My puppy bites me really hard, what can I do?

[Anonymous]

I have a puppy, who I feed, play and live with. He’s my first puppy and it’s a big challenge for me, so I made sure I was sweet, nice and caring to him.

He’s just 1.5 months old but already a big one, since he is an Alabai puppy.

He also has quite big teeth. Ever since he came to me, he started biting, I tried to introduce him some toys but he’s the most interested to bite the real skin.

He’s a very nice dog, apart from some crazy times when he doesn’t control himself, he’s sweet, quiet and nice.

But when he bites, I can scream out of pain and he doesn’t stop, he bites more. He bites so hard, It’s really painful.

So I did something I regret, I’ve tried many ways to stop him and in the end when he would not let me go, I hit him and he let me go, but got even more aggressive. It happened couple times and I can tell he was scared and I regret so much, it’s just my hand had a bloody scratch and his teeth bite really sharp.

I don’t know what to do, I don’t want to hit him, I want us to have a loving, sweet relationship, what can I do?

He always follows me everywhere, I am his favorite human, he sleeps with me, he likes being in my bed and cries if I don’t let him here, seems like he loves me or at least likes me I don’t want to ruin this relationship, but I might have already ruined because his bites are so sharp, he wouldn’t let go until I turned aggressive. I feel sorry, I feel awful, can you please teach me how to make him stop biting?

Updates

1 y

After my aggressive behavior “He avoids me when I call him”, he must be scared, probably didn’t understand why I was angry.

I don’t want him to fear me, I can withstand the future bites if that’s going to make him trust me more.

How do I make him feel trust and love again?

[RavVid]

That brought back memories from back n the farm. There'd be six border collie pups each spring and yes my hands were so sore from their needle point teeth... but I had to play with them, had to. I eventually made a sort of mitten from a car inner tube. So first hint go to the hardware store for heavy duty gloves!

The pup isn't evil. Pups have fur whereas you are a naked ape and injure more easily. Dogs have lose skin whereas your skin is firmly attached. So your pup is playing with you as nature intended him to with other pups. But if a pup gets a bit too serious the other pup will snap back with a bit more jaw pressure. They let each other know.

Sooner or later you will need to teach your pup the word NO. I'd suggest a tap on the tail area - not a hit. Never a smack on the nose as I have seen some people do. That is cruel. After a NO withdraw play for the moment. Then resume play. Get in earlier with a NO if he gets too vigorous and wait.

Don't worry you haven't ruined it and he will love you.

I have to go now and teach Tabby to keep his pointy bits to himself. He's got over excited by a piece of wrapping paper on the floor.

[RavVid]

Just be patient Anon but DO NOT let him bite you because that will let him be top dog and you need to be top dog.

Different dogs have different personalities even within the same breed - some can take a while to get over an upset and will hold a grudge. With one dog I had, a cross word and she would run into her kennel and not come out for the rest of the day.

Another dog would periodically attempt to be top dog and it is natural for a dog to eventually become leader of the pack. Your pup may think he already is. It was my girlfriend's dog actually and she would submit to him to make him happy again and reward him with treats which was rewarding him for biting. DON'T DO THAT.

If your pup is bad hold out your hand till he licks it in submission. That's more effective than a physical punishment. It can take quite some time to make them submit and even if they keep turning their head away to refuse they know they are lower down in the command chain from that. A tap or slap on the rump gets their attention. Make your voice as gruff as you when you say LICK.

Any punishment MUST be immediate - you can't do it 30 minutes later. It must be immediate cause and effect. Their frontal lobes are less than 10% of ours and they just don't have mental capability.

[RavVid]

I want to give you the warning my parents drilled into me as a boy on the farm. EVERY ANIMAL IS A LITTLE BIT WILD and can at times react like that. If an animal is as big as a Freisan cow you have to be aware of their mood. But we can be complacent with a smaller animal like a dog or cat.

He may be your baby that you want to cuddle but a part of him is still a wild dog. Don't put your face to him. Some dogs don't like being picked up with their rear paws dangling. That ex-gfs dog was like that. He'd be happy enough if his rear paws were supported by a hand but eventually he'd want to be put down and pressure from his rear paws was the signal to put him down. Ignoring that would eventually convince him he had to fight to get down and that would be a bite.

Our fault if we mishandled him.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

When your puppy delivers a hard bite, yelp loudly. Then, when he startles and turns to look at you or looks around, remove your hand. Either ignore him for 10 to 20 seconds or, if he starts mouthing on you again, get up and move away for 10 to 20 seconds.

You need to show him who is boss some say when he is biting you hit your own hand with a newspaper with saying the words No Bad Boy that shows him you are the boss, not him if not he will continue to think wow I can pull the wool over her eyes and guess what I got control over mom, see you need to take action and stop him now get yourself a newspaper rolled up and he starts biting you, hit your own hand with saying NO BAD BOY this will show him who is boss.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

@Asker Just give him hugs and kisses and he will know that he loves him, boy dogs can be hard at first to train but in the end, it's better than worrying about a female giving puppies.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

Thanks for MHO :)

[Prettygurl12]

Feed the bite.

If he nips at you, blade your hand and shove it in his mouth. Hold it there for a few seconds and give whatever command you use to indicate "NO BITING!" This will not hurt the dog, but it is an unpleasant feeling and the dog will associate biting people with this uncomfortable feeling and it'll stop.

It's highly effective. When my golden retriever was a baby she was very mouthy but we fed the bite with her and she hasn't tried to bite us since. This method got her to stop biting us in the course of an afternoon.

We have a 9 week old Australian Shepherd now and we use the same technique. You just have to be consistent. Dogs thrive when their world is consistent and the pack hierarchy is clearly established.

Again, this does not cause injury to the animal. It is a quick correction that identifies you as the alpha.

[ComradeCurze]

Euthanize it. It's already showing signs of aggression at such a young age.

[Asker]

What? No way. I love him, he’s amazing, the aggression needs to be handled. It doesn’t mean you should kill a loving being just because they are who they are.

[Anonymous]

It's normal for young puppies to be "mouthy" and bite before they learn not to. It's very painful because puppy teeth are sharp! They need to learn it's wrong... they don't know that instinctively.

I have raised five dogs from puppies and this is what has always worked for me. The instant he bites you, pull your hand away sharply and and cry out loudly in pain. He needs to associate biting you with your reaction, so it needs to be very quick. Continue making crying sounds for a bit so he knows you are in pain.

Dogs do recognize when you are in pain by your actions and the sounds you make. He may be too immature to fully understand yet but he will get there. Don't hit him. There's no need for that. Good luck.

[Asker]

Thank you so much… I did that, I made cry sounds, and he got even more entertained and tried to bite harder, when I got aggressive, he also got aggresive and when I send him out of bed, he started crying to come back, then he went to another room and didn’t come out until my brother arrive.

I was hurt because I am the one doing everything for him, feeding, playing, taking care of him, caressing him, he always follows me everywhere and likes to sleep near me, I thought I mist have shown too much aggression for him to lose a will to come to my bedroom.

[Opinion Owner]

How old is he?

[Asker]

1.5 months, but he is a big puppy, bigger than some full/grown small dogs

[Opinion Owner]

That's very young. Most puppies don't leave their mother until 8 weeks.

[Opinion Owner]

To the question in your update, he needs to associate coming to you with positive emotions. Try giving him a few treats to get him used to taking them from your hand. That will associate positive emotions with your hand. Then when you a a little ways away from him, wave your hand and say "come, come, come... and give him a treat when he comes to you. Rinse and repeat.

[Asker]

Thank you 🙏🏻

[Opinion Owner]

Keep in mind he's very young. You have tons of time to train him. Don't sweat it.

[Andres77]

Grab him, look him in the eyes, grab his head, bare your teeth and growl and bite his snout...

Not hard, just scare him into seeing you as dominant. He won't fear you, he'll just know his place in the pack.

Just a technique. Worked for me.

Good luck.

[Andres77]

You’re his master, not his buddy.

[ShadezMcgee]

Corrective training and positive reinforcement. If you can afford it, get a trainer that can help you. You need to get that out of him soon because when he is fully grown that will be a problem and more deadly.

Is he prey driven? Using treats as a form of reward when he does something right is a good way to encourage better behavior.

[Shamalien]

Nothing wrong with establishing dominance with a dog. Better do it while he’s a puppy and it’s still easy to subdue him. If he bites, hit him immediately, hard. Dogs are tough they can take it, plus he started it. Never treat a human child like this, this advice is for dogs only

[fatmucho]

Just say in a very stern voice, NO BITING, but don't yell it, and grab it's chin, but not very hard, but enough so it knows ur talking about it biting.

[DryGermanGuy]

Basically you have to imitate nature. Just observe what an adult dog does in the pack, when a puppy gets too fresh: S/He throws it on its back, grabbing it by the throat.

[Texaskid1]

Role up a news paper or magazine and hit him back. Also , scold him loudly. Of course he will not understand what you are saying but he may understand the emotion behind your tone of voice ; bite human master = bad.

[Sparkie460]

Give him an American made rawhide. He will start chewing on your furniture next.

[Silver158]

bite him back

[panamared1]

Bite him back

[Asker]

Seriously?

[panamared1]

Seriously

[panamared1]

How old was he when he was taken from his mom

[Asker]

He was 1 month old. I know it’s very young.

[panamared1]

That is why he bites, should be 8 weeks to learn things like that from his mom

[Asker]

I know but the owner was going to give him away at a young age, I didn’t mind if he stayed with his mom longer, but it was his previous owner’s wish for us to take him sooner.

Knowing what I know now, I wish, I have waited for one more month.

[panamared1]

You need to bite him back, he does not know it hurts

[Asker]

Thanks for the tip, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.

[panamared1]

You do not need to harm him, just enough to let him know it hurts