Just resurecting this sticky as it has some useful tips in it

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"I am not perfect and i don't have to be, before you start pointing fingers, make sure your hands are clean" - Bob Marley

https://sites.google.com/site/blisschalet/

Hello,

You should try these tips to stop your puppy nipping---

1-Use up some of your dog's energy.Start in the morning with a long walk or run.

2- If possible begin your training early ,when your puppy is 6 weeks old.

3-Teach your puppy that biting or nipping hurts you. When he bites,give a sharp

"no!" or "ouch!" or even a yelp like a dog would make.

4-Remove your hand slowly and give your puppy a toy that he can chew on

without damage.

5-Enroll your puppy in an obedience class where he can socialize with other

dogs when he is about 6 months old.

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Stop Your Dog From Biting

You might find some articles here of interest to you.

Articles On Dogs Training

Great advice. But socialisation should be started as early as possible.

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There are three sides to every story.
Yours, theirs, and the truth.

Hi,

Dogs and puppies nipping for a number of reasons and it is important to

keep in mind that your puppy is not nipping to spite you. it can be a hard

habit to stop.If you don't clearly communicate to your dog that, this is bad

habit, he won't even realize that he is doing anything wrong.So you should

train your dog at home or enroll him in social behavior classes.

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Stop Your Dog From Chewing

I have some good news on Mookie. She was a very bitey puppy and I'd tried everything to try to stop it. I was close to tears so many times and it genuinely stopped me fully enjoying her puppyhood.

I took her back to her breeder while I was away for 2 weeks, where she lived with other puppies of her age and surrounded by adult dogs. I have NO idea what happened, but since I picked her up last Sunday, she has not bitten once!!! She licks and wags her tail and paws me, and even mouths me (which she didn't ever do before) but not one bite.

I don't know what to deduce from this other than a) being round 'big' dogs she realised she had to grow up b) being with other dogs taught her that biting stops play. The breeder noticed she'd stopped biting after a few days...

Ultimately, could it be that puppies just 'grow out of it'? Or being round other dogs helps more than being on their own?

You decide..

It has been really reassuring to read that other people are going through the same issues as us. We have a 9wk old cocker spaniel puppy who has started to savage and it has been really depressing.....had made sure to read lots before we got our puppy and used the "yelp" method and replacing with something a toy but to no avail! Yelping seems to make him more intent - if you throw a toy to distract him, he ignores it and if you try and give him a toy he sees it as an opportunity to dive at you even more!

It is really difficult not to feel emotional and remain calm despite best plans.
It's also really hard to know which training methods to follow - the "no bite" advice sounds fantastic but a bit like baby advice books before children it is more difficult to implement if you have a dog that doesn't seem to respond in the required manner.

My OH thinks we should be going down the "mother dog" type route and growling at him and giving him a shake on the ruff of his neck but I remain unconvinced.

I am trying to persist with No, followed by replacing with a toy and ignoring and seem to always end up with the last resort of removing either him or me.....not convinced any of it is working.

Does anyone have any success stories from a similar situation? Hope I will look back on this stage and laugh!

Hi buttercupwafflepants,

Cockers can be particularly mouthy apparently - I got my cocker pup at 8 weeks old and in some ways she has been so easy to train, being so intelligent, but in others she is so stubborn... like the play biting. She is now just over six months and still mouths, but only occasionally with pressure.

My OH likes to play rough with her and his hands would often be bleeding - I got quite cross with him because he didn't tell her to stop in time, and I was trying to teach her to bite more and more softly. So I think it's taken longer that it should have done because of that, but she's definitely getting the idea, and the biggest thing I think that really gave her the hint that it wasn't on was withdrawing attention from her, or if she kept on doing it then she went out of the room for a few minutes. She loves being around people and getting affection, so being excluded worked really well, and I didn't have to do it very often for her to start to understand the consequences of ignoring "ow" or "no".

There is light at the end of that dark tunnel, trust me!

Totally agree, this was what finally seemed to give my cocker the message.

He doesn't mouth at all now at 10 months

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"I am not perfect and i don't have to be, before you start pointing fingers, make sure your hands are clean" - Bob Marley

https://sites.google.com/site/blisschalet/

Thanks Birdiewife & Rainbow - good to know there is some light at the end of this seemingly long tunnel! My hands are fairly shredded again this morning - he seems to be having a particularly "hyper" day despite trying to wear him out with some training and playing. It is strange how much this puppy phase reminds me of my children being small - trying to adhere to advice and schedules and do the best, with very mixed results! It is lucky he is so gorgeous!