Rachel: how do I stop by border collie puppy from biting me?
I have a 9-week old border collie puppy and I was wondering if anyone could give any tips on training her not to bite me or other people
I know this is probably a puppy thing but she is starting to look aggressive when she does it and really goes for you, I have friends with young kids and I don't want her going for them.
I have tried a number of things like yelping ouch (pretending I'm another dog) and walking out of the room for a bit. also shouted no and rattling a bottle with coins in to startle her but nothing seems to be working and she seems to be getting worse with it.
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Answers and Views:
Answer by Jazzy
If she is biting your hands in playing pull hands back so NO really loud. Stop playing with her for a little while. This worked with my dogs.
Answer by Phil
There is a lovely method here that stops it dead. Put on some thick gloves and play with the puppy. When she bites you grab the bottom jaw behind the teeth and hold it for ten-twenty seconds … hold it hard but don't damage the dog. Do this a few times each time extending the time longer … sometimes it will take you holding her lower jaw for up to two minutes. This is the quickest method I know of. Puppies tend to have small mouths so you might just place your thumb behind the teeth and the rest of your hands under the jaw. Hold tight no matter how much she struggles….do this every time she bites and it will stop.
I wouldn't suggest it without the gloves as their teeth can be sharp :) but it is behind the teeth you want, it keeps their mouth open and ajar making it very uncomfortable for the dog. This is the method my grandfather taught me and have used since a child and it has always worked. Remember not to grab the teeth, you want the gums, just the bottom jaw with one or two fingers behind the back teeth.
Answer by eharri3
Set a rule: Playtime is allowed only when you have a tug toy in your hand, and at no other time whatsoever. This goes for you, children, and all guests. Nobody under any circumstances encourages playful or excited behavior without holding the tug toy. This makes the rules very clear: The dog should be calm, not bite, and remain on all fours in all other situations. This way you can correct for biting without any confusion on the dog's part, wherein you were playing and romping and wrestling and doing a bunch of other stuff leading up to the correction that makes it hard for them to figure out what exactly it is that they did wrong.
During playtime, present the toy. It is the ONLY time ever when they were allowed to mouth or bite anything without being corrected. Eventually, you'll know you're making progress when you can leave the toy across the room and start playing. You'll see the biting instinct kick in and the dog goes and grabs for the toy rather than biting you.
Answer by Sam
Use a newspaper …. roll it up and shred the end. It is the noise that affects most. Slap her on the nose with it a few times shouting a little and make sure the newspaper in not too dense and is shredded at the end a little. It should act like a gentle smack. The longer you leave the puppy in this behavior the worse and the harder it will get to change. Also, run her off the sofa with a newspaper rolled and shredded every time she jumps up on it.
Your dog owns your house a little I think … you must show more dominance…. walking through doors first … putting her food down but making her wait …. putting her in another room and even chaining her up for 20 minutes would also help …. but not for too long … although I have shut my dogs in the shed a few times …. and they hate to be alone so it works well.
Dog memories aren't so long…. but you need to find your puppies weak point … what does she fear that you can do …. high pitched noises can be used … there are lots of methods …. just remember to increase the level of punishment slowly …. don't be cruel but don't be weak either … no matter the size of your dog and how loving it is still a dog that needs to be lightly or heavily dominated … you must be a leader …. which is usually the only problem in any household with any dog ( except for cruelty ) be stronger than her ….. she will give in eventually ...
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