trying to get her on a lead for practice round the garden, on her back chewing the lead, ive tried distracting her with chicken which helps but she wont let go of the lead either hahaha ... ahh well im sure it will sort itself out in the end lol hope so or i'll have no arms left! lol

[J&J]

Ellie was a an older pup when we got her... But we found ignoring worked very well..

Sadly your ankles at the moment are just the right hieght for play/attention mode..

Trick is to be constant with one choosing method, it can take time for it to sink in, but they get it in the end..

She still a very very much a baby pup, and yes they do grow to want to please us only if we show and teach them what does and doesnt though

[T'sAndC's]

They're wee buggers at that age and their teeth are sharp as needles. It will get better, she'll grow out of it around 4.5 to 5 months when the biting will hopefully get less and less.
For now, distracting her with a treat or toys is probably the best way, and try not to make it appear as if its a reward.
Good luck, and I promise, it does get better. Glad we're past that stage with ours

Colin.

[stillalsations2me]

Annoying isn't it, like others have said distraction with a toy is good but I always found that they found biting me more fun. If that doesn't work I would say try shutting her out of the room when she gets to much, not for long she will probably get frustated whine etc, leave her for a minute or so and let her back in she will more than lightly start mouthing you again, shut her out again and continue until the penny drops!

She doesn,t know shes doing wrong or hurting remember shes only been alive 8 weeks and they don't come pre programmed unfortunately.

Also when she bites try not to move to quickly (easier said than done I know) but this will intensify the play

Remember there mouths are like our finger tips so I wouldn't stop her from mouthing completely, Lucy has always held my hand in her mouth not so much now shes older and often fell to sleep that way. We even play tug of war she holds two fingers behind her canine teeth with the correct pressure and the game begins.

Just my opinions I am no expert or trainer

[lisyonok]

The only thing that worked for mine was a sharp "no!" and leaving the room for a minute - I had a baby gate up, so she couldn't follow me. You could use distractions at that age - like offering her a toy to chew on instead of your ankle and praising her when she takes the toy; or offering her treats in exchange for a "sit" or a "down" to divert her attention. All that works well at her age. I'd recommend to stick to one thing only when you teach the bite inhibition though, so you don't confuse your puppy. The only problem with toy and food distractions though is when your pup gets to the terrible teen stage she will get smarter and may try to get you to play with her and feed her treats by biting you (like mine did - "oh, I want some chicken. I know! I'll bite mommy, so she will put her hand in the pocket and feed me the chicken bits for a "sit" or whatever!" or "I feel like playing tug, so I go bite mommy, so she'll pick up a toy and play with me instead of sitting there watching TV!") That's why I said the telling off and walking away was the only thing that worked for mine. It teaches that biting means "game over", mommy walks out of the room, puppy gets no attention. Works a lot faster than distractions, lasts into the teenage sage! Another thing to remember, puppies sometimes bite just to get attention, and any form of attention, even the negative - shouting, tapping on the nose, spraying with water, etc. - is still attention!

Hello

I'm new to the forum but recognise the mouthing issue! I have two gorgeous girls now 6months and 4 months and both went through the mouthing stage. Both of mine stopped when we yepled/yipped and refused to play, turned away and blanked them for a few minutes, then resumed play with a toy that distracted from them making contact with us.

It worked for mine and one was a bit of an ankle biter like your baby!

[Annetty1]

Thanks all for the positive advice, will try the walking away once i seperate her from my ankles, like you say she is still only a baby and isnt it funny how she will sit like a little angel looking up at me as soon as the fridge door is opened hahaha ...... this is the best fun ive had in ages, i cant wait to get up in the mornings to see her and rush home from work at night, it really is like having a new baby but far more fun hahahaha

Cheers guys xxx

[LOVEGSD]

Yep I did the yelp, fold your arms and turn away, Diesel soon realised that all the fun stopped if it did this.