How far to go with correction, best method?

[Zak]

Hiya,

We have Zak, hes 10 weeks old this thursday. I am hoping some of the experianced members can give some advise on how to correct a dog.

here is my situation.

When we tell Zak not to bite, we give a firm verbal "No Bite", he just carrys on. This went on for days with no effect.
The wife has tried grabbing him gently by the scruff, when she does this he freezes, goes to the ground and whines, the second she lets go he then goes for her and gives a little bark at her and snaps towards her.

At the moment when he goes like this I put him in the kitchen and leave him on his own for 5 minutes, then bring him out. Somtimes hes fine after somtimes we go through the process again.

I think it's because hes full of energy. We play with him loads around the house and let him in the garden, but have not been able to walk him yet as he has his second Jab Jan 4th.

The wife is just concerned that I am being to soft on him and letting him get away with too much and keeps saying that If i dont sort him out now we will have a problem when hes older.

I would just like your thoughts on this, do I just keep putting him in the kitchen when he goes a little nutts and snaps at her / me for telling him off?

I have been looking on the internet for a few decent books if anyone can recomend any that would be great.

thanks in advance.

[Triksta]

Echo is 7 months now and she is still very mouthy, she never bites as such but is always hanging on to your hand

Weve tried everything I have read so far without any success, not much help Im afraid but I will be interested to see other responses

[kita]

Originally Posted by Zak

When we tell Zak not to bite, we give a firm verbal "No Bite", he just carrys on. This went on for days with no effect.
The wife has tried grabbing him gently by the scruff, when she does this he freezes, goes to the ground and whines, the second she lets go he then goes for her and gives a little bark at her and snaps towards her.

At 10 weeks old I would not be 'correcting' the dog at all. He is far too young and does not understand 'correcting/punishment'.

The best way to stop this biting is to stop the 'game' immediately. It has to be immediately his teeth touch you. Stand up, walk away, totally ignore him. If he follows you then walk out of the room and shut the door behind you.

Any contact like grabbing the scruff etc. makes him think you are joining in the game and will not stop him from biting.

To be honest five minutes is too long for a dog his age. It only takes 30 seconds to a minute and the pup will realise that biting spoils the play.

If you are consistent and stop the game every time he will soon learn that biting is not an option.

Sue

[kita]

Originally Posted by Triksta

Echo is 7 months now and she is still very mouthy, she never bites as such but is always hanging on to your hand

Weve tried everything I have read so far without any success, not much help Im afraid but I will be interested to see other responses

Might be worth giving her something to carry (like an old glove), some dogs just like to mouth/carry things around in their mouths.

Sue

[jesterjenn]

We looked after a friends dog who was a very mouthy pup (some proper mix match dog), and we found the best way to get her not to mouth, was when we saw it coming, we'd ask her to sit, so it would give her something else to focus on, and by the end of her time with us (about 4 days) she had stopped mouthing us altogether.

Also, if your pup is mouthing when you fuss them, make sure you fuss in long (head to tail) strokes, in a very calm manner, and this should help them stop getting excited (if this occurs) and hopefully subside any mouthing for this reason.

[zetstaff]

Lots of good advice there for you

I would do all of the above

[miura74]

Yes, same thing with our Kiera, 10 weeks old (11 on Saturday). Plenty of play, but she will just go hyper and bite like mad. It honestly looks like I'm self-harming now! But as you know puppies need to bite at a young age.

Best advice, same as above.

End the game. Puppies don't like that. We usually pick Kiera up in our arms, stopping her from biting. A little too young to be shut in a room on her own yet. Takes just a while and she calms down.

Also worth trying to mentally engage the pup, try a command or two, even a little verbal training. Puppies have a very short attention span, so it can take their mind off biting.

[Zak]

Thanks everyone for spending a few minutes to give your input its really appreciated.

Sue, I will just do exactly what you suggest and as for the kitchen I will drop it down to 30 secs - 1 min and only use it when hes on a mission lol.
Thanks alot !

[Beki]

yeh 30sec time out is what worked best with ellie anything else just made her more hyper. End the game and they soon realise its more fun to not nibble lol