Hi, if she is a puppy, teething and age can be the issues with biting. Make sure to supply her with chew toys and maybe a edible chew like "Bully sticks". Rawhide is not good for puppies, so try to avoid it. Also, when she does bite (even in play) be consistent and firm with "NO BITE", and stop playing with her for a few minutes. Or you can take the approach we did as we have kids who often didn't want to stop playing with the dog - when she would put her teeth on them (in play) they would say "NO BITE" "GET TOY".and then they would get her a toy. Now Mia will go fetch a toy on command. She'd continue to play with us with the toy in her mouth or playing fetch; thus reducing the nipping/biting.
Puppy nipping is inevitable. Puppies explore their world with their teeth just like babies do. But just as you wouldn't let your kid take a chunk out of you, same goes for puppy. Playing with toys and trying to take them from the dogs mouth, can result in some "mistake" biting from the puppy. The puppy is going for the toy.and oops your finger got in the way. Generally, this is not vicious biting. Puppies and dogs may also growl when playing rough or overexcited. Once again, if she gets into that mode we discipline her with "NO BITE" even if she's just growling. Also, it is in a dogs behavior as an animal of "prey" to get and kill their prey. You'll often see a dog wildly shake his/her toy they way they would if they were hunting. This is dog instinct. However, to lessen the "Prey" instinct do not play "tug" games with your dog. If you can train them "GIVE", it's best if they gently let go of the toy so you can toss it for them to retrieve. Appropriate tennis balls (and they sell baby ones for puppies) are best, as you can grab the lower half of the ball easier than a plush toy. Some trainers will tell you to NEVER take a toy from the dogs mouth, as a Pack Leader dog would never take food, etc from another dogs mouth. The subservient dog would be required to release the item to the ground, so the Pack Leader could take it. Well, that would be the perfect scenario if your dog would "GIVE" appropriately. Mia is 10 months old. She's 50/50 on the "GIVE", but her subservient nature is easy to deal with. Lastly, if your puppy is destroying the furniture, there are sprays and such to make the item taste bad. Luckily, MIA was never destructive (although she does a number on shredding napkins and paper). If you catch the puppy chewing on your furniture (consistently) tell her "NO" and redirect her to one of her "appropriate" chew toys or edible chews. Personally, I think the secret to successful training is consistency especially with all members of the family. You all have to establish yourselves as the Pack Leaders. Although it is likely the dog with be more subservient and listen to one or two family members more than let's say the kids, even young children can be taught what is the right and wrong way to play with the dog and can be taught "dog behavior". Make sure you use a good crate or pen to limit puppy's freedom. Freedom is earned when they get past the potty training and destructive behavior inherent to puppies who can get bored easily. Good luck, I'm sure you'll get a lot of advice from other folks also. From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Sunshine Girl in NJ Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2008 6:41 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [cockapoo] Re: Barking I guess I may have a big surprise if she starts barking in the next few months LOL BTW - Bella is a biter. I'm not sure if she's still teething or not, but I find her biting furniture sometimes and whenever I go to pet her or pick up her paw, my arm ends up in her mouth. I try to keep telling her no but she goes right back to doing it. She mostly does it to me, she won't do it to strangers, and she will do it when she is playing and gets riled up. Any suggestions to break this habit? Joyce ----- Original Message ---- From: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, October 20, 2008 11:11:18 AM Subject: Re: [cockapoo] Re: Barking Mandi didn't bark once till she was 6 or 7 months old. Then, I dropped something in the basement, and she started barking, and barked and barked for like half an hour! Her instincts suddenly kicked in to tell her to bark, but didn't tell her when to quit LOL. Over all she is pretty quiet, and only barks if there is a very good reason. Now Jasper, her barked from the start. He is our little watch dog and always lets Mandi and I know something is going on, like someone shut a car down the street LOL. He has to have a reason to bark, but he also has very good ears so he finds lots of reasons. Mandi now rarely barks. She just lets Jasper take care of that! Sue, M, and J In a message dated 10/19/2008 12:07:10 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, jerseygirl722@ yahoo.com <http://yahoo.com/> writes: I have a female cockapoo (Bella) who is now 9 months old. I have heard her bark once during this time when another dog was afraid and wouldn't play with her LOL. _____ New MapQuest Local shows what's happening at your destination. Dining, Movies, Events, News more. Try it out! <http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1211031713x1200669822/aol?redir=htt p://local.mapquest.com/?ncid=emlcntnew00000002>
