# help with 9 week old puppy who bites like crazy



## Jägers_Mom1 (Aug 21, 2015)

Our 9 1/2 week old puppy has what I call a "bewitching" hour sometimes at night. On random nights he will start running around, charging us, snapping his teeth and biting us very hard. We understand he is a puppy but we have been doing a lot of work to teach him not to bite, when he gets like this there is no getting through to him. Does anyone have an techniques to get him to calm down or to listen to us (the biting is starting to really hurt). We have been redirecting, putting him on his back and telling him no and trying our best to get his energy out. 

Thanks for any help.


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## katieliz (Mar 29, 2007)

he has the "zoomies". all you can do is wait it out, avoid the teeth, redirect...but no putting him on his back or restricting him, which will just make it worse. if he gets too wild, slip a leash on him and crate him...not as a punishment but as a safety measure. my 12-year-old still gets the puppy zoomies sometimes. be patient, someday you'll be glad he still gets 'em, lol...


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## zyppi (Jun 2, 2006)

make sure your pup has enough exercise. 

Biting, nipping at this age is normal - remember, they have no hands but want your attention. Redirect, train, etc...

You have a typical GSD puppy on your hands. Believe me, this state is worth the trial for the dog that will emerge with understanding the breed, training and exercise.

hang in there.


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

Well, I have a different take. You have a decision to make IMHO. 

Never let your puppy bite, even in play, or do it the hard way later - when you've taught him it's ok to bite in play - but not too hard - not when I'm busy - not when I don't want to - etc, etc......

Or, you can redirect with a toy and it's never ok to bite a person. AND IT"S NEVER OK TO BITE A PERSON.

So much easier, if you start out with a no bite rule, but they're so cute and you just want to ruff and tumble when they're young. The're young still when they reach 80lbs - and they will still come at anyone with puppy play - at 80lbs...

Restrict play to no human body parts - redirect with toys - you have one of the most intelligent dogs ever - unless you can explain why certain things were ok when they were young and not now - don't go there - you will make so many months of work for yourself if you do.


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

"if he gets too wild slip a leash on him and crate him" NO. not with a 9-10 week old puppy - you don' restrict them or put them in a box.... Each incident is a training opportunity. You leash them or crate them - that's only to make it easier on you, not on training for them. If you are paying attention, they learn basic house manners so fast - you want them with you, your normal family life every minute - they learn! I guess this is why I can leave a 6 month old GSD in the house along for hours and nothing will be disturbed - 

None of my pups knew a leash until they were 12 or more weeks old, and then it was for their protection because we were going out on the streets. Each of the 5 had free run of the house, once they were potty trained at 4 mos. How will they ever develop house manners is you leash them or crate them.??


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## Horses272 (Jun 15, 2015)

Plenty of exercise, redirection with a toy and yes indeed a several minute crate time out does wonders, you are teaching them by placing in the crate. The pup wants nothing more than to be with you all the time. He will get the idea quick that the biting behavior is not to be tolerated.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

what and when are you feeding the dog .

what happens in the household during this "bewitching hour"?

could be over stimulation .


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

There are a number of ways to go here. It all depends on the lifestyle of your family. My pup was leashed to me for the first few weeks. That was so that I could keep an eye on him while I still went about doing my daily chores and such. 

We do IPO with our pup so we didn't teach him to "never bite humans" but we did try to redirect. At first he has the attitude of "why are you shoving this thing in my face. I want to play with your arm, not that" but after weeks he got the idea. At about a year and a half we would tell him to "go get a toy" and it helps with mouthiness. But when he was little we had band-aids and antibiotic cream on our counter top all the time. And "puppy clothes"..the ones that already had a rip in them because we knew more were coming. If he was really over the top nippy we did put him in time-out in his crate, calmly. It was more so I could calm down and not get angry than for teaching him. After a few minutes if he was waiting quietly in his crate I'd let him out and play ball with him or tug.


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## Debanneball (Aug 28, 2014)

Fritz had vampire zoomies after dinner also as a pup! Our property is 1+acres, so we would walk around the property 3-4 times, by then he was tired, he forgot about the biting! When it got too dark (or raining) to go out, we would roll balls down a long hallway until he was tuckered out. Good luck


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

I am in the "zoomies" or overstimulation camp. Probably lean more towards zoomies causing family to get all worked up, squeal and hoot and holler and cause overstimulation. 

Put the puppy in the crate. Give them a bit to settle down and then let me out. Often times you find that puppy was overtired and ends up taking a nap and come out from the crate the sweet baby they can be.


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## DutchKarin (Nov 23, 2013)

Sounds like a normal puppy. Don't over-react. I agree with having a rule and being very consistent but he is ONLY 9 weeks old so he is going to blow it like any youngster does. Be kind and consistent at this stage. My dutchie had terrible zoomies in the evenings, every evening from 6-8 like clock work. Only his inner satan child came out as well. Be consistent. Appropriate use of an ex-pen and a crate and outside time and appropriate mental and physical exercise and redirecting and he out-grew it. 

You will miss these times when they are gone... well or at least forget them. ;-)


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## annabirdie (Jul 3, 2015)

I have 2 suggestions-
More exercise - you may think you are giving your puppy enough exercise but if he is getting that squirrely he might need to blow off a little steam running around the yard.
Something else to chew - I probably spent a fortune in the first month on things for Rosie to chew (she is 15 or 16 weeks now and the madness has largely passed!) She loves Bully Sticks, her kong stuffed with peanut butter and frozen, tennis balls, a giant pile of wood in our yard (sometimes I actually bring a log inside to keep her busy), and countless varieties of dog chews. Every time he bites you, without exception, you have to tell him no and put something else in his mouth. And don't worry this will pass!


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## Jägers_Mom1 (Aug 21, 2015)

carmspack said:


> what and when are you feeding the dog .
> 
> what happens in the household during this "bewitching hour"?
> 
> could be over stimulation .


Nothing crazy happening actually, its usually when we are trying to relax or eat dinner.


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## Jägers_Mom1 (Aug 21, 2015)

Thanks everyone- We opted to not do the leash, we have been working hard with telling him NO, Redirection and displaying our dominance. We are also doing our best to keep him active to get his energy out but even after a long hike he still started with the 'zoomies'. Possibly he is over tired? We are also starting to think its more after he eats, Can food be do that to him?


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