Just wondering if anyone can help me out with this. Our 5 month old pup bites myself and my husband. We can be playing fetch with his ball, we can be doing some obedience training (sit / stay / down etc - he's very good at this) and then when he's had enough he launches himself at our hands and bites down. To combat this we either walk away from him, distract him with another toy, remove him from the room or start sits / stays etc with him. All these things work but why does he continue to do this? He can change instantly from a happy playful dog into a biting machine! He doesn't break the skin but he does clamp down. He's got lots of teething toys and we give him chews but we can't seem to stop this behaviour. What are we doing wrong?

He is being a dog.  Perfectly normal puppy behaviour.

You might read Dr Ian Dunbar's article, he's one of the best.

http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=64170.0;wap2

You could start by training the "off" command.  He tells you how in this article.

Hope that helps.

agree with Jean just being a puppy teach the off and have a toy hand to offer him .

if he is wound up in a frenzy which some puppies do this has always worked for me with my breed. Lay them gently on thier side lay over him without putting your weight on his body gently stroke his head and whispering into his ear ..you can usually feel them relax and go floppy do this until you are happy they have calmed down then get up and walk away dont say anything to pup..they will suddenly get up and shake as if to say wow what was that

agree with Jean just being a puppy teach the off and have a toy handy to offer him .

If he is wound up in a frenzy which some puppies do this has always worked for me with my breed. Lay pup gently on thier side lay over him without putting your weight on his body gently stroke his head and whispering into his ear ..you can usually feel them relax and go floppy do this until you are happy they have calmed down then get up and walk away dont say anything to pup..they will suddenly get up and shake as if to say wow what was that!

> Lay them gently on thier side lay over him without putting your weight on his body gently stroke his head and whispering into his ear

This would've been a sure-fire way to get my pup to chew my hair/ears off

Leaning over a dog can be taken as a threatening posture or simply instigate play in a pup that likes to rough-house, so the OP needs to be aware of this.

Different soothing/calming techniques work for different individuals, somthing that can sooth/calm one pup can wind another up. Also a soothing/calming technique that will work for an individual dog/pup may only work when the dog is in a specific state of mind, and it's reaction can vary depending on how wound up it is, or why it is wound up in the first place.
Eg. if the pup has been play-biting & the owner has inadvertantly wound the situation up more, then close proximity postures (ie, leaning over pup) can make things worse, if the puup is simply over-tired the same thing can help wind wind them down.

works with my breed as I stated in my post. Actually given to me by breeder who has bred for over 30 years  when I was having same problem with my very first beardie as it was a sure fire way of calming them down ,have given this tip to other over the years with good results . I understand it may not work with some breeds such as yours .

I hesistated before I posted as I had an idea some would come firing back at me.

> I hesistated before I posted as I had an idea some would come firing back at me.

I wasn't having a go at you, I hope I didn't come accross like that Your technique sounds lovely & relaxing, I can understand why it would work, just not for my loony, LOL. Just pointing out that different dogs/breeds respond differently to different things as you neveer know who else is reading the post and taking on board all the advice for thier pup

sounds like a typical puppy who has not learnt the limits yet, sounds great what you are doing with the training and the distractions. I would continue with what you are doing but teach 'off' so you can eventually put a word to it when it happens.  I believe in 'time out' and 'consequence of actions'. Calmly remove him from the situation when he gets silly and leave him until he is not in the 'mad zone'. He is still very young, perservere and well done for what you are doing.

Insted of removing him from the situation where you have to give him the attention of taking him into another room, putting him in his crate where you may have to pick him up to do this. Maybe try removing yourself from the situation.

Example, your on your knees playing, and he gets a little excited, leaps at your cardi or hand and thinks its amazing fun playing tug with your sleave or biting your fingers to see you 'also figit with excitment' (in his eyes, even though it hurts you and your trying to get away) In this instance, with no commands or with a command as mentioned above 'off' i used 'no bitey' prompty get up and walkaway, therefore removed his playmate and ignore him until he calms down. You have to remember your timing as its crutial to get away when he does this so he assosciates his rough play with you leaving. I have done this with mine when pups and can never remember it becoming an issue. TBH they will try it on with OH as he plays rough with them and play bites hands , they know i wont tolerate it so dont even try it on with me.

TBH they will try it on with OH as he plays rough with them and play bites hands , they know i wont tolerate it so dont even try it on with me.


I think its confusing for a dog to be able to bite or rough play & mouth someones hands but not another.  It seems to be a man thing (some not all!) to let or encourage a dog to play fight with their limbs. 

Removing yourself rather than the dog sounds interesting, but wondering what happens if the dog is allowed to follow you (ie. You would need stairgates on every doorway - I don't like shutting a door on a dog, I like them to be able to see me but not get to me so they don't become stressed) Also what happens if someone else is in the room or someone else enters before the dog has time to calm down?

It is a man thing, the same kinda issue with not feeding them ppl food and not allowing them on the bed and i could have a long list. They wont be told though.

Maybe not going as far as leaving the room as they may just think you have left the room and be excited for your return, just stand up and turn your back on pup ignore it dont make eye contact. Then when pups calmed down you can praise him by resuming gentle play.

Yes, works for most but I know a few pups that have launched into the back of their owners, in these cases 'time out' whilst they nurse their wounds! I know a gsd that when his owner turned her back on him to ignore her, he jumped up and grabbed her hair bringing her to the floor - he mastered it well before 'time out' was introduced.  Dogs ehh!