My pup Max wont stop play biting me and its starting to get frustrating and it dosent feel good either. I have tried holding his mouth shut and looking him in the eyes while saying no firmly. I have tried putting him in his create for up to 20 mins. I have tried scruffing him and telling him no but nothing seems to work. I dont know what else to do because he does it with my daughter too and she is only 3. He dosent leave marks on her but he leaves scratches on my hands. He is a ACD so I know that they were bread to use their mouths and he has lots of toys and bones to chew on. He is almost 4 months old. I have been trying to teach him not to mouth humans since we got him at 3 months old. I was wondering if I should try to spray bitter apple on my hands. He seems to not mind the bitter apple tho so I dont know if that would work. He mouths me when I try to pat or play with him. It dosent seem to matter if he is excited or not. Either way he mouths me. I would like some info if anyone can help it would be nice.
This is a copy of a post I sent to another forum user but I feel it applies the same here. Puppies tend to be very chewy and this doesn't stop until after they've finished teething unfortunately. One way I've found to stop them biting me is to make them see how strong they're little teeth are. When she goes to bite you, using a free hand grab over the top of her muzzle and put your thumb and 3rd finger onto her upper lips and push them into her mouth and round so they are in contact with her little teeth. Put a little pressure on and she will let out a little squeak when she feels their sharpness. Now the important thing in this case is to not use excessive force in any part of the procedure, and as soon as she realises it is unpleasant then let her go. This will not cause her more than a seconds discomfort as long as you are gentle. If you do it everytime she goes to bite you she will learn quickly that if she goes to bite you, somehow she gets bitten herself, which she doesnt like. After you have done this offer her toys to chew on, she will realise that biting them is not uncomfortable and so will do this preferably over you.
The bad tasting stuff on your hands could work but if he doesn't mind it then its not going to be very effective! Try some of the liquids you can get to stop kids biting their nails, these might be more unpleasant.
Ok I will try that and see if it works. What other liquids should I use? I dont really know what is or isnt poisonious to puppies so I am not comfortable doing that until I know what I can use. Thank you for the advice.
just like Becks mentioned puppies do mouth a lot, especially when they are teething. One thing you can also try is to simply press on her tongue when she is biting you. Just move whichever finger or part of your hand she is chewing further and deeper into her mouth and apply pressure onto her tongue. It's not painful, it's just uncomfortable and will her make move back and release her grip. As soon as she does it praise her (with a treat) and give her a toy to chew on.
Another thing you might want to do is get her checked out by a vet to make sure that she hasn't got any teething problems that are causing her discomfort.
Some vets recommend to use vaseline with a little bit of cayenne pepper in it. It's got a sharp taste and is not poisonous. However I would always recommend to use the tongue method and lots of praise for good behavior first.
I am trying to use the lip over the teeth method but he just keeps moving his lip and bites me harder. I have also tried pressing on his toung and that isnt working either he just keeps biting more and harder. Is this normal? My hands and arms just cant take it any more. I will try the cyanne pepper and I hope itll work. I am going to take him to the vet soon. Well thank you for the advice.
if the vet rules out that it is a health related issue (teething, sore gum etc) you might have to take a different approach if you dog is fighting back (biting harder, not backing off) Some dogs are very confident and will try to challenge your role as the leader. If they do that you should not give in and test your strengths, as the dog will have a stronger jaw and realize that too. You will simply need to ignore him. As soon as he starts to bite say "NO" in a very firm and confident voice, take your hands away quickly and walk away. If you can put him in a "time out" room and leave him there for a few minutes until he has calmed down. You might have to do that repeatedly for the first day, but I'm sure you will see a positive effect soon. Dogs are pack animals and the worst thing for them is not to get attention. If you can't put him in a "time out" room then simply ignore him for a few minutes. No eye contact, no talking or touching. Pretend he is not there. His behavior might get worse before it gets better, so be prepared for that. Let us know how you get on. John
