Help! Our 13 week old puppy won't stop biting. 😔

[carlim]

We have a 13 week old bitch who we've had for 4 weeks now, she's doing great in everything but will not stop biting?! If we're in the kitchen she just sits by our feet but as soon as we sit on the sofa she flies up at you & bites, no amount of 'no biting' etc works she just comes back for more. We also have two young children who she thinks are her personal chew toy so she ends up spending lots of time in her cage. 😔 what are we doing wrong???

[elaine.e]

Puppies have to explore the world with their mouths because they don't have hands! In addition, yours will be teething at the moment so she'll be looking for things to chew and bite on. If she's a confident puppy she may also be thinking that the sofa thing is a game where she can throw herself about and get attention from you

Have you tried re-directing her onto a toy or a chew when she starts to get bitey? If you can get her interested in something that she's allowed to have in her mouth you can praise her for that instead of telling her off and crating her. You can also try giving her things that will soothe while she's teething. Some puppies like a frozen carrot to gnaw on, or you could buy some cheap tea towels, tear them into large strips, tie knots in the strips, dampen them and freeze them.

Try not to put her in her crate as a punishment or she may start to resent going in there. Her crate should be her den and her haven, so she needs to think of it as somewhere safe, peaceful and quiet that she can take herself off to for a sleep or a rest.

I don't know how old your children are, but if they're too young to be taught that your puppy isn't a toy and needs to be respected, or if they're becoming frightened of her because of the biting, it would be better if they don't spend a lot of time together at the moment, and any time they do spend together should be supervised. Can you use a baby gate to keep them separate so that the puppy can still see you all but can't get to the children when you're not in the same room to supervise. That would also be a good time to try putting some of her daily kibble ration in a puppy kong, add a little bit of mashed banana or soft cheese or peanut butter or natural yogurt smeared inside the kong and blocking the hole, to keep her occupied and quiet while she's the other side of the baby gate. It all helps her to learn that being calm and quiet is good and rewarding. It may also help her to sleep. Puppies should be asleep much more than they're awake when young and an overtired puppy, like an overtired toddler, tends to be grumpy and to have no self control.

I'm sure others will come along with helpful ideas too. The last time I had a puppy was 6 years ago so I've forgotten a lot of the "bad" bits

[twiceover2]

I'm afraid it's pretty much par for the course with cocker puppies- nothing aggressive about it, just  a trait of a dog bred to use its mouth to retrieve.  Elaine's advice is spot on.  She will grow out of it eventually.  If she gets particularly hyper, time out really helps as it's often down to overtiredness.  I did use the crate for this, but made sure it was a positive experience by giving kongs/chews etc when the dogs went in.

[minimoo]

They call them cockerdiles  , I would freeze a kong stuffed with puppy treats and give her that to chew on, Elaine s advice is pretty much spot on they DO grow out of it but cocker pups are pretty full on but so so worth the effort in the end 

[its.sme]

You have only had her for 4 weeks and I'm afraid the Cockerdile stage lasts a lot longer then that.

I got Bea a very large toy, much bigger than her as it protected us from her teath she then started to learn that bitting the toy is fun.

Bea also loved to chew a tea towel, I think I had every teething toy you could buy at one point, remember to change the toys around on a daily basis that way your girl won't get board with them.

Elaine has it spot on probably becouse like me it was a "memorable" time of our lives

Sharon.

[PollySpaull]

Hiya,
I completely understand where you are coming from! My boy is coming up to 19 weeks old now and is still a bit of a cockerdile I'm afraid!
At first I thought it was some kind of aggressive thing, maybe I was doing something wrong, maybe he wasn't happy but now I've just realised.... It's just a cocker puppy thing!!!
He has started to calm down a bit on the mouthing and tends to be much gentler when doing it. Just keep replacing your hands/feet/arms/trousers with toys and stuff that is allowed and fun to be bitten and it will soon sort itself out!
Good luck! X


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mudmagnets]

oh yes gnasher puppy days - I got Minstrel a set of the joined teething rings, which were good because you could hold one piece of it and throw it without the pup reaching your fingers, he also had a nylabone and different puppy kongs and they all helped.

The teething stuff I bought has come in handy for Branston and is still used today (2nd teething stage)

[Mandy and Teddy]

Hmmmm Teddy is well over a year and still forgets that our arms don't need teeth bangles - when he is excited or wants a scratch or wants to play or would like to move you someplace else for whatever reason or has done a trick he is particularly proud of!
He doesn't hurt and I think if he had opposable thumbs he might give up on being  arm jewelery but I don't think I'm in a position to offer any advice 

[JeffD]

you are most likely doing nothing wrong, it will pass but it can take along time Teal was 10 months before it started to ease up and learnt how not to hurt, she is now 3 and still mouthy but in a gentle way chewing my  hands for play or attention.

As others have said please do not use the crate as punishment I needed lots of breaks from the cockerdile so every time she was put in the crate it was with a little treat and a bit of fuss.

[misspopsicle]

I'm in much the same stage as you - Henry is almost 9 weeks and we've had him for nearly 2 weeks. He's very teethy just now!! He likes to be on the sofa with me, so if he starts biting I either put him on the floor or move to another seat on my own. I think he's realising a little bit as he sits down quietly looking at me for a few seconds before starting again! I bought him a King Cozie which he loves munching on. He got hold og my sis in law's car keys the other day too, seemed to love chomping on the leather key fob. I thought I'd be able to find something similar especially for dogs but no such luck yet.

[Mudmagnets]

I bought these for Minstrel when he was a nippy puppy a couple of years back and all are now being used by  Branston

They may help:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0002DGM7K/ref=pd_sim_199_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=08JM7R32D14RAGJRTMZP

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nylabone-N600P-Puppy-Teething-Rings/dp/B002C7GQ0C/ref=pd_bxgy_199_text_y 

and this one for especially for Branston

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Puppy-Kong-Binkie-Dogs-Small/dp/B000FZ9YB6/ref=sr_1_2?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1436642779&sr=1-2&keywords=kong+dummy

[carlim]

Thanks for all your replies, we are doing pretty much everything that's been suggested so that's One good thing, she has lots of toys inc the kong. She's also commandeered a couple of the kids old toys that we've let her keep. The crate is used more for a time out & there are always toys inside it but she just curls up & goes to sleep as soon as she's put in it & does also go in there of her own accord occasionally. We are also finding that unless she's put in there sometimes she will just keep going & not sleep much at all...saying that this weekend she has been much better so fingers crossed were getting there.

[PennyB]

Its all about patience and positive training and yes it seems to take forever but you'll get there

[KeresleyKate]

Hi. Its so upsetting when your adorable puppy becomes a little monster.  This worked for us last year and was recommended by a really good trainer. Try the distractions and chew toys first but if they don't work try this. When they bite you (or  anything else they shouldn't)  without speaking or looking at the puppy stand up and walk out of the room for no more than 2 minutes and then come back. Repeat until they stop. If you can't go out try attaching an indoor training lead so you can just pick it up and put the puppy in another room for the 2 minutes. Often puppies are bad because they are really tired and don't know it and its not wrong to put them in the crate for a nap.  They do need a lot of sleep.  I heartily recommend Pippa Mattinson's Book "The Happy Puppy" too.

I also recommend ice cubes as treats and lots of card board boxes to play with - if you can stand the mess.

As I said my boy was a bitey monster last year, I was so upset but now he's right cuddle monster

Good luck

[PollySpaull]

Definitely recommend pup getting enough sleep! At first I thought he was having too much but they really need it! He's tired today and he's probably slept (during the day time) for about 6 hours so far! He's asleep now in fact! However much sleep you think they might need... Double it!!! Lots of rest definitely has made Monty a very happy pup c


Love from Polly and Monty!