Husky puppy constantly play biting

Anyone???

Having re-read the section on playbiting in the book I have been giving a loud yelp and then standing up and turning away from her. She then tugs on my pant leg for about a minute and then gets bored and stops. I'm glad that she is responding to being ignored but what do I do about the pant leg?? Should I be correcting this or carry on ignoring her. Also she pretty much starts up with the biting again when I return and sit down. Will it get better???

The best method I've found for this is to shake a pop can filled with a handful of pennies and say "No." Keep the can out of site but within reach so that it comes as a surprise. (This works well when you are walking down stairs and the dog is at your feet as well.) I only had to use the can for a couple of days constantly before the dog realized that the behaviour was unacceptable. She now doesn't do it as much and when she does, she stops when I say no. Everyday the behaviour is less and less.

This seems to work well for a lot of things that I don't want the dog to do, but I use it more for the biting and nipping because I feel that the biting and nipping are really important so someone doesn't get hurt. (I also don't want her to get used to the can and start ignoring it.) When using it for going down the stairs: you know the dog is going to nip and bite so come down the stairs with the can in your hand but behind your back. After you shake it, put it behind your back again. The intensity that you shake the can you can adjust according to your dog's sensitivity to noise. Keeping in mind that when the dog is going absolutely nuts, as my dog sometimes does in a very excited state, you may have to shake a bit harder to bring the dog out of the frenzied state and focussed on you, then say no using a firm voice.

The ignoring the dog works well for jumping up on you. I use it for when we come home and when entering a room. I find that it doesn't work well if you sit down though, you have to remain standing in order to ignore the dog completely and properly. This allows you to ignore the dog doing everyday things rather than just a 30 second turn of the back. It used to take about a half hour for the dog to calm down after we came home or someone else came into a room, we are now down to about 10-15 minutes and sometimes she just comes up to us and sits down, knowing she isn't going to get any affection by jumping, nipping/biting or barking. It is hard sometimes to ignore her as she is so cute but because I have another dog that had been completely haywire for the first 7 years of her life, I am fairly consistent with the new pup on these two issues. It makes life easier and everyone else in the house, as well as guests, more calm and receptive to the pup.

Give it a try and let me know how it works for you.

I can identify with your dilema. I have a 10 month old border collie that has a problem of nipping and biting me when I try to stop playing with him. He has never as much as growled at me in anger but when I end the play session he begins by jumping and biting my hands and arms. This was d as apuppy but now it has escalated to bruised pinches nd on occaision it breaks the skin. I have tried using the "ouch" and turning away but he just gets more excited and nips and tries to grab at me any where he can. If I try to get his collar he just nips at my hand and he thinks the game is on. I try to remember to take a treat out with us to play but if I use it to distract him he just begins again when it is gone. This dog has a strong bond with me and it goes well until he begins to get hyper and he loses any obedience training he has..

Thank you for all this helpful information! I have had my mixed puppy (not sure of the mix but we are SURE she has border collie, aussie, and minpin and some sort of terrier) for one month now. She is my first puppy that I am raising independently, although I have always had family dogs growing up. The opinion of all of my family members as well as myself is that she is the smartest dog (at this age = 3 months) that we have ever owned. Overall, she is wonderful to train, wonderful to have around, and wonderful with visitors and other dogs. The only thing that is of concern to me is her biting. At what point does the "nipping" become a "problem behavior" that is a display of aggression? My family assures me that she is just acting like "a normal puppy" and that if I carry out the discipline routines then she will be fine. Only thing, I'm noticing that like someone said earlier on this thread, the shrill yelps cause her to get MORE excited and when she bites, she actually looks aggressive, like sometimes, her lips pull back and she really looks like she's aiming to hurt me. She never growls, however, or squints her eyes, the movement is all in her mouth and lips.
Is THIS normal puppy behavior? I am so determined to train her well and to assure that she doesn't become aggressive to other people or dogs. I have been working really hard to socialize her so that doesn't happen, but I want to be sure to have all the warning signs so I can nip problem behaviors in the bud. I have been working with her every day, almost all day since I'm on summer break and it seems that the biting has not subsided, in fact, might be getting worse. Is there anything that you can suggest? The pennies in a can method does scare her, but will I be overdoing it (and thus causing the scare factor to be lost) if I do it every time she bites?
Do you suggest picking one way and sticking to it or trying all the suggestions given in this thread and on other threads in the forum?
Thanks so much everyone!

Hi misskris,

Congratulations on your new addition to the family! Puppies are so cute but they are handful when they are awake

I also have a 3 mos old foster puppy and he has been doing really well. I have enrolled him in a puppy class and he has been not only learning basic commands but also being socialized with other pups and their owners.

I strongly recommend you start taking your pup to one of those classes.

I understand biting/nipping really bothers us people and it hurts a lot especially with those tiny baby teeth

Does your pup have a play mate? It is best to have other pups and dogs to play bite. Fortunately my foster pup gets to bite one of my older dogs who tells him to stop when it gets too much.

Biting is a natural behavior of puppies so I am not so worried but they need to learn what they can bite and what they shouldn't. What I have been doing is to offer him alternate things to bite whenever he bites my hand, pajama pants, etc. When puppies are teething, they need something to bite; Kongs, Nylobones, lawhides, hooves, stuffed toys, squeaky toys, tennis balls, etc.

When your pup bites you, tell her "No" in a firm and calm voice and give her something else to bite. Being so smart (being a border collie mix) she will learn this rather quickly because she minds your being upset. When she keeps biting you, give her a time-out. That would hurt her feeling and eventually she will learn not to get you upset to avoid the time-out (which is a punishment without physically hurting her).

I am attaching a few photos of Jake biting Chelsea, his playmate and Holly, his big sister who is teaching him how to play in good manner