8 w/o puppy air biting at my face

[tanya123]

I recently adopted an 7week old Puppy who is sweet funny and playful. BUT sometimes when I kneel down to pick her up or if I stop playing she air snaps at my nose. Sometimes even nipping it lightly. I’m so so worried this is an early indication of aggression. My partner and I wanted a gentle pup as we are planning to have children in the next year

Should I be worried my puppy is developing aggressive behaviour or is she just playing? (She’s never growls or curled her lips when air snapping)

 

[cooluel]

@tanya123 Where did you get a 7 week old puppy? She should still be with her mom. No, your puppy is not aggressive, she is a baby. Puppies use their mouths to play and learn about the world. She is simply playing with you. She will continue to bite you for a long time as she grows and learns. You can try to redirect her, or walk away from her when she bites. But the best thing would be for her to find a playmate to teach her.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@cooluel Not saying it’s the right thing to do but some states allow pups to go home at 7 weeks, I believe Wisconsin is one of them.

 

[tanya123]

@cooluel She was just reaching the 8 week mark when we picked her up

 

[princewhin]

@tanya123 It’s not aggression at this stage. She’s just playing with her mouth like puppies do. She needs to be taught what is OK to play bite and how rough is too rough. Usually her littermates and mama would teach her this, but it sounds like she may have left them too early. Find some vaccinated older dogs that you know are well behaved for some play dates. Don’t freak out when the older dogs gently snaps or growls at her. That’s when they’re teaching her that enough is enough.

 

[palmequinox]

@tanya123 Puppies at that age do not show aggression. She’s just playing

 

[uniqueperception]

@tanya123 Like, I don’t mean to be rude but did you do any research before getting a puppy? This is a completely normal and expected behaviour from a puppy.

Read the wiki, it’s excellent. If you didn’t know this there’s likely a whole load of other stuff you should learn about too.

 

[tanya123]

@uniqueperception I have an older dog but never had to go through this with her. She was more of a chaser vs nipple/biter when she was a puppy

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@tanya123 That is how dogs initiate play, my 1 year and 3 months old dog still does that, I dont mind it, he is careful.

 

[basharg]

@tanya123 Like everyone said, not aggression at this age. Aggression comes from fear, so if there's something you think she's fearful of, could be aggression, but if it's during play (or trying to initiate play), it's not. Generally puppies this young haven't gotten enough ingrained fear to be aggressive because they're so young.

 

[mezzoo0]

@tanya123 My Labrador used to snap at my face when she was a puppy. Caught my nose once and drew blood with her sharp little razor teeth. It happened when she got over excited. She stopped biting completely after she finished teething and she is lovely now.

Your puppy is too young to be aggressive. Even if she was growling or curling her lip it could still be play. I mean this in a nice way - please do some research because if you do discipline your pup for normal behaviours like growling then you may do more damage than good. Give her lots of opportunities to socialise with other dogs once she has had her vaccines. And make sure she is getting enough sleep. When my pup started getting nippy she often was just over stimulated and needed a nap.

 

[jajejllc]

@tanya123 I'm sorry to be like that but you got a lot to learn! It's a puppy. They'll bite anything but not because they're aggressive. That's just what they do. Puppies are crazy little demons and most of them are not calm! They will calm down eventually but you have to train them and know what you're doing. Please read up on positive reinforcement to help them become their best selfs. Also puppies shouldn't be separated from their parents before 8 weeks. Please inform yourself or you're in for a lot of trouble!

 

[tanya123]

Just to clarify she was just the tail end of the 7 weeks when we took her hike. Vet approved. Her biting (when she gets us) is very gentle so I know she’s learned biting inhibition. Just worried that the snapping is a different deeper rooted problem but sounds like it’s just playfulness

 

[tanakh1]

@tanya123 This is very normal. I highly recommend puppy training though! A certified trainer, whatever you can afford- petsmart classes work. As your puppy grows you may run into more questions like this and having training will help you and your puppy so much. They will teach you to redirect this behavior so it will stop. For now, if she bites you, yelp like a puppy if it’s hard and then ignore her and redirect her with a toy or something better. If she’s too excited crate her for a few minute with a toy to calm down.

 

[dashayurchenko]

@tanya123 Load up on toys!