# New puppy aggressively biting my girlfriend, but not me!



## sammy910 (Nov 12, 2013)

Me and my girlfriend bought a German Shepherd puppy 2 weeks ago. He is now 9 weeks old. At first he had been biting both of us and we just figure he was teething. Unfortunately, he has since stopped biting me almost completely, but is constantly biting my girlfriend very aggressively. He bites her calf and ankles when he is on the ground and her face, neck, and hair when she holds him. As far as we know, we have been training him the same as the other so we see no reason for him to treat one of us differently than the other. He has caused bruising and bleeding on her and has made our experience buying our dream dog somewhat of a night mare.

Is there a reason for these actions?

How do we stop this early before it becomes habit?

PLEASE HELP US


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## shawnshayan9 (Oct 15, 2013)

Sounds just like my 8 week old german shepherd. I was worried about this to but I have done research and it is normal GSD puppy behavior. Whenever he does the I redirect him and give him a toy and ignore him seems to work best. I also sometime spray very little bitter apple in his mouth if he is being really bad


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## Mwelsh03 (Jul 10, 2013)

sammy910 said:


> Me and my girlfriend bought a German Shepherd puppy 2 weeks ago. He is now 9 weeks old. At first he had been biting both of us and we just figure he was teething. Unfortunately, he has since stopped biting me almost completely, but is constantly biting my girlfriend very aggressively. He bites her calf and ankles when he is on the ground and her face, neck, and hair when she holds him. As far as we know, we have been training him the same as the other so we see no reason for him to treat one of us differently than the other. He has caused bruising and bleeding on her and has made our experience buying our dream dog somewhat of a night mare.
> 
> Is there a reason for these actions?
> 
> ...


Honestly, you're just going to have to weather the storm for a little while. You can try and redirect him to toys and give him a "stop" command every time he bites, but at that age most all puppies love to nip at you. 

Mine started early and eventually stopped around 5 months old. One thing that I found was very helpful was bitter apple spray. When they bite you one or two sprays into the mouth will usually do the trick. 


Sent from Petguide.com App


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Your pup is saying "Holy Moly! You are sooooo fun! I just want to play! Com'on! Let's play!!! You are the best thing that ever ever ever happened to me! I want to play! Let's play!!!" 

NOTHING aggressive in the behavior of your pup.


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## Thorny (Nov 4, 2012)

Lilie said:


> Your pup is saying "Holy Moly! You are sooooo fun! I just want to play! Com'on! Let's play!!! You are the best thing that ever ever ever happened to me! I want to play! Let's play!!!"
> 
> NOTHING aggressive in the behavior of your pup.


+1.

If you were fun like your girlfriend he'd bite you too. 

It gets better. Do your best to weather this storm. It'll be over soon.


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## vprasad (May 17, 2013)

So are you feeling sad that your puppy isn't biting you or are you happy that it has reduced biting by 50%!  Either way, it doesn't matter, they will phase out of it at around 4-5 months of age . I have a few battle scars myself . Enjoy the stage while you can!


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## Bentley's Momma (Oct 15, 2013)

When my Husband and I first got Bentley at 9 weeks he bit both of us. Then between 10 weeks and 14 weeks I swear his biting and land-sharking was all targeted towards me. I was convinced he thought I was a chew toy and my husband was Alpha… in reality… I noticed that my Husband “played” less with him (I was doing a whole lot of playing, training, picking him up, walking, etc. with him) so he came to me first – in good ways and in bad ways. Also, I was the one wearing bell-bottom yoga pants, have long hair and wear necklaces/earrings and such (making me a realllly fun target for nipping and herding). 

Keep on redirecting and showing disappointment when he bites (I usually isolated him or myself which he would whine through). Add in more training time (mentally tires them and distracts them from biting, I swear). I wouldn’t say our biting is gone now, but we closely used the bite inhibition thread (I would read that one if you haven’t) and if Bentley goes for my arms or hands – he barely uses any pressure. He also has grown out of the nipping at my pants phase. But this took consistency and time (and a few breakdowns and posts, ha). :crazy:

Tell her it gets better!


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