RE: mouthy puppy

2003-08-04 Thread Richard Ray 
OK, now, I don't want to get flamed here, it's not like this is a prong
collar, right? I just give the puppy the finger he/she wants; far enough
down the throat to get a mild gag reflex a couple of times. Half a dozen
times of that seems to associate biting me with no fun, and they stop. Mind
you, I am NOT talking about sticking my finger down the throat and doing
damage, just back to the point where I get a bit of a gag.

I also yip and carry on piteously when they bite someplace else. They seem
to find that strange enough that it helps, too.


-
Richard Ray
Jackson Hole, WY 


-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
On Behalf Of Dave or Stephanie
Sent: Sunday, August 03, 2003 4:22 PM
To: Brandon Diem; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: mouthy puppy

Hi Brandon,
This is going to sound silly and I felt very silly doing it when my girl
used to be a little biting monster but it really works.  When she bites you,
let out a loud yip like a littermate would do if she bit them to hard and
stop playing with her.  Eventually she will hopefully get the hint that she
is doing something wrong when she bites you too hard.  I'm sure that others
on the list will give you some other great ideas to try also.  This is just
what worked well for my girl.
Good luck!
Stephanie Heeter and Brina
N. Edwards, CA
- Original Message -
From: Brandon Diem [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Friday, August 01, 2003 3:07 PM
Subject: mouthy puppy


 I have a 8 week old Berner pup and for the past week she has become
 increasingly more mouthy. My arms, hands, toes, pant legs and any other
 nearby close appendage or article of clothing has to be in her mouth and
 squeezed hard with those little razor teeth. My wife and I have
correctively
 placed chew toys in her bear trap for a mouth when ever she begins this
 behaviour but she is only fooled by the decoy for a few moments before she
 wages her next assult. I have adopted the habit of spraying down my sweet
 flesh with bitter apple spray before a session with my monster. This seems
 to keep her actions at bay until the potency subsides, generally after 2
 minutes.

 I do realize she is just a little pup and she really is a sweetheart when
 not in attack mode, but I am wondering if anyone has had success with
 correcting this behavior. Ignoring the problem has just made her squeeze
her
 chompers harder. I have 2-3 more weeks before her final shots, which
 translate to 2-3 more weeks before she begins obedience training and
 playdates (battle sessions)with other dogs.
 Thanks,
 Brandon

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Re: mouthy puppy

2003-08-04 Thread Andie Reid 
When both our boys were puppies, we were their favorite chew-toy, so we 
employed the OW method every time they bit. It worked wonders. They 
were both quick to pull back, then try to bite again, but gentler and 
gentler each time until they finally decided we were complete sissies 
and quit altogether.

Andie and Tugboat and Steamboat
Wilmington, NC

Re: mouthy puppy

2003-08-04 Thread Annes4 
In a message dated 08/04/2003 12:35:57 PM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
writes:

 I also yip and carry on piteously when they bite someplace else. They seem
 to find that strange enough that it helps, too. 

In most cases, this only works on young puppies, less than 4 mos. of age.  
Once they get to the 3 or 4 mo. stages, the noise seems to incite them to bite 
harder; it seems the prey drive is starting to overtake the inhibition.  For 
the little older puppies, the ignoring them and giving them a time out seems to 
work better.  Just remove their object of play (you) for a few minutes.  What 
we really need them to learn is not so much not to put their mouth near us, 
but to inhibit or moderate the pressure.  If you watch two well socialized dogs 
play, you will see lots of wrestling, lots of open mouth biting and growling, 
but no one is hurt, just lots of shared drool G.  These are dogs who have 
learned that bite inhibition allows play, bite too hard and the game ends.

Anne Copeland (Flash CGC, TDIA, 9 yrs. old, Berner; Gypsy CGC, TDI, 2 yrs. 
old, Cavalier)
Northern Illinois   [EMAIL PROTECTED], Corr. Sec. BMDCA

Re: mouthy puppy

2003-08-04 Thread Jean Cheesman 

 This is going to sound silly and I felt very silly doing it when my girl
 used to be a little biting monster but it really works.  When she bites
you,
 let out a loud yip like a littermate would do if she bit them to hard and
 stop playing with her.

Not silly at all! I've always done this with my pups too!

There is a very good article on Puppy Biting by Dr Ian Dunbar, find it here.

http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm

All love,

Jean, Sunny, Sim, Barney and the Gang
XX
http://bernese.biz