# Help! 14 wk old puppy won't stop biting and won't take to



## joebirdie3 (Jan 13, 2010)

We are in our 4th week as new owners of a wonderful Maltese puppy, but we are having some problems as new parents. My wife and I are both first-time dog owners, so we are not experienced at training and reinforcing behavior. Pumpkin, our puppy is usually very good and well-behaved, but when she gets excited and playful, all she wants to do is BITE everything - our hands, feet, socks, pants, couch, etc. not just her toys. She gets quite aggressive at times, and it hurts! On top of that, she doesn't seem to respond to "NO" or other attempts at discipline, as she thinks I am still playing - it only makes her more aggressive. What are effective and constructive forms of discipline so she stops this misbehavior? Though she is only 3 pounds right now, her "playing" can be quite scary for little kids, and quite irritating for adults like myself. Please help! Thanks


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## ilovemymaltese (Oct 9, 2008)

Just out of curiosity for myself, how many weeks was she when you bought her home?


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## Canada (Jun 4, 2009)

Hi! *Congrats on your new puppy!* :flowers: 

I am not an expert but it sounds like she is nipping you as an invitation to play. This is her way of saying "Hey, come play with me!" 
Say something like "Ouch" loudly and walk away and ignore her for a very short time. Then resume playing with her. Keep doing the "Ouch" and walking away and eventually she will catch on.

Puppies teach this naturally to each other. One will yelp and the other should know that the yelp is because it was biting the other pup. Your "Ouch" is communicating this to her, that it hurts. She will grow out of it.

As for frightening young kids, and I am not sure on the kids' ages, that is a great point that you brought up. You are obviously very caring.  
In general, Maltese should be only allowed to play with older children. Their nipping (as pups) and nails can scratch young kids delicate skin. AND young children can _very_ easily injure a Maltese (anything a child can pick up, they can drop) So they are not suitable playmates for each other. They need to be kept seperated, baby gates are a great idea.

Congrats on your pup again, and I love the name, Pumpkin!


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## Dora's Mom (Nov 7, 2009)

QUOTE (ilovemymaltese @ Jan 13 2010, 12:52 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=873096


> Just out of curiosity for myself, how many weeks was she when you bought her home?[/B]


He said he's had her for 4 weeks and she's 14 weeks old now, so we can assume he brought her home at 10 weeks. 

Saying "no" and walking away is a good strategy but you HAVE to be consistent with it. That's the hardest part, when someone else in the family (or yourself) decides to let her bite "just a little bit" and that gets her thinking biting is ok.


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## Canada (Jun 4, 2009)

Just wanted to add:

This sounds like normal puppy behaviour. She should grow out of it. Pretty much all pups do this.
My two pups are growing out of this, but even still, when they are super riled up the play nips can come out!
She's just trying to initiate play with you, so she not a naughty girl! 
She'll learn that it is not okay and should stop the behaviour when she learns.
(From your "Ouch" and ignoring her for a few seconds) 

And :welcome1:


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

The good thing is you are describing a very normal puppy!

Puppies begin to learn *bite inhibition* with their mother and littermates. This means they learn to inhibit the force of their bite so as not to hurt or break the skin while playing. This is a very important skill to learn, because any dog can be driven to bite (accidental in a game, due to pain, fear, etc.). A dog with good bite inhibition will have a gentle mouth. Once the pup is with their new family, you have to continue the teaching what the mother and litter began. The best way to do this is to mimic their responses. When a bite is too hard, yelp loudly, stand up and leave the room (a baby gate is handy so your pup can't follow). Ignore for a few minutes. 

If you have ever been around little kids, you've seen what they do when overtired. Well, puppies can get overstimulated and need a forced calming time. If your puppy is frenatic, this is not a good time to be learning. Instead happily have your pup go up in their crate so they can chill out. 

Notice how I emphasized *inhibiltion vs. prohibition*. If you never ever let your puppy mouth you, your puppy will learn not to bite in regular circumstances. However, in an extreme situation, these are the dogs who leave nasty injurious bites. You can always, once your pup understands how hard is too hard, stop allowing the mouthing games by getting up and ending them and providing new fun games with toys. 

Disciplining your puppy and telling them no is not an effective way to change the behavior. Focus more on getting the behavior you want and not so much on adding aversive punishments.


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## Matilda's mommy (Jun 1, 2005)

QUOTE (Canada @ Jan 13 2010, 03:19 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=873107


> Hi! *Congrats on your new puppy!* :flowers:
> 
> I am not an expert but it sounds like she is nipping you as an invitation to play. This is her way of saying "Hey, come play with me!"
> Say something like "Ouch" loudly and walk away and ignore her for a very short time. Then resume playing with her. Keep doing the "Ouch" and walking away and eventually she will catch on.
> ...



QUOTE (JMM @ Jan 13 2010, 03:49 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=873130


> The good thing is you are describing a very normal puppy!
> 
> Puppies begin to learn *bite inhibition* with their mother and littermates. This means they learn to inhibit the force of their bite so as not to hurt or break the skin while playing. This is a very important skill to learn, because any dog can be driven to bite (accidental in a game, due to pain, fear, etc.). A dog with good bite inhibition will have a gentle mouth. Once the pup is with their new family, you have to continue the teaching what the mother and litter began. The best way to do this is to mimic their responses. When a bite is too hard, yelp loudly, stand up and leave the room (a baby gate is handy so your pup can't follow). Ignore for a few minutes.
> 
> ...


 :goodpost: :goodpost:


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## joebirdie3 (Jan 13, 2010)

Thanks for all of the help. I guess we'll just have to be patient and consistent with the "yelping" when she bites. It's a long process! The next task is to try to teach her to "sit"...


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

JMM gave fantastic advice and she is very experienced when it comes to training and behavioral issues.

In most cases just yelping or saying "ouch!" will make them stop, but when we first got London the only thing that seemed to work was to end our play session and ignore her if she started biting. Like your puppy, she thought it was a game when we tried to get her to stop biting. During play time, when she started biting, we said "No bite", stood up, and ended the session. If yelping doesn't seem to help, try just interrupting the behavior and ending the play session.


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