Puppy biting feet for attention

[V.E.M.Fontaine]

Hi !

I have a chihuahua pup who is about 4 months old and although his zoomies can be quite funny to watch, they are usually frustrating because they also include biting and ripping off everything at his height...

When he gets that excited he also runs around us and bites our feet.

I suppose it is because he wants to play and get attention and so far we have been trying to just walk away and ignore him when he bites so that he knows it is not the way. But even though he bites less in general, he still bites our feet quite often and when he does, he becomes uncontrollable.

I can't seem to find an article about this on the website, maybe you can help?

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello,

Welcome to the forum and thanks for reaching out!

 

At 4 months old, puppies are rambunctious balls of kinetic energy and they are always seeking opportunities to play. I can understand your frustration with the situation especially considering that it makes it difficult to walk around because movement is what triggers this behavior. This can be indeed both play and a need for attention, after all, needs for play and attention can sometimes go hand-in-hand. Being so small, Chi's and other small dogs get to interact only with what part of us is closest to them when we are standing and walking around.

 

To tackle this behavior you would need a multi-faceted approach. As you may have read in several of my articles, I am a big proponent of preventing rehearsal of problem behaviors. This means that one important step is to prevent the biting of feet from happening in the first place. This because, the more puppies and dogs get to rehearse behaviors, the more these behaviors become ingrained and difficult to overcome. If not tackled, there are risks that this biting behavior may become the puppy's default way of interacting with you. So let's see several approaches.

 

One is to provide more mental stimulation and brain games so that he'll seek these activities and obtain an outlet for his need to play and chase things that move. Puppies have big needs to explore things with their mouths and chase things that move. Play is a way puppies get to practice hunting behaviors that would have come extra handy in the wild once adults. They pounce, chase toys and other objects that mimic prey. There are many helpful ways to channel these needs in the Brain Games section.

 

If I were to pick some games that were particularly helpful for your pup's situation, I would engage him in some games that put him to "work" such as the Bottle Game, the Muffin Game, and the Treasure Hunt Game. On top of that, make sure your puppy is getting some fun training and exercise during the day. If your puppy knows "sit," you can find how to train it here: training a dog to sit, then The Jazz Up and Settle Down Game may also be a fun game to play to help him learn a touch of impulse control. And don't forget socialization too (like parties with people coming over your home, puppy classes, pet stores (carry him in your arms if he hasn't finished his shots) as he's right near the closing time for that.

 

Games, training, exercise and opportunities for socialization should wear him out and provide outlets for his basic needs. With brain games that allow him to chase things and get rewards out of them (like kibble out of a bottle or a Kong Wobbler) he should seek them more and more which can turn your legs pretty boring after a while because he gets more out of these activities when he's bored.

 

On top of taking the edge off when your puppy is excited and hyper, you need to train a replacement behavior. You are on the right path ignoring him when he bites, but most likely, that's just part of the game for him. If you are walking and you stop and ignore him, he may get perhaps a bit bored temporarily, but most likely he's back to pounce into action, trying to nip your feet the moment you walk away.

 

There are several replacement behaviors you can teach and make them very rewarding so that your feet will no longer be as attractive to him. Here are a few suggestions:

1) You can try with Targeting. Since he's small, you can teach him to target a target stick or long wooden spoon you can carry when you walk so that you can keep his focus off your feet but on the wooden spoon instead.

2) You can teach him to do some attention heeling inside the home (no leash needed), if he can stay so focused on your feet, he can eventually be taught to stay focused on your eyes. Every time he makes eye contact with you, you toss a treat across the room so that he gets workout too. Now, with the short attention span of puppies, don't expect to get long attention, but just a quick glance works. You can start by stopping in your tracks asking for attention and then add gradually motion (walking) as you progress. Here is how to teach to look into your eyes and then apply it to attention heeling.

3) You can purchase a flirt pole or simply attach a safe stuffed animal-like toy to a stick and let him play with that as you're walking to keep him focused on that. Toss him treats when he chooses to play with that rather than your feet, especially initially, then you can do that intermittently.

4) Ask him to sit when you see him approaching your feet and toss a treat away do this as often as needed. You should see an increase in the sitting behavior and a decrease in the feet nipping behavior overtime.

 

You may have to try several of these and see what works best. Teaching an alternate behavior is important because dogs cannot misbehave if they are busy making eye contact or sitting! By providing outlets for his energy and needs for mental stimulation, preventing rehearsal of problem behavior and reinforcing appropriate behaviors, you should eventually start seeing a decrease in the feet-biting behavior. I hope this helps,

Good luck! Let me know if you need any further assistance. Best regards, Adrienne

Edited March 15, 2018 by Adrienne Farricelli