Bites us when she's loose in yard

[clem.kizzy]

We have a just turned 6m old Rottie we've had her 3 weeks. We got her from a breeder. We previously had an adult rescue Rottie but have not been through the puppy stage with any dog in a while. The one thing we can't seem to get under control is her playful biting and we know it'll only get worse as she grows. She has punctured our winter boots and broken skin through them once. She bites more when she's excited but this can come on suddenly at any moment (self-exciting). In the house we leave the room don't even look at her and step over a baby gate until she calms down (sits, lays down or plays with a toy). We calmly give her a command like "touch" or "take" before we reenter the room and praise her. This seems to help usually we only have to leave 2,3 times before she stops all together for a while. Needless to say she will do anything bad to get our attention (jump on table, eat chlids rocking chair) while we are out of the room (still in sight). The biggest problem we have is in the yard. We have a fenced in yard but have now been taking her out on the leash in it, to keep her from getting to excited. She will just out of no where jump up and bite our hands, arms, feet, or legs, many times getting our coats and pulling just to get a good grip and bite again. When we are in the yard we use the leash to hold her away from us, we tell her to sit and we keep it that way until she calms down. We would like to be able to play fetch and have her free in the yard, if we do this now she's a like a little attack animal. (Thankfully she is pretty low energy dog!) She's also more likely to bite us if she gets tired, after walks, and after she eats. We do use most of her feedings to do mental exercises, training sessions (gentle, looks at me, touch-target, waiting at doors, basic obedience) to help her be calm. We use 9" braided bully sticks for chews to relax her when we see she's getting tired. (We have to hold these or she finds other things to chew on, like us :-| ). She has been this way from day 1, she learns so easily, we were hoping to have her cured of this by now. Is there something else we can do? I feel I should meantion she was very scared of everything (literally her shadow) when we first brought her home, all things new we have to show her we are not scared and give her treats around it until she's brave enough to inspect it herself. Is there something we are doing wrong or should we simply stick with it?

[JMFS]

That story sounds familiar, minus the biting. Gertie was like that until about a month-and-a-half passed and she realized she was home for real. I came out of the office one day to see a 45 lb dog standing on our living room table and I thought, "she's gonna kill me with this behavior . . . she has Zero manners!" Hang in there - it gets better! You're also in good company because I've seen this subject pop up more than a few times around here. Here are a couple to get you started:

 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?106-Excessive-puppy-biting

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?42-Biting-clothes&highlight=biting

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?14-Biting-problem&highlight=biting

 

There are a Lot more, lol. I picked the first two because I've read through them, and the third looked like a good one. Oh, and there Will be setbacks . . . she chewed off the cord to my space heater last night. My fault - I moved it to clean and forgot to put it back. It was with her toys so of course she thought it was for her.

[Howler]

Hello and Welcome to the forums!

I hope you found some helpful techniques to try among Jennifer's links. Many puppy owners deal with nipping and it's one of those things that take time, lots of patience and repetition repetition and repetition, so please don't feel discouraged!

 

A 6 months, your puppy is reaching the stage of doggy adolescence. This is an age where many dog owners encounter challenges, but you are on the right track providing brain games and putting those meals to good work. Here is a read about doggy adolescence:

 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/

 

Usually, it's the opposite: puppy biting should get better as the pup grows, not get worse. However, left untackled, you are right that it can get worse in the sense that the jaws grow much stronger, and that the more a dog rehearses the behavior, the more it will put roots and establish. By six months, we would like to see less nipping rather than more, but it's not unheard of for puppy owners to deal with problematic puppy nipping for up to 8-12 months.

 

Her biting should also be inhibited, and not break skin. There are some exercises to train to be more gentle, "gentleness works" is one of them, scroll down to the section on "Train your dog to take treats gently." I have personally used this exercise with my Rotties and now I can even stick a whole treat in Einstein's mouth with my hand and he won't bite down because he knows that my hands and fingers are not to nip. Now, not suggesting to do this as this can hurt in a pup who has learned bite inhibition, but just an idea that dogs can learn that our hands are not to be nipped on.

 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/train-dog-take-treats-gently/

 

These other bite inhibition games were crafted for a very nippy German shepherd and can apply in virtually any dog breed:

 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/

 

Toning down excitement is important as excitement can cause dogs to bite harder than usual. Impulse control exercises can help train more self-control. Ask your pup to sit before eating, to sit before being given a toy, to sit before tossing a ball, to sit before being pet.

 

Jazz up and Settle is a game that can help redirect attention from hands to a toy. Your pup must be fluent in sitting. :https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/jazz-up-and-settle-down/

 

Targeting is also a great way to remove focus from biting the hands to making nose contact: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/

 

The fact that she seems to bite at any time makes me think that her biting may be based on boredom and/or just being cranky and in need of a nap. Entice her to go in the crate or on a mat to enjoy a long-lasting chew or stuffed Kong and settle. Many dogs nap after chewing. Here is how to teach your pup to love the crate:

 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/

 

I like your strategy for tackling her biting when inside the home and from what you describe it seems to be working.

 

It would be important to identify whether the jumping on the table/chewing the rocking chair is really an attention-seeking strategy or whether she is doing those things because she has associated your presence with behaving and your lack of presence as a free pass to misbehave. I am not sure what you are doing when you are present to prevent her /stop her from doing these things, but there's a little strategy to fix this if she's actually misbehaving because you leave the room.

 

If you have trained your dog to "leave it" (you can find how to train it here https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/) and have applied it to having her leave alone items in the home, you can practice leaving the room so that you are out of sight (or watch from an outdoor window if the room has one), but listen or watch carefully: if you hear sounds or see sights that suggest she is going near the table or chewing the chair, quickly return to room or from the window knock and say "Hey! Leave it!" You can then ask her to sit and give her a legit item to chew on/stuffed Kong.

 

Repeat several times, hiding in different areas until your pup gets the idea that although you are not in sight, you still can outsmart her and catch her in the act. Even better, use a remote monitoring system, so that you can see what she does in your absence and remind her that you are still watching her.

 

When you can't actively monitor or do remote monitoring, your best bet is to crate her or keep her in a room where she can't get into trouble. And of course, not leaving anything interesting on the table can make the table less interesting.

 

At 6 months, puppies are still teething. Generally, you should expect a full set of adult teeth by the age of 8 months. It's normal for your puppy to be chewing a lot during the teething phase. Some dog owners have had success in reducing biting wood furniture by applying some Bitter Apple spray on a table's legs.

 

Making other things at the same time more salient than the table and rocking chair, can reduce their attractiveness. Make sure your pup has access to many legitimate items to chew on such as sturdy toys (Kongs, Goughnuts) so that she can make good choices.

 

The yard issue is not uncommon. Many pups perceive the yard as a place to play and release all their pent-up energy. If you send a group of dogs out in the yard, they'll likely either sniff around or vigorously play. Your pup has no other dog to play with so she likely seeks you out and there's nothing more fun that a person who squeaks ouch! and moves arms and legs upon feeling those sharp teeth. To a pup, that resistance turns us into their favorite talking tug toys.

 

If she is on the leash with you when in the yard, this may be part of the problem. She may be frustrated that she can't do what she wants and the yard is full of so many smells and fun things to do. With just you and her, your puppy may be getting bored and the first thought may be playing and "activating" you for attention through her nips. Here are some tips to let her focus on other things rather than you in the yard and to help her get rid of some pent-up energy.

 

And just in case you are wondering, It's OK to be excited in the yard, puppies need some outlets for their energy and this is fine as long as they are engaged in legitimate activities that don't involve overly rowdy behaviors such as nipping and biting you. A more structured plan is needed. Here are a few ideas:

 

-Try a dog bubble-blowing machine. These machines emit bubbles that taste like bacon.

 

-Do a treasure hunt game, scatter the kibble around the yard. Here's how to teach this: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/

 

-If she ever happens to nip your clothing, you can say "eh eh" and turn around, and if she persists, go back inside the home. Dogs hate when they lose their favorite playmates and their social group. Watch her a bit from a window just to make sure she doesn't get in trouble and then come back to give her another opportunity to behave. If you have been using targeting to get her under control do that. Just like you do indoors. She might catch on this, since this exercise is similar to what you have been doing indoors.

 

-Once calmer outdoors, arm yourself with several tennis balls and keep them in your pocket. If you can get her to sit, rather than focus on the clothes, then mark it (yes!) and reward by tossing the ball. Anytime she grabs on your clothing, rinse and repeat the going- back- inside behaviors. When she's calm, toss a ball. You can even ask her sit and toss her kibble rather than the ball. That gives you many opportunities to reward good behaviors. Calm behaviors turn you into a food dispenser!

 

If she gets nippy when she is tired, she may just be cranky like cranky toddler misbehaving. Entice her to go in the crate or on a mat to enjoy a long-lasting chew or stuffed Kong and settle. As mentioned, many dogs nap after chewing.

 

Kudos to you for doing such a great job with her when she was so fearful! I have a name for what you do when you give her treats around items she's fearful of anything new or something she showed signs of being fearful/hesitant yo approach in the past: counter-conditioning. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/

 

This is perfectly fine and I have used this method routinely when dogs needs to get used to items such as ramps, agility equipment and muzzles.

 

I hope this helps!

 

Best, Adrienne

Edited November 20, 2018 by Adrienne Farricelli

[clem.kizzy]

Thank you so much this gives us hope! Thank you too for your descriptive comments it shows how much you care that we succeed and makes it easy to follow your suggestions!! We want her to enjoy the yard but she has a powerful bite, we simply don't want anyone injured in her learning process. Except for this issue she is a very sweet girl, hopefully she'll be able to improve some people view of Rotties, the way our last dog did!!

[Adrienne Farricelli]

You are very welcome! Yes, if her bite is very powerful, please use the utmost caution. Wearing gloves can help, but if you she bites so hard that you are concerned about anybody getting hurt in the process, please have a dog professional guide you through in person for safety. So great to hear that she has so great owners who are also an ambassador for the breed!

Best wishes and Happy Thanksgiving if you are abroad.

Adrienne