Urgent! ?*$#%!!! Biting!!!

[Vicaroo1000]

For Bea, the ultimate price was an ABRUPT END to playtime. Bea was a rabid shark as a pup. Terrible. At one point, I put bitter apple on my hands even. She grew out of it eventually and I'm sure that had everything to do with teething being over. Think of a screaming toddler. Them baby teefs coming thru must HURT like HELL!

[mer55]

Have to chime in on this one!! It's a tough stage! Bogey was the pits! I didn't wear shorts or short sleeved shirts for months because of all the bite marks!! We tried all the standard discipline measures: coins in a can, spray bottle, submission, and distraction. Some worked a short time, some not at all. Isolation was the ONLY thing that seemed to get his attention! Like @Vicaroo1000, abrupt end to playtime and into his crate for a time out was an immediate deterrent to bad behavior. I NEVER let him out if he whined. Only when he calmed down and sat quietly was he paroled! He usually fell asleep, and when he woke, he was a gentle loving pup. LOTS of praise for gentle kisses!! You may have to really guard your toddler during playtime, and separate them when you can't watch every move. When you see good behavior, there can't be enough praise!! The key is catching them in the act, and going with it!! As I said before, it is a tough stage, but itDOES go away!! Hang in there, and stick with consistency, routine, and gentle firmness. There is a gentle, loving bulldog under that shark skin!! Good luck!!!

[Vikinggirl]

All great advice from everyone, especially Lari. I did the exact same things as her, and I found that whenever my two guys nipped us or my Grandson, I would also cup my hand around their mouth and firmly say no bite. You can also say Ouch, or Ow or some other word loudly to let them know that their bite hurts. And also redirecting them with a chew toy. I also started with my guys from the day I got them to put the outside part of my hand inside their mouth, to give and take food, toys, and objects they would pick up or eat, and take them out of their mouth. When they were eating, I would take away their food while they were eating, and then give it back, so they would get used to this, and not bite or growl if someone would take or touch their food. Now at 16 months, they will both sit and wait for food, they will gently take food or treats from you, and my 5 year old Grandson as well. I also played with their ears, and cut their nails, and brushed them, and brushed their teeth. If you start these things from the beginning, and from an early age, then they become used to it all, and you'll be able to do pretty much anything to them, and they won't mind. Good luck.

[Rural mystic]

I believe 99.9% of us on this site have gone through exactly what you are going through now ... and we are all still alive to tell the tale .... so it does get better!!!

Indeed, this is par for the course. You have gotten great advice, redirect to chew toys, loud no, OUCH, and time outs when they get tired and fussy. All these help but it seems the biggest help is time itself. It is almost miraculous how it slows down when they get their adult teeth. So until then you have to endure and get a little respite by using the techniques that others have mentioned. When Ace was younger my forearms always had fresh wounds and healing wounds. Now they are back to normal. Ace still wants to put his mouth on you some but its nothing like it was before, those shark teeth are lethal.

[DudleysMom]

I know it's tough now, but it will get better. Dudley is almost 2 and 1/2 and I couldn't live without him now, but there was a time...when I would have given him away (not really, but he drove me crazy). I have two pair of jeans I keep -- with tooth marks from Dudley! He was a mess. The advice everyone has given is solid -- all stuff I did and it worked. I also had a great trainer -- even though he was only about 12 - 14 week old -- and when he got nippy, I would do his training homework with him. It settled him down and he was tired afterwards. He would take a nap and be my sweet boy once again. The biting stopped when he was about 20 - 22 months old. He still loves to chew on his antlers every chance he gets, be he never "bites". Bullies are wonderful and sweet and stubborn. You have to be in charge -- took me a while to get that part of the deal! Now, he still gets cranky when he's tired...barks, growls at me, -- next thing I know, he's snoring and he's a sweetheart when he wakes up. Good luck -- it's so worth the initial aggravation!

[cali~jenn]

Haven't had an eb puppy but from what everyone else says, this is totally normal. Many have referred to the pups as sharks. redirect the attention to a chew toy and keep consistent.

[gunnyboy]

I couldnt have said it better Davidh, its a puppy thing and it will phase out, its something they do.

[KentuckyBully]

Your puppy is bored and needs things to do. Puppy also needs exercise and playtime. A tired puppy is a happy puppy. The best advise I can give you is to take puppy to a positive puppy training class for you, family and puppy. Using objects to startle will only make things worse. Gets kongs, toys, and treats and reward constantly for behavior.