# My dog licks and bites at my feet, help me!!



## lora123 (Oct 27, 2007)

I have a 61/2 month old puppy named Rosco, he got nutered about a coupe of weeks ago and at the same time the vet pulled out 4 baby teeth since then he is constantly licking me and anything else thats around, he also bites at my socks, pants and shoe laces when I,m trying to walk or just sitting still. Is this just a teething thing or what? Will he ever stop, it is driving me crazy. He only did this a little bit before the teeth were pulled, but now he does it all the time, the guys at work even noticed it.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

Dogs explore their world with their mouths like we explore it with our hands. It is normal puppy behavior to play and nip like you notice. So, you need to teach him it is inappropriate. 

1. Don't play the game. If he starts nipping, hold still, say uh oh, and ignore him. I usually put my dog in their crate or behind a gate in the other room so the break/ignoring time is enforced. You can let your pup drag a leash so that you can get him and walk him to where you want him. 

2. Yelping when he nips is another good way to communicate that the behavior is inappropriate. If you watch puppies play together, when somebody gets too rough, the victim will yip. 

You need to be very consistent about your actions when he does it. Do the SAME thing every time and do not ever let him get away with it. If the game get's him nowhere every time, it looses its reward value to him. Do expect their to be a little burst where it gets worse before it gets better. That is called an extinction burst. 

And, don't forget to reward him when he is being good. It is so easy to forget to reward dogs when they are laying quietly with a chew or playing with a toy. Let him know what behavior you do like.


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## lora123 (Oct 27, 2007)

> Dogs explore their world with their mouths like we explore it with our hands. It is normal puppy behavior to play and nip like you notice. So, you need to teach him it is inappropriate.
> 
> 1. Don't play the game. If he starts nipping, hold still, say uh oh, and ignore him. I usually put my dog in their crate or behind a gate in the other room so the break/ignoring time is enforced. You can let your pup drag a leash so that you can get him and walk him to where you want him.
> 
> ...





> [/B]


Thank You so much for the advice, I'll be sure and try them out.


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## a2z (Aug 23, 2004)

Give puppy a toy to chew on instead of you!


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## giselle79 (Aug 8, 2007)

When Maxi was younger he liked to nip on things, specially hands and toes, which is painful of course, no one likes their toes to be chewed on. 
I stopped this behaviour by doing what doggie moms do, everytime he did something like that I'd gently bite his ear and growl to him. It might seem funny but it really worked. :biggrin:


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## ShilohsMom (Jun 25, 2007)

> Dogs explore their world with their mouths like we explore it with our hands. It is normal puppy behavior to play and nip like you notice. So, you need to teach him it is inappropriate.
> 
> 1. Don't play the game. If he starts nipping, hold still, say uh oh, and ignore him. I usually put my dog in their crate or behind a gate in the other room so the break/ignoring time is enforced. You can let your pup drag a leash so that you can get him and walk him to where you want him.
> 
> ...


Excellent advice. I would also add redirect him to a chewing toy as much as possible when he is attempting this.


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