Extremely bratty biting puppy

[BoscosMom]

Hi all,

Just new to these forums- and had a question about puppy behavioural issues. We got a mini english bulldog when he was 8 weeks old, he is now 12 weeks.

Little Bosco has been driving us nuts since the week we got him. He is extremely nippy, constantly biting our feet/legs/pants/shoes. I assumed this was normal puppy play behaviour, but when we try to get him to stop - he becomes aggressive and goes on the attack, lunging at us/growling/barking and biting us harder. We have tried every training method out there to get him to stop, but absolutely nothing seems to work!!

Giving him time outs, or saying NO and deflecting his biting to toys doesn't seem to phase him - he couldn't care less about time outs or other toys.

Doing the high pitched yelp and ignoring him just gets him even more worked up - as did shaking the can of pennies, spray bottle, and bitter apple spray in his mouth. These things just make him extremely aggressive and this is when the growling and barking and lunging to bite us begins.

We exercise him a lot and give him a ton of play time so he doesn't get bored. But his biting just seems to be getting worse, and quite frankly I don't even want to play with him or be around him lately because all he wants to do is chew on me (it's starting to hurt) or destroy my pants/shoes.

Does anyone else have a puppy like this? Is this a bulldog thing? So frustrating - not sure what to do.
Help!

 

[Stang]

Thunder is 12 weeks and 3 days old today. I have had the exact same biting and nipping issues. For whatever reason, today, it seems like he has almost completely stopped. I can't explain it other than maybe he is done teething for a bit. I started giving him raw butcher bones. I give him two or three a day. I take the marrow out of them because he is just a pup, but he will gnaw on them for a while and this seems to cure his need for biting all the time.

 

[Texas Carol]

Completely normal puppy behavior at this age, just keep doing what you're
doing, time outs are great as they hate to be away from everyone & the action.
Make sure everyone is on board w/the training. Consistency, patience & time
are key...he'll get it! Bosco is too cute!! Welcome to EBN, more pics please

 

[Ashleym]

First you will get lots of great advice and info here. Congratulation you have a normal bully puppy they tend to be very mouthy. There is a lot of people on this forum who is going thru the same issues as you. We got Fergus at 10 weeks and he was constantly nipping, bitting and being a terror he is now 8 months and no longer nips, bites and when he feels like it listens to me

Take a deep breath and keep saying "he will grow out of it" several time when you get frustrated. It sounds like you are doing everything correct. It takes patience. He is teething you might think he is just being a brat but it feels better when they are biting down on things. You can either do like Stang suggested or get a Kong fill it with kibbles, treat and top the hole with peanut butter and freeze, also try a frozen towel and let him chew on it.

A great game is tug with a thick rope both my boys lost a lot of their baby teeth playing tug.

Bullies are not like other dogs they are unique and have a mind of their own they also like to push boundaries. Be firm and consistant and I promise he will grow out of it. Please post some pictures we love puppy pictures here :D

 

[Marine91]

Welcome to puppyhood. It is normal behavior and I am going through it as well with my Harlea. Be persistent and consistent and it will get better as you have a long road ahead of you.

 

[Stang]

Completely normal puppy behavior at this age, just keep doing what you're
doing, time outs are great as they hate to be away from everyone & the action.
Make sure everyone is on board w/the training. Consistency, patience & time
are key...he'll get it! Bosco is too cute!! Welcome to EBN, more pics please

Oh, yes! I have been doing time outs for about one week now and I think that has definitely helped some.

 

[Jennifer Clark]

Great advice so far!!! I would only like to add establish dominance you can do this one of many ways I prefer the hand feeding because it is the easiest of the ways that I know of feed him a handful at a time and make him work for it so that he knows you control everything including his food, and he is still a puppy for us the hand feeding and try the purple and green (or yellow depending on the size I always got the big ones) Nylabone they are wonderful when I had to redirect Sheldon when he was a pup these seem to be the best and what I had the most success with I'm sure others have other suggestions as well. Although I had to be more drastic with Sheldon in the end I had to put him on his back and wait till he became submissive I almost cried having to do it but it has made it easier on him and us. Hope we all can get you more comfortable in your roll as skin parent for you and muzzies for Bosco.

 

[Rural mystic]

Probably about 98 percent if not greater of everyone in this forum while their dogs were pups. It's normal puppy behavior and your puppy is no different and responding much like all of them do. Just keep doing what your doing, have patience, try to find the humor in it and just keep on keeping on. He will eventually get the hang of it and it will calm down especially after the teething and when he gets his adult teeth

 

[DudleysMom]

I thought about getting rid of my Dudley (I'm horrified now) because he was ripping my jeans, bruising my arms and legs. He was a BEAST! I was losing my mind. I had a great trainer who explained that this was NORMAL. She showed me how to get him under control...with Duddy it was putting his leash on and walking him up and down the room, making him sit, stay and heel. I also gave him LOTS of stuff to chew on. He was really evil for only about 6 or 8 months. Then he was just a brat for another 10 or 12 months. At 2 1/2 -- he's my sweet, sweet baby! Hang in there...be firm...show him who is in charge! It's hard...I know...I CRIED buckets over this dog during his worst moments of beastliness!! And please post more photos...we love them! And WELCOME!

 

[ddnene]

I agree w/everyone, it's very normal behavior unfortunately... We would try to make sure we would have a toy nearby so the teeth got the toy & not a body part!!! Good luck ; )


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[Lisabear123]

Welcome to the site! I agree it is def puppy behavior but I think your pup also is a little domineering. He needs to learn you guys are the alphas, the boss, the leader. Keep at it and be patient. He will get it eventually. You can also try the old can of pennies and shake it to startle him out of the behavior or a squirt from a water bottle. Puppies explore and play w their mouths. They also thrive on attention. Maybe a firm no, then ignore him for a bit when he gets overly nippy might help as well. Then after a few min return to play. This will help let him Know you control the play and the intensity. He obviously hasn't gotten that 'ow' means too hard! lol Also, before he eats, have him sit. Eat or pretend to eat something before giving his bowl to him just to let him know you are in fact the boss. Make sure you have lots of good stuff to chew like nylabone and/or kong toys. The teething phase or what we all endearingly call the land shark phase is hard on him too cos his mouth hurts. Things will get better, just hang in there!

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Absolutely normal..AND NOT just a Bulldog thing. My daughter and kids just got a German Shepherd pup..11 weeks old. He spends his days with me..for housebreaking and crate training. He is a nipper and biter too..just as Jake was. We keep him on a lead in the house and are able to control him pretty well. A little pull on his lead and his NO word..have been working. He is already much better. Just be consistent and lots of patience!

 

[RaRett]

Puppies explore the world with their mouths, and they need to learn their limits with their mouths. Can you imagine a full grown dog that hasnt learned its limit when biting? not a good thing.

We got Hershey at about 12 weeks, Sharp little needle teeth and all ! what we did, was the loud YIP! when he nipped to hard, I was the brave one, I would put my hand deeper into his mouth, instead of pulled it out. He would think it was a tug of war game when pulling your hand back. He soon learned the difference I definitely wouldn't spray his mouth with bitter apple though (have you tasted that stuff? HORRIBLE !) save the bitter apple for when he is chewing on things he shouldnt.

Final word of advice (next to crate training!) a TIRED puppy is a HAPPY Puppy!

 

[Sheena]

Oh god! I soooo feel your pain. Literally lol . Daisy is a straight up bi*ch. I cant wait for her to get out of this stage. She is exactly the same way! Its really bad. Like super bad.. Im just praying for the day when it stops

 

[BruceP]

Hang in there.. it DOES eventually get over the biting. Stubborn as a ....... BULLDOG???