Teething/Bite Inhibition Questions!

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Clover_DrogoMom

Forums Regular
Hello all! We are brand new here, first post! We just brought our 9 week old puppy home last Sunday. He is a Sheltie/Afghan mix and his name is Drogo. It apparently was a big oopsie breeding (long story). He was the only puppy in the litter. I am very familiar with Shelties, but not Afghans. I did a little research, but Drogo seems to lean more toward a Sheltie personality. We also have another dog-she is 2 (terrier mix) and is perfect lol.

Anyways, we are having some issues with his biting. I've just never experienced a biter like him before, but I do know some of it is normal for a puppy. How do I get him to stop? And when will his biting slow down? I stop playing with him when he bites and doesn't stop biting, but he's relentless and he bites hard!! I can't really even get close for puppy kisses because he goes for the face :( I'll make a noise to get his attention and tell him no and give him a toy, but that seems to make him mad and comes back to bite harder. Please tell me this is normal!!
 
Unfortunately, my English is bad, so until you get other answers.

Yes, a puppy bites, but usually he will have learned from his siblings that one must not bite really hard.
Now Drogo was one in the litter and if the breeder is not properly made sure that he has learned different things that it would have done from his siblings, problems may arise.

But it sounds like you're doing the right thing - have you tried a high "au"? and stop the contact ( or what you say in English when something really hurts) .
 
Being a singleton pup means he hasn't learnt bite inhibition from his litter mates, so yep he's probably worse than you've experienced. It's best to assume the biting won't get better and teach him inhibition than to wait and see.

At 9 weeks he probably doesn't understand 'no' so I'd forget saying no as a reaction. You want to teach your pup that a) it hurts and b) no play happens if he bites. If you respond a yelp is probably a better sound - something that lets him know it hurts. Try to avoid any high pitches or squealing (just because dogs often think a high pitched sound from a human is fun). And stop all play, hands behind back, and if he's persistent then get up and walk away. If the yelping doesn't seem to work then just walk away immediately.

Deska was hand reared and has always been mouthy (actually he seems to have an oral fixation). Withdrawing attention from him is the biggest punishment, so for us that was the most effective method for bite inhibition. As he got older he still nips at heels and gets mouthy when excited, but he learnt to redirect his mouth onto something else (a toy or a stick). Once a child fell hard on top of Deska and his arm fell into Deska's mouth, and despite whimpering in pain Deska lay with his mouth open until we got the child up. If he didn't have such good bite inhibition it could have been messy. Deska has a gentle mouth, but he needs something in it when he's excited. I think bite inhibition and managing a mouthy dog are 2 different things. Redirection is good option for a mouthy dog, but not before they learn to moderate their bite.

You may find this useful from Karen Pryor. She summarises some options for bite inhibition and Dr Ian Dunbar's stages for teaching a gentle bite.
https://clickertraining.com/node/725
 
With Cooper, I had to Yip. I did my best to make the noise a dog that has been bitten makes. That pulled him back instantly because he didn't want to hurt me.
 
Shelby can be mouthy too, but only when she knows it is ok to play "fight". When she was a pup we would yip and stop all play. She will stop immediately if you yip or yell ouch. Took some time but with consistency she got it.
 
We just have to remember that Drogo was the only puppy in the litter and has not learned the bite inhibition of siblings, so there's a little more to work on.
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Drogomom - worth thinking about- if things do not go as fast as with a teachable Sheltie
Difficult Training: The Afghan Hound is not a deal for a first time dog owner. Patience and perseverance are required to adequately train it.
 
Hanne said:
We just have to remember that Drogo was the only puppy in the litter and has not learned the bite inhibition of siblings, so there's a little more to work on.
------
Drogomom - worth thinking about- if things do not go as fast as with a teachable Sheltie
Difficult Training: The Afghan Hound is not a deal for a first time dog owner. Patience and perseverance are required to adequately train it.
Click to expand...

excellent advice:yes:
 
Thanks so much! We have definitely been working with him. Patience is the key for sure. He is coming around nicely. Still biting, but not nearly as hard. I think our older dog is helping with that too. I think some of it was that he was just really freaked out in a new place with lots of new people (we have 3 kiddos), but he really is settling in nicely.
 
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