I have a 3 month old American bulldog mix. After weeks of trying, we can't stop her biting (sometimes draws blood). We tried "yelping" and standing up to ignore her, leaving the room for a few minutes etc.-nothing is working. Out of desperation, I rolled her on her back and pinned her down to show alfa dog dominance. It seemed to help a little but I got scratched up in the process as she was scared.
Alpha dominance will help solve your situation but it might make her a nervous dog. I am not saying that this will definitely happen, it just depends on the dogs personality. How about having an assigned punishment spot for her? When she does anything undesirable put her in this room/cage and leave her there for 15 minutes to half hour. It should be a place that is dark, quiet area. No toys around and no sight of people. Also, instead of yelping when she bites, give her a deep throaty growl instead. This will probably send her a clearer message. I also recommend socializing her as much as possible, she will learn the do's and don'ts of the doggie world with this.
On a side note, have you done any obedience training with her? If not, I suggest you start immediately and teach her basic commands and most importantly the word 'NO'. This will also help sort out your problem.
Best wishes to you both. Do keep us posted on your progress!
Thank you for your advise. She's 4 mos. old now and is very stubborn and seems like she can't help herself from biting. We did try the growl thing (and her middle name is "no") and she still persists with the biting. We are very frustrated and my poor wife has cuts all over her arms (has to wear long sleeves to work)! I have tried using a loud stern "no biting" command and a calm one. We will try the punishment spot and see what happens...there has to be a way to stop this!
You are absolutely right, this behavior has to be stopped soon or else it will just lead to more problems as she ages. Every dog ticks differently and hence we must try different strategies of training till we find one that works. Please tell your wife to have a read through the alpha training section and to have a strict 'no nonsense' attitude with her. All play MUST cease the minute she bites, don't give her any lee way in the matter. It may take some time to train her effectively but you both will be successful if you are persistent. With the alpha training you both don't have to go to the extreme of pinning her down when she misbehaves, I suggest you start with little things like making her follow you through doorways, making her sit and stay before she gets her dinner etc.
