# How do I stop my GSD from biting?



## CranberryGSD (Sep 10, 2017)

She is just turned one on Sep 24th... She's not aggressively biting, but playfully. But it still hurts. She'll run up and bite feet, shoes, hands, legs, ect.. but just trying to play. Every time she does it we firmly tell her no and tap her nose, but to no avail. What can I do? Th ans


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## bkernan (May 17, 2009)

I think in the earlier puppy stages your best bet would be to ignore her and only give attention when she settled and wasn't greeting you teeth first. Given she's a year old I would leash her in the house and when you have the most bite-prone interactions with her and correct her when she starts biting. 

I'm not sure how I feel about the tapping of the nose - honestly our 8 mo. old hits his face harder on the wall/table/my knee/bed frame/everything and literally barely notices i'm worried nose taps would just make her hand shy (not sure if in gsd world it's called that, in the horse world we use this term). But I've definitely lost my temper with Hudson and swatted him lightly on the nose. He barely noticed. I'd love to hear others insight on that from the experts on the forum. 

When does she act like this the most? I think understanding the context of her Landshark ways will definitely help - but honestly I totally understand what you're going through. Our last shepherd went through a SERIOUS landshark phase, so much so, that when my sister was home alone with him she locked herself in her room because of his incessant play biting. It hurts!


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

Wow, usually we read about this with smaller pups. At one year old it should have been redirected to tugs and such. I agree that keeping the dog on a short leash might be a good idea. This dog needs fair consequences for play biting. She won't understand it at first so be patient. She will need an outlet, though. You may want to learn how to play tug well. You may want to take her on very long walks. Perhaps she wants to herd. Might be good to teach her tricks or even practical skills like carrying things for you. Turn this desire to play with you to an advantage. Some people just wish their dogs would come to play with them.


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## KaiserAus (Dec 16, 2016)

Does she know a "leave it" command or have a no reward marker?

Our 1 year old will occasionally use his teeth when we play rough, but a "uh-oh" quickly reminds him it isn't allowed and he'll give a little lick instead. He also understands gentle so whilst I don't mind him mouthing me I will remind him to be "gentle" 

Slippers are his favourite thing to attack when on people's feet, so that gets a strong "leave it" because it could mean that he is going to trip someone with a hot coffee or something especially in the morning when you aren't awake yet... but fuzzy slippers are his weakness


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## CranberryGSD (Sep 10, 2017)

She selectively knows "leave it" or "drop it". She is a very very hyper dog, always wants to play, so biting is almost whenever she can get close to us. 

We got her when she was 9 weeks, along with two of her sisters. Have her and one sister to a couple friends, and my sister kept her other sister. When she was about 6 months, we got Her back, due to her jumping and biting the kids. She was not too back at first, just small playful bites every once in awhile. Now for about the last two months, she's gotten worse and worse. We're wanting to put her through training, but idk if that will help her any, opinions? 

She only knows the basics- Sit, Down, Shake and since she's back at our house, I've taught her leave/drop it, currently working with Stay.
She does terrible walking on a leash, so going for walks is definitely a no, at this moment. Actually, she did good on a leash until about two months ago- that's when it all changed, when she got worse. That's roughly when she came into her first heat, could that have anything to do with it?


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## KaiserAus (Dec 16, 2016)

I think training will definitely help. It helps with your bond with her and it helps her to learn to always listen to your commands.

Is she getting enough exercise? Are you playing enough games with her? She is obviously trying to get your attention.


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## bkernan (May 17, 2009)

It sounds like she is bored and not getting enough exercise. My pup will literally chomp his way around the house when he's bored and hasn't been thoroughly tired out mentally and physically. Training will absolutely help, get some expert eyes on the behavior and they'll be able to advise you more accurately, but I'd try to exercise her more - does she have good ball drive? Is she a working line GSD? I wouldn't start with tug or exercises that get her near you to promote the nipping/biting behavior, but just some good old fashioned running sounds like it would do her good. 

It also sounds like her walking OB deteriorated around the beginning of the adolescent jerk phase that I'm in with Hudson. In my experience push through it - this is when you need to continue training more heavily. Also I'd definitely keep walking her possibly without distractions nearby with consistent commands and rewards, and then increase the variability of her walks as she improves on the leash. 

Other than that, try not to engage with her when she behaves like a landshark - if she's exercised enough and has enough stimulation there's no reason to tolerate biting or nipping. Does she act aggressive towards you or anyone else? That would be the only cause for alarm, other than that I think more exercise and consistent OB as well as formal training will get the job done!


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## CranberryGSD (Sep 10, 2017)

She gets plenty of exercise. We have five acres that she can run on, and I'm often out play ball or something with her. Sometimes hours at a time. She has a very high ball drive, actually anything drive lol. She plays ALOT with my Doberman, too. Seems like she never wears out though. She is not a working line, just pet quality. She is a quarter Husky, Fyi. There's two people she doesn't like- my dad, who has a deep voice. She only barks at him, no other signs of aggrestion. And my gma, whenever she walks into the room, Cranberry will jump up and stand at my gmas feet and bark, so far no bites. Whenever she does this with my gma, we tell her it's okay and call her to us, which usually works, but she still continues to bark. However, my gma doesn't understand that yelling at her and acting like she's going to hit her will just make it worse, so when my gma does this, it clearly doesn't help. With my dad, he can call her name and she goes right up to him, quits barking and lets him do whatever, like she's never had a problem. She's okay with strangers and other dogs, other then the first bark, so I'm grateful for that. 

If she wasn't as hyper and energetic as she is, I feel it would be soo much easier to control her. I've had many many many dogs, and other GSD before, and have never seen one like her. Is it possible that a dog can have ADHD? Hah I'm not kidding.


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

training absolutely will help. Find a trainer who matches your lifestyle. Not all dogs need a prong collar and not all dogs do well with "all positive treat training". This gal needs to learn the rules. I would not be surprised once she learns rules and consequences and routine that she becomes a great dog. Dogs like knowing what comes next and what to expect. Sure they like variety and surprises but they thrive on knowing the routine.


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## CranberryGSD (Sep 10, 2017)

Just to put a face with the name- Here is Cranberry. 

Ps- the video was taken at like 6pm, whilst she went out running and playing at like 3pm... 3 hours of playing and still so much energy. But at least she sleeps through the night.


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## CranberryGSD (Sep 10, 2017)

You guys say to ignore her when she does bite, but what about when she literally chases you just o bite your feet?


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## bkernan (May 17, 2009)

Amen car2ner!

CranberryGSD she's adorable. You guys will get through it - boundaries definitely should be set and tire her little brain out - teach her new tricks, whatever works and get a trainer in the mix she'll be a model dog in no time!


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

What you didn't mention is how long this dog has been with you. Is she a recent arrival, or did you raise her?


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## bkernan (May 17, 2009)

Cranberry GSD - definitely don't give her the opportunity to do that. What is her schedule like when she isn't running around enjoying your acreage (I'm so jealous as someone who lives in NYC!)? Is she crated? 

You want to make sure she doesn't have any window of time to bite or nip, so if she's doing it when you arrive home after being gone (if she isn't crated when you're not there), I would try using a crate and then leash her immediately upon letting her out of crate so you can correct the biting/nipping. Since she has that part Husky there may be an element that is a bit foreign to me - but from the Huskys I've encountered they're pretty hyper/like mental stimulation - so her being part husky may magnify the need for more mental stimulation. It seems like a boundaries issue to me. Get her away from your other dogs. Make sure she has structured time not just free time to play outside, and then crate her upon going back inside. I find these dogs need a lot of structure or they will just assume they can do whatever they want aka biting/nipping, ignoring commands, etc.


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

Forget my previous comment...I refreshed my browser and now see that you did add that and a lot more...

Since she's been with you for some time, I'd say it's high time to set some boundaries. Some dogs are responsive to verbal commands of "no", while others take more convincing.

If she is biting you, and you don't like it...make her stop! Don't ask her to stop, tell her. If you ramp up your correction when it happens enough to get her attention, it will stop pretty quickly.

Think for a minute about how dogs communicate with one another. If a puppy is doing something that annoys an older dog, he'll growl, then quickly alpha roll the puppy, then just as quickly ignore him....done. Is the puppy scarred or forever afraid of that dog? No. But they do get the message.

With people, too often they're asking for compliance, not demanding it. 

If the biting is something you want stopped, stop it! Elevate your correction for said biting to a level high enough to get the desired result. Just remember that emotion and lingering animosity are not allowed. Correct and done, forget it ever happened. Don't be too quick to loose it on your puppy, but for the sake of the dog and yourself make your position crystal clear...done.

Puppies do go through phases where certain behaviors are exaggerated. But if you want to live with the dog, tell them how they must behave, period. They'll get that a lot quicker and with less pain and stress than if you try to train it out of them indirectly. 

Just my opinion....but it's always worked well for me.


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## CranberryGSD (Sep 10, 2017)

Thanks guys! I'm definitely going to try this all. 

She is crated whenever we leave. When we get home, she is put out on a leash to go potty. sometimes I'll go out with her while she's on the leash and play, sometimes I'll play with her in the house. I've recently introduced nose work, where I hide the toy or food and let her sniff it out. She really enjoys that. She does Sit and Down very well on command. 
And I agree, the Husky has something to do with it. She is also very vocal, which I've heard huskys are. Thanks again!


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

Cranberry is one pretty dog! She does have a very attentive, and mischievous, look in her eye as well...don't ever do anything to diminish that! 

She's adorable! 

But do stop asking her to comply. Tell her how it is, she'll actually appreciate it!


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## Sweet Stella (Feb 7, 2018)

I agree with trying to increase her mental stimulation on a daily basis. Keep drilling her basic obedience as much as possible (sit, stay, etc), teach her to do down stays. The more you do this, the more she will learn to respect you and what comes out of your mouth.

When she's actually mouthing, as others mentioned, completely ignore her if possible. As you mentioned sometimes it's can be painful as she's approaching adulthood, so the next thing I would do is utilize a spray bottle. I just use water, it's usually quite effective. Make sure you give a verbal correction as well, though, when you spray her. 

Beyond that stuff, she's old enough now where you can responsibly use a prong collar or e-collar if nothing else is getting through, just make sure you do plenty of research first. There are a lot of great e-collars out there that don't shock your dog, instead have utilize varying levels of vibration. This a great tool for redirecting your dog's attention when they're being naughty. 

End of the day, go with what you're comfortable with and what works. Good luck!


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