10 week old mini poodle biting our clothing and nipping hands

[SandraLauterbach]

Zeus, our puppy, sometimes starts to bit our pants legs, my top, our hands.  I try giving him a bully stick or toy to chew on, but it does not always distract him.  It can happen when i am out with him in the pen after he has finished peeing, other times when i am carrying him back into the house, or i throw him a stuffed sock to retrieve and he returns with it and then starts to bite the sweater am wearing.  sometimes he growl a bit as he is doing it. we can be running in the yard and when we stop, he starts biting my pant legs.

I have tried distracting him with a toy; if that doesn't work i tell him NO sternly and if that does not work i put him in his crate for 10 minutes.

What should i do?  

[Adrienne]

At 10 weeks, your puppy is in full nipping stage and this is rather normal behavior. These pups have lots of energy (although they need frequent naps) and they tend to see us humans as their favorite playmates. Not surprising, since, just prior to joining our homes, they used to play all day with their siblings, and we are just the next best thing. Because we move around, they often prefer us over a toy that they see often and is rather static (unless we move it around).

Thank you for providing info on when you most often observe this behavior. Knowing when a behavior is likely to happen offers a good advantage: predictability. This gives us some power and control over the behavior.

Nipping Outside when puppy has finished peeing

You mention this nipping tends to happen often when you are out with him and when he has finished peeing. Many dogs get a little hyper after potty and in the yard. I would therefore be prepared when your pup is taken out.  In such a case, I would ensure that after he has finished peeing you praise and reward him with a treat and make this a new habit. This encourages also outdoor elimination, and while you're at it, you can even start training him to go potty on cue:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/potty-on-command/

Once he eats the treat, then you can encourage him to engage in some engaging activities that use movement. Have these activities ready so that you can intervene before your puppy even starts thinking about nipping.  For instance, you may find it helpful using a flirt pole. A flirt pole can be a life saver during the puppy nipping stage. It looks like a fishing pole, and is basically stick with a toy attached at the end. Puppies love to chase this around. With young pups, I always make sure to carry one around my waist or over my shoulders so I can use it to redirect pups at a moment's notice from undesirable behaviors such as nipping or trying to chew or chase things around while providing them an outlet.  

Or alternatively, you can try tossing a ball, tossing a handful or kibble to hunt for or blowing some bubbles-yes, there is a bacon-flavored bubble machine made for dogs, but you can go with a cheaper version, the Dog Incredibubbles. 

Puppy Biting when being carried

If the biting occurs when you are carrying him, this can be a handling issue. In other words, the puppy isn't used to being picked up and bites the arms, hands to be placed down. Fixing this takes a bit to work on, so for the time being, it may be best to encourage your pup to follow you around in the meanwhile. Here's the thing: if the puppy bites us as we're holding him, if we place him back down, the puppy will believe his biting behavior worked, so it will become habit-forming so he'll bite and bite more upon being picked up (or he may even play hard to catch at some point).

. In these cases, young puppies benefit from a program involving desensitization and counterconditioning. The goal is to take baby steps (desensitization) and create positive associations (counterconditioning). You can read more about these behavior modification techniques here:

 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/

 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/

 

Very important in behavior modification is to ensure that the puppy  is kept under threshold as much as possible. Here is a read on threshold levels in dogs:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

 

Here's an example of a behavior modification protocol using desensitization and counterconditioning for a puppy who doesn't like to be picked up: This is not meant to be done all in one day but at the puppy's pace and gradually.

1. The puppy is approached and offered a treat. This action is repeated several times. This is helpful because a puppy who doesn't like to be picked up may feel a bit tense when approached. This action is repeated  several times, until the puppy seems comfortable with this.
2. Next, the puppy is approached and a hand is placed under the puppy's chest and a tasty treat is fed while the hand is there. Once the puppy finishes the treat, the hand is removed. This action is repeated several times, until the puppy seems comfortable with this.
3. Next, the puppy is approached and a hand is placed under the puppy's chest again and is fed a tasty treat while being slightly lifted off the floor. Once the puppy finishes the treat, the puppy is lowered down to the floor and the hand is removed.  This action is repeated  several times, until the puppy seems comfortable with this.
4. Next, the puppy is approached and a hand is placed under the puppy's chest again and is fed a tasty treat (or a helper feeds him) while being lifted more off the floor as the other arm is placed under the puppy's back end to support him. Once the puppy finishes the treat, the puppy is lowered down to the floor and the hand is removed. This action is repeated  several times, until the puppy seems comfortable with this.
5. Duration is added. The puppy is now picked up and fed several treats in a row while up in the arms as the owner takes a few steps. Once the puppy finishes the treats,  he is lowered down to the floor again and no more treats. The fun ends when placed down.
6. A verbal cue  is added(I like to use "up-up-up!") just prior to picking up the puppy that informs him the intent of being picked up and undergoing the whole chain of behaviors. The puppy is praised and rewarded with treats while up in the arms and the owner walking around. Dogs like routines, they like knowing what is coming so alerting them of our intent to pick them up makes them more relaxed rather than being startled by somebody suddenly swooping them up from nowhere.

If at any time you notice a puppy is struggling with any one of these steps, it means that we must split them into smaller sub-steps and not move to the next step until he is fully comfortable with the previous one.

Nipping when playing fetch

This can be due to overstimulation or the puppy just tiring. If this happens after several times of playing fetch, it may be best finishing the game before the puppy gets to that point.  When dogs reach this aroused state, they start losing control of their jaws and they may bite more or harder than usual. 

I would keep the games of fetching the sock brief for now so to not get him to that tipping point and also to prevent rehearsal of the problem behavior. You can end the game with a last toss of the item you are using to play fetch and then offering him something tempting to chew on to calm down. 

He may also benefit from being taught to hand target as an alternate way to interact with hands. The moment you see him approaching your hand with the intent to bite, ask him to target your hand and reward him by tossing a kibble. Here is how to train it:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/

Alternatively, you can ask him to sit and toss a kibble to catch as a reward. Here's how to train sit:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/sit/

And here are some bite inhibition games to teach him to modulate the pressure of his bites:

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

Consider as well that pups can get particularly nippy when they are cranky and in a dire need of a nap. It may therefore be worthy providing him with some quiet time. Give him an edible chew or stuffed Kong to enjoy in the crate or play pen or on a mat. You can also offer a Kong Wobbler filled with a portion of his daily ration or a fun bottle game. He'll need a small bottle for this and make sure to remove the label and caps. 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/the-bottle-game/

If he loves his kibble, I would put him to work to it with a variety of brain games/training using that exclusively. Look up the treasure hunt game, muffin game, ball pit game. 

The main goal in getting a pup to stop biting hands, arms, clothing and legs is to teach them that it's boring playing with them because there are far better forms of play out there that don't involve human body parts. So try to move less as movement and our reactions to the biting attracts dogs the most (wear light gardening gloves in the initial training stages and cover your ankles by tucking your pants in your socks or wear tall boots ) 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 and mental stimulation, puppies should eventually outgrow the habit of chasing legs/hands. We generally aim to have most nipping reduced by the time a pup is 5-6 months.

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

By providing outlets for his energy and needs for mental stimulation, introducing him to some basics of impulse control (through training) 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. 

Finally, once again, consider that pups tend to get worse at nipping when they are cranky and in dire need for a nap. If you notice a time where your pup is super nippy, consider enclosing him behind a baby gate, in a play pen or crate with something valuable to chew. This is not to punish him, but simply to give him the opportunity to calm down and relax. So avoid grabbing him (even if just by the collar), getting angry or frustrated otherwise he'll risk playing hard to catch, or risks associating the crate with punishment, when it needs to be a pleasant place.  Simply say 'crate" as you toss some goodie inside. More on this here:

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

 Chances are, if you provide a quiet area, he will chew and then happen to fall asleep for a well-needed nap. 

I hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions.

Best,

Adrienne