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Post by kendra on Jul 31, 2004 15:00:43 GMT -5
My 3 month old Dalmation puppy is biting lots. It's not just chewing at me. When I say "no" firmly he bites back. I tried holding his mouth closed for 5 seconds as advised by my vet but when I let go he bites really hard and kind of answers me back. It's quite scary really because he's not small. I have 2 young children and I don't want this behaviour to continue. I have tried time out methods but getting him to where I want to put him means I am covered in bites. I just don't know what to do. I am buying a crate tomorrow to see if there is an improvement.
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Post by sibemom on Jul 31, 2004 15:34:16 GMT -5
A 3 month old puppy is being just that a puppy, and in no way can this be aggresion. I am very glad you are buying a crate and I would RIGHT NOW start him on NILIF. We have a great thread on it so please go and read it. What I did to stop my pup's from mouthy behavior is this. You take ahold of the back of their necks (loose skin) and you give them the shaking of a lifetime and say NO BITE (this is called a scruff shake), at the same time have a chew toy ready and stuff in in his mouth to show him what is appropriate to chew on and say GOOD CHEW. At this age the pup thinks everything is play but the scruff shake works well. Try this and let us know what happens, and we can go from there.
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Post by Brooke on Jul 31, 2004 20:50:34 GMT -5
Ah... the infamous muzzle shake ;D also infamously, as suggested by a veterinarian... Puppies are playful. They do *anything* for attention. Good or bad. There are a few ways you can go about correcting for this. Since they are seeking attention it would typically be punishment enough to give a verbal correction "no" and get up and walk away. Completely ignoring the pup until it settles down. This is how littermates react in play sessions. When things get too rowdy they will yelp and stop the play moving away. You could also try re-directing the pup to a toy instead which in all actuality is the best option. Grab a tug rope or something similar and teach the dog to grab for that instead of you or your clothing. It will help build and continue on the pups play/toy drive. If the pup still persists, then I would go with scruffing as Ann said, a firm but not too scary verbal "no" set the pup down and move on. Another thing to try if the pup is too rambunctious is just to (of course give the verbal "no") scoop them up and stick them in their crate for a little bit of quiet time. You don't have to make a huge deal out of it. Just quietly correct and gently put them in the crate. You don't want them to think the crate is bad but just a quiet time place. Unfortunately...more often than not shaking the muzzle method sends the message that you wish to initiate play.
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Post by sibemom on Aug 1, 2004 7:07:22 GMT -5
Yes I agree shaking the muzzle escalates the nipping. I know what you are going through because my Sibe was the mouthyiest pup I had ever owned and it was extremly frustrating and PAINFUL . I knew the breed was prone to this but MAN what an alligator. I tried all the methods to stop him from doing this with no success, untill I started scruffing him. Even then sometimes he would still think we were playing and when that happened as Brooke said I would pick him up and give him a time out in his crate. It helped and then as he got older I started using a pinch collar which solved the problem totally. He still likes to put his mouth on us from time to time but it is very gentle, and dose not draw blood anymore. I hope you are planning on getting him neutered, because that dose help to take a bit of the wind out from under their sails. Aggresion is something that will not surface untill he is much older. Usaually closer to maturity but with some very hard pups it can show up at around 8 or 9 months. So hang tough he will get over this.
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Post by ripley on Aug 1, 2004 9:49:54 GMT -5
Another useful thing is to DRENCH your hands in an incredibly foul-tasting substance (Bitter apple or tobasco can work well) and just ignore the biting. NILIF will do WONDERS for him, as will crating him at night. It sounds like a regular dominant puppy, and if you correct the behavior now, I don't think you'll have a problem with him as an adult.
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Post by kendra on Aug 1, 2004 15:41:14 GMT -5
thank you for the wonderful advice. I will certainly try out the methods suggested. Can I just ask what NILIF is. Sorry, I have no idea!
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Post by ripley on Aug 1, 2004 15:51:33 GMT -5
NILIF is a training concept (More like common sense) that makes the dog WORK for life's little luxuries instead of recieving them. NILIF stands for "Nothing in Life is Free", there's a book on it.
What's nice about it is that it makes the dog think, rather than the human relying on brute force to make the dog obey. There's several useful threads about NILIF on this site that can answer some of your ?'s! ;D
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Post by kendra on Aug 1, 2004 16:00:21 GMT -5
;)Thank you. Will read up on this.
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