Biting

[duttyrocker]

Hey guys,

Just need a bit of help on how to stop storms habbit of biting literally everything and every person he can see. I do know that he is only playing as his tail is always wagging, but as i do have my grandparents in the house aswell, they can't handle being bit as they have weak skin. I've tried to give him nylabones, he loves it and can sit in one place for ages biting on it, but half way in between he runs towards the closest person to him and nibbles on their fingers.

[sami]

Is Storm a baby? If so it is difficult to stop they tend to grow out of it eventually. I know what you mean with the skin in the elderly it looks like they have gone ten rounds with a boxer if you touch them the wrong way.

You can try squealing when he bites, time outs, ignoring him etc.

[LucyA]

Time outs will probably tackle the problem quite quickly. Make sure he knows biting = no attention!!

[Zak]

You have to be consistent with it though. Which ever way you decided to go make sure you do it every single time.

Zak used to be terrible for biting but it is something they do grow out of thank god

[Stuart]

There is a difference between biteing and mouthing, it sounds to me as if Storm is a youngster and he is mouthing,.. and as Sami has already said it is not easy to stop this, because it is part of the growing up phase where they are testing their grip,...if you stop it too soon and do not allow it at all, you can end up with a dog who is `hard mouthed`, a dog that doesnt really know the power of his bite, and that can lead to seperate problems.

Many people dont allow any sort of mouth contact with skin, I dont believe this is correct, I allow mouthing because it is simply another way in which your dog `talks`, mouthing is a natural way of communication for a dog

............. but of course hard mouthing has to be corrected,.. there are things you can try, some work for some dogs, some dont, you will have to try a few.

When storm mouths too hard, pretend to be very badly hurt and scream a loud `ouch` and pull your hand back and ignor the dog, turn your back to him if possible, dont hit out,... this way he will learn that he did it too hard, and will regulate what pressure he uses in time.,... this is what I would do.

Lucy mentioned another way,.. when he mouths hard, you can shout `ouch` and send him outside the room and shut the door, leave him for a few mins, and bring him back,.. try not to lead him out by the collar, and dont hit out or punish in any way,.. he should learn that a certain pressure will lead to him being sent away

[Vislor]

I would just give him a firm correction when he bites a person. I know they're only playing at that age but I still don't allow my pupster to mouth/bite anyone. If she wants to mouth, she can mouth her toys!

Its a bit different for me though as she is a working dog living in a family environment and I want to make absolutely sure that she's going to be comfortable to live with when she's fully grown. She's going to be a trained protection dog, but I don't want her to bite unless I say so.

But even if they're not working dogs, GSD's are still a big breed and I wouldn't want to chance them growing up with bad habits in a family home

[duttyrocker]

Thanks guys, shouting ouch helped as everytime I do it and he starts to mouth again the bite is alot softer.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by duttyrocker

Thanks guys, shouting ouch helped as everytime I do it and he starts to mouth again the bite is alot softer.

Thats him learning how to regulate the pressure he uses.

As I said all mine are allowed to mouth, and each one of them do it, but always do it softly,.. they often do it when they want something, I have even been led to a piece of furniture, not knowing why, untill we got to it and Sam let go of my hand and sniffed under the unit,... there was a toy too far under for him to get.

I think people often miss out big time when they restrict their dogs ability to communicate with them

[nisbreagha]

A correction will serve many purposes in this instance as it will teach your dog that the mouthing is not acceptable and that by association if you use the same correction for any future unwanted behaviour he will quickly realise it's not on. By correction I mean a strong NO so voice command and I'd push him away gently taking care not to hurt the dog so not with any force. This will help with things like jumping up on you and others, and with a change of voice command and if on lead a lead correction jumping on others, the leave command and off if you want them off the furniture etc.

I allow mouthing but will always dictate when it's allowed and not or when a game is over and do use the yelp when they are small.