# Nothing is working to stop biting



## shaner

Our puppy, as much as I love her, almost died tonight (not really). She has a problem with biting, a bad problem. It's not an aggressive bite, it's just puppy biting, but it hurts. We've been following everything we've read on this site and we're getting nowhere. We try walking away and ignoring her when she bites, that doesn't work because she doesn't even notice, she just moves on to one of her toys. I've tried pinching her cheeks really hard and telling her "no," but that doesn't work because she tries to bite me as I say no. I've tried pinning her on the ground and scolding her, but as soon as I let her back up she does it again.

I'm not new to dogs by any means (I had two huskies, and believe me, they are hard to train), but I can't seem to correct this biting thing.

Tonight was the last straw. She bit my face really hard, getting her tooth right in my nose and drawing quite a bit of blood. She thinks she's playing, even though I was filled with rage. 

I don't know what else to do. I don't let her bite me playing around, I don't let her bite my clothes, I've done everything that I've read on this site as well as in a German Shepherd book I bought. Nothing is working, not even slowly. 

Is there anything else you can think of that I can try, other than wait? I realize she'll grow out of it, but if I can speed up the process, I really want to. I'm not going to hurt her or get rid of her or anything like that, but I really want the biting to stop, it's starting to really hurt (she's 3 months old now). 

Any advice is appreciated.


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## XTOL

Landshark alert!

What you are describing is actually absolutely normal GSD
puppy behavior. Abby was the most terrible biter.
I had 4 bandages on me at one point. Then came the
zoomies with drive by biting. Egads...nothing to do except
cover up valuables until it passes.

It does get better. Buy a big box of bandaids and a tube
of Neosporin ointment.

Keep a toy handy. When she is in biting mode stuff
the toy in her mouth. Give her alternate targets...
plenty of chew toys.


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## Rerun

Just because it's NORMAL does not mean it's ACCEPTABLE. I do not understand why so many people tell everyone to expect it and to be prepared. There is no reason your puppy should use you as a chew toy.

I have two words for you - BITTER APPLE. White vinegar and water 50/50 mix also works on many puppies.

google it

Puppy nips you - take it's muzzle, tell it NO, or AUGHT (whatever your "no" word is) and a swift squirt of bitter apple in its mouth.


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## shaner

Normal or not, it's no longer acceptable, not after drawing a large amount of blood from my face. I'm going to try the vinegar solution and spray her every time she nips and see how that goes, because nothing else has worked.

She's an incredibly smart dog and learns things so quickly, but she hasn't learned bite inhibition at all.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN

Stopping biting is not inhibition. 

You can use your method and she learns to stop biting - until she doesn't. Or you can work to inhibit her bite, make her a smarter biter, and you have a dog who has control over their mouth. 

I am not a tall person, but it would take a lot for a puppy to bite my face. When I have mouthy puppies, I keep my face away from them pretty well.  I am not a swift or agile person - but have learned... 

There is a sticky about bite inhibition in this section - just read the links in the first post and see if they help. 

Don't get into a peeing match with your puppy about this. I like to create another word/action and ask for that - kissy kiss is what I use with puppies and adults - and they learn to lick instead of bite. It takes some shaping, but it works well. 

Good luck.


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## Zoeys mom

If you pinned me I would bite you too,lol It sounds like from what I just read when you walk away and ignore the biting she goes to a toy and chews on that.....this is what you want
As long as she's not biting you or inappropriate items she does need to chew. She's teething and it feels good so encourage her to chew on her toys, play lots of tug, fetch, and provide lots of off leash exercise. This really is a faze they grow out of and not a permanent behavior- weather the storm it really does pass


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## MaggieRoseLee

Hate to tell you, but this is such a common problem we made a sticky out of it.

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/puppy-behavior/85888-teaching-bite-inhibition.html

All puppies bite but I've found GSD puppies ARE much worse. That said, it's PLAY biting. Painful. Maybe bloody. Hard to break. But still based on PLAY. 

We want our pups to play. We want happy and balanced puppies that want to engage and play with us.

So instead of punishing a NORMAL play behavior. We need to use our intelligent human brains (punishing is a no brainer and just teaches avoidance) and figure out how to TEACH our puppies a new less painful way to play with the humans in their lives. 

And it works, truly it does. The teaching rather than just punishing. *Cause we CAN be smart and learn too! :wild:*


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## elisabeth_00117

Something that worked for my GSD's.

1. Always have a toy near by (tugs work GREAT for this).

2. Puppy bites, say "ah ah" or your "no" command.

3. Stick toy in mouth (puppies, not yours  ).

4. "YES!" Praise and play.

Simple.

Teaches puppy that it is okay to bite but that there are certain things that are appropriate to bite and you are not one of them!


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## elisabeth_00117

Also, I should mention when saying "ah ah" (I like this word) it's not a mean, loud, scary "ah ah" or "NO" it's more of a "oops, try this instead".

Puppies are babies, they have no clue what is right or what is wrong, it's up to you to show them.


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## shaner

I tried everything in that bite inhibition thread and it didn't seem to get me anywhere. When she would bite, I'd simply walk away to let her know that she hurt me. But it's like she didn't even notice I walked away, she would just move on to biting either her toys, or anything else that was within reach, such as shoes, the couch, my PS3 controllers, my cell phone, etc. Then as soon as I would return she would bite again. 

I tried redirecting her to toys and praising her, but many times she wasn't even interested in her toys, she would just keep trying to bite me. 

Oh well, I'll just keep at it and wait it out I guess. Hopefully it starts to improve, because it's starting to really hurt when she bites. 

As for the pinning down thing, i actually read that on this site. I first walked away, then when she bit again I pinched her cheeks and told her no, then when she bit again I flipped her over and pinned her on the ground for a second or two and told her no. She doesn't like being pinned on the ground and this would stop the biting, at least until I let her back up. 

Oh well, I'll just keep redirecting to toys and hope for the best.


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## Saggio

We had the exact same issue with our pup, Saggio. Nothing worked -- until we discovered the* Pet Corrector (canned air)*. You can get the official "Pet Corrector" at the pet store, but it's fairly expensive. We decided to just get some dust-off canned air at Staples. Keep the canned air with you, and then put your pup in a situation where she'll do her puppy biting. The instant she goes to bite, spray the air. It should scare the crap out of her, just enough to do the job. Keep the air around for the next little while, until she gets it that anytime she goes for humans, the terrifying air comes to get her.

I'm sure it just depends on what you're dog will respond to. But for us, this worked immediately, and its effects were permanent.


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## elisabeth_00117

How are you re-directing to the toy?

Are you just stuffing it into her mouth and walking away?

How about using it as a lure of sorts to tap into her prey drive.. get the toy moving and re-direct her to the moving toy and not your hand/arm/leg/toes/etc..


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## Jax08

Saggio said:


> The instant she goes to bite, spray the air. It should scare the crap out of her, just enough to do the job. Keep the air around for the next little while, until she gets it that anytime she goes for humans, the terrifying air comes to get her.
> .


Just a question...but do you really want to train your puppy by scaring the crap out of her? 

If you punish and scare your puppies, how will you build a bond? You are going to have a dog that doesn't want to come near you.

And what is your timing to squirt them with air or vinegar? Is it always in your hand so that you squirt them as they are biting? Or do you need to go get the air/vinegar and come back to do it? Do you call them over to you and then squirt after you've retrieved your item?

There isn't anything about these methods that sounds like a good idea to me.


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## VegasResident

You have a younger version of my pup. NOTHING worked. Not a single thing anyone suggested. I went through everything, viniger, noses, ahh ahh, time outs, mouthwash spray, toy replacement you name it. I bet there is not one method I did not try. I loked like a walking war wound with cuts all over my arms and hiking boots on my feet to protect my ankles.

Canned air did startle him enough to let go of my limb (you do not spray them, you spray it into the air making a funny noise to stop their behavior so you can try to redirect and yes it was always in my hand) and I NEVER would have put my face close to him when he was in his nipping stage. In fact I had to throw a towel over his head to pck him up.

I got a nose cut from my last one which is where I learned that lesson. 

We then started training the word "off" for treats and it still took him slowly growing out of that horrible phase. 

Though not acceptable there are some pups that just dont respond to all those wonderful things, in fact they just bite harder. I wanted to just kill my little guy for weeks. I just kept working at it and sometimes screaming in frustration and coming here for support (and this is my third GSD). Shoot I put myself in timeout in the x pen a few times.

Fast forward to 5 months old. He is my little man. He mouths some but not painfully..bite inhibition and if I say ouch now he lets go quickly.

He cuddles and kisses and curls up on the floor with me. He runs to me and melts down my legss as I massage his chest. He rolls in pure delight as I pet his tummy.

It will pass, but if he is like my little guy....good luck cause mine had to grow out of the really nasty nipping.


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## Sunstreaked

VegasResident - Thanks SO much for your post.

Apparently we have the same puppy!


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## Saggio

> If you punish and scare your puppies, how will you build a bond? You are going to have a dog that doesn't want to come near you.


In general, I would agree with you that fear is not a constructive emotion to evoke while training. But in this case, using the air was the only thing that work -- and it worked fantastically. Our dog is not afraid of us _in the slightest_. 



> And what is your timing to squirt them with air or vinegar? Is it always in your hand so that you squirt them as they are biting? Or do you need to go get the air/vinegar and come back to do it? Do you call them over to you and then squirt after you've retrieved your item?


Yes, the air is always in your hand. (We did it when we knew he would bite, because he would always bite in certain playful situations, so it wasn't an issue having the air handy.) As unpractical as that may sound, however, it worked out well for us, as we literally only had to do it two times -- total -- for our pup to understand that biting wasn't allowed at all. That was two months ago, and he hasn't laid his teeth on us since.

We also haven't used the air in any other situation. We have used positive reinforcement/clicker training for everything else. 

All that said, I appreciate what you're saying: Inducing fear in your dog is not a good training technique.

EDIT: I wanted to add that we never sprayed the air _at him_. We would always spray it pointed in a different direction, but so that he could clearly hear the noise. Spraying canned air at the dog can be dangerous, as it can sometimes shoot frozen carbon dioxide at the dog, risking injury to the eyes.


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## Rerun

Just wanted to add - our dogs all have very soft mouths, they have no problems with bite inhibition and they are taught not to bite us from day one. Redirects to toys works for many dogs, not all.

Regarding teaching the "kissey face game" - I don't want dogs - even mine - licking my face or anyones face frankly because many people don't like it and I don't want my dogs licking someones face if they bend over to pet them in public. If I encourage them, they will lick my face, but I'd prefer they didn't so I certainly wouldn't teach them too.

They are also not afraid of us and they come flying when we call them.


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## Jax08

Thank You ,Saggio, for further explaining how to used the air and the dangers of spraying the air at the puppy.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN

Rerun said:


> Just wanted to add - our dogs all have very soft mouths, they have no problems with bite inhibition and they are taught not to bite us from day one. Redirects to toys works for many dogs, not all.
> 
> Regarding teaching the "kissey face game" - I don't want dogs - even mine - licking my face or anyones face frankly because many people don't like it and I don't want my dogs licking someones face if they bend over to pet them in public. If I encourage them, they will lick my face, but I'd prefer they didn't so I certainly wouldn't teach them too.
> 
> They are also not afraid of us and they come flying when we call them.


I believe you may be referring to my teaching of an alternate behavior. Using the phrase kissy kiss to teach a puppy to lick (like teaching touch and targeting with the nose as well). I don't do that with my FACE, because I don't let puppies that bite near my face - which I did state. When they are trying to bite hands and arms, legs, feet, I teach that.


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## Larien

Nothing works for me, either. I've tried every single thing on this board, nothing has worked AT ALL. It may sound simple, but for some of us, it's anything but. If I redirect to a toy/chew, he ignores it or drops it immediately. I don't do any of the hitting/tapping/getting angry stuff, but I HAVE yelped/screamed/whined/ouched and every single time, no matter how loud or high pitched, he steps back, cocks his head, and comes back biting HARDER. If I get up to leave the area, he follows and bites my legs. My arms are so scarred and bloody that I am getting looks from people when I go out, they think I'm a cutter or something.

Leave it works like a dream - on everything BUT my hands. When he's biting, he ignores all commands. So unless anyone has other suggestions that haven't been mentioned anywhere on these forums, my only option is to wait it out and wear welding gloves around the house.


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## PaddyD

My dog had the same problem and we found it frustrating too. We made sure to keep our faces away from her and we used the OUCH, NO! method and that worked the best. Puppies are curious and only have their mouths to explore with. They need us to 'tame' them and teach them what is and is not appropriate. Yes, it can be very trying ( we, too, considered giving her back at times) but persistence and patience do pay off. It doesn't happen over night, it takes MONTHS.


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## VegasResident

Larien said:


> Nothing works for me, either. I've tried every single thing on this board, nothing has worked AT ALL. It may sound simple, but for some of us, it's anything but. If I redirect to a toy/chew, he ignores it or drops it immediately. I don't do any of the hitting/tapping/getting angry stuff, but I HAVE yelped/screamed/whined/ouched and every single time, no matter how loud or high pitched, he steps back, cocks his head, and comes back biting HARDER. If I get up to leave the area, he follows and bites my legs. My arms are so scarred and bloody that I am getting looks from people when I go out, they think I'm a cutter or something.
> 
> Leave it works like a dream - on everything BUT my hands. When he's biting, he ignores all commands. So unless anyone has other suggestions that haven't been mentioned anywhere on these forums, my only option is to wait it out and wear welding gloves around the house.


Welcome to my past (mine is 98% better now). I wore ski gloves thank you


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## doggiedad

your dog is 3 months old. when did you get your dog/pup?
what did you do about training and socializing up
untill this point in time? train,train,train and socialize,
socialize and socialize. find a trainer if you don't
know what to do. did you do a puppy class????


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## VegasResident

doggiedad said:


> your dog is 3 months old. when did you get your dog/pup?
> what did you do about training and socializing up
> untill this point in time? train,train,train and socialize,
> socialize and socialize. find a trainer if you don't
> know what to do. did you do a puppy class????


not sure if that always matters with the some of the terminal baby landshark. YOu can do all those and still have a landshark

Mine came at 8 weeks socialized from day 1 (even before we got him he went through handling socialization, etc which is why his temperment is sterling in my opinion), went straight to puppy class, is 100% social 100% doggy friendly, has no fears and yet was a land shark hellion for the first 2 months. He was all mouth and the more corection he got, the more he nipped. We tried everything. Shoot trainers tried everything. They came to the conclusion he would just grown out of it. Lo and behold, one day he just stopped.

He has since gotten 98% better as he has aged to 5 months. Now he grabs now and then but it does not hurt and he lets go when I say off.

My other GSDs were the opposite, in fact second one never nipped once from the day we got her.

So landsharking and socializing/training, etc do not always balance


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## BlackPuppy

I had a puppy where nothing worked for anything. It took a year and a half to potty train her! And about the same to get her to stop biting. She turns 5 years old tomorrow and is such a sweetheart now. Be happy you don't have a crazy working line Malinois.


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## shaner

doggiedad said:


> your dog is 3 months old. when did you get your dog/pup?
> what did you do about training and socializing up
> untill this point in time? train,train,train and socialize,
> socialize and socialize. find a trainer if you don't
> know what to do. did you do a puppy class????


I got her at 9 weeks. She's well trained considering her age and she is definitely socialized. She's around other dogs at least once a day, if not twice. We take her to off leash dog areas every day, plus we take her to pet stores frequently. She's very dog and people friendly. 

We have her enrolled in puppy school which we've gone to a couple times. 
I am well aware of how to train and handle a dog, but it simply doesn't work with her. She wants to bite everything, which includes everyone that lives in this house. She doesn't nip people that she meets outside of the house though.

Oh well she'll grow out of it I'm sure.


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## Denali Girl

elisabeth_00117 said:


> How are you re-directing to the toy?
> 
> Are you just stuffing it into her mouth and walking away?
> 
> How about using it as a lure of sorts to tap into her prey drive.. get the toy moving and re-direct her to the moving toy and not your hand/arm/leg/toes/etc..


 
I can't agree more! Redirection is the way to go, it does sometimes take some time but a no........here's your toy, noooo here's your toy will work if you stick with it. Good luck.


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## DharmasMom

Unfortunately all GSDs seem to go through this. I know mine did. I tried everything and I mean everything to get her to stop. Redirection, yelping like her littermates did, ignoring her, even holding her muzzle when she did it. Nothing worked but she did outgrow it. And they all do. This is why they are called landsharks. 

Good luck


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## marleys_family

Anyone have ideas for getting them to stop nipping when you have small children that can't keep their faces away??? Nothing we've tried has worked either, our pup is 11 weeks (we've had her for 3) and nips alot at our babies (they are 1, 2.5 and 4), she has been spending alot of time in her crate because we just don't know how to get her to stop...we bought her as a family pet, not a working dog or anything like that, she's indoors just going out to the bathroom...


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## Lesley1905

This is the part of the puppy stage that I wish would fly by!


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## Zoeys mom

Amp up the exercise too- a tired puppy is less likely to have the energy to nip you and will be more compliant when you give the no or off command.


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## shaner

Well she's finally started to slow down on the biting. Thank god!!! I've never had a puppy that bit as much as she did. I was starting to wonder if she was even going to grow out of it. 

Every now and then she will still bite pretty hard, but she'll only do it once and will stop biting once we say ow or tell her "off." Before, we could scream every word imaginable, and she would just keep biting and barking at us. It was like I was talking to myself when trying to discipline her.

But it's finally getting better.


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## Heagler870

I haven't read every post on this thread but this is what I did to my first dog when he absolutely would not stop biting. It was a bit of a physical reprimand but it's not like I was beating him or anything. My roommate's dad is basically a dog whisperer, Okay not really but he's amazing with dogs. He's about 60 years old so he's had a lot of experience. One day when I was trying to train my 1st dog he latched down on my hand really really hard. It hurt I almost cried. It was bleeding and I was furious so I had to get up so I didn't lash out. He was there and told me what to do when he got me. He said when your dog bites you take your thumb and insert into the dogs mouth and press down really hard on his tongue and he'll get the message to stop. Well the next day when I was working with him all he wanted to do was go for my hands. Well I did it and after that he backed off from biting so much. I only had to do it twice when I had him. I don't know exactly if it hurt him because he never yelped. I think when you press down on their tongue it puts pressure there making it uncomfortable. I haven't had to do it to my pup Riley because he never really bit or anything.


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## kidkhmer

Did you teach her "leave it" ? Listen ....karma was a damned white pointer. I posted photos on the forums somewhere showing my fingers. Looking like I had master chefed them with a knife !!! My wife wanted to kill her when she nipped and bloodied our 2 year old and now.....at 6 months her puppy teeth have gone and she has a great sense of controlling her bite . My kid can stick her hands straight down her gullet with no worries........


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## Minkie78

I know this thread is old but I did a search for "biting" and I am having the same problem as the OP. We got Bella as a family pet, we needed a large dog because we have coyotes and ***** that come in the yard so a little dog left for 5 minutes might be toast. I am having a hard time physically and emotionally with her, I always almost have one foot out the door to take her back as all she does is bite. I can't have her near the baby at ALL and my 4 year old can't play with her at all because she will bite her and tear her clothes up. She makes her cry at least4 or 5 times a day. (it isn't agression just play biting) I have tried everything besides the bitter apple and can of air which I will try soon everything else just makes her bite even harder. Anyways this thread was great help and I guess I will just stick it out as everyone seems to beleive that they grow out of it! I was wondering from the people in this thread whose puppies weren't responding to anything how there puppies are doing now and if they have grown out of it?? Really just looking for some words of encouragement as I am on the fence of returning her, all she does is BITE!!!


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## shaner

Minkie78 said:


> I know this thread is old but I did a search for "biting" and I am having the same problem as the OP. We got Bella as a family pet, we needed a large dog because we have coyotes and ***** that come in the yard so a little dog left for 5 minutes might be toast. I am having a hard time physically and emotionally with her, I always almost have one foot out the door to take her back as all she does is bite. I can't have her near the baby at ALL and my 4 year old can't play with her at all because she will bite her and tear her clothes up. She makes her cry at least4 or 5 times a day. (it isn't agression just play biting) I have tried everything besides the bitter apple and can of air which I will try soon everything else just makes her bite even harder. Anyways this thread was great help and I guess I will just stick it out as everyone seems to beleive that they grow out of it! I was wondering from the people in this thread whose puppies weren't responding to anything how there puppies are doing now and if they have grown out of it?? Really just looking for some words of encouragement as I am on the fence of returning her, all she does is BITE!!!


Don't return her, she will grow out of it, I promise. I started this thread and I thought my puppy would never grow out of her biting, but she did, they always do. It seems like it goes on forever, but it really doesn't. If you look at when I started this thread and when I updated it saying it was getting better, you'll realize it does quickly get better, you just have to be patient. 

In the meantime, keep working on bite inhibition rather than stopping biting completely. My dog right now still play bites when I play with her, but she's very, very gentle. Perhaps she would have been gentle anyway, but I'd like to think me training her with bite inhibition is at least part of the reason that she has a very gentle bite. 

Keep your puppy, you won't regret it, they are such amazing dogs.


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## spidermilk

These puppy biting threads should be required reading for prospective GSD puppy owners!


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## VegasResident

*Hang in there!*



Minkie78 said:


> I know this thread is old but I did a search for "biting" and I am having the same problem as the OP. We got Bella as a family pet, we needed a large dog because we have coyotes and ***** that come in the yard so a little dog left for 5 minutes might be toast. I am having a hard time physically and emotionally with her, I always almost have one foot out the door to take her back as all she does is bite. I can't have her near the baby at ALL and my 4 year old can't play with her at all because she will bite her and tear her clothes up. She makes her cry at least4 or 5 times a day. (it isn't agression just play biting) I have tried everything besides the bitter apple and can of air which I will try soon everything else just makes her bite even harder. Anyways this thread was great help and I guess I will just stick it out as everyone seems to beleive that they grow out of it! I was wondering from the people in this thread whose puppies weren't responding to anything how there puppies are doing now and if they have grown out of it?? Really just looking for some words of encouragement as I am on the fence of returning her, all she does is BITE!!!


Do not return her. If you look throughout this forum somewhere my pup was the ultimate landshark. NOTHING, I mean NOTHING worked. One time I actually put myself in the xpen kennel I was so frustrated. When I brushed him I had to wear ski gloves and a jacket. I wore hiking boots in the house with winter thick levis (mind you this was August in Las Vegas). I had to use a towel to pick him up to save what little skin was left on my arms.

There was not a single suggestion on the site or anywhere else that I did not try. And I really do not think anything I tried had impact. I just stuck it out.

What is he like today?

He is 13 months old and the sweetest dog on earth. He is a love muffin and people love to pet him. he lets small children rumple his head. At his daycare they use him to help teach the pups coming in about soft mouth as the pups hang off him like ticks. 

When he is on the floor (and yes we are barefoot again) I can reach in his mouth grab a canine tooth and shake his head all over. I can put my whole hand in his mouth and nothing happens.

I cant really remember when but somewhere around 4-5 months, it just stopped. Like that. 

Everyone here and my breeder told me to hang in there. I did....and I am glad I did. He is my love muffin now :wub:

Here is my boy then (the towel was my protective device), along with my arm that was being mauled and now...

Me Holding My Land Shark











My Arm From All the Land Sharking











My 13 month old boy today who has the gentlest mouth on earth


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## Minkie78

Shaner and Vegasresident, THANK YOU this is what I need to hear right now. I think there are only so many ways you can try to get them to not bite before you realize nothing you do is going to work, and so now I have to just go on words of encouragement like yours that there is a light at the end of the tunnel!!! Thank you for sharing your photos, your arm looks like both of mine do. I keep telling the kids she will get better and to hang in there!


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## CaliBoy

Shaner and Vegas Resident: What is frustrating is when you do all the reading, and try all the methods, and the puppy still tears you up and makes you bleed with the biting. Then, someone says, "you should try this instead...." and you roll your eyes and don't know what to say.

There are some GSD puppies that will bite, bite, bite, no matter what. My little guy had to be kept away from family gatherings, because he always made someone's kid cry and then the parents would give me that dirty look like "maybe it's time for the two of you to leave the party." But now, he is a sweet and easy to get along with dog, with no biting, as he nears his 3rd birthday.

So, Minkie78, I agree that you should not get rid of Bella. Some puppies can even make a grown man cry from the frustration. But the GSD is the most loyal and adoring friend you can have, and they are worth the problems of their puppy years. I'm on my third, and have no regrets. And VegasResident, your Romeo is such a stunningly handsome dog!


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## ponyfarm

They outgrow it...it will be a bad memory!


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## Minkie78

Thank you ponyfarm and caliboy. The more encouragement I get the better my spirit gets to keep on trucking. I'm attaching a photo she really is a beautiful dog and can't wait for the day that I actually LIKE to be around her lol. It is so hard when your dogs way of showing affection is clamping down on your arm or biting your ankles.  (as you all know) I was starting to think something was wrong with her and I got a bad seed but starting to feel much better now.  Now to go bandage all the fresh scratches from this morning lol...


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## Grimsin

This thread makes me laugh, luckily i work at home so i could train 24//7 but by 14-15 weeks(3 weeks of training) Dexter ONLY bites his toys unless i start playing with my hands around his mouth and i allow him to play with his mouth but he is very cautious that he doesnt bit hard
when i got him if he would Bite me i would say "NO" REALLY loud it would get his attention, i would stick i toy in his mouth and when he bite down on the toy i gave him tons of appraise and say" GET THAT TOY!! BITE IT!!"
after that, he bite me once in a while and i say "no" he would stop then i say "give kisses" and when he lick me i would praise him huge! so he just comes and licks me or brings he toy to chew on beside me. he even learned a command i didnt think of and its " bite it!" and i point and he goes and bites lols.

here is dexter play biting with his fav kitty


you cant try training the pup for 2-10 minutes and then try again tommorow, this is the time to spend a hour a day in w/e you want him to do. my dog doesnt bite, he sits,stays, shakes paw and i can unleash him in a open area and he doesnt go further then 20 ft away.


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## CaliBoy

Grimsin: I work mostly from home, and I spent lots and lots of time with my puppy doing everything imaginable. Some pupppies just cannot get the message about biting, in my opinion, and for some of us, it is just a matter of sitting out their "puppyhood" and not thinking we have a bad seed or that the puppy will always give us heartache.

This biting issue, interestingly, was not a problem with my first two GSD's. They easily and quickly caught on to the different techniques for not being mouthy. So, I'm not knocking the techniques and the training, which I have seen work from personal experience. What I do say to people like Minkie78 when they ask, "is it possible that some puppies don't respond to the training?" is "oh yeah, it is very possible," because #3 for me was one of those and I know the feeling of "this has got to stop because I cannot be dealing with this forever."

@Minkie: Bella is sooo beautiful. It must be hard not getting to be as affectionate as you would like with her, because she looks so squeezable and squishable (as in giving her hugs). It was sad for me too that my present GSD could not be "loved on" with lots of affection as a puppy because of the biting. I tried to give him a kiss as a puppy and he got me good on the nose (blood spurting everywhere). Now he is very sweet and likes affection.


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## Minkie78

Grimsin: Your dog is very lovely and well behaved at such a young age that it fantastic. I do try and work with her whenever I have her with me. She caught on to Sit and down in a matter of about a half an hour when I first got her, these dogs are so smart! She can also shake and "crawl" which I didn't plan but just happened once when she was "down" so I went with it. She does actually listen to "NO" which is funny, because when she goes near the cats litter box I yell "NO" real loud and she puts her ears back and quickly runs away from it but when I yell "NO" when she is biting us it is like we are speaking french or something. Selective hearing at it's best I suppose  She is starting to lick a bit at times so I am trying to praise her for that and tell her to "give kisses". Caliboy: thank you for your continued support I really do appreciate it, it has saved my relationship with this dog! :hug: What age was yours when the biting really slowed down?


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## codmaster

Best thing to stop biting is old age! Our 3.5+ yo male still likes to "mouth" us now and then - no bite pressure just mouthing which is still not comfortable when he is moving when he does it. Behaviorist thinks he just is being friendly and it's a doggy language greeting! he does now stary licking when we say "OW" and that helps a lot.

Just a quirk of him, I guess.


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## vhowell7

wow, we've been going through the same thing with Shadow...our little LAndShark...She is 12 weeks old, and usually bites no matter how much OWW! I shout, bitter apple spray I use, etc. She loves hands and feet.

My trainer said to get up and leave the area as soon as she bites, which isnt always practical, but I started doing that, and today when she got wound up and bit I put her in her crate for 10 minutes, then when I let her out she was better...she tried to bite later in the day but when I did an OWW she responded a little quicker and stopped....patience I guess.

I saw on a website by some dog trainer that the yelling OWW thing can take up to 3 WEEKS to finally sink in , and I thought THREE WEEKS? gosh, I hope my hands and ankles can make it that long. 

Has anyone heard of using a dog whistle to distract them when they bite?


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## TankGrrl66

"zoomies with drive by biting"

I almost fell out of my chair reading that, laughing!!!!

:rofl: :spittingcoffee:

Why? Because I have a baby GSD right now...and I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!!! ARGGH!

Try zoomie drive by bites on the heel/tendon/ankle...that is when the laughter stops, though


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## LissG

Wow this thread helped me out sooooo much !!! I'm so glad to hear that my puppy is just being normal and not overly aggressive. I'm going to just be patient and keep toys in my hand to redirect!


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## BGSD

I also have one of those pups that doesn't seem to get the message. Mine is almost 7 months now and still loves to chew on my arms and hands. I've tried all the bite inhibition stuff and everything, but nope, nothing seems to work. So I've resigned myself to just trying to ride this phase out.

Some suggest to use a toy and direct the biting towards that. The funny thing is that when I bring out the toys, he interprets that as a message to start chewing on my arms and hands. :crazy:


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## Wolfgeist

Puppies are the best at teaching one another all about bite inhibition. See if you can find a puppy or two to play with yours, as they bite each other they both discipline each other and teach each other how hard to bite.

You must always remember that you are raising an animal - they are used to biting their littermates who don't bleed as a result. They do not understand yet that you do not have fur and they damage you when they put their teeth on you. The utmost patience is needed with baby animals - they are so different from baby humans. 

They grow out of it. All I can suggest is to dodge that mouth, redirect and hold your breath for a couple of months. I wish you the best of luck with your landshark.


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## Ribrustler

I feel your pain. I have a 4 month old female that is a landshark. Her biting is relentless. I actually take her to the dog park for 2 hrs everyday now so she can release some of her energy. This is the only thing that has slowed down her biting. I work from 7 a.m. till 4:30 p.m. and this my schedule now with our pup. 
5:30 wake up take Koko for 1.5 mile fast walk back by 6a.m. feed her breakfast and then she goes in her outside kennel at 6:30a.m. I leave for work.
12:00 p.m. come home for lunch let her out to eat then play for 15mins - I go back to work.
4:45 I get home from work take Koko inside let her eat some more then we to the dog park 1.5 to 2hours so she can playwith the other dogs. Back home at 6:30 - 7:00 p.m. drop her off get my kids take them to the park or bike ride etc.
Back home at 8:00 to 8:30 p.m. drop kids off and then I take Koko for 2-3 mile walk.
9:30 p.m. Koko crashes till 5:30 a.m. 
If I do not keep her active she will bite us like crazy. My kids are actually a little jealous because of the time I am spending with the dog but she needs her energy released and as she gets older it will be better so we can all play together.
One other thing we are trying right now that our instructor at obedience class mentioned is to actually pet her less because she believes Koko is over stimulated. She wants us to not pet the dog for more then 10-15 second intervals but give alot more verbal praise for a few weeks and see if this helps.


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## Oldnewbie

I wish I had known about this forum when Maggie was a pup. She was the first of our pups to have landshark fever and we came close to giving her back several times. We would email the breeder and she would email back some bland comment. The one that stuck with us was when she admitted she doesn't always like them until they are out of the teenage phase (which overlaps with the landshark phase).... but that they are always worth having stuck it out. Because they become GREAT dogs. This proved to be true.


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## Minkie78

What is funny is I did SO much research or so i thought into this breed before choosing her, and NOWHERE did I read anything about this horrid puppy biting phase....this should be manditory readon information for people thinking about getting this kind of dog that have small children. If it was just me this would be more managable but with a baby and two other children it is so difficult they cant even be around the dog. I come close to sending her back on a daily basis even with all these wonderful encouraging comments to stick it out. This info should definitely be written with EVERY GS description!!


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## mchy

my pup is always biting my pants near the crotch region when I sit down with her. I'm very afraid I may lose more than an arm in the future.


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## codmaster

mchy said:


> my pup is always biting my pants near the crotch region when I sit down with her. I'm very afraid I may lose more than an arm in the future.


 
Heh! Heh!

Take care!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## BGSD

mchy said:


> my pup is always biting my pants near the crotch region when I sit down with her. I'm very afraid I may lose more than an arm in the future.


Feel your pain. I am punched in the balls on a regular basis.


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## CaliBoy

Minkie78: oops. Sorry for not noticing your question. Now that I think about it, I don't remember exactly how old my boy was when he stopped shredding me. I remember that by the time he was a year, he definitely was getting better. At least all his sharp teeth had fallen out and the newer teeth didn't make me bleed LOL.


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## PiedPiperInKC

Minkie78 said:


> Thank you ponyfarm and caliboy. The more encouragement I get the better my spirit gets to keep on trucking. I'm attaching a photo she really is a beautiful dog and can't wait for the day that I actually LIKE to be around her lol. It is so hard when your dogs way of showing affection is clamping down on your arm or biting your ankles.  (as you all know) I was starting to think something was wrong with her and I got a bad seed but starting to feel much better now.  Now to go bandage all the fresh scratches from this morning lol...


OMG...what a CUTE puppy!!

I'm with you...my 14-week old girl is my 3rd GSD and the mouthiest I've ever owned! All kinds of 'war wounds' on my arms and legs to keep as a reminder of her puppy years for sure!


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## pfitzpa1

I got my Maggie at 6 weeks which was probably a bit young as she missed a few weeks of sibling play which is supposed to help curb the biting a bit. It was a timing thing, we had a week off and it was a good time to introduce her to house/kids/cat. Anyhows I researched and tried all the following from web...

1. Yelping really loud like I was hurt, didn't work just got her more excited
2. Finger down the throat, didn't work, I think she actually liked it.
3. Holding muzzle, didn't work, she got upset with that
4. Progressively harder flicks on the chin, didn't work, it got to the point where I felt I was going to hurt her.

What did work was 
step 1: redirect to toy
step 2: on failure of step 1, immediately stopping play and putting her outside the back door, for about 10 minutes. 
Rinse and repeat several times and she eventually got the message. 

I also taught her soft mouth ("gently" command) to take treats very gently from all of the family members.

I figure her desire to be with us was so great that she learned quickly that biting wasn't good. She still mouths a little but super softly and stops immediately on command.

Sometimes I let her just hold my hand in her mouth gently. Also when I'm doing heel work and she has broke heel position she has to come back to proper position and nose me in the hand gently before I will advance. GSD's really like to use their mouths so I encourage it but without the biting.


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## pfitzpa1

I forgot one other thing that was part of my solution. 

Teaching her to leave it.
1. Grab a bunch of small treats in your hand
2. open the palm and let the doggie see the treats
3. if she goes for the treats issue "leave it" and close the palm, taking your hand away if needed.
4. Continue until she actually leaves it, then reward
5. Repeat (incorporating "look" as puppy advances)

This teaches her the concept of "leave it" on your hand and body parts in a positive way.

Some folk are adamant that you shouldn't reward a "leave it" with the lure that she is meant to be ignoring, in that case you can reward from a different stack (maybe using high value treats in your palm as lure, and rewarding with small treats from your other hand).




pfitzpa1 said:


> I got my Maggie at 6 weeks which was probably a bit young as she missed a few weeks of sibling play which is supposed to help curb the biting a bit. It was a timing thing, we had a week off and it was a good time to introduce her to house/kids/cat. Anyhows I researched and tried all the following from web...
> 
> 1. Yelping really loud like I was hurt, didn't work just got her more excited
> 2. Finger down the throat, didn't work, I think she actually liked it.
> 3. Holding muzzle, didn't work, she got upset with that
> 4. Progressively harder flicks on the chin, didn't work, it got to the point where I felt I was going to hurt her.
> 
> What did work was
> step 1: redirect to toy
> step 2: on failure of step 1, immediately stopping play and putting her outside the back door, for about 10 minutes.
> Rinse and repeat several times and she eventually got the message.
> 
> I also taught her soft mouth ("gently" command) to take treats very gently from all of the family members.
> 
> I figure her desire to be with us was so great that she learned quickly that biting wasn't good. She still mouths a little but super softly and stops immediately on command.
> 
> Sometimes I let her just hold my hand in her mouth gently. Also when I'm doing heel work and she has broke heel position she has to come back to proper position and nose me in the hand gently before I will advance. GSD's really like to use their mouths so I encourage it but without the biting.


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## vhowell7

I am still having problems with mine, and the biting. She does good for a day or two and I think "whew, glad there's some improvement" then WHAM! she bites me out of the blue!
My trainer said that slower movements might help, keep hands away from face, etc. but then she bites my foot out in the backyard...

QUESTION - do they REALLY grow out of it???  I had a GSD years ago that I never had this problem with!


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## PaddyD

QUESTION - do they REALLY grow out of it??? I had a GSD years ago that I never had this problem with!

ANSWER - yes they do but not always as quickly as you'd like.


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## Lindsay01

shaner said:


> Our puppy, as much as I love her, almost died tonight (not really). She has a problem with biting, a bad problem. It's not an aggressive bite, it's just puppy biting, but it hurts. We've been following everything we've read on this site and we're getting nowhere. We try walking away and ignoring her when she bites, that doesn't work because she doesn't even notice, she just moves on to one of her toys. I've tried pinching her cheeks really hard and telling her "no," but that doesn't work because she tries to bite me as I say no. I've tried pinning her on the ground and scolding her, but as soon as I let her back up she does it again.
> 
> I'm not new to dogs by any means (I had two huskies, and believe me, they are hard to train), but I can't seem to correct this biting thing.
> 
> Tonight was the last straw. She bit my face really hard, getting her tooth right in my nose and drawing quite a bit of blood. She thinks she's playing, even though I was filled with rage.
> 
> I don't know what else to do. I don't let her bite me playing around, I don't let her bite my clothes, I've done everything that I've read on this site as well as in a German Shepherd book I bought. Nothing is working, not even slowly.
> 
> Is there anything else you can think of that I can try, other than wait? I realize she'll grow out of it, but if I can speed up the process, I really want to. I'm not going to hurt her or get rid of her or anything like that, but I really want the biting to stop, it's starting to really hurt (she's 3 months old now).
> 
> Any advice is appreciated.


 
Please don't pin a puppy to the ground, if you are not an expert trainer you could physically hurt her and your will be very sorry later when she has neurological problems, think about it, would you do that to your child?

Also - do not use a choker or a prong on your pup and any physical handling will only make her more prone to do this because she thinks you're playing with her. Can't belive this wasn't said before.

ALL GSD pups do this. Your's as stated was taken away from it's Mom and siblings WAAAY too early and they need to establish this biting inhibition...so find a few pups her size, not smaller - not larger and let them play together so she gets to feel a few nips...and always always supervise so she won't be hurt.

It took my GSD pup who is 15 mos old .....many many months to learn this but what I learned in the process is a great deal...redirect her energy to a toy. Try and get Pat Miller's the Power of Positive Dog Training, buy a clicker and start teaching her. If you don't have the time..or energy - try to find her a home with a rescue...GSD's are a lifetime committment and even when I wanted to give mine back...I'm glad I didn't..she is sweet, smart, still temperamental but does not bite me..well she occasionally trys to herd me..until I give her a toy...Make sure you find a positive dog trainer, not Petsmart..and keep trying...these are not Golden's..no offense, I just hear this way to much and too many pups are dumped at shelters to be PTS because people don't do their research...

Good luck to you..read some good books, put on some nice calming music for your pup when you are gone, and remember she needs quiet time also.

Signed,

I survived a GSD pup..


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## ERRN1313

I just had to jump in and say I too feel the pain! My pup is 16 weeks old and it is starting to get a tiny bit better. Nothing was working for me either and it was great to read here and see I wasn't alone or had a demon seed. I didn't remember my last GSD biting as much, but we got him in the winter and I think my extremities were better protected. I even tried jalapeno juice on my arms and ankles and I think he liked it. What's working best right now is the "time out" when he won't settle down. Just a few minutes in the next room and it seems to calm him (for a little while at least). Someone suggested rubbing Vicks on and the smell might repel him, but I haven't tried it yet.


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## Sammy79

My Ace is now 22 weeks (5 months). He is totally calm now. He doesn't bite at all unless you are playing with him. He doesn't chew on random things in the house. We don't even leave him in his kennel at night. We can leave the house for a few hours and everything is intact. I'm amazed how just a month ago it was the opposite. At 5 months things have dramatically changed. I'm so happy =)


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## broski2815

Hi im dealing with this problem now. My 3 month old is getting crazy with the mouthing.i tried the walking away she comes at me more and she is also doing with my kids 7&8. i have been telling no bite and i have tried it all it seems to pinning down yeah that made him go at me more and then trying the ouch like a puppy that made him come at me more also.So i wanted to see if you found anything that helped?


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## OkieDog

My Finn is 18 weeks and the biting was a real problem for a while. I literally had bandaids all up and down my arms and have gone through a whole tube of Neosporin. Those sharp teeth cut into flesh as easily as a hot knife through butter and I've bled many a time. His bite inhibition was a (and to some extent still is) real problem. 

I have taught him the "leave it" command so he does that real well. What I have done recently is put a treat on my arm and give the command to leave it. I move the treat down to my wrist and give the command again. I move it down to the back of my hand and then the palm of my hand with the same command. Finally, I put it on the ground and let him "take it." 

Now, when he goes for my arm, I just say leave it and he does. Still, when he wants to play, he bites at my feet to get attention. Sometimes when we are in the car, he will want my attention and will mouth my arm but not hard. I still say leave it and he is beginning to understand. Like a toddler, they want their way and immaturity won't let them mind very well, but I am feeling more hopeful now that it will pass.


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## WolfsOwner

I have actually had great results with pinning Wolf down when she was younger when she was biting incessantly. I tried everything, my whole family did, and she wouldn't stop. So many bite marks!!! Little razor teeth. When puppies bite too hard with their mother or other puppies, the other dog/puppy will react and let them know that hurts and to stop. I don't ever advocate hurting your puppy, but I will say that Wolf stopped her hard biting immediately after she was gently but firmly pinned down and told no. It didn't take a lot of force whatsoever, she did not yelp, she just stopped biting. I could be dead wrong, and that's fine, but my arms and hands are now bite free and have been for months.


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## wick

Time outs worked like a charm for us !!!! He was terrible at first... really really bitey!!! but once we began using time outs he stopped in a week maybe less. I would say no bite the first time and the second time I would say no bite and put him in his exercise pen and leave. I assume you dog likes freedom and his play mates? This way he learns all his current favorite things are gone... and boy do they learn quick!! You can use any room that's boring and puppy proof... I think bathrooms are used often. I liked the e- pen bc I didn't want to scare him.


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## laurenjo

We're having such a hard time with our 12 week GSD pup. She not only does "driveby" bites, any hand in front of her face apparently calls for it. Training hand-nose targeting is impossible right now and it's so frustrating seeing trainers give the same old advice where 99% of pups/dogs will pick it up straight away and she's just mauling my hand (in her own sharp puppy way). She will bite our ankles and feet, shoe laces, floppy trouser legs, and if we stand still she pulls until they rip and if we walk off she follows us. She barks (for a loooong time) if we say "no" in a firm voice like I'm being told off for correcting her and if you push her away it's more of a game. The only thing I can do is tie her up or put her in her crate, where she whines and throws herself around. It's really bad, and so many people here are saying they'll get over it, and that puppies will be puppies but i can't wait until she is 6, 7, 8, 9? months old.


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## FlyboyZR1

laurenjo said:


> We're having such a hard time with our 12 week GSD pup. She not only does "driveby" bites, any hand in front of her face apparently calls for it. Training hand-nose targeting is impossible right now and it's so frustrating seeing trainers give the same old advice where 99% of pups/dogs will pick it up straight away and she's just mauling my hand (in her own sharp puppy way). She will bite our ankles and feet, shoe laces, floppy trouser legs, and if we stand still she pulls until they rip and if we walk off she follows us. She barks (for a loooong time) if we say "no" in a firm voice like I'm being told off for correcting her and if you push her away it's more of a game. The only thing I can do is tie her up or put her in her crate, where she whines and throws herself around. It's really bad, and so many people here are saying they'll get over it, and that puppies will be puppies but i can't wait until she is 6, 7, 8, 9? months old.


'

Sounds like your dog is bored and/or has too much energy and needs some mental or physical stimulation. She's doing it because she can. Our 12 week old pup did this (not to this extent though) and is getting much better. Have you practiced any NILIF exercises? (ie. waiting patiently and making eye contact with you before feeding, etc). When he bites inappropriately I simply grab him and lift by the scruff of the neck which makes him uncomfortable and then he stops. I will then redirect him to something appropriate to chew on. You can also stick your finger under the tongue and pinch their chin (lots of YouTube videos on this). She will quickly learn not to enjoy a hand in her mouth.


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