mollys behavior

[janey]

hia all.
i think this subject has been covered many times,but need to get reassurance myself.
molly is now 3 months old,but she is very snappy and bitey,so much so that i have a big groove on my arm were her teeth made contact.it really shook me up.i also cant trust her with my daughter at the moment.although daughter,who is 7,has spent so much time running away to avoid holes in her clothing,or worse,molly thinks she is fair game and gives chase.

what i really want to know is would it be worth getting a trainer in one to one,to help us stop this behaviour,or is she too young.
i know she is only a baby,and needs to be shown the way,i certainly didnt think it would be a picnic,but i didnt envisage so much mouthing and biting.

if anyone has any techniques,anything is worth a try.

thanx
janey and molly

janey and molly

[*Jay*]

My Vegas was terrible for this as a puppy - it felt like he was permanently attached to my ankles   Some pups do nip more than others but, regardless, the key is consistency. Pick a method of dealing with the problem and stick with it - a lot of people chop and change their ways of dealing with it but, in doing that, the pup will just end up confused and you will get nowhere fast.

The method I used was 'time out'. Whenever he nipped me, he got told no and then immediately put out of the room. After a minute or two, he was let back in. Every time he nipped, he got put out with the minimum of fuss.  Puppies like to be a part of things so they will soon realise that the biting behaviour will distance them from the family and things should improve. In the beginning it may feel like you aren't getting anywhere but be consistent and she will eventually learn. 

[Cob-Web]

Aw Janey, I understand completely; Molo used to dangle from my ankles, and wrecked loads of clothes this way 

It sounds perfectly normal puppy behaviour, although it can be a bit of a shock to start with  I agree with Gill, too - pick a method of dealing with it that seems to work and use it consistantly; Molly will learn, eventually 

My daughter was terrified of Molo's teeth when he was a pup (she was three!), she used to sit on the back of the sofa where he couldn't reach her  First of all I tried to keep them apart, but that didn't really work so eventually, I taught her how to "stand like a statue", and then let Molo into the room. when he approached her (standing competely still), I sat a small distance away and attracted Molo's attention with treats, toys and an excited voice  He came to me instead of her (she was still and boring, after all  ). It took lots of repeats of this, and a few tears from everybody, but eventually he got the message and now they are the best of friends. I still don't leave them unsupervised though - and I would say for the first year, she tolerated, rather than enjoyed him, due to his over-exhuberance 

[MaxG]

Janey - I PROMISE it passes - we thought Max was the devil incarnate for a few weeks - those razor sharp puppy teeth destroyed so many items of clothing & gave us all scratches & puncture wounds!!!! 

I agree with Gill & Rachel - decide what you feel comfortable with & just repeat, repeat, repeat - Molly will eventually get it, bless her - then, she'll grow out of it & one day you'll suddenly realise that she hasn't done it for a day or 2 or 3...!! 

We used to stand absolutely still, say 'NO!' very firmly & then totally ignore him for a few seconds until he stopped - then, we'd carry on with what we were doing - if he stopped, we'd give him tons of praise & distract him with play or food etc but if he kept trying it, we'd ignore him & walk around doing whatever & he soon used to get fed up & slope off in a huff!! 

[ali]

Everyone's right, and I'm speaking as someone who has posted a couple of times in the last few months with concerns about my puppy being too 'aggressive'. 

I've learnt that our pup really is being a pup and that they do just need consistent guidance if they are going to learn to stop. The only reason I'd thought it might be something else is because Barkley (now 4 1/2 months old) has been so much more bitey than the dogs that I grew up with as a child. It took us all by surprise, I guess.

We've found that standing still and ignoring Barkley doesn't often work as he simply picks up a toy and plays with it until we move again, at which point he returns to pouncing on your feet or whatever other activity he was doing beforehand. So we're trying simply saying a firm 'no' and then walking out of the room, making no eye contact with him from then on. This often means being nipped on the backs of our legs a little as we leave, but it really does seem to work as he always sits at the door waiting for us to come back and, so far, he has always been completely calm again when we re-enter the room, even if it's only a few seconds later. This method really seems to make him take notice of the fact that we aint happy with is behaviour.

Good luck!

[janey]

thanks guys 
feel bit better knowing it WILL pass.we have been trying placing her out of the room for a minute,but with 5 of us in the house,its not easy being consistent,(i will do it,but others dont always.)but going to approach it with gusto now
janey x

[Pammy]

it is really critical that everyone is consistent otherwise you will never succeed and likely make things worse. They all need to realise the importance of all treating your puppy the same and how much harder she will find it if they don't