6 month standard poodle biting/nipping

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BFJ
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Nov 24, 2017 1:04 pm

6 month standard poodle biting/nipping

Post by BFJ »

Hi,

Our 6 month old standard poodle Dusty is doing really well now. We have the house training sorted (fingers crossed) and he is generally a great character. The only problem we have started seeing now is biting our forearms, not in an aggressive manner but leaving bruises. He stopped puppy biting completely for a while but i think he has perhaps now reached adolescent stage. It seems to be when he wants attention or in the middle of playing. He will also nip at our our legs or bum.
We have been stopping playing with him when he does this or putting him into a second crate in a quite room (not his main sleeping crate) for a time out. Is there anything else we can try?
He is not yet neutered.

Thanks!
JudyN
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Re: 6 month standard poodle biting/nipping

Post by JudyN »

What worked for me was turning away, not saying anything, and usung a timeout of no more than 10 seconds(ish). Longer than that and he'll have forgotten what it was he did just before the fun ended. So it sounds like you're doing the right thing. Being 100% consistent really will make a difference.

Something else you could try is always carrying a toy with you so you can stuff it in his mouth when he has that look in his eye. And look for times when he thinks about biting and then restrains himself, and praise and reward him.

He could well be teething, so make sure he has plenty of appropriate things to chew on - you could try wetting a flannel, wringing it out and putting it in the freezer, then giving it to him frozen. Cardboard boxes can also be satisfying to shred.
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BFJ
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Nov 24, 2017 1:04 pm

Re: 6 month standard poodle biting/nipping

Post by BFJ »

Thank you. He has certainly lost all his baby teeth, but do the adult teeth take time to bed in? It sometimes takes a bit of effort to get him to his crate to time out, do you have any ideas for an easier and more efficient way of doing a time out? I know that it has to be immediate for him to associate it.

Thanks!
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Nettle
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Re: 6 month standard poodle biting/nipping

Post by Nettle »

Yes, as you guessed, adult teeth take a while to bed in, so there is often a second heavy chewing period at around 8 months. Your boy is a little younger but still within reasonable timescale.

Even a land shark puppy only has so much chew in him. Give him lots of safe things to chew. Soak and freeze plaited fleece and rope toys, give him safe (no metal bits) cardboard boxes, big fresh vegetables that grow above the ground, also carrots and swedes, but not onions.

Keep handy (out of his reach but within yours) in every room things you can put in his mouth as soon as he gets That Look. You'll become very good at judging when the atmosphere is about to change.

I'd say stop crating him for mouthing, because it gives too much opportunity for him to become resentful and try harder to mouth as much as he can before the fun stops. You leaving the room is quite a shock to a mouthy puppy, and I would suggest you go out instead, count to ten, come back in as if nothing ever happened. Rinse and repeat (a lot).

VITALLY important is that nobody plays exciting games or rough and tumbles with him. The lesson is that humans mean you have to have self-control. No yelling either.

Don't neuter yet or it will be far harder to get - and keep- him out of this phase.

JudyN is the queen of dealing with land sharks, and can give you lots of support through this.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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CaraN
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Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2018 2:20 pm

Re: 6 month standard poodle biting/nipping

Post by CaraN »

I tried responding to this but I don't the post went through...I had the same issues with my dog as a pup, I mean exactly the same. Nothing we did worked (time-outs, yelping and walking away). She tore a lot of clothes and bruised us. It wasn't aggression she just could not seem to get that humans are wimps! The one thing that did help, and its tough t o manage is to stand there while she did her desperate play bites with your arms folded. Wait for her to give up, and once she stops and is calm a few seconds offer a treat or toy (I like treats for calm behavior). And then resume playing, repeat...It may take a while. My dog is two and sometimes I see her getting that glint in her eyes and stops focussing a toy starts focussing on me. But I can predict it now as she definitely hesitates with it. I will at that point ask for a sit and then we can resume. Biting is a normal puppy behavior! Your puppy is playful and curious which is great! They just need to channel that appropriately. Good luck!
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