Biting

[MarissaMcalexander]

I don’t know what else to try. I can be outside with my 6 month old puppy and be perfectly fine. Then all of a sudden she will go into attack mode and start jumping and biting me. I try and walk away and she nips my legs almost like a herding dog would. But when she bits it’s almost like attack mode and dominance-she shows her teeth and all. Please help. 

[Adrienne]

Hi there!

Welcome to the forums!

What breed is your dog?

What have you tried so far when she bites?

Where are you outside when this happens? Walks? Yard?

What are you doing exactly prior to when the biting occurs? 

Is she biting hard to break skin?

These extra details will be helpful, thanks!

 

 

[MarissaMcalexander]

She is a rescue so not sure. Possible German shephard, maybe some husky and idk what else lol. I have tried saying no biting, spray bottle, popping her nose, grabbing her collar, Giving a toy, walking inside. Yes we are outside and I can be sitting giving her attention and she does it or when I walk in the yard she bites my legs, ankles and jumps for my hands. Yes sometimes. 

[Adrienne]

Thanks for the additional details, they are very helpful!

With biting, we want to try to stray away as much as possible from intervening physically such as popping her nose or grabbing her collar as this often evokes defensive biting and risks teaching dogs that human hands are something negative. Instead, we want to focus more on giving her some alternate activities to focus on that surpass the appeal of biting legs. 

In general for pups who bite, I therefore like to encourage games that focus on creating alternate ways to interact with us and that involve as well some training. I would suggest practicing these games when your dog is indoors and calm until you get a fluent response. In particular, I encourage hand targeting to encourage positive interactions with hands.  Here are some examples of games to redirect biting:

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

So what can you do when your dog goes into attack mode in the yard? First of all, the fact that this biting happens only in the yard provides you with a great advantage versus biting that occurs at random time throughout the day: you can be prepared. So it may help having a treat bag handy filled up with super-valuable treats or a stuffed Kong (or some valuable toy) kept in your hands behind your back.  The moment you notice she's coming your way with the intent to bite, you can try several of the following and see what works best to divert her attention from biting your legs:

-Try redirection using high-value toys. Trying to redirect using a regular toy that likely your puppy has always access to can be rather boring compared to your clothes she can play tug with. So right when you expect her to come towards you to nip,  as soon as she is close to you, freeze (become motionless) and offer her a stuffed Kong (Kong toy stuffed with smelly goodies like peanut butter mixed with some kibble and dog cookies stacked to make it hard for her to get the kibble out), rather than just a regular toy. This should occupy her for long enough for you to walk away and keep her busy in the yard focusing on something else. A Kong Wobbler/ Buster Cube filled with a portion of her daily allowance of kibble can also come handy once she learns how to get the kibble out.

- You can also try to engage her with toys that add movement into the game such as a tennis ball tossed in the opposite direction (make it extra fun!) or a flirt pole (stick with a stuffed animal attached one end). The goal is to find a way to make these toys much more interesting, rewarding and fun to interact with than your body. Dogs who love to herd may enjoy chasing large balls used for the sport of Treibball. 

-Redirect to an interactive game with you. As soon as she approaches you, ask her for a sit and reward by tossing one piece of kibble/treat. She'll likely eat it and come for more if she perceives them as valuable enough. Repeat several times. This makes your dog tired, provides an outlet for chasing instincts while you incorporate some fun obedience. Here is how to train sit, which is an incompatible behavior compared with biting (a dog in general cannot sit and bite legs at the same time).  Here's a link on how to train sit, of course start in a quiet room first ad work your way to making sits very fluent before asking them in the yard under distractions.  Initially, as your dog is learning to sit, you can just toss the treat without asking for a sit as soon as she approaches you. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/sit/

-Alternatively you can redirect to an empty water bottle with no lid filled up. Most dogs cannot resist the crinkling sounds produced by chewing on these. They make an economical. temporary chew toy. Always monitor your dog when chewing if your dog tends to ingest things and consider that excess chewing can make some parts sharp. To make the bottle even more interesting, fill it up with a portion of your puppy's daily ratio of kibble so your puppy will keep busy trying to roll the kibble out. You can read more about this fun game here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/the-bottle-game/

-Make sure you provide outlets for pent-up energy. Games, training, exercise and opportunities for socialization should wear her out and provide outlets for her basic needs. With brain games that allow her to chase things and get rewards out of them (like kibble out of a bottle or a Kong Wobbler) she should seek these games more and more which can turn your legs pretty boring after a while because she gets more out of these activities when she's bored/frustrated/overstimulated. 

-Don't forget to train your pup some bite inhibition. This is a very important skill. A good exercise to train this using treats is here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/train-dog-take-treats-gently/

The main goal in getting a dog to stop biting legs is to teach that it's boring playing with them because there are far better forms of play out there that don't involve legs. So move less and make your toys move more. Wriggle them, toss them, provide toys that release food. With their strong urge to bite and play satiated with other forms of play, soon, dogs should outgrow the habit of chasing legs just as they outgrow the habit of chasing their tails.

You may have to try several of the above options and see what works best. Redirection to a rewarding treat-dispensing toy or game that uses treats should be moderately easy at this age if these activities are made rewarding. Teaching an alternate behavior is also important because dogs cannot misbehave if they are busy making eye contact or sitting! It may take a bit of time though to teach these alternate behaviors fluently but it is sure worth the time and effort.

By providing outlets for her energy and needs for mental stimulation and reinforcing appropriate behaviors, you should eventually start seeing a decrease in the biting behavior. Keep track of it so to measure whether things are getting better with time. If things are going well, you should have created a new routine where your dog looks forward to being in the yard with you because of all the fun and rewarding activities you provide (which don't involve nipping legs). In the initial stages, it may be also sticking nearby the door so, should she start biting, you can quickly leave the scene and then return only once she looks calmer and you can quickly redirect her. 

Finally,  consider that it may be sometimes difficult differentiating rough/obnoxious play aggression from true aggression with an intent to harm without seeing the behavior. If this behavior has an aggressive component, it would be important seeing a dog behavior professional using force-free behavior modification for safety and correct implementation of behavior modification.

I hope this helps,

Best,

Adrienne