SearchBiting......
Hi Guys
Thanks for the help to do with Walking our Dobe - we now have another issue that we cant seem to curb...Biting
He doesnt bit objects, but he bites us instead - This is not hard biting, its play biting, however, his baby teeth are very sharp, and baby teeth will grow to adult teeth!!!
When we take him to other peoples homes, he doesnt bit us or them, and if people come to our home, he doesnt bite them, but he bites us all the time playing.
We have tried the NO approach, we give him what he IS allowed to bite when he starts, we have tried ignoring him, moving away from him so he knows its unacceptable but still continues - Now i know dobes can be stubborn, however, we would be greatful for any other techniques that have worked for others.
Cheers HarleyBare - as you can imagine, the size he will be, we want to install these things straight away and i know it doesnt happen over night - he is VERY clever, and sometimes i think its him been stubborn LOL
rewarding for good behavior and ignoring (cold shoulder) for unwanted behavior.... be consistent. It helps to keep a toy stuffed in your back pocket at all time - if they start mouthing you, replace your skin with a toy.
I did a combination of things...first a yelp of sorts to let them know hey that hurts, then I would give him an acceptable chew toy. I would also stop playing if he continued to bite...wait until he calms down a stops, wait a few seconds and back to playing. Trust me when I say - get ready for a few months of this. Rocky probably thought is name was NO BITE for the first 4-5 months...because even after they learn not to bike you, they will still chew on anything else they can get in their little mouths. Chair legs, shoes.....toys....rugs....it's an endless list.
If none of that seems to work, here's what I ended up doing with a doberman pup I had that was a play-biter (not Ziva--she actually never was a biter). Just firmly grab the pup around the muzzle with your hand, hold him totally still for a couple of seconds and tell him very sternly "NO BITE". It doesn't hurt them at all, but I guarantee it's something they dont like much. A couple times doing that and they figure out real fast that if they bite at you, they get something not so pleasant...and they stop. As soon as he stops biting or nipping, tell him what a good boy he is. I'm all for positive reinforcement, but sometimes you just have to be a little more firm about stopping bad behaviors than just turning your back and ignoring it. At least that's how I've always done it.
Gideon is still a play biter at 8 months but, like yours, only bites us - except my youngest, who's Autistic. He gets kisses instead. We tried all the tricks in the book, but he never caught on fully. However, his play biting did significantly reduce after he was about four months old, and it was far less painful - more "mouthy" than "bitey."
His biting is usually when he first comes in from outside, because he gets so playful at that time. We've taken to crating him for a few minutes when he comes in to let him calm down, and it has reduced even further so far.
I am still having this problem with Rolo my puppy who is 5 months he was a terror but now much better. We like you tried everything. We started a new puppy class 2 weeks ago and the lady is a miracle worker! Rolo's play biting has calmed down but he still does it and this is what she told us to do. Hold his muzzle and his collar (because when I just held his muzzle he riggles away and bites me harder) and look at the ceiling when he is made uncomfortable and riggles let him go and ignore him. I have doen this as many times as 15 in a row before he will stop but it does work be persistant! I was also crating rolo for punishment as we couldn't eat our tea without him biting my arms, feet anything he can get his mouth around. He now very rarely goes in the crate.
Another thing I had was Rolo jumping up and biting me on the back/bum (sounds funny but really hurts) and jumping up in general ripping my clothes. Pushing him down and using the same word didn't work, no bites didn't work, water spray and loud bangs and screams didn't work. We went to puppy class and the trainer said when he jumps up hold his paws, don't look at him eye the ceiling again and when he riggles let him down. Neither of those ideas hurt him but he certainly doesn't like it and he doesn't jump up very much anymore. I really do feel for you as it is a terrible time but I am coming out the other side and it is getting better. Rolo is also losing his teeth now and I think that also helps.
Sorry its such a long message hope it helps.
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Keep doing what you are doing. It doesn't happen over night. Be consistent and they will eventually catch on. I used to yelp! whenever his teeth got on me and he would immediately let go and give me a kiss instead. Kisses are good. But like I said earlier it takes time and consistency.