chihuahua puppy biting

tjedt

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#1
hi i have a 11 week old chihuahua puppy and when he gets excited he tends to lick and then jump and bite/nip my face!
he seems to do it to me only so how do i stop him from doing this and why is he doing it?

right now i tell him NO firm and either put my hand over his face till he calms down while firmly holding him and if he doesn't calm down then i tell him NO and put him down in his room and ignore him.

what am i doing wrong if anything and what else can i do to stop this behavior?

to other people he bites hands and feet normal puppy stuff but me it is the face!!
 

Doberluv

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#2
Ignoring him is good. But that means no telling him "no" and no touching him or putting your hands over his face. He just needs to learn that attention of ANY kind will go away when he jumps and bites. Without anger, without speaking or touching, abruptly get up and walk away. Do it consistently....and everyone who interacts with him must do the same. Reward him when he does not jump or bite. Let him know which behavior works to get him attention and a little treat and which behavior does not work. It will take absolute consistency from everyone. Be proactive by reinforcing the behavior you do like with something he absolutely goes ape over....a tiny, tiny piece of chicken or hot dog, beef, whatever....something really good. He'll learn which behavior gets him the good stuff.

Now, one thing that is important is teaching bite inhibition rather than no biting at all. That lunging and biting at your face is really no good at all so work as described to eliminate it completely. However, if you're sitting next to him say, on the couch and he mouths at your hand ever so gently, allow it. If it comes even close to pinching or hurting, yelp "ouchieeee," get up and walk away immediately. (every single time) He will learn to regulate his bite this way so that down the road if he does wind up biting someone, it won't be too hard. (not that a Chihuahua is likely to rip someone's face off like a big dog. LOL) Anyhow, it's a good thing for all dogs to learn. Later, you will teach him to only mouth gently upon invitation. For example, once he's learned that hard bites hurt human skin and will result in losing all kinds of good things; attention, affection, food, toys etc, but a soft mouth results in the continuation of these things, you can then put it on cue and get up and walk away for any mouthing that wasn't requested by you. (as an affectionate game) You want to be able to put your fingers in his mouth to examine teeth or brush teeth without being chomped on.

Associate examining his mouth and all over his body with good things. One quick look = a little treat/praise. Condition him to other people doing this too...the vet, friends etc. Grooming should be conditioned to be pleasant for him.

And remember...these lessons aren't learned over night. They're things that come with consistency and the dogs own maturing process. Just like little kids that do certain obnoxious behaviors....they learn over time, not suddenly.
 

Dekka

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#3
Great post by Carrie.

But to answer why he does it. Because thats what puppies do. Its how puppies interact with their environments. Its how they play. Its like human babies put things in their mouths to check them out even when they have hands. Well puppies ONLY have mouths to play and explore, so nature made them want to stick their teeth on everything.
 

tjedt

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#4
ok but why only too me??? he plays with other people and he chomps on their hands and feet BUT me it is the face he won't do it to my hands or feet. this is why i am confused it just doesn't seem to be normal.
could it be out of affection i have seen cats do that but not dogs so i don't know?!?!?!

also he only seems to do it when we are cuddling and that is usually on the couch so i can't just walk away without touching him cause that is not safe for him.
he WILL get hurt jumping off my couch and i don't want that to happen, so i have to put my hands on him to put him down.

here is his pic sorry for the poor quality


 
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Doberluv

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#5
Why dogs do things isn't as important as how to eliminate the behavior, but without causing harm. Learning behavior, how to train.... we do know. It's a greeting behavior, a natural tendency to want to make more contact with you since you are the primary care giver. (?) Or he just reeeeeeeelly wants your attention more than other people. You just need to teach him an acceptable (to humans) way of getting your attention. You can set him down on the floor before you walk away...just do it immediately so he associates the cesation of attention with the behavior. That's about all the explanation I can come up with. He is very, very cute. When he gets older, if he gets plenty of exercise (for a Chihuahua) you won't have to worry so much about him jumping off the couch. They are usually pretty tough that way...as long as they're in good physical condition.
 

Barb04

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I learned this from Smkie a long time ago with my one pup that was biting. Take a wash cloth and wet it with warm water. Gently wipe the pups face with it. This is calm down the pup like a mother licking the face. This worked miracles for me. I did this whenever the pup would starting biting and eventually the pup didn't bite any longer.
 

tjedt

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#10
hmmm barb04 that's interesting so far he hasn't been too bad with ignoring him but if i have to i will try that it seems like a good idea!!
 

Doberluv

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#11
It's amazing that it worked to eliminate that behavior. If the warm wash cloth and stroking is something he likes and it comes immediately following or along with the biting, it seems that would be a reinforcer. So, it is quite likely that a dog would learn that in order to get that nice stroking and attention, all he has to do is go chomp chomp on human skin. On the other hand, maybe it just calmed the dog down which stopped the behavior. And of course, eventually, most dogs stop doing that pretty well on their own as they out grow puppyhood and teething. I think the removal of attention just at the exact moment he bites will teach him quicker. He bites hard, playtime over....every time. Keeping the behavior/response the same every time and making sure the pup isn't going to be reinforced for unwanted behavior is really important. That's my take on it anyhow.
 

Doberluv

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#12
Sometimes I forget to mention some things because they seem so obvious and you probably already know this. But just in case...do you have plenty of chew toys for him? When he gets bitey and you're about to turn away from him to remove your attention, give him an alternative thing he can chew on; a Nyla bone or Kong. They make little ones. Some of those bones have little nubbins on them. My dogs like those kind. I don't recommend raw hide or pigs ears. (almost lost my little Chi when she was very young with a pig's ear. It scratched up her insides) Anyhow, you probably have some stuff for him to chew on but I thought I'd mention to show him the distinction. (Human skin is not something to bite hard but here....here's something you can bite and chew)
 

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