# Advice on training a Border collie puppy? [Biting] (9 weeks old)



## Symone (Dec 3, 2012)

She's so far learning things rather well, yet I've had one hiccup.
I don't like leaving her alone so a friend had her for an hour. He play fighted with her. 
She since has decided I'm to be bitten whenever I'm in bed.
Her breeder suggested Crate Training her (Phoned him last night when she hurt me.), so she can't get to me when I am in bed, but I need to wait until Friday for I will buy her a big one and my guess is it will be expensive (Pay day = Friday)

So, I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on getting her to stop biting? She's great for learning new things, yet this is the first time I've had to get her out of a habit and I don't know how! 
I do know my friend showed lots of praise when he did play fight with her, and he's very... Excitable with puppies. They jump around in joy. 

I wouldn't mind doing this with just crate training, but I want to really hit the nail on the head for at christmas time she will be around a 2 year old and a 8 month baby. I can't have her biting them!

I know this is my fault for leaving her with my friend, but I honestly never thought something like this would happen for he has looked after dogs before. 

All tips and suggestions, even with other training tips would be most welcome! Biting is just the main one I need to tackle now. 

Sorry for repeating myself a lot here, it's just that this has really upset me since everything was going really well until now (Including potty training!)
She's normally such a lovely girl. She just thinks that biting is a game.


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## ClaireandDaisy (Jul 4, 2010)

Please don`t let anyone play-fight with your dog. I suggest you never leave her with this friend again.
Teach bite inhibition by stopping all interaction if she puts her teth on you, and by using toys to show what she can and can`t chew. For instance, if she starts nibbling your shoes, waggle a tuggy at her and have a little game with that. 
Playful nipping may be funny when they are at home. When they go and bite a stranger you have court case.


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## Symone (Dec 3, 2012)

That's a great idea! I'll make sure to do that next time she does go to bite.
And I think crate training will make it so I can leave her alone whilst I do go shopping for food and such. 
I'm going to try your trick now. She just came in the living room, chest high, with my trainer in her mouth. Smugness radiating off her. It was in the cupboard so I can understand why she's proud! 

Thanks again for that brilliant advice!


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## Twiggy (Jun 24, 2010)

Have you read through this sticky at the top of this page:

Help with a nipping pup

Lots of useful advice in there.

I suggest you look on ebay for a crate. I've had several of varying sizes. They are not overly expensive and decent quality.


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## Symone (Dec 3, 2012)

I've had a look now  Just wasn't sure because she learned the habit rather than testing boundaries.

I made a thread looking for a dog cage actually, and this is the one that I most like the look of :

Foldable 24" 30" 36" 42" 48" Large Metal Travel Dog Pet Cat Puppy Crate Cage T | eBay

However I will also ask in my local pet shop because they've been a lot of help with my puppy, and they're a small business. If it's a little bit more expensive (Like £10 more) I'll get it from there, but that's just to support small local businesses. (And It means I can start Crate training her sooner.)
I really like the look of that ebay one, though! 
And the fact that they have given instructions is a big plus! Surely they wouldn't do something like so if it were rubbish? And it was also recommended by a forum member!


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## Twiggy (Jun 24, 2010)

Symone said:


> I've had a look now  Just wasn't sure because she learned the habit rather than testing boundaries.
> 
> I made a thread looking for a dog cage actually, and this is the one that I most like the look of :
> 
> ...


I've never had a problem with any of the crates I've bought off ebay; they've all been fine.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Symone said:


> She's so far learning things rather well, yet I've had one hiccup.
> I don't like leaving her alone so a friend had her for an hour. He play fighted with her.
> She since has decided I'm to be bitten whenever I'm in bed.
> Her breeder suggested Crate Training her (Phoned him last night when she hurt me.), so she can't get to me when I am in bed, but I need to wait until Friday for I will buy her a big one and my guess is it will be expensive (Pay day = Friday)
> ...


Pups Chase bark and bite in the litter in play, your friend playing and rough housing with her has taught her it is just as an exciting game doing it with humans and acceptable unfortunately. Sounds like he is a personality that over excites and hypes pups at the best of times, which is usually when a pup will bite more still in an over excited hyper state. In the litter they also chase and bite to instigate play and get attention so thats why she is possibly doing to too, to try to get your attention and get you to play.

There are several things that you can try.
Try a high pitched yelp like a pup in pain, if she learned bite inhibition in the litter it may work, however it can hype some pups up more, so worth a try, if she doesnt cease though after a few attempts or makes her worse then abandon that one.

As he has encouraged it and rewarded her for it, you need to ensure that you dont reward her for it, looking at her, saying no no, making eye contacting, trying to push her down is all rewarding it and she will view it likely as a game. Try folding your arms, and turning your back on her, and as your doing it say OFF, and keep turned away, looking up at the ceiling and totally ignore her making yourself totally boring and not rewarding it. You can even just walk away and ignore her after standing there for a minute, until shes calmed down, then call her to you get her to sit and treat her and give her attention. If she starts again repeat the whole thing and keep repeating it.

If she is persistent or keeps starting up again, and you havent got the crate and crate trained her yet, pop her in another room like the kitchen saying nothing, just leave, leave her to calm down, and then let her out, but still totally ignore her for a little longer then call her to you, get her to sit and then treat and attention. If she starts again then keep repeating the whole thing. Some dogs get it quicker then others so take longer then others. You also need to make sure you do it as soon as she gets hyped or starts to bite, as the longer you leave it then the worse and harder it will be to stop her and calm her down. Making sure you follow through too is important as if you still give her attention before shes stopped and calm then it wont work.


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

Here are some articles on this subject by qualified, reputable trainers and behaviourists

The Bite Stops Here by Dr Ian Dunbar

http://cleverdogcompany.com/tl_files/factsheets/Puppy biting.pdf

http://www.apbc.org.uk/system/files...t_1_Puppies_-_Mouthing_and_biting_low_res.pdf

Puppy Play Biting Leads to Marks on Hands and Arms | Animal Behavior and Medicine Blog | Dr. Sophia Yin, DVM, MS

http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/teachingbiteinhibition.pdf

http://www.apdt.co.uk/documents/Playbiting_000.pdf

DVD
Your Clever Dog: Puppy biting, chewing and over-excitability with children
Sarah Whitehead
All puppies bite! They come with a set of needlesharp teeth that a shark would be proud of. This behaviour is perfectly normal, but needs to be prevented in order for the dog to become a calm and social member of the family.
This DVD is specially designed to show you exactly what you need to do to reduce and then stop your puppy from biting and mouthing using only kind and fair methods, and the secrets that top dog trainers know.
This DVD also covers the essentials for making sure that your 'puppy chewing machine flexes his teeth on all the right things, and leaves your shoes, the kids' toys and your furniture alone.
Sarah Whitehead also gives advice on puppies and children, and how to ensure they grow up happily together.
Including:
• Why biting is an integral part of your puppy's development
• How to control your puppy's biting
• How to keep kids safe with your puppy
• How to play with your puppy to help control biting
The pack contains: A clicker, tab handle, training manual, instructional DVD, 55 mins approx running time including Bonus trick, Bonus Training Session, Intro to Clicker Training, Q & A with Sarah
Dogtrain.co.uk


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

And, for when you get that crate:

http://www.apbc.org.uk/system/files/private/Advice_Sheet_4_-_Using_an_indoor_kennel.pdf

http://www.apdt.co.uk/documents/CrateTraining_000.pdf
Crate Training « Ahimsa Dog Blog
Keeping the Holiday Peace: How to Crate Train Your Dog | Karen Pryor Clicker Training
ClickerSolutions Training Articles --
ClickerSolutions Training Articles -- Crate Training


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## Symone (Dec 3, 2012)

Sled dog hotel said:


> Pups Chase bark and bite in the litter in play, your friend playing and rough housing with her has taught her it is just as an exciting game doing it with humans and acceptable unfortunately. Sounds like he is a personality that over excites and hypes pups at the best of times, which is usually when a pup will bite more still in an over excited hyper state. In the litter they also chase and bite to instigate play and get attention so thats why she is possibly doing to too, to try to get your attention and get you to play.
> 
> There are several things that you can try.
> Try a high pitched yelp like a pup in pain, if she learned bite inhibition in the litter it may work, however it can hype some pups up more, so worth a try, if she doesnt cease though after a few attempts or makes her worse then abandon that one.
> ...


That's tons of great advice!

I have to say I just tried the yelping one and she looked at me confused then bit again. So again I yelped. She stopped but then kept biting me to see how many times I would yelp I think. I kept at it though and watered up my eyes (not hard when you have the thought of your puppy hating you in the back of your head. Despite now knowing it's fully normal) and she eventually stopped. Now (15 mins later) she has gone to sleep, so maybe she was getting aggy with being tired? I did have a friend over earlier and she did miss her normal nap. She tends to normally only bite in the mornings and at night (both when getting in and out of bed)

I'm guessing this is why the crate training would be good, because it will not give her the opportunity to bite me at her normal biting times.

My guess for biting at those times is: 
Morning : Just woke up, fresh day, want play!
Night : I don't want to go to bed, I want to play. Play with me!!!

She's normally such an angel through the day. I'll try the folding my arms and staring at the ceiling method tonight when I go to bed (Unless she bites before). She loves attention and also hates being alone (Been using the bathroom as time out when she bites. Everything's too high for her. This however is only when she bites hard enough to draw blood.)

I wonder, will the crate also help her with stopping to cling to me so much? I love it when she does. And I love that she does it to me and not my boyfriend, but this wouldn't be good for her when she's older. She can't even sleep in a different room, she just gets up and follows me. She's a really light sleeper.
I have got her to sleep on some pillows (she hates her bed) rather than my bed now, though. So baby steps forwards so far it seems!


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## Symone (Dec 3, 2012)

smokeybear said:


> Here are some articles on this subject by qualified, reputable trainers and behaviourists
> 
> The Bite Stops Here by Dr Ian Dunbar
> 
> ...


I'll look at all of those now! 
She's sleeping so I have time, lol! 
Thanks so much <3


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## mcparlston (Oct 30, 2012)

Can I just say Simone your puppy is really really cute!

Re the crate, I got one off gumtree for £20 unused.


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## Symone (Dec 3, 2012)

mcparlston said:


> Can I just say Simone your puppy is really really cute!
> 
> Re the crate, I got one off gumtree for £20 unused.


Thank you!
And I completely forgot about gumtree  I'll look on there now!


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## speug (Nov 1, 2011)

I think a crate will be really useful, not just for now but for over christmas when there could be small children around - not just to keep her away from the children but also to give her a safe refuge away from them as small children and puppies are notorious for winding each other up especially when everything is different.

I found when my collie was a puppy there were times when he really got wound up and wouldn't stop biting - squealing worked sometimes as he didn't want/mean to hurt me and on the couple of occasions he drew blood it really upset him.- but when he got really overexcited it just made him worse. At these times I found that a "time out" in his crate worked best - 9 times out of 10 I'd leave him for a minute and he'd be sound asleep when I came back to him as his behaviour had been due to being overtired.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Symone said:


> That's tons of great advice!
> 
> I have to say I just tried the yelping one and she looked at me confused then bit again. So again I yelped. She stopped but then kept biting me to see how many times I would yelp I think. I kept at it though and watered up my eyes (not hard when you have the thought of your puppy hating you in the back of your head. Despite now knowing it's fully normal) and she eventually stopped. Now (15 mins later) she has gone to sleep, so maybe she was getting aggy with being tired? I did have a friend over earlier and she did miss her normal nap. She tends to normally only bite in the mornings and at night (both when getting in and out of bed)
> 
> ...


Aswell as over excitement and attention seeking, another time they seem to bite more and exhibit bad unwanted behaviour sometimes is when they are overtired so could have contributed this evening especially as she crashed out finally and slept. Some pups will just keep going and going and wont relax and quit unless taught to as part of their routine but Ill get to that in a minute.

After you yelped did you still give her attention or ignore her? if you didnt then that might be why she started again too. Try giving the high pitched yelp like a pup in pain and then ignore her until your sure she has stopped and isnt going to start again and then when calm, call her to you get her to sit and then give attention.

She doesnt hate you to her biting is part of play, of getting attention especially thanks to your friend whos taught her its rewarding and a way to get attention.

I wouldnt be waiting until she draws blood either to give her the time out, If you try the other methods and they dont work then I would do the time out anyway and let her calm down completely before giving attention, if you let the biting get to the drawing blood stage its escalating and your going to have a worse problem still. Even if she nips and it doesnt particularly hurt still do it.

Crate training can be a very useful tool with puppies, but you cant just put her in and close the door, they have to be introduced to it and trained, if you dont know how seek crate training advice before using it.

I know you said you love it when she follows you around and is clingy, but really allowing it all the time isnt a good thing, it can make them over dependent so they cant cope alone and when you do have to leave her you may run into trouble.

You need to start doing short sessions of wind down and self amusement times as part of her routine, best time is after walking if/when she can go out, after a training session or a play session when she will have got rid of excess energy and be more likely to settle.

Things that can help her settle, is leaving her with an old t-shirt or jumper you have worn to cuddle up in as having your smell is re-assuring, also leaving a large soft toy in her bed helps a lot of pups as they sleep touching in the litter so it minimics a litter mate to cuddle up too for security. Also leaving them with a radio turned down low on a talking station can help as the sound of voices is usually more comforting then silence. Some pups settle better in the dark, others do better with a baby night light, but dont leave her with bright lights on it can stimulate them wide awake. Something else to calm and re-assure them that often helps is Adaptil dog appeasing pheromone diffusers you use them like a plug in air freshener they emit and artificial version of the pheromone mum gives off to calm and sooth pups. See link for more details
Adaptil helps dogs and puppys learn settle travel and in kennels

Its always a good idea when they are put down for theit wind down time and rest to leave them with something too to initially self amuse, and relax them,it also makes a good association with being left suggestions below.
Recipes - Kong
Kongs can be filled with wet food from their allowance if on wet or fillings suggested above.

Wobbler Dog Toy | Dog food fillable toy for paced eating | Kong Co.
Kong wobblers can be filled with puppy kibble if on dry food

Busy Buddy Twist-n-Treat - YouTube
Busy buddies can be filled with Kibble and all sorts of other things too.

https://www.antlerdogchews.co.uk/easy-antler-dog-chew-extra-large
Also safe chews like the ones above can be good too, chewing is a de stresser for dogs, and they need to chew especially when teething.

For her naps set the things up, and then after exercise or play, take her there and give her a goody, and then just leave no fuss nothing. At first you need to just leave for very short periods while you are there, making sure you return when she is still quiet and not stressed. Then let her out ignore her for another minute or two and then call and fuss her. You then build up the time a little at a time so she learns to cope alone and amuse herself.
Just make these rest periods as part of her daily routine. Then when she has to be left for real, then just keep to the same pattern.

Sometimes having a baby gate or dog control gate to confine them works better then just closing them in with a solid door as it is for some too isolating and they panic.


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## Dogless (Feb 26, 2010)

speug said:


> I think a crate will be really useful, not just for now but for over christmas when there could be small children around - not just to keep her away from the children but also to give her a safe refuge away from them as small children and puppies are notorious for winding each other up especially when everything is different.
> 
> I found when my collie was a puppy there were times when he really got wound up and wouldn't stop biting - squealing worked sometimes as he didn't want/mean to hurt me and on the couple of occasions he drew blood it really upset him.- but when he got really overexcited it just made him worse. *At these times I found that a "time out" in his crate worked best - 9 times out of 10 I'd leave him for a minute and he'd be sound asleep when I came back to him as his behaviour had been due to being overtired.*


Absolutely this - worked with Kilo and I am finding the same with Rudi. He has gone from biting, holding and shaking and drawing blood all the time to less biting and far less intense (thank goodness!!) apart from when overtired and wound up when he becomes a loon . The enforced rest always works....fingers crossed!!


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## Old Shep (Oct 17, 2010)

> It is better to first teach the "OFF!" command using a food lure (as demonstrated in the Sirius video*). The deal is this: "If you dont touch this food treat for just two seconds after I softly say "Off", I will say "Take it" and you can have the treat." Once the pup has mastered this simple task, up the ante to three seconds of non-contact, and then five, eight, 12, 20 and so on. Count out the seconds and praise the dog with each second: "Good dog one, good dog two, good dog three" and so forth. If the pup touches the treat before being told to take it, shout "Off!" and start the count from zero again. The pup quickly learns that it can not have the treat until it has not touched it for, say, eight seconds  the quickest way to get the treat is not to touch it for the first eight seconds. In addition, the regular handfeeding during this exercise helps preserve the pups soft mouth.


From Smokeys Ian Dunbar link.

Thanks very much for posting that link. I'm having a wee issue with this at the moment. No problem with bite inhibition at all. He just mouths with an open jaw, or gently pulls my clothing. I don't want to spoil his soft mouth, so I'm going to try this!!


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