7 month boy, playful biting

Landshark77

Hi everyone I have a 7 month old boy who is biting and playing rough.  We have been vigilant with loud "no's", giving him time-outs, and a swift spanking when he needs it. It is a little frustrating because he just wants to play, but we don't want to interact with him when he is acting like a nut.  Any suggestions?  Its probably just his very stubborn nature, he is smart and learns quick...but only what he wants to.

Thanks for the help.

mbgood

Make sure your boy has lots of good chew toys or fat ropes that you can direct him to while he's in this stage. And when he just gets too excited to control his impulses, you have to shut him down to re-focus. We use a submission hold technique that we learned at a puppy socialization class with pretty good success. When Murphy gets herself too worked up, I basically put her in a bear hug on my lap or on the floor, applying enough pressure to limit her movement, and try to get her head under an elbow or forearm so she can't bite. She will squirm like crazy at first, but soon realizes it is futile, and at first, the harder she fights it, the firmer my hold. As she calms down, I ease up the pressure, but assert slightly more if she starts to revert. During a hold, I do not interact with her--no verbalization after the initial, "NO!" and pointedly look away--no eye contact until she earns it. It usually only takes a few minutes for her to calm herself enough to be released. Then praise and lots of "good doggy!" reinforcement.

mbgood

Yes, pinning is a better description of what I do, since my arms are not all the way around the dog like in a hug. When she was smaller, I caught her mid-leap (going at my face, usually) and if I was sitting on the floor playing, would press her down on top of my legs using mostly my forearms but trying to keep the head (the biting part!) under my elbow and away from my hands. Now that she's bigger, it happens less on my lap and more to the floor. So "bearhug" was not the best description--thanks for pointing that out, Boyda.

In any case, it has been effective in the I'm Boss kind of way.

Landshark77

Thanks for all of the helpful replies

lacy

We do the same thing described above with out big boy. He learned quickly that doing that meant business! After this he is a perfect angel...until he decides to be mischievous again

Krienzo

Is this mouthy phase one that they eventually grow out of? My 6 month old female does this and i have tried many things and pinning and it doesn't seem to have an effect on her.

Landshark77

Well Gator is 9 months old now and he still is bitey.  I'd like to think its getting better, we use submitting, time outs and spanking depending on the situation. I think he is headed in the right direction, slowly.

philsergeant

It's slow... I know it's hard... I am sure you are, but try and focus on timing.... the correction needs to be instantaneous.... and let him linger without love for 1/2 hour after.... they remember!

Thanx 4 the feedback