Our 3 month old "Mattie" has come into a chewing phase that is driving us crazy. She is in training and we are doing bite work daily to try and help with the nips on the kids (and me). She has taken to chewing on the carpet and furniture.
My question is: what training methods have you used and what has/has not worked? We try to keep her in crate (the trainer suggested 40 min out of every hour, but I don't like keeping her in there that often) (I'm home and my husband works out of the house). Thank you!


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Yelping (to try to mimick the sound of a littermate) is often recommended. As the pup gets older (once the puppy teeth are out), and it bites hard, immediately stand up, raise your arms, say "that's it, I'm done", then walk away.

Some pups are just mouthier than others, and biting is just part of owning a dog of this breed, so with that in mind, teaching bite inhibition (where even if they do bite, they do so softly) is very important. Good luck!

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-Tim

"The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind." (Theodorus Gaza)

I'm a new (overzealous, under-experienced) puppy owner, so caveat emptor!

It sounds like new teeth are coming in. We've been giving Sunshine a frozen rag to chew on, ice cubes and LOTS of acceptable chew-toys. When she tries to chew on a human, we yelp and pull away, then give her an acceptable alternative/replacement object. When she's REALLY agressive, we put her in her x-pen or put up some gates to keep her in a chew-free zone. I worry about turning her crate into a punishment rather than a safe-haven.

Our breeder suggested grabbing her tongue and holding it as a means to correct her too. It's effective, but I'm not sure it's kind.

Good luck!

Ugh...please don't do that.

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-Tim

"The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind." (Theodorus Gaza)

How much exercise is she getting? If she's chewing on furniture etc., she may be bored, so redirect her to something more acceptable like a toy, a bone or kong or take her for a walk.

If you have not already, get some Bitter Apple spray for your furniture and hands.

I wouldn't grab the tongue either. I'm not sure how you could do that anyway without being bit even worse.

As for giving a puppy rags to chew on....that makes me a little nervous. I don't want them to get in the habit of chewing towels and rags, and I'd be nervous that they would eventually swallow one (or part of one).


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Grasslands Liberty Belle "Bella" CGC (5-7-2012)

My guy's going through the same thing - it's mainly teething.

I give him alternative things to chew on. Sometimes you have to hold the item for them while they chew. Rawhide is a huge no-no for a lot of people, but the rawhide sticks, even the ground up ones, work the best for Bertie. Same thing with cheese sticks (himalayan cheese sticks, you can buy in specialty petstores).

Mouthing, I do a very simple correction. Tongue presses work, but unless they are done correctly the dogs just turn that into a game. I use a different method which basically involves gently pressing the dog's lip and telling him "no bite" at the same time and immediately releasing. And I praise if he goes to bite but pulls away when I say "no bite". Bertie's a very stubborn and persistent puppy in a lot of ways, but he quickly got the idea that "no bite" means teeth off.

The only problem with recommending that people on an online forum use either method, is they would be guessing as far as timing and pressure. If either is off in either direction (too much or too little or haphazard or inconsistent), then it will not work and may exasperate the mouthing.

ETA - I forgot to say but that method above absolutely will not work on a truly oral dog who bites when excited. In the case of that dog, the best thing to do is anticipate their mouth going on automatic and putting something in their mouth to carry around. I still get bruises now and then from my Jacks who literally can't control his mouth when he's hyped up.

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Always loved, never forgotten, all our previous boys -

The yelping thing worked with Max. I got him something called a Chilly Bone when he was teething - it's a canvas bone shaped thing that you soak and freeze. He wasn't thrilled with it, but I gave it to a friend and her puppy LOVED it.

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