She keeps biting me and just wont stop...

[noisypup]

Hey all...I posted a few days ago as my little 9 week old working cocker has become a little devil in the last few weeks crying and howling etc...so we brought a cage...and the cage has def helped us...she no longer cries....well, only for about 3 or 4 mins when first put in it but then stops and sleeps straight through till we wake and no mess on the kitchen floor...actually no accidents in the house at all since we got the crate which is AMAZING, she even seems to like it!

But....she just wont stop attacking me! Seriously....now I know all pups play bite and i understand that totally...so I got her toys, I got her lots of toys, she has bones, rawhide chews, balls, plastic key things all sorts...BUT she doesnt want any of them she only want to eat me!

For the last 3 days I have had to walk around in my partners steel toe capped boots and its making me MISERABLE!

I love Ally to bits, but I am becomming so upset with her as I am the one that has been home with her since we got her, so in effect I have been the one to welcome her and make her feel safe, and she has a good life here with me any partner as she is adored. We dont spoil her but she gets cuddles etc, comes out in the car with me, has socialised well as we always have guests popping in, has been out for rides in the car with me which makes her sleep and is so cute.

When she is naughty and bites me I tried to ignore her, I tried to turn my back, I tried saying no, I tried rewarding her when she stops, I tried putting her in the garden but I cant do anything to get her to stop biting me. The minute I let her out of her crate I dont fuss her, I open the door so she can go toilet..which she does...then she runs straight back in the kitchen then i give her cuddles but as soon as I put her down, she kind of goes back on all fours and starts growling at me then lunges forwards barking and bites my ankles and toes, she has also started jumping up and going for my thigs and my trousers, she tugs at the bottom of my trousers and just WONT get off no matter what and she has hurt me a lot already and ruined 2 pairs of trousers and she sinks her teeth in to them and then wriggles her head side to side like a dammed crocodile trying to kill its prey! i cant do anything to get her off so I have to try and walk away from her which just ends up ripping my trousers, the only thing I can do is to leave the room or put her back in her crate...she cries so I wait till she stops then let her out, but she is straight back to my trousers or feet and it makes me feel like she hates me...I seriously dont know what to do as it is not making my time with her happy at all...she is spending about 80% of her time in her crate or in the kitchen alone at the mo as we cant be in the room with her and this isnt what I expected from a puppy. she had me in tears last night as my partner went away for 2 weeks yesterday so I am home alone which I hate, and wanted to cuddle up with her in the front room, but she just wont settle and relax with me, all she wants to do is bite and play. The first week we had her home she was a cuddle monster and all she wanted to do was sit on my feet or under my legs or on my lap and cuddle...but this week has been a different story and I dont know why?

She drew blood on my partners leg the other night while he was watching tv..when we bathed her we couldn't get her dry as she just bites our hand and the towel and tries to tug it away from us, I tried cleaning her eyes the other night and got bitten lots, I tried to brush her while she was sleepy and she growled and snapped at me and moved away like a little madam...I just cant do anything with her at the moment?

Does anyone have any other advise for me bar me bringing in a dog trainer for behaviour training lessons as they are going to cost me money that I just dont have at the mo and will be a last resort!

Thanks for your reply in advance..!!!


Kit xxx

[BettyBoo]

Don't worry it will get better. Betty was exactly the same with me, nipping and biting my toes and ankles, leaping up and sinking her teeth into my legs too. And my hands were in a terrible state. She didn't really bother my husband though
Everytime she was like this we picked her up and put her behind the babygate in the kitchen or put her in another room by herself for a few minutes. I can't remember when it stopped TBH but it took quite a while. I know it's difficult but try and keep calm and she'll learn eventually

[Jane S]

Hope you don't mind but I've changed the title of your thread as I think it could be misleading to use the word "attack" for a very young puppy who is playbiting. Some pups are much bitier than others - your pup is not being vicious & she's not attacking you, she's just using her teeth to play as she did when she was with with her siblings in the litter. Did you ever visit your pup's litter and see them all playing together? If you did, you'll know that pups playing together use their teeth constantly - it's how they explore the world and learn about bite inhibition. It does take time and patience to teach a pup not to bite fragile human skin but all pups do grow out of this phase eventually - you just have to keep working at it and not expect too much too soon (your pup is only 9 weeks old). Sometimes pups which leave their litters too soon can take longer to train not to play-bite so I'm wondering whether you perhaps got your pup at 6 weeks instead of the more normal 8 weeks?

Also some commercial dog foods can make puppies more "hyper" than others so you may want to think about changing your the food you feed, just to see if it makes a difference. Some owners have noticed a radical difference by changing to a brand which doesn't use artificial additives etc

[noisypup]

I visited her twice at the breeders and never witnessed them biting her siblings or the breeder once? In fact she never showed any aggression at all and was quite happy playing GENTLY in her play pen with her brother and sister, as she was with us the first week.

No Ally is Kennel Club registered to me now as I have switched her over formerly from the breeder, her date of birth is 6th April 08 so she is def 9 weeks plus now. I collected her from the breeders at exactly 8 weeks along with her brother and sister who got collected the same day so she isnt too young or didnt leave her siblings too young.

She is fed on Chudley puppy and I started a thread on this in the feeding section, a few people have messaged me and said it sound more like she 'is hitting the wall' rather than being hyper and that this is quite normal for a cocker to have a mad half hour. I have thought about changing her food to someting else more 'natural' which I am still researching now..

I really wanted advice on how best to stop her apart from caging her or putting her back in the kitchen as at present she is spending 90% of her time alone having 'time out'!

IShe is in the kitchen again now having time out as I let her in the lounge with me, but she insited to jump up on the sofa where I am sitting cross legged to avoid my legs being hurt, but she managed to sink her teeth in to my toes and rip the little ribbon bow off my fav slippers,  will let her back in again in a mo to start all over again..

[noisypup]

Sorry...just worked out she is 10 weeks old tommorow...

I totally understand pups playbite but I dont get why she will ONLY go for my feet and legs at the moment..she doesnt do this with any of her toys, in fact she wont even pick them up and play with them?

I just wonder how long I am going to have to keep shutting her in the kitchen and walking around in these heavy boots - making a cup of tea at the moment is a 10 minute struggle of will, nerves and dominance!!

 

[Jane S]

I think you must have visited the litter when they were tired Puppies usually go at it hammer and tongs when they're playing together - all our litters do it (and need to do it to develop bite inhibition) and all grow up to be gentle, affectionate adults. Sorry about confusing your pup's age - wasn't sure how old she was as you say 9 weeks in this thread and also that she's been a devil for the last few weeks (perhaps it just seems like you've had her longer )

There's no quick fix solution to puppy biting - it's just something you have to work at and persevere with but you will get there if you are consistent & keep repeating the time-outs etc. By the way, she's going for your legs/feet because they move -a moving target is much more fun to play with than a toy that just lies on the ground doing nothing. It's really not because she's trying to hurt you

I'd recommend reading this article (if you haven't already) as it's very good at explaining why puppies need to bite : http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm

[Sheryl]

It is maybe because your feet and legs are moving which makes them infinitely more desirable than a toy that doesn't.  We had this with Kali for ages.  Trying to brush her was a nightmare because she turned into the Tasmanian Devil   Hang in there, keep the boots on and ride it out.  It does get better and you could start a new fashion trend

Posted at the same time as Jane. 

[noisypup]

No worries at all Jane and thanks that article looks good, il have a read through in a mo!

Sheryl - there is no way this would become a trend - I feel like a punk walking around the house in my jeans rolled up to the knee and huge size 11 steel toe capped boots on as I am only a size 7 so they flop around and I walk like a duck - I may as well have my scuba flippers on!!

It is very funny and I get very funny looks when I open the front door - this morning it was my red tartan effect pyjama bottoms and the boots that got a look from the delivery driver!

[EmmaA]

Hi Kit

All I can say is it will get better. Puppies are pretty horrible at times but she is not showing aggression she is just play biting and it will take a while to learn what is acceptable. Eric still has a little go at my hands now (7 months) when he gets over excited playing.
Hang in the chuck, your little lass will be your perfect companion in no time.

Good luck

[noisypup]

Thanks guys, everyone keeps telling me it will get better and im sure it will too- its just not proving to be much fun at the moment and its really getting to me...especially as my partner is away and im home alone..just me and Ally and she is no company at all at the moment - just a terror not a companion! 

xx

[Karma]

I know it seems awful at the minute, but it is just normal puppy behaviour.  Honey had me in tears several times while she got her biting under control...  
Are you doing any training with her?  Even a young pup can start to learn the basics, and it might help you see some positives from having her (which can be hard when you have a land-based pirhana attached to your trouser-legs!!).
You might have to teach her how to play with her toys?  We found Honey loved ragging toys (playing tug of war type games) - some people don't like to play this with pups, because it apparently starts a power struggle, but we found it was great for her to exercise her mouth without hurting us.  (She still loves these games, but will now stop if we say "give" and will let us wave it infront of her until we say "ok", so I don't think it's damaged our relationship in any way!!)  Make sure you praise her every time she so much as sniffs one of her toys, so she knows you approve of this.  It's only in the last couple of months she's actually learned how to play with balls etc properly....

Also for a young pup, a time-out should only be a few seconds, otherwise they will not understand why they are on their own - and when they are back it must be completely forgotten (easier said than done, I know).  It may mean lots of backwards and forwards from the time-out place for a while, and it is exhausting, but it is worth it in the end.  As it is, if she is away from you for longer than a few seconds, she's probably got all the "Oh, look, it's mummy" excitement, which will make her more likely to chew at you!  I think I've read that it's not the best idea to use the crate as a time-out zone, as they may learn to dislike the crate.  Simply shut a door between you and her for a few seconds, take a deep breath and start again!  If you feel yourself getting too stressed, maybe give her a Kong stuffed with something she really loves (cheese or meat paste, perhaps) to keep her occupied for a little while so that you can relax - otherwise she will pick up on your anxiety and react more to it...

It does get better, honest!
One thing that also helped for us was to give a little "yelp" (similar to the sound Honey made when she was hurt) as she made any contact with teeth - I tended to give a warning yelp and stop contact for 2 seconds and if she bit again I gave another yelp and closed a door between us for 5 seconds.  

[tiamaria]

I found once Charley could go for walks, it seemed to break the day up a little, if he was getting a little wild id put his harness on and take him out to burn some energy off - made him go to sleep for a while too! 

[Mudmagnets]

I found once Charley could go for walks, it seemed to break the day up a little, if he was getting a little wild id put his harness on and take him out to burn some energy off - made him go to sleep for a while too! 

With this in mind you could try some 'fetch' games with her, specially if she likes her victims to be moving!! get her really interested in one toy, smother a bit of her fav treat flavour on it if you have to, then repeatedly throw it for her, and hopefully you will wear her out a little too (use something big enough and soft enough so you can hold it at the same time as her if she brings it back without her nipping you and it won't break anything if you are a bit eager with the throwing ) just a suggestion - hope it helps.

Like everyone says it does improve - just does not seem like it at the moment aye

As for the food with less additives, have you considered Burns or James Wellbeloved?

You could tie a bit of rope on the toy so if she doesn't bring it back you can pull back yourself, even more fun as it moves along the floor!!!

[ali carrera]

Hi Kit,

I also have a little play biter. 

As previously suggested I have adopted the following methods;

I have invested a great deal of time with interactive play... with GENTLE play and pull games, teaching her to sit, leave and then fetch. I always let her win the toy and then at the end of the game( i dictate)...when I have her full attention withdrew toy and give her lots of praise.

I completely understand your time out method, but in adopting for such extended periods,I wonder if you are maybe missing out in the bonding that play offers

When I need a little time out from a DEMANDING puppy I make Kongs(medium pup size in my case)(she is 11 weeks) consisting of plain yoghurt, small tin of tuna in olive oil(oil drained) , and two slices of wholemeal bread. I blend them together and fill Kongs(plug small hole with a little bread) and freeze. I take the Kong out of the freezer prior to my interactive game and then give her the Kong......peace for you for around 25 minutes...and then hopefully your pup will then feel sleepy. Oh these are quite messy when they melt, so feed them to your pup outside!

PS....please remember to deduct a little from her regular feed if you use Kongs.

I hope this helps....and believe me....I do understand x

[noisypup]

Ah thanks ladies I will try all these techniques...I have to go to pets at home tommorow so will invest in some of the kongs as keep seeing them spoken about but havent got any as yet so will do this tommorow - someone else said dip a flannel in yoghurt and freeze that also as they can then suck it for ages - anyone else tried this?

So these kongs can be stuffed with anything you like can they...am I ok to give her 'adult' food as she is only 10 weeks old...I havent tried her with anything else at all yet...can she have normal plain yoghurt then...look at me all naive!!

I spoke to a dog trainer who lives near me on the phone earlier and she said it sounds like Ally is very bored and that is why she is biting me as is trying to get me to play with her and I just need to learn to teach her the right and wrong ways of playing...so after that I took her in the garden and we played ball and frizbee for about 20 mins, she hasnt learnt the fetch thing yet but def loves running around, which I have been doing with her every day anyway - but today I made extra sure I wore her out a bit more then took her indoors and rewarded her with some treats - and guess what I havent had her bite my trousers or feet since about 2.00 this afternoon..miracle!

So...I def need to work out more ways to play with her and take her mind off biting me, so I will invest in these kong toys tommorow and try the frozen flannel too....if anyone else has any more ideas please let me know as I am determined to make her sweet to me again!!

Kit xx