# Stubborn puppy keeps biting!



## lauz_1982 (Dec 14, 2009)

I've read about the stop bite for our 11 week old Border Collie puppy. When I yelp he stops but starts right away and he's realised I move away then and he growls and bites more frantically and harder than he was before. Should I just keep doing this and leaving him when he does it or do I need to do something else?

Also he was at the vet's again today because he has an upset tummy and was given food and a food supplement that the vet said I could just give him or put in his food. I tried to give him it but you can imagine that didn't go well so put it in the food and gave him the food - I noticed there was a little more in the applicator so I squirted it into his dinner - it's not anything nasty so he won't mind it. Anyway he snarled at me and showed me his teeth which suprised me as he was quite nasty. Obviously I want to stop this now while he's young so the next time I fed him I tried to move his bowl away and he was fine - he just followed it but when I put my finger on the inside to move it he again reacted as before and showed his teeth. Obvioulsy we won't be taking his food away but I don't want him to be posessive and agressive with it.

I have a 9 year old stepson who has aspergers and sometimes finds it difficult to follow instructions so I'm worried he maybe goes too near or touches the dog when he's eating and the dog bites him. We would watch and try our best to make sure this doesn't happen but just incase it does.

Any ideas?

Laura


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## hutch6 (May 9, 2008)

Do you make your dog sit and wait for his food?

Get the dog to sit. Place the food ont he floor and ask him to wait. If tries to go for the food whilst you are putting it down just stand up again and go from the sit part. When you can get the food on the floor give him an "Ok" to break the command. Walk away and let him eat in peace.

As soon as he finishes eating, even if he hasn't finished the food, remove the bowl.

Are you playing with your pup before he starts biting? If he starts biting because he is getting to excited then shorten your play sessions. If he bites straight away then carry on doing what you are doing but either isolate him or give him something he can chew if he is going through a teething/biting stage.


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

My worst biter, was Dalton, he was an evil little sod, and you dare not point your finger at him and tell him "no" as this would actually make him even worse.
I have scars to prove how much of a buggar he was, i never thought it would end..
My choice of sorting this was, to always have a tuggy toy with me, he would growl and then charge towards me and bite down hard, to this i would say "Ah ah" then produce a toy and say "whats this" and initiate play with him, but only to a certain level as i couldnt get him too excited or it didnt work.
By 5 months he had stopped mouthing altogether.
xx


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## SEVEN_PETS (Aug 11, 2009)

Some puppies can become more excited if the owner's yelp or say anything. This sounds like this could be your problem, so I'd not say anything, completely ignore and walk away. Ignore any attention seeking behaviours until she has calmed down. Then calmly stroke her and carry on with whatever it was that you was doing.

Some puppies actually have to be in a separate room to calm down enough from the excitement of playing and biting etc.


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## katiefranke (Oct 6, 2008)

Hi Laura, I had similar issues with maggie when i first got her at 8 weeks (she is now 8 months and perfectly fine)...I know it can be upsetting, that cute little puppy growling and looking viscious! especially when it is in the biting while playing stage too! 

Maggie was fed very close to the other pups when at the breeders (not from the same bowl but all the bowls next to each other) and I think she had to make sure she got her food by telling the other pups off, as they kept trying to pinch hers! When we got her, she did the same thing to us effectively - she was saying back off with her growl!

I was also concerned as I had two kittens at the time - and how do you stop them from going near?!

After a lot of advice from people and on here, I did the following:

First off, I would manage the environment so your child cannot be hurt - can you feed the pup out in a utility and close the door for instance/any room you could shut off to begin with - you will need to be vigilant on this. It is not fair on pup and also could be dangerous for your step-son.

Then like hutch said, I did the same with maggie with the sit and wait for food and then use the release word of 'OK'.

I also personally wanted to make very sure she was ok with us being around her when eating, so initially I was just close while she ate - then as she was used to this after a few days of feeding 3 times a day, I then had a higher value food than her biscuits (chicken) and would say her name to look up at me and show her the chicken and then when i knew she wanted it, i dropped it in her bowl - gradually i could get closer and closer and put it in her bowl with my hand all the way to the bowl. I didnt do this constantly - after all dogs should eat in peace - but i did do this once every meal - to begin with when she was almost finished so she wasnt as hungry. This did take quite a few weeks.

Eventually after a couple of months, I could brush past her or touch her while eating - I could put something in her bowl unexpectedly etc. 

I think a lot of it too was that she got used to and trusted us as the ones who gave her stuff, not took it away! So it takes a while for this bond to grow.

Just watch that this isnt with other objects too - maggie did go through a patch of being a bit posessive over toys and chews and stuff - but i taught her drop from an early age (by asking her to drop and echanging for something better) and just kept swapping like that. now i could just take something for her and she wouldnt bat an eyelid, but i always say drop and then praise her for it.

Now we have absolutely no probs at all with her - i could even go in and snatch her bowl away if i wanted to (not that i would ever do that!) and she wouldnt growl or do anything, she really is very happy for us to be round her eating.


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## katiefranke (Oct 6, 2008)

Take a look at this thread too for the food guarding: http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-trai...otecting-food-instead-eating-help-please.html

Some great advice and particularly the links in lemmsy's post :thumbsup:

http://sites.google.com/site/lucysdogblog/articles/resource-guarding

(lemmsy hope you don't mind me posting this )

and some good info about helping with the biting here: http://www.fun4fido.co.uk/blog/2009/7/2/teaching-bite-inhibition.html


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## lauz_1982 (Dec 14, 2009)

Hutch/Katie,

I got him to sit when I gave him his dinner tonight and he did so I've started his 'training' in that respect anyway. Only had him a few days but he's getting the hang of the sit command so will get that down and move on.

Thanks Katie for the very descriptive instructions! I really appreciate it and I will follow them.

I'm really glad I came accross this forum as I've got loads of answers to my questions/queries. I've read loads of books and did lots of research but it's good hearing personal opinions and experiences! It's been a good while since there's been a puppy in our family and I've forgotten loads! 

Thank you!

Laura


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## katiefranke (Oct 6, 2008)

no problem - it's nice to get info from books, internet, people etc and then try a version that works for you - you have to be comfortable with it at the end of the day!

glad we could be of some help. keep us posted on how its going! would love to see piccies of the little one!


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## alysonandhedley (Oct 29, 2009)

Our daughter and our grandson have Asperger's. Our grandson is 7 and Im bringing him and his sisters up. I know exactly what you mean, if you warn them they forget the next time and the next ... I sympathise. We have to also remind DGS not to tease the dog, he doesnt realise he is doing it so it does take a lot of vigilance. On the plus side, both our Aspies love dogs and its a very positive thing for them owning a pet. Our 7 year old particularly likes throwing tennis balls for the pup or playing tug. Perhaps you could get your 9 year old involved like this so he gets used to being around the pup and (hopefully) thinking a bit more before acting (but thats a big if for an Aspie isnt it?). I realised I understood doggy body language intuitively, but they didnt as they dont get human body language or non verbal communication.


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## Ayesha66 (7 mo ago)

katiefranke said:


> Hi Laura, I had similar issues with maggie when i first got her at 8 weeks (she is now 8 months and perfectly fine)...I know it can be upsetting, that cute little puppy growling and looking viscious! especially when it is in the biting while playing stage too!
> 
> Maggie was fed very close to the other pups when at the breeders (not from the same bowl but all the bowls next to each other) and I think she had to make sure she got her food by telling the other pups off, as they kept trying to pinch hers! When we got her, she did the same thing to us effectively - she was saying back off with her growl!
> 
> ...


Something I have always done, and I have had a few puppys over the years is, to always have a raw hide bone on hand, and every time she/he goes to bite your fingers, hold the bone, and encourage them to chew on that instead. They very quickly get the message. Always hold the bone for them though (this help form a bond of trust between you) and if they stray towards your fingers (which they very rarely do using this method) a firm NO will redirect them back to the chew. Works every time! It's also a good idea to keep this special bone for moments of bite aversion therapy as I like to call it. Another thing I used to do is, for the first week to 10 days of getting pup, only allow him/her to eat out of their bowl whilst you are holding it, this again is good for building trust between you.


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## simplysardonic (Sep 1, 2009)

Ayesha66 said:


> Something I have always done, and I have had a few puppys over the years is, to always have a raw hide bone on hand, and every time she/he goes to bite your fingers, hold the bone, and encourage them to chew on that instead. They very quickly get the message. Always hold the bone for them though (this help form a bond of trust between you) and if they stray towards your fingers (which they very rarely do using this method) a firm NO will redirect them back to the chew. Works every time! It's also a good idea to keep this special bone for moments of bite aversion therapy as I like to call it. Another thing I used to do is, for the first week to 10 days of getting pup, only allow him/her to eat out of their bowl whilst you are holding it, this again is good for building trust between you.


This thread is well over a decade old.


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