Dudes. I am in FRANTIC Hoard Sale prep mode, I actually cannot believe how many of you have signed up to come. Its humbling and terrifying at the same time. So, sorry that I don’t have a tutorial going up today, I am afraid if I switch to tutorial mode in my mind everything will go to the crapper.
In other news Wallace the Boston Terrier is adorable.
He loves me the most (of course he does) and we are enjoying every second with him. Except for the seconds of searing pain from his puppy teeth.
(Also I may have rubbed turkey on Ivie’s face to get this licking action shot.)
So I need some advice. How do we get him to stop biting?!?! My feet thank you.
Oh and check out this AMAZING chair I scored yesterday for the Hoard Sale (that is if you can pry my cold dead hands off of it…)
re biter puppy: what we did, growing up, with puppies was to hold their lower jaw with one hand and put the thumb of that hand over their tongue, while saying “no bite!”. the puppy cannot bite you while you do this, and they hate it (but it’s not painful or cruel), so it worked for us. i have no idea if this is an actual technique or whatever, but maybe it will work for you (or not, haha). good luck!
Wilma’s technique works like a charm!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpkCeqJaouA
I just watched this video–makes sense to me. Good idea to control it sooner than later. Cute puppy!!
The best way to deal with puppy biting is to give them neither positive nor negative attention for it (and any other unwanted behavior) since attention is what they crave most! If anyone feels teeth, calmly get up and walk away until puppy has calmed down. Learning that all the fun ends if they bite is a great way for them to learn boundaries and impulse control. Good luck! He is adorable!
I’ll third what Julianna and sturdydesign are saying 🙂
Fourth! I was going to say the same thing. Immediately stop playing and walk away.
As soon as it bites you (even if it’s just mouthing and doesn’t hurt) you need to yipe loudly and pull away. This is what they do in the litter to distinguish pain from play. So in essence, you need to speak his language. Also, stop playing and walk away. Since they just want to play, they learn that this behavior gets negative results. If you are consistent it doesn’t take them long to figure it out. 🙂
This totally worked for us, and we have a new puppy, too! We got her at 7 weeks (yes, I know that’s early), and she is 15 weeks old now and has been totally trained not to bite for well over a month. This method worked so well that we can put our hands in her mouth and she will kind of chew on it without biting. It doesn’t hurt at all! (We don’t do this often; just a little check to make sure she still remembers.) We’ve developed a trust, and she knows what is too much and what hurts. We also do have a never-ending supply of super cute chew toys for her that we would give to her after we made the yelping sound and she settled down. Good luck with your little guy!
This comment has been removed by the author.
This is what we learned at puppy obedience as well! It works… but takes consistency.
Puppies teeth just like babies and all the dogs I’ve had stop biting once all those puppy teeth are gone. What has worked best for us is a firm no!” And give them a chew toy that is ok for them to bite. They figure out pretty quick what’s ok to chew and what’s not. Good luck!
Adorable! Our boston was a rescue so I never got to see him as a pup!
We swear by nylabones! Puppy chews on them instead of you.
I NEED that chair!! The shape if it is just perfect! And your puppy is so stinkin cute:):)
xo
amy
http://www.theblissfulbeeblog.com
such a cute post. so scattered. so wonderful
When he bites, hand him a chew toy…Takes consistency and stubbornness on your part.
Puppies learn to not bite too hard by playing with other puppies. When they bite another puppy or dog too hard…that puppy or dog yelps which lets them know it was too hard. You have to let them know it is not ok to bite. I always say “No Bite”. And put my hands around their mouth. I raised all my four dachshunds this way and they learned quick not to bite me. I do not spank them and I do not yell it at them. I just say “No Bite” and stop them.
He is darling! I’d love him to bite me. That is the hard part…it feels good to have them chewing on you. You are not suppose to let them chew at all…but I let them unless they get out of hand and bite down. Then I tell them “No Bite”.
Good luck…oh…makes me want a puppy again!
Oh…that is a great chair…I can see it all covered in white linen and a grey white shabby finish on the wood. I’d love to get my hands on it.
Gorgeous chair…and puppy and daughter! Lol…and the puppy biting and teeth will subside. Buy lots o toys!! Not rubber though…he’ll likely eat through them and them bring them back up on some lovely DIY rug you worked so hard on!
[email protected]
We have a new puppy right now and are working with a professional trainer. I have a 6 year old, 4 year old, and 2 year old and the puppy started biting them. Our trainer said that you have to catch them in the act and quickly scruff them on the back of the neck (grab a handfull of fur and kind of pull/twist) – I know it sounds harsh, but this is just what the dog’s mother would do. They yelp for a second, but I will attest that this works. It only took a few times of doing this and the behavior has pretty much stopped. The key is taking care of it right in the moment they are doing it. Good luck!
Oh, also give them a chew toy right afterward so they learn the appropriate things to bite and chew on.
I agree with Kiersti about the chew toy – very effective. Must correct the bad behaviour, then show them the correct behaviour. We stopped our puppy poodle from biting people very quickly by smacking the snout away whenever he tried to bite down. Do this even with puppy nibbles! No need to use a lot of force but enough to know you are the boss – also important to have your kids be the boss too! The hand-holding-the-muzzle-closed technique also works, and always replace the human part with a chew toy immediately.
That chair is fantastic. You’ve inspired me to have a garage sale this summer (don’t know if I am worthy of calling it a ‘hoard sale’ just yet)! I need to get my butt in action for that soon… yikes.
Nina is 100% right. We have had several puppies and they learn their behavior from playing with their siblings. They know when a bite is “too hard” when the other puppy “yikes”. Giving a loud “no” and gently closing their mouth is the best way to deal with the biting. Our lab puppy was born exactly one year ago this month. I was very worried about the biting at this time last year. She has not bitten for almost 6 month. I will subside. We have always had boston terriers, so they have a special place in my heart. He is beautiful!
I am a service dog trainer that has raised many puppies from birth (including 4 of my 6). Don’t hold his face- Bostons are brachocephalic so that is dangerous. Acting like his “dog mom” is misguided and lacks scientific grounding. I suggest removing all attention; when he bites, walk away. Also, I recommend getting him into puppy class ASAP- it will allow him to bond more with your family, socialize him to other dogs, and provide him with basic manners.
This is what we did with my dog and she is amazing when it comes to being gentle with her mouth.
Basically when she bit us, we would yelp loudly and leave the room for 30 seconds to 1 minute. There were baby gates keeping her in the room by herself so she couldnt see us. She would cry, but then wag her tail and be so happy to see us when we returned. I can open her mouth and take out food that she is chewing now because she is so gentle.
We have been considering a Boston Terrier puppy but I don’t know anybody who has one. Is it true what they say about them being farters? Do they snort and grunt like bulldogs? Obviously they’re freakin adorable, but other than that how do you like the breed?
He is so sweet. What great shots. When our dogs were puppies we used to have old boxing gloves on to play with them. The minute they saw the gloves come out they knew they good get rough and bite the gloves. It was fun playing with them that way 😉
Love your chair and new puppy! I follow a gal called kikopup on YouTube. She is a dog trainer and has some fun videos. One of her vids focuses on puppy biting and chewing. We are dealing with the same thing with our Doberman pup. Fun stuff!
Our puppy used to nip too. She would follow behind you when you were walking and nip at your calves.
We started doing a little yelp when she did it, to let her know it hurt us (puppy skin is much tougher so she didn’t know it was hurting us and yelping is how dogs let each other know they were just hurt. And then we’d hand her something she was allowed to chew on (bacon flavored nylabones are my favorite they last forever and dogs love them). And then when she would sit down and chew on her bone, we would give her tons of praise. It only took about 2 weeks with our dog to break her of it.
When our puppy was in the biting stage, we made sure we had a toy that was appropriate for him to bite around at all times, and would swap it with our body parts. He learned quickly what was ok to chew on, and what wasn’t. Also the yip/shrill ouch sound and ignore works well too! Good luck! Wallace is adorable!
We had a playful biter, and we learned this trick from a dog trainer. Buy one of those fake lemons with the lemon juice in it. Every time they bite, you squirt a little in their mouth! We did that and she stopped within a couple of days! Worked perfectly! Good luck!
Martha Stewart says if your dog bites you, you bite him back. then they get that it hurts and they stop. apparently thats what the mother to the puppy does when they bite and it teaches them who the parent is too. sounds crazy but it might work! What I did with my dog is every time she bit, I would thump her in the mouth and say “NO bites!” then turn over the back of my hand and she would lick it. eventually she stopped bitting but now sometimes she just licks feverishly! haha now I have to say, no licks!