Any advice to stop the biting?

AMart79

New member
Jul 18, 2011
94
5
So now that buster has gotten a little older, he's into chewing everything up. We've gotten some of that bitter spray and it's helped quite a bit. The only thing he's been giving is trouble with is his chewing on us. Hes not snapping at us or trying to forcefully bite but he does tend to nip while playing or when he wants attention. I've tried the obvious telling him no and leaving him to play by himself but it doesn't seem to slow him down much? Am I going to need to tell him no and start to punish him? And if so, how should I actually go about it? I obviously would never want to hurt him but I also don't want to use his crate (I know that's a big no no) any ideas? Thanks!
 

Mod85

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Jun 23, 2011
93
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Manitowoc, WI
Bulldog(s) Names
Samson "Sammy"
How old is Buster? Samson was a HUGE biter up until a few weeks ago (he's now almost 5 months), it seemed to help quite a bit when we got him teething keys and a few nylabones to keep his mouth occupied (he had several teeth coming in at once). We also started grabbing his bottom jaw and squeezing down and gently shaking telling him "NO BITE" - he did NOT like this and didn't bite much after a few days of consistently doing this. We tried yelping, screaming in pain, ignoring him but this just seemed to make him even more crazy and bite harder. I thought the biting would never end and that we just had a really aggressive dog, it does get better.
 

MissPennyLue

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Jun 20, 2011
534
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Bulldog(s) Names
Penelope Lue (Penny)
Penny went through this phase (still is there somewhat). Is he teething yet?

If he is doing is purely for attention like you said sometimes he does, I would REALLY be sure to ignore it. Giving in & giving attentions (even if it's negative) still equates reinforcement to him...if that makes any sense. So, even you telling him "NO!" is reinforcing the behavior because if he is seeking attention then he gets it. We put Penny in "time out" (this works for jumping as well). Stand up & turn your back to him (you might have to keep moving because they will try to see your face)...no talking to him, no looking at him, no letting him touch you. Count to 10. If he touches you or barks, start over counting. This is usually enough to make them calm down, and you can resume whatever you were doing with him (playing, etc). We had a behaviorist with our old bog teach us this technique & it's amazing how quickly it works when you withdrawal what they wants (in this case, the attention).

Keep in mind that they are teething & have lots of teeth coming through. At one point Penny had her adult teeth in on the top & bottom before her baby teeth fell out. Make sure he has plenty to chew...Penny like ice cubes, Nyla Bones, & tennis balls.

Some people swear by yellow ouch or yelping if they bite & it hurts, but that never phases her. Ignoring her works best. Of course, praise-praise-praise when you are playing & he is NOT using your arm as a chew toy!

ETA: One more thing I learned at puppy class is to push your hand in to their mouth & the jaw down to release your hand because it opens the jaw & doesn't encourage more biting because they they you are playing when you pull your hand away quickly

Good Luck! I know how frustrating this is.

How is your baby doing otherwise? We need updated pics!
 
Last edited:

Davidh

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Mar 21, 2011
13,407
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Katy, Texas
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
BeBe, Hazel, Lucy Lu, JLO, Hillary, Henri, & Katie
This too shall pass, we would give a nylabone whenever they would chew on us or something else they were not supposed to bite on to redirect their attention. Some people have good luck with yelping, it did not help much with ours, but putting a nylabone in their mouth or a toy when they would bite us helped. They will grow out of it in a few months.
 
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AMart79

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Jul 18, 2011
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Thanks guys, for all the help.

1. Buster is about 12 weeks now so we've been patient with the chewing and he's doing ok with it. He seems to like when we put his rope in the freezer with a little water so do you think he'd like ice cubes? Also, do you guys give your dogs like whole ones or ones broken in half or something? It's mainly his biting and how to correct it that I was trying to get started on.

2. The holding his jaw and saying no and the timeout idea are exactly the kind of ideas I was hoping to get so thanks!

3. I'm definitely gonna look into these deer antlers, he seems to get bored of the chew toys he has already. think anybody could put a link on amazon or something so I know what brand and such when i'm looking for them?

4. Lastly, Sorry for the slow updates with his pictures. I'll get some up on this thread. I always use my phone to get pictures of him so I always forget to upload them to my macbook.

Thanks for each of your responses, they were really helpful! Any other ideas or suggestions would be appreciated! :D
 

DinoRoyale

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Aug 4, 2011
109
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Red Wing
Bulldog(s) Names
Angus
Best thing I've found since Angus is 13 weeks old and is doing this as well was something I found on this site just the other day! If you yelp when he bites you and then turn away or walk away from him, he understands that its not ok and you do not like it. I have been doing this with Angus and he always runs back to me and licks me lol. Thank you to whomever gave that info, it really has helped!
 

kim n the guys

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Apr 3, 2011
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Holt, MI
Country
United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Oliver, Sebastian, Remy, Gracie, and Tonka (10-21-07 to 05-29-14 RIP)
Thanks guys, for all the help.

1. Buster is about 12 weeks now so we've been patient with the chewing and he's doing ok with it. He seems to like when we put his rope in the freezer with a little water so do you think he'd like ice cubes? Also, do you guys give your dogs like whole ones or ones broken in half or something? It's mainly his biting and how to correct it that I was trying to get started on.

2. The holding his jaw and saying no and the timeout idea are exactly the kind of ideas I was hoping to get so thanks!

3. I'm definitely gonna look into these deer antlers, he seems to get bored of the chew toys he has already. think anybody could put a link on amazon or something so I know what brand and such when i'm looking for them?

4. Lastly, Sorry for the slow updates with his pictures. I'll get some up on this thread. I always use my phone to get pictures of him so I always forget to upload them to my macbook.

Thanks for each of your responses, they were really helpful! Any other ideas or suggestions would be appreciated! :D

I ordered my deer antlers from Carolina Pet Pantry. I ordered the extra large for $19.99 and my boys are only a few months older than Buster, so that size would be the best, I think.
 
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AMart79

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Jul 18, 2011
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oh ok, i'll have to check it out online. We got him a little edible nylabone and he loves it. He probably ate a good 10% of it in like 20 mins so we had to take it away to save some haha. The walking away/not facing him on a timeout seems to be working. Small sample size, i know..but it seems promising!
 

MissPennyLue

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Jun 20, 2011
534
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Bulldog(s) Names
Penelope Lue (Penny)
oh ok, i'll have to check it out online. We got him a little edible nylabone and he loves it. He probably ate a good 10% of it in like 20 mins so we had to take it away to save some haha. The walking away/not facing him on a timeout seems to be working. Small sample size, i know..but it seems promising!
Good!! Just be sure to be consistent. We felt ridiculous we had to do it so much with our last dog initially, but the behaviors decreased quickly.
 
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AMart79

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Jul 18, 2011
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Yea he seems to already be slowing down with the biting and barking for attention.

On a sidenote, I think I definitely need to invest in some deer antlers. I got him a nylabone edible bone and he loved it....maybe too much. He got it yesterday evening....and its now gone lol
 

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