Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 5 month old Shih Tzu that want stop biting , not in aggression but biting in play , she has brought blood a few times now and I don't know what to do , I want to keep her but I need to somehow get a handle on this , I have 2 small grandchildren and Im not able to let them play with her in fear that she may bit one of them . We would hate really bad to get rid of her now because we've fallen in love with her, One other thing of Im having a problem with and thats keeping her brushed down , along with the biting she freaks out when we brush her or bath her . Any help would be appreciated .

Hi! There is a wonderful Shih Tzu forum here with many terrific Tzu owners who could really help you out. You should post the same question in that forum as well.
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Bob

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

There's a cheap book you can get from www.dogwise.com called "Preventing Dog Aggression" that teaches you how to handle a rambunctious puppy like this.

A 5 month old really is just using it's mouth inappropriately and needs to be taught putting teeth on humans is not acceptable. In my house, this act earns my dogs a "time out." We immediately stop doing what we were doing, I stand up, walk away, do not give them access to my hands, and ignore them for a minute or so (they must settle themselves down). Tugging on my pants or barking for my attention gets them nothing in return. I don't reinforce positively or negatively, they just get neutral from me. Once settled down, we interact again, althoguh typically at a lower level of stimulation than before. I'd also redirect them to something appropriate to chew on at that point. Carrots are a great substitute as well as Kongs stuffed with goodies and bully sticks. Puppies need to chew, but it's not ok to chew on me or people. I too have young kids in the house.

This isn't somethign that will work overnight, but consistent non-reinforcement for an undesired behavior will give them the message over time.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles

Make sure that no one is doing anything that is inadvertaly rewarding the behaviour like tussling and rough housing, some people also say that too much face petting can encourage this (don't know myself it this is true or not but it is something you can try). Keep a spray bottle handy and try to catch him in the act and surprise him by giving him a spray in the face tell him no and get up and ignore him til he is being good again, then tell him his is a good boy. Pups still understand that things hurt so you can try yelping too, if he nips yelp really loud and get up and walk away...hopfully he'll soon figure out when he is being to rough the fun is over. Hope this helps

-My Diamond