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Biting problem with my 5 week old Dobe

Dob3rman Dec 05, 2004 02:38 PM

Now at 5 weeks, this dog is super smart, hes learned to use his puppy pads of the time, hes also learned to sit. BUT for some reason he cant learn to quit biting, If u put a toy in his face it only amuses him for a second before hes going for ur arm or hand. I tell him NO NO NO in what seems can raise to really loud volumes. Hes such a cute lil feller i know for a fact u should never strike a doberman but i cant get him to stop, i was wondering if anyone had the same problems and if u knew how to fix it. Now I read the reason for this can be fear, trust and/or because he was taken from the liter early and is using u as a liter mate. Because they learn to control their temper and when/why/how to bite with other puppies...Help me pleez...also ive noticed hes slowed down since ive taught him some tricks and let him eat whip cream(oops) outta my hand...thanx...Peace

Replies (6)

joce Dec 05, 2004 05:40 PM

it is probally because he was taken away from his littermates and mother too early. They are the ones that teach them not to bite, or at least not hard. We had the same problem with my husky who we got at six weeks. We didn't bring our dobie home untill he was 12 weeks so that wouldn't happen again. A behaviorist could probally help you and tell you the best way to carrect the dog. The vet told us to grab her lower jaw if she bit us but she always thought we were playing.
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Dob3rman Dec 05, 2004 10:13 PM

ya, ill holler 'NO' and he will look azt my face and snap, or i try to move him away as punishment and he'll bite my hand thinking im playing, his bites can hurt like he// at times too

MaryK Dec 05, 2004 11:40 PM

The problem is due to the fact that he was removed from his littermates too early. Many states have laws prohibiting this! Why on earth would the breeder let the puppy go this early? Why on earth would you have purchased a puppy this young? If it were me, I'd take him back to his littermates PRONTO.

This is what puppies do. They explore the world with their mouth just like babies do - you see them picking up everything and putting it in their mouths. Well, puppies do the same thing. Littermates teach them bite inhibition. Quite frankly, you may be in for more trouble in the future by making this purchase at this time and by buying from a breeder so unknowledgeable. Makes me wonder what else they don't know/do ...

Dob3rman Dec 07, 2004 02:38 PM

well outta his litter he only had one litter mate(another mate). so it really wouldnt of helped tremendously, part of its teething, playfulness ans not beingg around his bro that long, ill talk to an obedience trainer

Dob3rman Dec 08, 2004 05:37 PM

I talked to some ppl at PETsMART and a lot of them and one woman who owned one all said he should eventually grow out of it, i took him up there to let him socialize a little bit and see other animals then took him to get his shots

MaryK Dec 08, 2004 09:25 PM

It is an extremely bad idea to be taking an unvaccinated puppy to areas where there are other dogs, especially dogs that you don't know. Everyone and their uncle brings their dogs to Petsmart and they're not all healthy. Unvaccinated puppies are vulnerable to illness.

I understand that puppies need socialization but it should be done carefully with people you know well that have dogs you know are vaccinated and healthy.

Until your puppy is fully vaccinated, and that won't be until 4 months of age, you need to be careful about where you take him.

Additionally, the people at Petsmart may be right and they may be wrong about him just growing out of it. While it's true that puppies do explore their worlds with their mouths, their early upbringing along with their inherent temperaments come into play as well. It seems apparent that you purchased the puppy from someone who knew very little about raising a litter properly so one has to assume that the breeding was probably more than a little haphazard as well. Who knows what kind of temperaments the ancestors of the puppy had? If the breeder didn't care enough to raise the litter properly, chances are they also didn't research the pedigree.
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