Sarahdee wrote:I have had the pup for about 4 weeks now and he is about 7 months old.
He is getting alot better, but he still attacks me and bites my arms.
I know he is playing, but I need to stop this now.
nothing has worked to get him to stop being mouthy.
I have to put him in his crate because I can't stop him.
I have been using the rock bottle trick and that works, but I don't always have the bottle around when he goes nuts!
any suggestions to make him stop.
thanks
I want to try to take you guys down an entirely different avenue of looking at this problem. Some of you will think I'm crazy, some of you will stop and think, some of you will understand.
First off, dogs do not have hands with opposable thumbs. They have mouths. Their mouth is like their tool. By correcting instead of directing their efforts to interact with you, you are inhibiting their ability to realize the full potential of their tool.
This is a great age to teach bite inhibition as well as a retrieve. I teach my dogs the names of their mouth parts---lips, gums, teeth, chin, tongue, mouth open, mouth closed, and to allow me to touch and handle those body parts. I teach them to hold various objects of different textures, one of the first being my finger.
I see this puppy as a wonderful, bright dog who wants to interact with his owner, who needs something to do.
As to leash chewing, if I have one who loves to play tug, I let them, but only on my terms. I hold the lead between their mouth and the collar and slightly elevate their front feet up to get them to give.
I don't like to use or see others use harsh, angry, or emotional verbal negatives, often they are injurious to your relationship, they don't help teach the dog what to do instead, and sometimes dogs will keep doing what they are doing because negative reinforcement is after all, reinforcement. I would rather redirect or refuse to participate. If I have to use a physical correction, I'm going to deliver it with a leash and collar with no emotion and only enough to get the point across.
As to using a chain lead, I would have him on a snug small link pinch with a tab just long enough to grasp, but too short for him to chew, and only when supervised.
A fun alternative to the rips (zooming through the house) is fast spins to the right and left. The rips are gonna happen!
George Bailey is hyper and large. When company comes over, I save up cans for him to put in the trash. He gets to show off and it burns off the drive so he can calm down around guests.
Julie K
