Desperate for help...fearful excessive puppy biting/nipping
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Desperate for help...fearful excessive puppy biting/nipping
Hello. Looking for some much needed advice. I have an 11 week old female staffordshire bull terrier. I brought her home at 8 weeks and within 24 hours she started to scare us with her very frenzied biting and nipping. We gave her lots of chew toys and ignored her when she would use her teeth on us. But things would always escalate. She will bite bite bite lunging until we had to remove ouselves from her. We contacted a trainer who helped a lot with teaching her skills like sitting, walking on a leash, sit/stay and come. I take her on at least three walks a day, try to play in the yard and make sure she gets her rest. But the the biting is getting worse. One day she lept and got my 8 year old daughter in the back. Then she got me in the arm breaking the skin. I will take her outside to go potty and she will just start lunging at me non stop. I tried to calm her and she started growling! She gets into these frenzied states. And the more I try to calm her the more aggressive she seems to act. My children are scared of her and are afraid to even pet her. The trainer took her for a day to do some training and when I came to get her she had put a prong collar on her! I shouldn't have to put a prong collar on my 12 week old puppy. We love our pup but I am honestly fearful. We are not sure we can keep her! People that I explain her behaviour to say that is just puppy behaviour. Is it really? Please help!
Re: Desperate for help...fearful excessive puppy biting/nipping
Sound like a fun loving, energetic, even if a bit over the top, puppy!
Experts will be along soon... My 2 cents - chill, most of them puppies are like that, little crocodiles, and they do have sharp little teeth. I would have plenty of rope toys (or just pieces of rope) everywhere, and whenever you see her about to go into this "biting rage", just redirect her to a toy.
And - stay away from that trainer with the prong collars.
And - I wouldn't give my puppy to anyone for training. Training is a life long thing, no trainer can do it for you. Trainer's job is to train YOU to train your dog. So, really, it's better for YOU to go to class without your puppy - this way you will still learn... If she goes without you - you won't learn anything, her being away from you is stressful, and you don't really know what goes on there.
Cheers!
Experts will be along soon... My 2 cents - chill, most of them puppies are like that, little crocodiles, and they do have sharp little teeth. I would have plenty of rope toys (or just pieces of rope) everywhere, and whenever you see her about to go into this "biting rage", just redirect her to a toy.
And - stay away from that trainer with the prong collars.
And - I wouldn't give my puppy to anyone for training. Training is a life long thing, no trainer can do it for you. Trainer's job is to train YOU to train your dog. So, really, it's better for YOU to go to class without your puppy - this way you will still learn... If she goes without you - you won't learn anything, her being away from you is stressful, and you don't really know what goes on there.
Cheers!
Re: Desperate for help...fearful excessive puppy biting/nipping
Did you get her from a breeder? If so, you could ask the breeder what is 'normal' for their dogs (but if the breeder also recommends aversives such as prong collars, water sprays, alpha rolling etc, run away fast).
As you have young children, it might be worth finding a positive trainer who can observe the behaviour and advise you, but as Ari says, it's mainly to do with ignoring unwanted behaviour, removing attention, avoiding triggers, and having a dog toy in your hand at all times. It does take time and consistency though.
What do you feed her, by the way? And how much of the day is she like this for? Does she have wild times and more peaceful, settled times, or is she full on all the time?
As you have young children, it might be worth finding a positive trainer who can observe the behaviour and advise you, but as Ari says, it's mainly to do with ignoring unwanted behaviour, removing attention, avoiding triggers, and having a dog toy in your hand at all times. It does take time and consistency though.
What do you feed her, by the way? And how much of the day is she like this for? Does she have wild times and more peaceful, settled times, or is she full on all the time?
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Re: Desperate for help...fearful excessive puppy biting/nipping
We feed her what the breeder was feeding her...Nutrilife. (http://www.nutrilifepetfood.com) I have always worked one on one with the trainer. The one day was a socializing class. She doesn't act this way on her walks. It is when I try to interact with her. She will get in such a biting frenzy and I cant get a hold of her to help calm her. She will let me sit and pet her. But then she will start with the lunging and biting where I have to create distance. I am just most fearful for my kids. She will grab hold of them so hard.
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MaeFlowers
- Posts: 13
- Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2015 11:40 am
Re: Desperate for help...fearful excessive puppy biting/nipping
All of my puppies have been like this to some extent. My first was the worst, I got him too young (didn't find out until later) and I have scars from his puppy bites still. Our current puppy does something similar to yours, it's like she goes into this hyperactive biting mode and it''s hard to get her out of it. I find if I can remove myself from her (pull my feet up on the couch and out of her reach) she seems to calm down in a minute or 2. She has lunged at my face a couple times while holding her, at which point I give her a firm NO and put her down. Sometimes taking her outside for a few minutes will distract her as well.
I think maybe they just get too hyper and can't control themselves, and the best thing seems to be distracting them with something else, while removing yourself from the biting zone.
-EDIT- Unless your pup has underlying medical issues, it will stop, don't worry. They do grow out of it.
I think maybe they just get too hyper and can't control themselves, and the best thing seems to be distracting them with something else, while removing yourself from the biting zone.
-EDIT- Unless your pup has underlying medical issues, it will stop, don't worry. They do grow out of it.
Re: Desperate for help...fearful excessive puppy biting/nipping
This is quite common with puppies, and staffords have big mouths to bite with! It will mean a lot of work and a lot of not being cross or scared, but she will grow out of this. Meanwhile equip yourself with a pile of rope tuggers - big ones - not for playing tug (I would not recommend playing tug with this pup) but to have them all over the house so that when she gets That Look you can put the toy in her mouth for her to bite on. Always take some on walks with you as well.
Make sure nobody she meets does anything to excite her - no rough-and-tumble, no running and yelling, no getting her to jump up. No running past, no flapping clothes. If your children are not of an age to manage this, then either pup and children are kept apart, or rehome the pup while she is still cute and rehomable, or take her back to the breeder and explain that your household is not as ready as you thought. This is no criticism at all of you and your children but an experienced acknowledgement of what it takes and the time involved to manage this behaviour. I have worked with a lot of "shark puppies" and it does take a while because they have to grow past the need to get hold and bite down.
Check out our Exercise the Mind thread for lots of things your children and you can do with her, and also give her lots of safe things to bite on and shred, such as big raw vegetables and cardboard boxes.
We can give you lots of support, but it is you who have to do this, so be straight with yourself and realistic about what you can manage. We can't see your household or what goes on.
Good for you for not using the prong collar! Well done.
Make sure nobody she meets does anything to excite her - no rough-and-tumble, no running and yelling, no getting her to jump up. No running past, no flapping clothes. If your children are not of an age to manage this, then either pup and children are kept apart, or rehome the pup while she is still cute and rehomable, or take her back to the breeder and explain that your household is not as ready as you thought. This is no criticism at all of you and your children but an experienced acknowledgement of what it takes and the time involved to manage this behaviour. I have worked with a lot of "shark puppies" and it does take a while because they have to grow past the need to get hold and bite down.
Check out our Exercise the Mind thread for lots of things your children and you can do with her, and also give her lots of safe things to bite on and shred, such as big raw vegetables and cardboard boxes.
We can give you lots of support, but it is you who have to do this, so be straight with yourself and realistic about what you can manage. We can't see your household or what goes on.
Good for you for not using the prong collar! Well done.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
Re: Desperate for help...fearful excessive puppy biting/nipping
This thread might help too: https://positively.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=6111
But I also want to reiterate what Nettle said - if you decide that this puppy is too much of a land shark for your family, then absolutely the best thing to do is to return/rehome her sooner rather than later and there's no shame and much to admire in making that decision.
But I also want to reiterate what Nettle said - if you decide that this puppy is too much of a land shark for your family, then absolutely the best thing to do is to return/rehome her sooner rather than later and there's no shame and much to admire in making that decision.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Re: Desperate for help...fearful excessive puppy biting/nipping
Thank you so much for your feedback! I want to do the right thing for my children and our puppy. You all have helped me so much. I have a past of being bitten by adult dogs so her behaviour has put this fear in me. I now see this is her personality as a puppy. And I need to decide if I am the proper and best owner for her. I hope I can be. Breaks my heart to think I might not be. But I will make sure to decide soon if I am not...so she gets a great new home that is right for her.
