Biting Puppy (shepherd, rottweilers, bite, toy)

[Dawter]

Hello Everyone,
After reading the good advice in some threads I decided to ask you all a question.
I have a 5 and a half month old male Australian Shepherd. I take him for walks every other day and in the evening when we're inside all he wants to do is bite/chew on me. I've said, "No...Ouch!" etc. I thumped him on the nose and he got an attitude like, "I'll do what I want!" and he then barks at me.
He's very pushy and likes to push my buttons! LOL. He seems to want to push me to my limit (whatever that is).
When he won't stop chewing on me I have turned away (he comes around to the other side and tries to bite again); I have put him outside (he goes back to chewing/biting when I let him back in.)
I play with him and his pull toys. he has plenty of good things to chew on.
I know pinning him to the ground is not the way so I refuse to do that.
He also puts his paws on me when I turn away clearly showing me he demands my attention! I just turn away. He jumps up on me, I turn away.
Even though I turn away, stop playing with him or place him outside...he comes back continuing to bite, paw and jump up on me. I've never had such a headstrong puppy! I've always had rottweilers and they were a breeze to train compared to this little stinker!
Should I continue doing what I'm doing? Will he grow out of this little rebellious attitude he has?
I do take him to a dog park on the weekends.
Thanks so much for reading this and I look forward to some sound advice.

[kelly3120]

Originally Posted by Dawter

Hello Everyone,
After reading the good advice in some threads I decided to ask you all a question.
I have a 5 and a half month old male Australian Shepherd. I take him for walks every other day and in the evening when we're inside all he wants to do is bite/chew on me. I've said, "No...Ouch!" etc. I thumped him on the nose and he got an attitude like, "I'll do what I want!" and he then barks at me.
He's very pushy and likes to push my buttons! LOL. He seems to want to push me to my limit (whatever that is).
When he won't stop chewing on me I have turned away (he comes around to the other side and tries to bite again); I have put him outside (he goes back to chewing/biting when I let him back in.)
I play with him and his pull toys. he has plenty of good things to chew on.
I know pinning him to the ground is not the way so I refuse to do that.
He also puts his paws on me when I turn away clearly showing me he demands my attention! I just turn away. He jumps up on me, I turn away.
Even though I turn away, stop playing with him or place him outside...he comes back continuing to bite, paw and jump up on me. I've never had such a headstrong puppy! I've always had rottweilers and they were a breeze to train compared to this little stinker!
Should I continue doing what I'm doing? Will he grow out of this little rebellious attitude he has?
I do take him to a dog park on the weekends.
Thanks so much for reading this and I look forward to some sound advice.

Congrats you have adopted one of the smartest brainiest dogs alive.

To start you can walk a aussie every day all day and they still will be rearing to go!!!!!
They need mental stimulation! They have be bred to chase cattle all day!!!!
shaping is needed to wear out his brains!!!!!!!!

thumping a Aussie on the nose is a game! We role and thump and growl w/ ours ...you are his big squeak toy! The thumping, moving turning, scoldings and all are seen as fun! No do not continue what you are doing since your dog does not know boundaries

You need to have a ENOUGH cue. We do play w/ our dog w/ our hands(to each his own) but the minute it gets to exciting or high drive we ask for a down and then kisses ....Cody has learned that this means SETTLE DOWN! We did this by teaching him tons of cues and playing a little ...asking for a down ...playing a little more asking for a roll over ...playing again asking for him to retrieve a toy etc. I personally have NO PROB playing w/ my dog w/ my hands and trust him very much. He does know he can rough it up a little more w/ my hub. To this day we still randomly ask for cues in the middle of play(this makes him use his brain alot)

When we first got him we would run him, shape and then play so his energy level was low and the minute it got to intense we would say "enough" and put him away for a while. Once he was calm and relaxed we would let him out of the crate again and play a little more.

Puppies don't know they are to intense.

ours use to nip at our legs and feet as well and we did the same thing. THE MINUTE he would we would stop running, turn towards him and ask for a cue and then kisses(we taught kisses because we like kisses).

Teach puppy that calm behavior is great and playing when you wanna play is ok but he needs to know the level of play you will play.


~if you can't get him to play nice only play w/ him w/ toys and make your hands and body off limit! Nothing wrong w/ that!

I would put pup in a crate the minute he barked at me as well. We use the crate as a time out and its his bedroom. Conquor the barking now, I didn't and mine is a bark monter. His crate is his CALM DOWN ZEN spot =)

[Honeycrisp]

Yes, I'd continue with what you're doing - would also invest in Bitter Apple or Yuck to spray on your hands, sneakers etc (works best when wet so you might have to reapply often) - also would re-direct him and give him a bone or something when he starts in. he will outgrow it, right now those puppy teeth hurt. They're very smart, also active, would try to play a little ball w/ him etc to tire him out a bit (don't overdo it but remember, 'a tired dog is a good dog'). Hang in there and be patient (easy for me to say!), wishing you all the best w/ him.

[ShepsMom]

Originally Posted by Dawter

Hello Everyone,
After reading the good advice in some threads I decided to ask you all a question.
I have a 5 and a half month old male Australian Shepherd. I take him for walks every other day and in the evening when we're inside all he wants to do is bite/chew on me. I've said, "No...Ouch!" etc. I thumped him on the nose and he got an attitude like, "I'll do what I want!" and he then barks at me.


He's very pushy and likes to push my buttons! LOL. He seems to want to push me to my limit (whatever that is).

When he won't stop chewing on me I have turned away (he comes around to the other side and tries to bite again); I have put him outside (he goes back to chewing/biting when I let him back in.)
I play with him and his pull toys. he has plenty of good things to chew on.
I know pinning him to the ground is not the way so I refuse to do that.
He also puts his paws on me when I turn away clearly showing me he demands my attention! I just turn away. He jumps up on me, I turn away.
Even though I turn away, stop playing with him or place him outside...he comes back continuing to bite, paw and jump up on me. I've never had such a headstrong puppy! I've always had rottweilers and they were a breeze to train compared to this little stinker!
Should I continue doing what I'm doing? Will he grow out of this little rebellious attitude he has?
I do take him to a dog park on the weekends.
Thanks so much for reading this and I look forward to some sound advice.

Your dog doesn't get enough exercise.
Keeping him busy, training constantly, and giving him a job to do will be your best bet. His biting because he's bored, and because he's teething.
Get him a lot of chew toys, and start training before it becomes a bigger problem. Praise the good and ignore the bad. Training is the key here.

Rotts are different then AS, have you done any research on this breed before you took on one?

[grannynancy]

I always redirected my german shepherd dog puppies. They bite on me they get the chew toy instead. Actually walked around with spare toyes my pocket for them to bite.

I would work on retrieve games and like the others said, wearing him out, stimuating his mind. Get him working on finding a favorite toy in the house. Finding things with their nose is really enjoyable for them.

Not a big fan of dog parks and free play with strange dogs. I think dogs need to be socialized but ............especially with a herding breed it can get "too real" for my comfort level and a bad interaction with another dog can scar a puppy for life.

His behavior sounds very normal for a herding breed. Don't let him push you around but play a lot with him and make him work a little for everything [food, affection, play]

[the painter]

Arn't Aussies great! I have 2 brothers and the first yr was tough. Now they are going on 4 and they are the best boys I have ever had. Nipping is how they herd, it is pretty much in their genes. They nip your ankles to get you to go where they want or for your attention. A sudden clap followed by a command to stop, no praise until they are calm will help with the nipping. Aussies will push you to your limits and you must be consistant with them while training and once they learn something they never forget. They are fast at learning and they want to please you. Just remember that first yr is a short attention span for them. They are high energy, you need to give them activities to keep them busy. Sometimes it is trial by error, my 2, I had to train differently because of the personalities, they are so different it is like nite and day. I have to say that mine know both hand and verbel commands now. Please read up on the breed if you havent already, be patient and you will be rewarded!!!

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by Dawter

Hello Everyone,
After reading the good advice in some threads I decided to ask you all a question.
I have a 5 and a half month old male Australian Shepherd. I take him for walks every other day and in the evening when we're inside all he wants to do is bite/chew on me. I've said, "No...Ouch!" etc. I thumped him on the nose and he got an attitude like, "I'll do what I want!" and he then barks at me.
He's very pushy and likes to push my buttons! LOL. He seems to want to push me to my limit (whatever that is).
When he won't stop chewing on me I have turned away (he comes around to the other side and tries to bite again); I have put him outside (he goes back to chewing/biting when I let him back in.)
I play with him and his pull toys. he has plenty of good things to chew on.
I know pinning him to the ground is not the way so I refuse to do that.
He also puts his paws on me when I turn away clearly showing me he demands my attention! I just turn away. He jumps up on me, I turn away.
Even though I turn away, stop playing with him or place him outside...he comes back continuing to bite, paw and jump up on me. I've never had such a headstrong puppy! I've always had rottweilers and they were a breeze to train compared to this little stinker!
Should I continue doing what I'm doing? Will he grow out of this little rebellious attitude he has?
I do take him to a dog park on the weekends.
Thanks so much for reading this and I look forward to some sound advice.

about this age is the worst time for destructive chewing and painful biting. This period can be especially frustrating with high energy breeds and/or if you have the alpha of the litter, which sounds to me to be the case. It is extremely important that he learn "no bite" NOW and not later. I've never had success with any hand-striking punishment to discourage biting, particularly with dominant dogs. The only thing that seems to work for me is the following:

First of all, never initiate punishment until he has begun to chew/bite you. If he bites you harder than the threshold you are comfortable with, position your thumb on the middle of his tongue. Push down hard, pinching his tongue and lower jaw between your thumb in his mouth and the first knuckle of your index finger under his jaw (does that make sense?) while making hard eye-contact and repeating "no-bite" in a firm tone. If he panics, you're doing it too hard. If he doesn't make a sound, you're not doing it hard enough. It's a fine line.

This will take a LOT of repetition and patience on your part. Don't expect him to get the idea the first day, especially if he is as hard-headed as you say. I dealt with the exact same thing about 30 days ago and can definitely feel your frustration and pain. This really is in your best interest and his. Don't ignore it because it will not necessarily go away on its own.

[Viralmd]

Your dog isn't being 'rebellious' - he's teething!!!!

And part of it is that he also probably didn't learn bite inhibition from his siblings. This is a common problem in dogs who were sent to their new homes younger than 10 weeks of age.

But you can teach him bite inhibition:

Normally, puppies learn this from littermates and mom, but if he was taken from them early (like at 8 weeks), he likely didn't have a chance to learn this. Rather than put him outside or in his crate, you can TEACH him bite inhibition:

Have him with you in a completely puppy-safe place, where he can be left alone (outside the crate) and can't see or hear you. This is important.

Start playing with him. When he chomps down too hard, YELP, loudly, like another puppy, and, without a word, get up and LEAVE. Completely. Out of the room. Just for a minute.

He'll quickly learn that when he bites too hard (normal for a puppy!) he loses his most precious resource: you. It's important that he not be able to hear or see you during that minute that he's left alone.

And you should be walking your dog EVERY day. And going to puppy class: a tired dog is a good dog.

[Blondie621]

He is just being a puppy and wants to play. One of my fosters did that too. I would just say a little stern no to him! He eventually stopped. Some puppies have more of a problem with teething which is what your pup is going thru right now. Get him a nice thick soft rubber toy to chew. You could also keep a stuffie in your hand and let him bite that! I do not see a big problem here. Unless you keep tapping or hitting him on the nose, it would provoke him more and teach aggression! Good luck, I am sure he will turn out to be a great dog!

[World Citizen]

Yes. It's absolutely normal puppy behavior but you have to teach them not to put their mouths on people.... (I'm struggling with this right now, too!)

A tiny scratch is all it could take for someone to report a "bite".... and, then it's too late!