Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all,
I'm a first time puppy mommy and I have a 10week old Black and White Aussie. She's great so far...She has learned how to sit and she's (for the most part) quiet while in her crate. BUT, I can't stop her from biting. I've gotten lots of advice and I was told to first hold down her tongue and say 'No biting', then I was told to hold her muzzle shut and say 'no biting' and now I give her a light smack on the nose and say it. Each one has had no effect except to make her lunge at me to bite harder. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I would be eternally grateful for any help...

I think all of the things you have mentioned will only serve to teach your pup to bite even more. Puppies use their mouths for exploring their world like a human baby would use it's hands. Puppies learn from their mother what is acceptable behavior and when taken away from the mother it's up to us to continue the learning process. One of the things I would suggest would be when the puppy bites is to yell loudly OUCH or even make another loud noise and immediately leave and ignore the puppy for a few minutes and all play time ends. In time the pup will learn to not bite. It may also help to enroll the pup in obedience classes and if that isn't possible do a Google search on the NILF program. Basically what this involves is to have the dog do a simple task before it receives any attention from you.
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Bob

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

Any method you use that involves physical means to control biting/nipping can result in escalating the behavior because it's reinforces the behavior- good or bad- because it elicits and emotional response from the dog.

Since the dog is already showing it's going to continue the behavior (and really all puppies do nip/bite) and get worse, your best bet is to reduce the emotional response by: 1) Standing up and ignoring the bahavior EVERY SINGLE TIME the dog does it. 2) Replace you with an appropriate thing to chew on (boodah velvet bone, carrot, frozen washcloth, rawhide, etc). 3) Pick pup up and seperate him from you for 2 minutes or until calm (repeat as needed). Do not say a word with any of these unless maybe when redirecting to an appropriate chew item. I have dogs that got wilder when I would say things in an excited tone so saying nothing was easier. You want to mimic the behavior state you want from them- calm, cool, collected is the key.

It does take time, but not too long to see results with these methods. I didn't yelp and say no with my dogs because that seemed to heighten their arrousal and did not discourage the behavior. I also didn't hold their mouths shut or press on their tongue because I don't want my dogs to learn that physical bullying is the way to get what you want. Granted I have a breed that's prone to thinking that way anyway, so I discourage physical correction of all types and even train my dogs to heel off leash before I put the leash on them. At this point in my dog's training, a leash is basically a safety net and not a way to force them where they need to go.
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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

you've got a really young puppy, and biting is a normal thing, (altho knock on wood, I have had GSD's and aussies my entire life and have NEVER had a biting puppy machine! The luxury of spending ALOT of time with them I suppose.

Anyhow, the old saying "a tired puppy is a good puppy" is VERY true...give her appropriate things to chew on, don't encourage the biting with rough play or racing around, always have treats on you, to work on those basics with rewards,,no biting deserves a reward..

While she is still very young for to much exercise, you can certainly give her some exercise to wear her out..Big raw marrow bones that would keep her occupied (altho they could give her diarhea!)..

She sounds like a real cutey! Good luck
Diane