Puppy Biting Help?

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Puppy Biting Help?

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Hi, I know this topic has been covered over and over but we just got a puppy, a Saint Bernard, and she's 9 and a half weeks and we've had her for almost 6 days. She's great, but she bites very hard, and has temper tantrums daily. We've tried a lot so far, saying no, yelping, time outs, giving her other toys and praising her when she lets go, and covering our hands with the bitter apple, but it just doesn't work. I know it seems really early to expect anything, but she's started biting harder today. We play with her a lot and take her out for 15 min fast-paced walks but that only hypes her up more.
Any suggestions?

Dec 22 2012 22:07:26

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It's really really early for anything to work at this age. Your puppy is just a baby. You should be patient, but consistent at the same time. Whenever he starts to bite stop playing at once, turn your back and go away 2-3 steps. He will probably not stop. So keep doing it until he calms down. Also 15 minutes of walk is hardly enough. He has that much energy to burn off. I suggest bigger walks and more playing in the house. Try making him chase a ball until he gets tired. And something else. At this age he is probably teething. So maybe he bites too much because his teeth are itchy. But there is a zero-cost solution to this: Put a wet hand towel in the refridgerator and give it to him as soon as it freezes. He will love the smoothness of the towel and the cold water will help soothing his gums.

Dec 23 2012 12:08:35

Thank you for your reply. I guess really the biggest problem is my fear that she'll get bigger and still be biting, plus we've had a Saint Bernard before who really didn't have a biting problem, just a chewing furniture problem. Also, those walks were in addition to hours of play time in a large fenced-in yard with as well as inside play sessions. We'll definitely try the wet hand towel trick, we hadn't heard of that yet, so thanks again.

Dec 23 2012 16:58:59

Ruslana's reply was promoted to an answer.

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It's really really early for anything to work at this age. Your puppy is just a baby. You should be patient, but consistent at the same time. Whenever he starts to bite stop playing at once, turn your back and go away 2-3 steps. He will probably not stop. So keep doing it until he calms down. Also 15 minutes of walk is hardly enough. He has that much energy to burn off. I suggest bigger walks and more playing in the house. Try making him chase a ball until he gets tired. And something else. At this age he is probably teething. So maybe he bites too much because his teeth are itchy. But there is a zero-cost solution to this: Put a wet hand towel in the refridgerator and give it to him as soon as it freezes. He will love the smoothness of the towel and the cold water will help soothing his gums.
Thank you for your reply. I guess really the biggest problem is my fear that she'll get bigger and still be biting, plus we've had a Saint Bernard before who really didn't have a biting problem, just a chewing furniture problem. Also, those walks were in addition to hours of play time in a large fenced-in yard with as well as inside play sessions. We'll definitely try the wet hand towel trick, we hadn't heard of that yet, so thanks again.

Ruslana · Accepted Answer · 2012-12-24T11:29

Hi anon,

There are a few tips in this article:

http://mysmelly.com/content/dogs/how-to-stop-puppy-biting.htm

I hope you'll find them helpful.

Puppy Biting Help?

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