# do all gsd puppies bite this hard



## wrenny (Sep 20, 2007)

So my puppy is about 9 weeks now. He bites like a maniac. It's very hard to play with him because it really really hurts and sometimes draws blood. 

I've read some articles about bite inhibition where we are supposed to ignore him because then he knows he loses a playmate for playing too rough but thats kinda hard to ignore him when you have to watch him so closely.

Is this just with the baby teeth? How do you guys handle it and correct it? Is this normal?


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

give him something else to bite and when he does bite you, yelp, so he knows he was too hard. Littermates do the same thing and they do know how much pressure they are biting with. After teething (4-5 mos) they don't mouth nearly as much as that teething stage. After Onyx lost her last tooth it was amazing how she quit that. I think the pressure of the teeth coming in is hard on them. Ice cubes are helpful, too, crunching on something that may soothe the gums at the same time. Good luck for the next few months!!


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## krystaltiger (Oct 6, 2004)

Oh how i remember those days - and how on many occassions i wanted to "unadopt" my now wonderful 3 year old pup.

Anytime he bites, try making a high pitched squeal - kinda like one pup will do to another. This signals that the play is too rough.

If he bites, turn your back on him - he will hopefully learn quickly that that kind of play is not acceptable.

I was also told if mine ever bit on the hands or anything like that to put your finger down on their tounge - it doesn't hurt them, but its not pleasant either - 

Once the baby teeth are gone, its all better - not that the adult teeth can't hurt if they are like my little "Jaws" when she wants really good treats that I might have in my hand LOL


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## wrenny (Sep 20, 2007)

Turn my back and there goes my ankle.









We have been doing it so I guess we will just continue to do so. Thanks.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

I literally had scratches up and down my legs and holes in all my work scrub pants from my devil puppy biting them every time he got near and he would bite everything and anything that got near him. I would make a loud noise to express my disapproval and then promptly shove a puppy toy in his mouth. I rapidly began to think of puppy toys as pacifiers. He's 5 mos old now and no longer bites. It takes time for some puppies to develop the mental capacity to understand you don't like the biting, but if you are patient, you will be able to channel this energy into something more positive without squashing his adoreable personality.


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## Kefir (Jan 4, 2006)

Teach him the "Pet" command. Hold up a treat (1/4 of a dog bisciut - not a big treat) say "Pet" then pet him 3 times and then give him the treat. Repeat 5 times a day for two weeks. Two weeks later when he goes after you to bite you he knows the "Pet" command. You say "Pet" and he stops and looks at you and you pet him. 

Priceless. 

Henry is now 2 and I still use it. When he goes a little crazy in the yard barking he knows that I can't stand it. I go in the yard and tell him to be quite. He starts to run around like crazy cause he wants to bark. I tell him "Pet" and he stops and comes to me and I pet him and calm him down and all is well.


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## K9Kaos (Jun 24, 2006)

We used the 'yelp' and ignore method when not actively playing with Heidi. 

When playing, we would substitute a toy for our arms/legs/hands/etc and let her take it. 
If she persisted, we went back to the 'Yelp' and playtime over!

She caught on very quickly, and after teething was over, this was no longer an issue anyway!

Enjoy the puppy time while it's happening... it passes quickly!


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Since this puppy biting is so common with our GSD's (and I know it's worse with my GSD puppies than any other puppy I've had, so you aren't crazy), there is actually a sticky up for reference.

Just click on This Site...


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## SuzyE (Apr 22, 2005)

to answer your question-YES and both of mine thought all the regular ways to try and get them to stop were a JOKE!Neither of my mutts hardly bit at all, Cesar & Paige (ESPECIALLY) were horrible. Finally had to retaliate on Paige & then she took me seriously.


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## JFoster (Nov 22, 2006)

Zeus bites too hard when I play with him but it's my own fault. I've always played very hard with him so it's the way he is now. When he plays with the kids he doesn't get as crazy but he still hurts them because he's so big now. But they know to yelp and he calms right down...

Jon.


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## wrenny (Sep 20, 2007)

How old is zues? How did you play rough with him? Random tug of war games or like getting on the ground and wrestling with him?

Only rough games I play is tug of war and thats very rare. Mainly I just play fetch with balls. He still hasn't grown out of biting. I'm hoping the teething will fix that. He is about 16 weeks now.


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## Ardatha (Aug 11, 2007)

Shadow is now six months old and he rarely ever bites when playing. We did all the things listed when he was younger and a regular little aligator! He's finally finished teething and if he puts his mouth on me at all, it's very gentle. He never puts pressure anymore. The most effective method I found was the yelping and ignoring. You don't have to ignore them for long, just a few seconds would often be enough but you have to totally ignore for that time. I would turn away from him, cross my arms and let my mind go blank so I wasn't even thinking about him. They seem to really have a knack for reading body language and this really seemed to get through to him the best. Having lots of chew toys around and substituting was also good, but the ignoring seemed to work better than anything else.


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## wrenny (Sep 20, 2007)

I think mine is starting teething since I see some blood on chew toys but hasn't stopped his biting yet.


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## zyppi (Jun 2, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: wrennyTurn my back and there goes my ankle.
> 
> 
> 
> ...












That's a GSD for sure!

Gently - that's gently - close your hand around his muzzle and say 'no bite' and give him a soft toy.

He's not finished teething.

He needs to chew. Get him a marrow bone - about two inches long. Freeze it and give him one a week. Might make his poop a tiny bit runny but it's good for his teething.

Get him a big, not puppy size, nylabone too.

He'll grow out of it - just not as soon as you'd like.


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## DHau (Feb 24, 2007)

I'm going through the same problem. My darling furball is a demon. lol. Frozen rags and frozen carrots help for a while but not a cure. We try to redirect her biting to a toy but she would rather go for clothes and our hands. Shaking her by the scruff of the neck is not working either. She just comes back for more or barks at us and then runs around like a maniac. 

She loves playing tug and I am wondering if that is something that should be discontinued because she enjoys pulling on our clothes.


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## wrenny (Sep 20, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: DHauI'm going through the same problem. My darling furball is a demon. lol. Frozen rags and frozen carrots help for a while but not a cure. We try to redirect her biting to a toy but she would rather go for clothes and our hands. Shaking her by the scruff of the neck is not working either. She just comes back for more or barks at us and then runs around like a maniac.
> 
> She loves playing tug and I am wondering if that is something that should be discontinued because she enjoys pulling on our clothes.


When I can't take it I just tell him to stay and stay. Then give him a treat but I don't want him to start using the biting as a way for me to start the sit/stay so he gets a treat. I only use that when he goes crazy with biting. 

Mine loves balls so when hes biting me, I try to find a ball, get all excited about it and throw it. He doesn't care for other toys, rags, or anything when hes biting me but since hes fascinated with a ball, most of the time he will stop biting and chase that. 

I'm so used to it that it doesn't even phase me anymore. Hopefully when teething is done, he'll be a softie.


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## Romance (Apr 16, 2007)

I don't think puppy nips are an individual breed problem. It's a puppy thing regardless of breed. Also I think a bite is something that bleeds and often needs stitches....puppy nips are different. they pinch and sometimes draw blood but don't need stitches.


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

Dh and I always carried stuffed toys in our pockets and had them stashed EVERYWHERE in the house. Pretty much, every time Campeche opened his mouth in that menacing way that only a puppy can, we popped a toy into his mouth and said "Toy! Good Toy!" with a happy sound in our voices. Then we played with him and the toy for a while. 

[The toys were big (bigger than his mouth, so they were hard to spit out), soft (so we didn't hurt him shoving the toy in his mouth, and harder to spit out), and on every horizontal surface in our home. Literally, we just had to turn, and we had a soft toy to grab and stuff in between that gleaming set of teeth! ]

This showed our pup that there is a better option than attacking our hands and feet, or whatever other thing he was planning to attack. Toys mean that we would play with him and that was fun, and he made us happy doing that. What a win-win situation.

PLUS ...It didn't take Campeche very long to figure out that HE could bring US toys. (which we responded to by saying "Toy! Good toy!" and stopping everything to play with him...at least, for a while...). A lot of time, when he was teething, he just wanted someone to hold one end of a toy and he would gnaw on it for an hour. His teeth DID hurt. But he liked the interaction of us hanging out with him. 

He went from being menacing and causing bloodshed to instigating productive play. How cool is that? That's the great thing about GSDs. It doesn't take them long to figure things out. We just have to show them how.


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## wrenny (Sep 20, 2007)

So I started this thread 3 months ago and my puppy is going through major teething right now.

The update on biting? Still there. Hasn't slowed one bit.

We are still redirecting. Theres not much else we can do. Hopefully it will end soon.


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## Ardatha (Aug 11, 2007)

It shouldn't be too long now. He should pretty much be done with teething by the time he hits seven months. That's where Shadow is now and he never 'attacks' with his teeth when we play. If he does happen to get his mouth on my skin, he immediately spits me out and goes to play with a ball or chunk of rope. You should start seeing results 'any day now.'


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## CertainlySpoiled (Dec 2, 2007)

Emma, just turned 5 months and is in deep with teething, she's getting a bit better on biting, we use the word 'kisses' and she stops biting and start licking you...have you tried new words or anything? Goodluck, those needle like baby teeth hurt!!


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## CertainlySpoiled (Dec 2, 2007)

Oh, and we also use the words "be nice" when she ignores the word "kisses"....normally one or the other ALWAYS works, unless she's in the "I'm a puppy, I can do what I want mode" then we just stop playing and she plays alone! Sounds cruel, but those teeth really do hurt and she has to learn to play nice.


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## RubySlippers (Apr 19, 2007)

Yup! They bite like little gremlins. Ruby bit through my finger nail on my index finger. Man did that hurt. Happened in an instant though with those sharp puppy teeth. I was fishing yet another stray item from her mouth and I didn't do it right. 

The yelp and removal worked for us. Also- I had to learn not to pull my hands away so fast. I would grit my teeth if it hurt and tell her NO! and then EASY or GENTLE. She's now 11 months. She still likes to put her mouth on us, but she does not bite down at all. She will adjust her bite every time. 
And yes... I thought I would be on little nubs she went for the ankles so much. I just kept correcting her, and sometimes would scruff her and growl no. She got the picture. That stopped fast. And then she'd be off chasing a dust bunny or something.


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## srfd44-2 (May 20, 2004)

When Kai was a puppy his nickname was "Landshark"


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## GunnerJones (Jul 30, 2005)

> Quote: <span style='font-family: Arial Black'>do all gsd puppies bite this hard</span>



<span style='font-family: Comic Sans MS'>The good ones do







</span>


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## wrenny (Sep 20, 2007)

Teething is still going on and so is the biting. I think he bites my wife more because she wears those stupid furry slippers that remind him of his toys! 

I think eventually hes going to get the point where he stops all together. It's just so funny how much like a real person these dogs are.

He was nipping me last night and I pushed him away then ignored him. After a few more attempts he gave up, flopped on the ground, and gave that human like sigh. It's so cute. I know he wanted attention but I'm not giving him it when he tries to gain it by biting.


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## WiscTiger (Sep 25, 2002)

I think Two of the biggest word in training puppies is Persistent and Consistent. Many people throw in the towel and jump from one training method to another because they are expecting fast results. I know there are some days that I struggle with Persistent and Consistent, but I would just take a deep breath and say to myself, this is just a faze, this is just a faze.

I am glad you are seeing improvement.


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## wrenny (Sep 20, 2007)

Yeah. I am getting used to it.

My wife still has hard times when he bites her. Lex thinks shes a litter mate/play toy still. I can pull off the Ouch! technique and he backs away. She can't.

She is doing it good because it's really hurting her when he bites so I know she's not faking it but he just doesn't care. I always have to intervene and I don't want to because I'm not always going to be around but he just won't leave her alone until I come near him.

So she has her random emotion/crying because she can't control a dog she wonders how she can control a kid.

I'm pretty sure it's not a domination thing because we treat the dog the same way, train the dog the same way, NILIF together. He really just think shes a chew toy.

I should start a random test and tell her not to wear any slippers, see if anything changes.


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## WiscTiger (Sep 25, 2002)

You could try with the slippers and see if it stimulates the pup too much right now. 

Without seeing or knowing you wife I can only venture to say that the pup isn't take her seriously because she isn't commanding, she is asking or pleading. I don't mean this to sound mean, it is just an observation I have seen with some people and some dogs. When I taught classes for a while I had a mix gender of spouces where the dog wouldn't listen to one of them, so it isn't just a female thing.

Suggestion: Talk with your wife or let her read this...

Stop asking or pleading with the pup and command the pup. I can make the word sit sound like a plea or I can make it sound like a do or die command and not be shouting. Have her give a command to the pup like the pups life depended on it obeying or it will die. In your wifes mind she can't have any question or doubt in her mind, when she gives a command the pup must obey. Also have her be aware of her body language, dogs ready body language. If I square my shoulders more than normal, my dogs all know this is not a time to mess around and try to get away with not listening.

Communicating with a pup or a dog is a combination of voice and body.

I am teaching my mom how to give commands. When she says sit, my dogs are reading her voice and body language as OH she asked me to sit and I don't feel like it, LOL so I won't. When I remind her to tell or command the dogs to sit or what ever they obey much better. Little things can make a big difference to the pup/dog obey or seeing a person higher on the ladder than a play mate.

Val


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## The Stig (Oct 11, 2007)

I feel you, my friend. 

I have a 11 week old GSD pup, and since arriving home at 8 weeks, she has developed a fondness for gnawing voraciously on human limbs, while drawing blood a few times. 

So I searched online, read books and talked to dog owners. And I tried every tried-n-true piece of advice to no avail. 

I use redirection - and would praise her when she focused on approved chewables - but after attacking the toy briefly, she resumes back to me. OK, well, next! So I tried ignoring her, and calmly walked away. Janka is the sort that *refuses* to be ignored. So, she will chase me down, and nip me knees & ankles. We also tried squealing loudly when she clamped down, but Janka would give us a nano-second reprieve - as if thinking we were playing like her siblings - before chewing on us again ... with even *more* vigour.









So then, we tried correction, like how an alpha would - grabbed her cheeks, stare at her, and firmly & calmly told her to, "Cut It Out". THAT LITTLE HUSSY TALKED BACK! The moment she whined and looked away, we would calmly release her. She immediately jumped to nip at us, occasionally she would growl & snap. Lightly tapping her nose didn't help either - at first - she would snap back every time we flicked her nose. 

But ... and focus on the but ... it will pass. 

She has definitely improved a lot in the past week. [blubbering]THANK GOD[/blubbering] I was at the end of my rope, I tell ya. 

She still has her moments when nothing works except letting her calm down in her den. Now, we flicked her nose quick-like while saying a firm, "No!" 

The correction, we actually learned from Mspiker03's boy, Levi. He is Janka's uncle, and we noticed he corrected her with a swift and sudden nip on the nose. Then, the lightbulb went off in our heads!!! And we do it in a sudden flick, and then act aloof. But that always comes after if redirection with a toy does not help, which is still our first mode of action.

And we would always praise her lightly when she goes after her toy, or stops after a correction.

Good luck. I can't see how anybody's pup could rival mine in Gator-ness! Everyone's pup seemed to learn really quickly with the traditional methods. 

Mine just ... has a temper, and needs to have the LAST word in.


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## wrenny (Sep 20, 2007)

Yes Stig, that's exactly how mine is.

Ignoring him rarely works. "You can't ignore me! CHOMP!"

Redirecting? "Why do I care for the toy when your hand is right there? CHOMP!"

Ouch? "Oh boy, you make noises now? CHOMP!"

Throughout the time we thought it was better or he stopped. Like a day or two would go by and no biting! Then here it comes again. So I've been putting up with it for almost 4 months now. I'm still hoping it will go away.

I just hate that people can't play with him because he does this. ;( Everyone basically hates him because the first time he meets them, hes biting the second they want to play.


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## The Stig (Oct 11, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: wrenny
> Ouch? "Oh boy, you make noises now? CHOMP!"


Wrenny,

Oh it's quite a relief to know there is someone out there with a pup who just ... breaks out of conformity! I was wondering what was wrong with Janka because nothing worked! 

And yeah, it was like we were some cool interactive squeaky toy! 

LOL


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## wrenny (Sep 20, 2007)

Well yours is still young, so I think you'll be fine. 

My problem is teething is done and hes still biting. ;(


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## mspiker03 (Dec 7, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: The Stig
> 
> I have a 11 week old GSD pup, and since arriving home at 8 weeks, she has developed a fondness for gnawing voraciously on human limbs, while drawing blood a few times.


You are lying!








She is sweet and innocent and never gnaws on humans! She has been nothing but a little







whenever I've seen her.


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## Bellidansa (Jan 23, 2007)

My 9 month old fur baby just did a Mike Tyson on my 7 yr old.....(bit her on her ear)

Blood was everywhere...I have told my kids not to be at ground level when they play.....they were playing, tonga and the girls and it gets out of hand sometime, so I get to play referee....

Otherwise, Tonga isnt biting as much as he used to, and I am just glad of that.....

I am just glad he has almost ceased in jumping on me......


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## wrenny (Sep 20, 2007)

When did Tonga eventually stop for the most part? How old?


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## Tonto (Jan 2, 2008)

"So I tried ignoring her, and calmly walked away. Janka is the sort that refuses to be ignored. So, she will chase me down, and nip me knees & ankles. "

Thank goodness I have finally read something like my dog. My puppy does not like to be ignored, and will bark at you if you ignore him. If you push him away he barks and comes right back at you. I am not so sure it is being mean, but it is almost as if it is confusing to him and excites him further. My daughter was trying the dog whisperer trick on him, and it kept escalating his frustration (you know - poke, shh). He absolutely hates and ignores that. She wouldn't let him past her, and he finally took a flying leap out of the kitchen directly towards me. Two quick steps and all I see it back feet and head about four feet off the ground. I swear it looked like an olympic feat. Happened in a blink of the eye!


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## Timber1 (May 19, 2007)

This might sound silly, but the advice came from my breeder and it worked. When Timber was a pup, he would chase, bite and grab my legs whenever we went outside. It got worse in the snow, for whatever reason, so I asked for advice. 

Her advice was let the dog know it hurts, lay on the ground, hold your ankle and let him know it is wrong. For whatever reason, it worked.


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## wrenny (Sep 20, 2007)

I do the ouch but it doesn't stop him. I can't keep saying the ouch because he keeps coming and it starts to really hurt so I have to physically remove him from my leg and that only stirs it up more.

It's a really really sad thing. So frustrating. This is the only thing that I'm having troubles with. 90% of the day, he's so nice, playful, readnig my mind, laying by me but that other 10% he's just a maniac that won't stop biting.

The two things that reallly really upset me is that he does it more to my wife and he does it to all our friends. So no one likes him. Because the only time they see him, he is biting them. So I always have to put him in another room or keep him leashed. So everyone thinks hes a bad dog and they never get to see the good side of him.

At what age would you recommend a private trainer for this? When you know for a fact teething is completely over? 1 year? 10 months?


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## Timber1 (May 19, 2007)

I wish I could be more helpful --- perhaps others with more experience will be.

I am a bit paranoid, but regarding trainers be very careful. Timber used to chase bikers and joggers so I hired a trainer, but only to advise me on how to handle the problem. She was expensive, but very helpful. However, so many other dog owners I know have been disappointed with their trainers.

Regarding age, my personal feeling to seek help now.


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## Timber1 (May 19, 2007)

I wish I could be more helpful --- perhaps others with more experience will be.

I am a bit paranoid, but regarding trainers be very careful. Timber used to chase bikers and joggers so I hired a trainer, but only to advise me on how to handle the problem. She was expensive, but very helpful. However, so many other dog owners I know have been disappointed with their trainers.

Regarding age, my personal feeling to seek help now.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Your problem is so common with our GSD puppies that we made a permanent sticky with tips and info. Just Click here


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## wrenny (Sep 20, 2007)

I've read all those tips. The only thing to do is hold him until he stops biting. Over and over. As I've stated numerous times. We've tried all the redirecting and the ouch. Those don't work.


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## aaron.whitney (Oct 7, 2007)

Wrenny,

If you found a training method that you are comfortable with and can be consistent with and are getting the desired results then congratulations. I have seen and heard a lot of suggestions and methods over the years, some I have agreed with and used some I have not. I have also used a lot of different trainers over the years and learned something from all of them even if it was that I did not agree with their methods. I have also used a lot of different methods depending on my dog's temperament, drives, purpose, and my training goals for him.
Just keep up with the training, stay patient and one day all your little battle wounds will heal and you will have a dog that has learned bite inhibition.


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