New puppy biting

[MacRy]

I've had a rescue puppy for a couple of weeks an he's about ten weeks old and is just relentlessly biting me. I've read all about puppy care and training and I'm doing my best to discourage him but someone please tell me it's normal for him to be like a bloody gremlin everytime I handle him. He's lovely when he's tired although he still tries to gnaw my hands, feet, legs, arms....basically anything in the general vicinity of his mouth. Can anyone else with experience with puppies assure me that he is just teething and this will stop at some point. It's like living with an angry crocodile at the minute.

His name is Bob and he's lovely really.

 

[dukebound85]

he will. all puppies do this. i remember it being annoying whenever i held mine as a puppy, it was a little painful lol

 

[basesloaded190]

It will stop. Most likely teething. Get him toys or something else besides your body to chew on.

 

[maflynn]

He's just teething and that's what puppies do.

 

[Macman45]

It is just teething. From your local pet store, get a rubber freezer teething toy...The toy will sooth his / her gums and save your arms too. We used to keep German Shepard's and once had a litter of 12 to deal with..Those freezer toy's were great.....Next comes the nails...Remember..they are just babies.

 

[Gav2k]

Chew toys or a baby cong with peanut butter inside will keep him going for hours. It's a combination of teething and how puppy's play with siblings. If your playing with your puppy avoid its mouth, if it starts to bit your hands make a fist and ignore it. It'll soon stop when it realises it won't get attention if it's biting.

 

[anim8or]

As above, a Kong with a little peanut butter or something cool to sooth the teething.

One thing you have to remember though is that you have be tough at this stage as well, I know its hard, my wife found it very difficult to discipline our puppy but if you don't show them its bad then they will repeat it when they are older.

When our Jack Russel, Lennox, began to get 'chewy' with our hands etc... we simply told him 'no' in a stern voice and also popped him out of the room for a few minutes. The separation at this early stage is the most effective punishment as its really all they understand.

Lennox has grown up never having bitten anything since an early age, and it extremely gentle when receiving a treat from the hand.

 

[MacRy]

Thanks for the responses. It's very reassuring to hear that it's normal. I thought that we'd taken on some kind of nutter because it's all he wants to do....other than dig at stuff too. It's very tiring having to fend him off constantly. We are doing the stern "No" at him but it doesn't discourage him in the slightest. I've taken to leaving the room for a couple of minutes when he gets too bitey and that calms him for a minute or so. Being a Jack Russell cross I was beginning to think he was just a tiny terrier terror.

Look at him....butter wouldn't melt....


He has one eye by the way. He was dumped in a car park in a box with a ruptured eye that had to be removed and a bad case of mange - hence the reason he's looking a bit bald and scabby at the minute.

 

[Macman45]

Thanks for the responses. It's very reassuring to hear that it's normal. I thought that we'd taken on some kind of nutter because it's all he wants to do....other than dig at stuff too. It's very tiring having to fend him off constantly. We are doing the stern "No" at him but it doesn't discourage him in the slightest. I've taken to leaving the room for a couple of minutes when he gets too bitey and that calms him for a minute or so. Being a Jack Russell cross I was beginning to think he was just a tiny terrier terror.

Look at him....butter wouldn't melt....
View attachment 339297

He has one eye by the way. He was dumped in a car park in a box with a ruptured eye that had to be removed and a bad case of mange - hence the reason he's looking a bit bald and scabby at the minute.

He's doing fine, and so are you...All puppies are like that, and yours has had a pretty tough start, when his teeth are through, and your training continues he will turn out to be a very loyal companion....Makes me sick how people can do that to animals.

 

[anim8or]

Thanks for the responses. It's very reassuring to hear that it's normal. I thought that we'd taken on some kind of nutter because it's all he wants to do....other than dig at stuff too. It's very tiring having to fend him off constantly. We are doing the stern "No" at him but it doesn't discourage him in the slightest. I've taken to leaving the room for a couple of minutes when he gets too bitey and that calms him for a minute or so. Being a Jack Russell cross I was beginning to think he was just a tiny terrier terror.

Look at him....butter wouldn't melt....
View attachment 339297

If he is of Jack Russell breeding then its especially important that you are consistent with him. Our friends adopted a dog from the same litter as Lennox and they were lacking in the discipline arena when he was young and still bites now, the difference is Jack Russell's are famous for having one of the strongest bites in the canine family, Lennox accidentally bite my thumb when i was holding his bone for him... I have never yelped so loud and high pitched!!!

 

[MacRy]

Him having Jack in him did have me worried because my mum had one and it was an absolute loon. She had no discipline with him though and me and the wife have said right from the beginning that Bob would have structure and boundaries.

He's a clever little fella though as we taught him to sit in about half an hour and come in another few minutes. Food is a great motivator Can't wait for it to work on "No" and "Leave"

 

[boss.king]

Just a bit of warning. I had a puppy who used to bite all the time, and she did stop, but it took about 8 months.

 

[wvuwhat]

I got a little nylon toy that you could soak with water and freeze at the recommendation of my vet when my golden was a puppy. Worked wonders.

 

[Huntn]

Option 2- get a shocking collar and zap it every time it nips you.














KIDDING.

 

[thekev]

That puppy is just so cute! I wish I had a dog again, but I've never found one that didn't mess with my allergies.

 

[Chundles]

He's do cute!

Look at him putting on his "tough" face! He's saying "I'm not a little puppy imma big tough boy"

 

[phas3]

Get a bottle of bitter apple from the pet store and spray it on your hands when he tries to bite you. It will discourage him from biting your hands.

 

[leekohler]

It is just teething. From your local pet store, get a rubber freezer teething toy...The toy will sooth his / her gums and save your arms too. We used to keep German Shepard's and once had a litter of 12 to deal with..Those freezer toy's were great.....Next comes the nails...Remember..they are just babies.

Exactly. It's natural. The dog is not biting out of kill instinct. Humans do the same.

 

[MacRy]

Maybe the humans you know Lee

 

[macinhand]

Legend!!

MacRy you are an absolute legend to give Bob this second chance from the physical and emotional state that the lowlife scum left him in and i am sure in time you will both learn each others ways! He is just going to need a shed load of love and attention which you are obviously giving him and he will soon come around as he is young enough to forget what he has been through!

My wife thinks you are a star and she actually shed a tear when reading the story and looking at Bob's picture

Our Yorkshire Terrier did exactly the same when she was a pup and we used method that the dog whisperer used and that is to place your index and middle fingers onto one of his front shoulders and at the same time make a psssst noise and do this every time he try's to nip you and over time the light poke in the side and the noise evasion will help avert him from the nipping stage!

You have made my weekend!!

 

[iGav]

Thanks for the responses. It's very reassuring to hear that it's normal.

It'll also get immeasurably better once he loses his puppy teeth, they're so small and pointy that they feel sharper than they actually are, same with the claws too.

I think it's brilliant you've taken this little fella on, it might not feel like it when he's hanging off you fingers by his teeth, but you've just topped up your Karma balance considerably.

Completely unlike the f••ker that just dumped him in the car park. Oh how I hope the Bank of Karma pays him back twofold.

hence the reason he's looking a bit bald and scabby at the minute.

He's perfect.

 

[acidfast7]

Eye see what you did there.

 

[MacRy]

Thank you everyone for your words of encouragement. I'm sure with some proper training and patience he'll turn ou to be a fantastic little companion.

I must admit that I've never really been a dog person but the little guy really tugged at my heart strings and I couldn't resist after he'd had such a crappy start to life. He'd also had his dew claws ripped out and his tail badly docked so my wife thinks that he might have been destined to be a working dog.

 

[canuckle]

MacRy, this will definitely get better. A quick piece of advice though...puppies need to understand that they are NOT allowed to play with humans the same way as dogs. We've trained many wonderful dogs (Labs, Shepherds, JR's) and our rule is the same for all...NO teeth on human skin.

Easy way to get that across to the dog, cradle his lower jaw and stick your thumb in on top of his tongue, and gently hold his tongue down. He'll open his mouth wide (they hate the feeling) and you say 'NO BITE'. He'll likely lick your hand, praise that, that's what you want.

Good luck, that's one lucky puppy to have found a great home and an owner smart enough to ask questions.

 

[Zombie Acorn]

How do you think he ended up in the box?







kidding, its normal. If you get kittens they scratch a lot too.