Biting/chewing/nipping a lot!

[Heavenly]

We have an 8.5 week old pug puppy. He bites/chews/nips all the time! I know it is not agressive, it's just a puppy thing. But it is still very annoying. The kids can't even play with him because he bites their clothes, their hair, their fingers, their face, their ears, etc. We keep telling him no bite and putting him down, pushing him away, putting chew toys in his mouth instead, etc. but it doesn't seem to help. It is getting very frustrating and I'm but sure what else we can do that we haven't already tried. Help!

[stardogs]

I try to model my responses to nipping after what you'd see in a litter situation. If another puppy nips too hard, the bitten puppy will yelp and then walk away from the biter, effectively giving the biter a short time out before returning to play again.

Humans can do the exact same thing and it generally works quite effectively if implemented by *all* members of the household. I will start out yelping and then ignoring the pup (by just standing up or walking away) for nips that actually hurt and then once those are few and far between, start reacting the exact same way for teeth on skin at all. Timeouts for young pups need be no longer than 10 seconds in most cases.

For older pups (over 4mo) I generally will eliminate the yelp (since as they age, this tends to rile them up) and instead just ignore the pup for 20-30 seconds.

For small children, you may want to consider having your puppy drag a leash so you can interrupt any chasing behavior and allow the child to move away if the pup is getting nippy.

[greenmagick]

Agree with the above. I know you didn't like it but dunbars befor and after you get your puppy has an extensive section on this.

Most of all, it takes time. You have had him less than a week, it's not something that goes away overnight. Just keep up switching for toys and ignoring.

[bri276]

Every puppy I've known is just like this! We hated it when we got our dog as kids, too. I remember refusing to pet him unless I had mittens/gloves on!

[Heavenly]

The suggestion to yelp and walk away? Yeah, doesn't work. Sadly this puppy is relentless. He will keep coming after you again and again and again. I am not kidding he will start biting my feet and I will tell him no, I'll move away, I'll give him a chew toy. None of it helps. He comes back again and again. The kids try and get him to stop and he just won't! I honestly don't know what to do. The kids were so excited to get a puppy and now they don't even want to play with him because he constantly bites them.

[sagewinna]

Have you tried talking to the breeder for advice? She has a vested interest in it going well for you! You sound overwhelmed.

[Heavenly]

I am horribly overwhelmed. My DH is coming home and I am going to bed. I put the dog out in the yard by himself because he just pooped all over my floor. Again. After I had him outside for 15 minutes. In the exact same spot even though I cleaned it with Nature's Miracle. I don't know why he is not getting it. I am doing every single tip everyone has given me. My DH is home all weekend, I'm going to have him handle it all weekend and I am just going to walk away from it all. Hopefully that will help. I guess I am just not the right personality type to handle a puppy, but it is too late now so we will have to find a way to get through.

[greenmagick]

All the tips we have given you do work, but it takes time! You have tobslow down and not expect the puupy to immediately learn. It takes weeks or months.

I am sorry you are overwhelmed.

[Oubliette8]

Hey, don't be too hard on yourself or the puppy. It really does take weeks, even months of repetition before they start to get it. And pugs are known to be hard to train. Its not a matter of, if you do everything right, he wont have any accidents and will be perfectly behaved. Its more, if you do it this way consistently, for a long time, over and over again, eventually he will start to get it. You only just got the little guy. Lots of accidents and nipping and other puppy behavior is totally normal! I'd expect it even from the best trainer and the smartest puppy. Puppys are like babys, they don't stop after the first time you say no, or sometimes even the hundreth. Its a work in progress over time.