dog biting and nipping Boarder collie

[HARMAN SIDHU]

Hello there,

We got a border collie female puppy four weeks ago. She's almost 11 weeks now, and we are trying to teach her basic commands. She's absolutely amazing and cute. The stuff concerning me is her biting, and her try to bite every single inch of hands and feet. We trying to say her no, and make noise of "OUCHHH", thinking of she will understand that it hurts. We are trying to switch to the chew toys as soon as she get to the hand or feet so she can get little distracted and get her frustration out on them(as i can imagine she's going through discomfort because of growing teeths). 

Well, posting this because i would like to know, is there any other way we can tackle this situation and teach her in positive way and another question is, is she's going to stop this some time soon? 🙂

It hurts alot. 🤣

 

 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi and welcome to the forums,

Oh my, what a cutie! 

Here is a guide of alternate activities to use for nippy puppies:

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

How to teach a softer mouth:

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

On top of playing the above games that gives pups alternate ways to interact with us that doesn't involve biting, I am a big proponent of catching puppies *before* they bite so we can help them succeed.

Here's the thing, once puppies are biting, they are having too much fun to pay attention to other things. Also, it becomes very habit-forming so we end up becoming their favorite playmates depending on us for physical play. While this is something to honor, we are just not adept to withstand sharp puppy teeth all day long. So we need to change the way they interact with us. This doesn't mean no more playing, it just means encouraging different types of  interactions. 

So as soon as you notice your puppy approaching you with the intent to bite *before* she has a chance of latching on:

- Try engaging her with toys that add movement into the game such as a tennis ball tossed in the opposite direction (make it extra fun!). I like to carry several tennis balls in my pocket (gotta love those cargo pants!) so I can use these tools at a moment's notice. 

-Try redirecting to a kibble toss game. I like to keep kibble always in my treat bag/pocket ready for this. As soon as she approaches you, ask her for a sit (if she doesn't know it yet, skip the sit for now) and toss a piece of kibble/treat. She'll likely eat it and come for more if she perceives them as valuable enough. Repeat several times, catching her always before she even has the chance to think of biting. This makes your pup 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 ankles/pant legs at the same time). It's very easy to train https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/sit/

-Try redirecting to an empty water bottle with no lid/plastic circle. Most pups 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/

Also, make sure to:

-Provide outlets for pent-up energy. Brain games, training, and opportunities for socialization should wear a puppy out and provide outlets for their 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 in a Kong Wobbler) she should seek these games more and more which can eventually turn our body parts pretty boring after a while because she gets more out of these activities when she's bored/frustrated/overstimulated. 

-Provide a variety of food puzzles (you can fill them with kibble ) and safe puppy chew toys. Rotate them to keep his interest alive.  Here are some ideas:  https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/adriennes-picks/top-5-dog-feeding-toys/

-Enroll her in puppy classes (once your vet says it's OK). Look for one run by positive reinforcement dog trainers who check puppy vaccination status and sanitize their properties to prevent spread of infectious diseases. Your puppy benefits from being around other people and play with other puppies in a structured, positive manner. 

-Keep an eye for her getting cranky as she may be tired. Puppies need a lot of sleep, and when they're tired they get more nippy and likely to misbehave. Give your puppy routine opportunities to sleep in a quiet place in his crate/exercise pen (if acclimatized to one) and offer something to chew while in there. 

Other important skills for puppies:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/socializing-your-puppy/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-teach-puppies-to-tolerate-touch/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/the-importance-of-preventing-resource-guarding-in-puppies/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-prevent-separation-anxiety-in-puppies/

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

So to re-cap:

The main goal in getting a puppy to stop nipping 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 move less and make your toys move more. Wriggle them, toss them, provide toys that release food, play the kibble toss game. With their strong urge to bite and play satiated with other forms of play, soon, puppies should outgrow the habit of chasing ankles/pantlegs just as they outgrow the habit of chasing their tails.

Also, help puppies learn to have an off switch, the jazz up and settle down can help with that:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/jazz-up-and-settle-down/

It also helps to use a flirt pole as a distraction from nipping your body.

Once she's good at training, it comes extra helpful for impulse control and use it to train leave it, take, and drop on cue:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/

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

You may have to try several of the above options and see what works best. Rotating them helps provide variety. 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 (like sitting, hand targeting, or giving paw) is also important because dogs cannot misbehave if they are busy targeting our hands 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. However, keep the teething stage in mind so make sure to offer lots of chew toys that are safe during this time. 

For obstinate cases, it may help to temporarily avoid temptations by refraining wearing clothing that attracts puppies a lot, such as shoes with shoe strings, leather shoes, pants with wide pant legs, long skirts and dangling scarves. Some puppy owners who are around their pups for most of the day like to wear tall boots (Wellies) or tuck their pants in their socks. 

Puppy nipping/biting doesn't stop overnight, it's a gradual progress, waxing and waning over time, but with feedback to reduce its intensity, management to prevent rehearsal of over threshold behaviors and encouraging engagement in alternate behaviors, with time, you should see a reduction in the intensity and frequency of the biting.

At first, there should be small signs of progress, the biting initially reduces in pressure and intensity, and then gradually reduces in frequency. Most pups get better by the time they are 5 months, although some may take a bit longer. 

I hope this helps, let me know if you have any more other questions!

Happy training!

Best,

Adrienne