Meet Oliver - Plus Question About Biting

This is Oliver. He's a four-month old puppy - we believe he's a German Shepherd/Husky mix. He's a ball of joy, and so much energy! My question is this: when it's time for me and my fiancee to go to sleep at night, he likes to jump up on the bed with us - that's fine, we don't mind. He plays a lot on the bed, and that's fine too - but he tends to bite and snap at us often. It's obviously not mean-spirited, and his way of playing - my question is, is there any way to stop it, or will he just grow out of it? The usual suspects (stern 'no!', ignoring, removing from bed) don't seem to help much. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

well the way your going should work eventually. Some puppies take longer to grasp concpts than others I'm sure. But he'll get it eventually.

he is very cute BTW

Awwww, he's gawgeous. Well, I dont know what you should do. Hopefully someone will come and give you some advice Cya

I'd keep him off the bed, if I were you....at least for now. And definitely, remove the payoff for his biting. No more playtime with you. Off the bed. That's how I'd handle it, anyway. Does he play that way at other times, besides when he's on the bed? Same thing....end playtime with you. You can also give him an alternative thing to chew on. And praise for that.

He's adorable by the way. He almost has a look of an Akita in him....to me. At any rate, he's very pretty and cute.

that's what I was going to say Doberluv, looks like part akita. I hold our puppy's mouth shut for a few seconds and say no bite. It worked really well with our puppy Hannah and we're still working with our new puppy. He's a really cute puppy though.

I agree with Doberluv. By allowing him on the bed he is taking a dominance stand and thinks its ok to rough house in the form of biting. I know you don't mind it, but be allowing your dog to share your sleeping space, he's going to test the waters even more.

Off the bed he goes!!! At 4 months you don't want him to think he has an elevated position in the household and by allowing him to jump on the bed when he pleases teaches him that he's at the same level with you. Down the road it would be okay as long as you give him permission to get on the bed and he doesn't just get on when he pleases. On another note, when I have a "nippy" puppy and the puppy bites me I immediatley say "NO BITE" in a growling tone and sternly walk away and ignore the puppy for 5 minutes.

so is closing their mouths bad then? I don't do if for long just for a few seconds whlie I tell them no bite. That is what I was told to do when I was younger with a bitey puppy so I guess I just carried it over to my adult years.

The people we got Boris from said the same thing. Doesn't work for me anyway, he's too fast and I wouldn't be able to catch his mouth if I tried. My husband does it from time to time, but it doesn't seem to help. But again, he changes methods every 2 minutes, it's a miracle Boris is actually decently behaved...

I don't get their mouths all the time either. My husband's the same way he is trying something different every five seconds. Thankfully I am the one that does the obedience and housebreaking with the dogs or they all would still be going in the house!

The mouth holding seems to be well. I read somewhere else that if you use a squirt gun and squirt them in the back, sometimes that works, so I might give that a try.

Another question that I haven't seen an answer to - he LOVES to play on his leash outside. And I don't mean running and exploring - he'll grab his leash, chew it, pull on it, jump up and down with it in his mouth and against it - to the point where he's hopping around like a fish out of water. I'm afraid it will choke him, and plus, he's actually slipped out of his collar entirely a couple of times by doing this. I've tried spraying Bitter Apple on it so he won't do it, but it has no effect whatsoever. Any suggestions?

(sry to interupt chibul wanna chat if so go to chat)

my dog is scared of a squirt gun, it always works, and he used to bite the leash all the time, playing tug of war, until i filled a pepsi can with pennies and shook it when he did it. took me 2-3 times rattling that can, and he never did it again

I agree, off the bed. when he bites (I call it mouthing if I understand what you mean, cause hes not trying to bite, just how he plaid with his siblings), especially if he is biting/chewing your finger, press down on the back of his tongue. he will get a gag reflex (minor unless you go back too far) and associate chewing on people with discomfort.
he looks like a sable gsd pup too me. similar to this red sable pup...

Please don't do things to make your pup distrust you and be afraid of you...what you'er going to do next to him. This undermines the developement of a good, trusting, bonded relationship with your dog. You don't have to do these things to your dog. Why is everyone always searching and trying to come up with schemes of what they can DO to their dog???? Squirt bottles, noisy, frightening sounds, jamming fingers down their throats? What is the deal here? Why is everyone afraid to teach their dog unstead of making their dogs puppyhood miserable?

All you have to do is end your involvement and playtime with the pup when he bites. Remove whatever it is he is getting out of it that he likes and reward him when he is not biting. The behavior will stop when there is nothing in it for him. Grabbing at his mouth he could be mistaking for more play. Hey, it's attention, isn't it. If you have to give a short time out when he's terribly rambunctious, do it...calmly and quietly. Show him that playtime is over when he bites. Give him suitable teething toys for his sore gums. He's a baby. Read the stickies about puppies. See what is normal. Read the stickie Adrienne put up in the training forum about how alpha wolves behave and how to get your dog to respect you. Attacking your dog will not make you look very secure in yourself as a leader.

I've trained so many dogs this way and that's all there is to it. It's simple, quiet hands make a tranquil dog. (and horse) I never had such problems. Puppies chew and nip for a while but they get over it when there's something better to chew on and when you are not available to chew on or play with.

On another note, if you do let your puppy on the bed for a snuggle, don't allow it to be playtime, they should learn that bedtime is a calm, relaxing end to the day. They need help calming down just like babies and toddlers do. If you rile them up at bedtime, they can become overly tired and their behavior becomes more unpredictable.