# Binaca or lemon juice "squirt" for puppy biting??



## Jake and Elwood (Feb 1, 2014)

What's the opinion of members of this forum regarding using Binaca or lemon juice when puppy bites? My litter mates are 12 weeks old today and doing well overall. Puppy obedience started last week and they were calm and followed directions well during the class. They also like all people and puppies at this stage. One of the dogs in class barked non-stop and the instructor recommended binaca for barking or biting. She used it on the dog once and it worked for a little while. Just curious about what others think about this approach? Our puppies are not barkers but they are little land sharks. They mostly bite each other when they are playing but I think it's time to make it clear to them that biting humans is NOT acceptable. I've tried yelping and shutting down for a couple of minutes or yelping and walking away but they don't get the connection. Any thoughts? I prefer positive approach training if possible but need to get their biting under control. They have plenty of toys for chewing and I redirect on a regular basis. Need to amp it up a bit. 
Any advice/suggestions are appreciated.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Just keep redirecting them. They will grow out of it. Do you engage them when you redirect or just redirect and give them the toy?


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## My2shepherds (Jun 10, 2014)

I don't know if you consider this a positive approach or not but for the girls I would simply hold onto their mouths with the hand that they were currently biting until they were trying to pull away from my grasp telling them "no bite" at the same time. This worked very quickly to deter them from wanting to bite humans at all. I have never tried a spray... I guess my only fear would be what if they move and you spray their eyes....


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

My GSD pups over the years would nip me regardless if my breath was minty fresh or lemony. 

I resorted to fair play......


SuperG


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

If I was going to spray then with anything it would just be water. Not something like lemon juice that would sting their eyes.


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## Jake and Elwood (Feb 1, 2014)

SuperG said:


> My GSD pups over the years would nip me regardless if my breath was minty fresh or lemony.
> 
> I resorted to fair play......
> 
> ...


Too funny!


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## Jake and Elwood (Feb 1, 2014)

Jax08 said:


> Just keep redirecting them. They will grow out of it. Do you engage them when you redirect or just redirect and give them the toy?


I engage and play with them and they enjoy their toys for a short time….then go back to toes/hands/sweaters, etc. I'm sure it's because there are two of them and their favorite activity is play biting each other. That's probably the root of the problem and probably means I should stop tolerating this behavior. However, my sense is they ARE learning about bite inhibition from each other. When one of them yelps, the offender releases. They do mostly open bite behavior with each other. At what point does it stop being educational for bite inhibition and becomes just bad behavior?


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## Jake and Elwood (Feb 1, 2014)

One more thing….the instructor was adamant that the binoca or lemon juice spray was inside their mouth….not just directed at their face…so wouldn't be a problem with getting in their eyes.


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

I wouldn't do it. You have GSD puppies. You have little nippers. They do outgrow it. Keep redirecting.


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## Jake and Elwood (Feb 1, 2014)

middleofnowhere said:


> I wouldn't do it. You have GSD puppies. You have little nippers. They do outgrow it. Keep redirecting.


OK…..sounds good.. I really don't want to do anything to break their spirits. They are such sweet and happy boys at this stage.


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## jeepgirl (Aug 1, 2014)

Anytime I heard "landshark" it only conjured up the old SNL skit with John Belushi.

Until I got a GSD puppy ...


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## warpwr (Jan 13, 2011)

We screamed ow until they stopped biting hard.

We didn't discourage biting completely.

Pretty quick they learn to bite easier and easier until they have the soft mouth of a bird dog.

Of course this was only one pup at a time not a whole litter and yes, we had to yell REALLY loud sometimes.

Zazzle has turned into a real sweetie pie. (don't they all, ha).


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## Moriah (May 20, 2014)

Hi Jake and Elwood--

I would yelp, turn my back for a moment, then re-direct with a toy. I could not pet my pup until he was about 5 months old because he landsharked me every time I tried to pet him. Forget cuddly puppy!!!

He is 8 months this week and he gives me big slobbery kisses all the time now and he is soooo affectionate. I probably wouldn't have cared for all these kisses, like in the picture of warpwr, except having been exposed to needle teeth constantly as a pup, it is a warm and welcome relief.

The puppies don't know how much it hurts you. I would be as positive as possible with your interactions with them and not leave a bad taste in their mouths. GSDs are soooo sensitive. Your two pups will eventually pass out of this stage and be real lovers


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## Jake and Elwood (Feb 1, 2014)

To Jeepgirl, Warprw, and Mariah: Thanks for your insights. Warpwr's photo made me say, "Awwwwwwwwwwwww!" It's reassuring to hear that this will (probably) pass in the next few months. If this were just one pup, I would probably be more relaxed about it but am hyper-vigilant and don't want to miss signs of inappropriate behavior with siblings. This morning I thought I would separate the two pups on separate quilts on the floor (with their toy bucket in between the two quilts so they could both access it). Took about 1 1/2 minutes for me to just stand in the middle of the floor and laugh at how ridiculous that plan was and how it was doomed to fail. Crating is the only solution to separate them if the are in the same room. Thanks for support from this forum….we are taking it one day at a time. :headbang::headbang:


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## my boy diesel (Mar 9, 2013)

holding them to spray in their mouths (stupid idea anyway) is way more interaction than you should be giving them

a biting puppy needs to learn that it wont get played with if it bites
so interacting with them at all is rewarding it

not to mention binaca may have xylitol which is extremely toxic to dogs 

i have never failed to find amusement at some of these so - called trainers
just shaking my head here


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## my boy diesel (Mar 9, 2013)

> We screamed ow until they stopped biting hard.
> 
> We didn't discourage biting completely.


:thumbup:

this totally
when our adult dogs play with us this still works
a loud 'ouch: helps a LOT


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## Jake and Elwood (Feb 1, 2014)

my boy diesel said:


> :thumbup:
> 
> this totally
> when our adult dogs play with us this still works
> a loud 'ouch: helps a LOT


Thanks! I'll just need to amp up the volume of my YELP! spraying in their mouths didn't sit well with me….glad to hear you guys think it's a stupid idea too.


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## my boy diesel (Mar 9, 2013)

holding muzzles and what not often frustrates a pup too and makes the biting worse
removing yourself is best just after the yelp
good luck


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