15 months old and still biting - do I have a monster on my hands?
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maranatha1
New member
@muted Wow I could’ve written this myself. I have a 13 month of labradoodle and she very big on excitement biting. It’s completely playful but it’s AWFUL on walks and makes me hate walking her sometimes.
When she bites I try to just stand on her leash and not engage but it can be sooo frustrating and embarrassing when other people are near! It comes out of no where. My trainer said to have her wear a collar (we usually harness on walks) and grab her collar and ignore her other than that when she starts to bite. It’s worked… medium okay but maybe you’ll have better luck.
When she bites I try to just stand on her leash and not engage but it can be sooo frustrating and embarrassing when other people are near! It comes out of no where. My trainer said to have her wear a collar (we usually harness on walks) and grab her collar and ignore her other than that when she starts to bite. It’s worked… medium okay but maybe you’ll have better luck.
fred_scott
New member
@maranatha1 We're going through the same issue with our almost 6 months old puppy. Inside the house, it's not a big deal, because redirection and ignoring works well, but during walks, he starts biting us out of nowhere because he's overexcited. I've never tried standing on his leash, though I am doing something similar: I hold his collar with one hand, his harness with the other, I make him sit, I put myself behind him while holding him gently in the sit position and I wait a few seconds to let him calm down. It works temporarily, we are able to continue our walk, but after a bit, he starts again out of nowhere.
I hope he will eventually snap out of it as I've seen some suggest, but at the same time, I'm afraid that if we don't find a way to make him stop now while he's young, he'll keep this habit during his adulthood.
Anyways, good luck, I hope we'll both eventually find a way to resolve this undesired behavior.
I hope he will eventually snap out of it as I've seen some suggest, but at the same time, I'm afraid that if we don't find a way to make him stop now while he's young, he'll keep this habit during his adulthood.
Anyways, good luck, I hope we'll both eventually find a way to resolve this undesired behavior.
maranatha1
New member
@fred_scott I’ve also heard some people say they tether the dog to a pole or something near by and then turn away and dont engage until they calm down.I’ve heard it works really well but I feel like it would be hard for me to do logistically!
fred_scott
New member
@maranatha1 Yeah, I've seen that advice too, but likewise, there are not too many poles where I walk. Another advice I've been given that I have yet to try is to ignore him and use a pet convincer to distract him and hopefully make him stop.
@fred_scott I’d genuinely worry she’d just chomp her way through the pole 
birdinmypalm
New member
@muted As a fellow land shark owner, I commiserate with your pain. I found with mine at least that nipping and biting was the best way she found to express a desire of hers. A found that a lot of tips didn’t work out of the gate, so here’s what I’ve been doing that works:
The OUCH method needed to be a proper high-pitched squeal that took me a moment to dial-in, and needed some gusto for my pup to buy into the idea that it actually hurt.
Leaving the room or ignoring my pooch only really worked if I properly effed off and did something else. Though only if the excitement was at a level where she would listen with difficulty.
Redirection to a toy only really works for the highest levels of excitement, because my pup just needed to do literally anything to get out her excitement. The toy also needs to be very high-value. Haven’t puzzled this one out fully quite yet to be honest.
I found that exciting my dog in a controlled and measured manner, and asking for a little obedience in that state, as part of training, has done wonders. It seemed to train the ability to think while excited. It’s a work in progress because there’s only so much I can excite her with vigorous butt scritches and exuberant play, but I can see her thinking about a chomp, then think better of it.
Thanks for reading my Ted talk, and hope this helps you!
The OUCH method needed to be a proper high-pitched squeal that took me a moment to dial-in, and needed some gusto for my pup to buy into the idea that it actually hurt.
Leaving the room or ignoring my pooch only really worked if I properly effed off and did something else. Though only if the excitement was at a level where she would listen with difficulty.
Redirection to a toy only really works for the highest levels of excitement, because my pup just needed to do literally anything to get out her excitement. The toy also needs to be very high-value. Haven’t puzzled this one out fully quite yet to be honest.
I found that exciting my dog in a controlled and measured manner, and asking for a little obedience in that state, as part of training, has done wonders. It seemed to train the ability to think while excited. It’s a work in progress because there’s only so much I can excite her with vigorous butt scritches and exuberant play, but I can see her thinking about a chomp, then think better of it.
Thanks for reading my Ted talk, and hope this helps you!
@birdinmypalm It helps a lot, thank you! The controlled excitement is such a good idea, will give it a try!
outlawingrace
New member
tvdocproducer
New member
@muted Hi! I had the same problem with my big guy (Labrador) and he also nipped with his front teeth when he’s excited but he’d cling onto clothes or play bite our hands even now and he’s almost 4. It’s definitely not aggression but excitement because he only does it when we come home and he greets us at the door.
You should have a toy wherever you enter the house from or nearby. Literally as soon as she starts to bite you or an article of clothing, completely grab a toy and just shove it in her mouth and if she tries to aim elsewhere SHOVEE it in her mouth until she plays with it. My big guy stopped chewing clothes and when we get home he says hi and then rushes to grab a toy in his mouth as he wags his whole bum to say hi. It took a while but it’s better than them chewing on our clothes still!
Another thing I did was every time we played tug I called it “tug tug” so when he starts to get playful and I see him looking to chew our hands or clothes I tell him to go find his “tug” which is random toys scattered around the house (pssssht messy…) and it’s also mental stimulation for them. Eventually she should find a toy whenever she feels like play biting you if you call out tug
You should have a toy wherever you enter the house from or nearby. Literally as soon as she starts to bite you or an article of clothing, completely grab a toy and just shove it in her mouth and if she tries to aim elsewhere SHOVEE it in her mouth until she plays with it. My big guy stopped chewing clothes and when we get home he says hi and then rushes to grab a toy in his mouth as he wags his whole bum to say hi. It took a while but it’s better than them chewing on our clothes still!
Another thing I did was every time we played tug I called it “tug tug” so when he starts to get playful and I see him looking to chew our hands or clothes I tell him to go find his “tug” which is random toys scattered around the house (pssssht messy…) and it’s also mental stimulation for them. Eventually she should find a toy whenever she feels like play biting you if you call out tug
@tvdocproducer Love this! I do a similar version of tug tug, she knows the names of some of her toys so if I go “where is your broccoli? Go find broccoli” she will usually go off and find then, then start intensely nudging me with it
tvdocproducer
New member
@muted Yep! Hahaha same with my little boy. Well, not so little anymore… he was a land shark- the worst of the worst. He’s 4 now and I raised him solo since I was 14 years old. I’ve done a lot of wrong since I was a little kid but he’s definitely the best family dog any of us could ask for now.
You should ask where is her broccoli whenever she starts to get nippy. I usually do a firm “no!” “Nuh uh.” And then ask where his tug is and he’ll go grab it and put it in his mouth. Not to play with it, but literally to hold something in his mouth so he gets his excited feelings out on the toy in his mouth and not our hands.
You should ask where is her broccoli whenever she starts to get nippy. I usually do a firm “no!” “Nuh uh.” And then ask where his tug is and he’ll go grab it and put it in his mouth. Not to play with it, but literally to hold something in his mouth so he gets his excited feelings out on the toy in his mouth and not our hands.
distracted1
New member
@distracted1 When she’s excited, we try to calm her by getting her to sit/lie down. If she’s too excited I sometimes scatter treats on the floor for her to find but she does it at lightning speed
distracted1
New member
iustusetpeccator
New member
@iustusetpeccator Yet to find a noise that stops her! Sometimes an exasperated AHHHHH gets her attention for a second but that’s about it!