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My GSD puppy (12 weeks) won't stop biting. What can we do?
We got her when she was 8 weeks. She bites our hands, our feet, our legs, our furniture, and has even snapped at our faces, and we are worried that she may be aggressive. We've tried bitter spray, red pepper, time outs, thrusting our hands in her mouth, popping her on the nose....everything, and it's not stopping! What else can we try...is this normal puppy behavior?
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Answers
Normal puppy behavior. Not a thing to do with aggression. She's trying to play.
I recommend redirecting. Try to keep one of her toys in your pocket at all times. Learn how to recognize when she's about to bite. Before she has a chance to, give her the toy and have her play with it. Make it clear that biting you immediately ends the play session.
Other ways to cut down on biting are to make sure that she gets all the exercise she needs--GSDs are very intelligent and active dogs. They need lots of exercise, both mental and physical. Once she's had her puppy shots, you can start walking her. Be sure to play with her often.
Ways of doing mental exercise include teaching her tricks, and playing games where she has to use her head, such as "hide and seek".
it's possible that the pup has something wrong with it's brain. No kidding, maybe oxygen deprivation when it was born, maybe something environmental. If the pup wasn't socialized and has no familiararity with people she won't know how to act with them. It is NOT normal for a pup to snap at your face. German Shepards can be a real handful. If you intend to keep this dog you should get into a handling class ASAP... there will be competent folks there to help you and judge your pups behavior. Most places will have beginners classes at three months and up...I was in one handling class(dog show) where the German Shepard was booted out. The owner waited too longand the aggressive dog was threatening and attacking other dogs...and the owner had no control over this 90 pounds of fury. Never to early to start training a German Shepard, they were bred for police work and aggressiveness was a positive.
Yes, it is quite normal. There are specific techniques for biting, but you also need to work on leadership using gentle methods.
Young Labs, which I know best, and other puppies tend to very bad about biting. You see a litter of them, and all the ones that are awake are biting another one or themselves. I am not even sure they realize that when they are alone, if they quit biting, they would quit being bitten. At 3 to 4 months they are getting their adult teeth, and it seems they spend every waking moment biting or chewing. One thing you can do at that stage is to knot and wet a piece of cloth. Then freeze it. The cooling will soothe the gums. Only let the puppy have it when you are there to watch it. I maintain a Lab's favorite chew toy is another Lab. Otherwise they settle for any person they can. They keep hoping to find one that won't yelp, jerk their hand away, and leave.
You just have to keep on correcting them, hundreds of times, not dozens. Provide sturdy, safe toys such as Kongs and Nylabones. Avoid things they can chew pieces off and choke on them. Keep them away from electrical cords. Crates are essential for most young Labs and other dogs.
When Katie came to us from the Orange County Animal Shelter, she was a behavioral mess. She nipped at heels, chewed, counter-surfed, dug in the trash, bit hands, dug in the yard, chewed, barked, lunged, and chewed. She is now the best dog I've ever known, and I am so happy I found her a reputable trainer who uses humane methods and positive reinforcement. Here's her site: www.k9techsupport.com
As some have said here, your puppy is exhibiting the energetic play behavior of a young GSD. Everything that you have tried so far has simply told her it's OK to escalate and be even rougher with you! Do not pop her on the nose, yell, thrust anything at her, or even react to her biting. Simply say, "ah, ah," and quickly and quietly lead her to a safe, boring place. The back yard or a laundry room are good choices. No touching, talking, eye contact, or any kind of interaction for 3-5 minutes, then let her back in. Repeat.
This is normal.
Time to buy some tools for your new one.
Buy a kong , maybe a large red one, a flossie rope, and some kong tennis balls. If the tennis balls get worn throw them out.
Place toy in mouth. Spraying , yelling, and tapping can be a form of reward to the dog.
I never hit a pup anywhere at anytime. There is no learning to it.
Just place the toy in the mouth, when they clamp down you praise once.
You have approximately a good nine more months of horsing around, so get use to it.
The teething process will come in a short few months also, a crate is needed for this breed. So be prepared to do that and train alot.
good luck.
Perfectly normal!!!
Check with your breeder... I have had some new lab owners bring their pups over from time to time for an afternoon off... the pup played with my guys and got exhausted and the owners got a double break... the afternoon off and the pup was tired enough to also give them the evening off by sleeping. You could do this with a local daycare if your breeder isn't close enough.
Good luck!
You don't have to worry, aggression is rarely heard of in 12 week old pups. Its normal behavior. First off though, let me start with whats important:
STOP CORRECTING.
I noticed that a few recommened correcting, and in some cases it will work but in your particular case correctin is only reinforcing the behavior here why: your dog's biting happens because she wants attention. If start playing with her, you've given her positive attention. If you push her away and correct her you've given her negative attention. Which means she still got what she wanted.
I would advice that you set apart a place where your puppy can't reach, maybe block the entrance to your living room with a baby gate, and when she bites, get up and walk into the living room and ignore her.
I like the counterconditioning idea of providing a toy instead for her to chew on. Its worth a try. For more tips look here under nipping/biting: k9domain.web.officelive.com
When Grizz was younger, he exhibited a lot of this behavior. He wanted to play and he wanted attention. I never did the redirection that a lot of people are suggesting, as it seems to me as a form of reward. "Here, you bit me, so have a toy to chew on." But that's personal opinion. What I would do was grab his collar and gently pull him downward until he laid down. I would then get up and walk away. It took a few months, but he got the idea pretty quickly and now he only goes to put his mouth on anyone if they're roughhousing with him.
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