help my dog is biting me

Share your favorite training tips, ideas and methods with other Positively members!

Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost

Post Reply
sibe
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2007 5:38 am

help my dog is biting me

Post by sibe »

hey I have a 14 weeks old puppy and it starts snapping and pinching me al the time when things don't go like she wants them to. also when you suddenly appear she starts barking and biting. please help me to fing a way to make her more at ease. :(
emmabeth
Posts: 8894
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:24 pm
Location: West Midlands
Contact:

Post by emmabeth »

Hiya

This is perfectly normal!

With her litter mates, well she was probably never asked or made to do something she didnt want.

If they did something she didnt like, making a big noise, nipping or snapping would stop them. She could make them do what she wanted by nipping or snapping also.

If you suddenly appear from somewhere and she starts barking shes possibly a little wary and unnerved, that is less normal if it is fear, ie her barking is 'omg theres a person eek'.... its a normal reaction (go away scary thing), but its not so normal for a pup to be worried by someone appearing...
If on the other hand shes just barking to say 'yay, you are here, woo playtime' and then jumping on you and nipping and biting.... thats normal.

One thing that springs to mind - is she deaf?

Deaf dogs will be surprised by people suddenly appearing as they dont hear them approaching.
Deaf dogs are often initially quite 'rude' in their behaviour as they will not have picked up on a lot of the sounds that tell them whats going on around them, ie they have never heard another pup yelp in pain when bitten too hard. They have never heard a low warning growl that means 'ok, back off right now buddy'.....

Test this initially by having someone behind her.... you in front. The person behind should clap their hands quite loudly. Does she react at all?

If she doesnt, and that happens on a number of occasions, get her to the vets to check!


I assume from your username shes a Siberian Husky - if thats the case then thats a very strong minded pushy breed you've taken on - which may well account for her protesting when you want her to do something and she has other ideas.

You will get precisely nowhere with this breed (and many others), if you try to force your will upon her.

You instead must try to convince her that doing what you ask is a really great idea, theres lots of rewards available for it!

Not doing as you ask earns her nothing, doing things you do not want, earns her less than nothing (ie removal of something)....

So if you say sit and she doesnt, no reward (and you must then question if she knows the command really?).

If she is biting your hands - remove yourself (you are the reward, if you are gone a/she cant bite you, b/ thats no fun, she prefers it if you are there).

YOu should look at clicker training - theres lots of info about it online, so just use google.

As she is NEVER going to be safe off lead in the majority of places, you need to fill up her world with other things. Shes a pushy strong breed so you have to make those things worthwhile, shes extremely unlikely to be a dog who ever works just because you say so unless its a thing she really loves (and in Sibe world, thats howling, destroying things and running very fast in straight lines).


If you have no choice but to do something she doesnt like, ie put a collar on her, put a leash on her - make it as pleasant as possible, distract with toys and treats. Ignore any silly frustration behaviour (yes even if she is biting stuff, wear heavy gloves or strong boots if needs be) - teach her that throwing a paddy wont achieve anything, being calm and sensible is what earns her rewards.

Hth and if you could let me know if she is deaf..... and also if she IS a sibe.... and also what training you currently do and what she has stroppy fits about, it would be very helpful.

Em
Post Reply