HELP

[Bentley]

I love my puppy to death but I need help. She is going through the worst biting phase I have ever seen. I was hoping that someone could give my some advice here. She turned 5 months yesterday but I am worried that friends and family won't want to play with her for much longer. Thank you.

[Lord Goliath]

I assume her biting is during play correct? I mean she is not being aggressive right?

If she does know how to play nice and occasionally gets excited and nips/bites, you'll want to firmly say, "No" and stop playing or remove yourself from the area.  She'll learn quickly that biting is not acceptable behavior and that it results in her losing the chance to play with you. 

If she bites and chews your shoes etc, you can try to keep an acceptable chewable item like nylabone handy.  When she chews on you, firmly say "no", remove your shoe or pant leg, etc, and substitute the nylabone.  When she does chew/bite the bone, let her know that she is a "Good girl!"

Keep working at it and she'll get it.  Also in order to teach her that the rules apply to ALL visitors and not just you, you may need to enlist the help of a friend or family member who can do the same things.

[Bentley]

There is no rhyme or reason. I think she is just taking play too far. We have tried saying "no" or "ouch" and not playing with her for a good time. I also have carried a chew toy like a gun on my hip. As I said, i think she just needs to learn how to play, but all usual methods have been used.

[Lord Goliath]

You've got to be very consistent about the "ouch" and not playing with her especially early on.  It's tough when they are so cute, but if you falter just once and let her get away with it, she'll learn that if I just keep trying I will eventually get what I want. It's not as simple as that, but I think you get the idea.

Dogs tend to do what they do often.  It sounds kinda dumb, but what I mean is that the more times a dog does a particular behavior, the more likley they are to do it again - like developing a habit.  You've got to find a way to get Bentley to perform a behavior that is incompatible with biting.  Does she respond well to treats?  You could try getting her attention with a command that she knows or a clicker to get her to calm down.  Here is a link to info on clicker training http://bulldogdomain.com/reference/clicker_training.php  I think that the part about  developing attention is applicable here.

It sounds like you are doing the right things with her though.  With some Bullies and escpecially younger ones excess energy can contribute to this.  Does she like walks? Can you get her to use up that extra energy some other way?

[Bentley]

I am sure like most bullies, she response VERY well to treats. She never lets up, energy all day no matter what. Thanks for the advice, I will let you know how it goes.

[brumzoo]

To stop the nipping, my trainer recommends getting a water gun and filling it with white vinegar. Squirt Roxy in the mouth when she starts nipping you and tell her no. She should catch on quickly. If she likes the vinegar (like one of my dogs did), get a tube of Binaca or other mouth spray. When she tries to nip you, spray it in her mouth and tell her no. Now Nubbin just has to see a green and white tube like object (such as a marker) and she will sit. 
Good luck!

[sweet_pea]

So white vinegar is fine to use on all dogs?  I thought I heard somewhere that certain dogs can't handle certain things the way most can.  I guess what I'm asking is if there is a limit to the type of dogs you can do this with.  If you do it often will they get sick? 

[brumzoo]

White vinegar is fine. My trainer uses it on all dogs. Nubbin never got sick, but she liked it!  So, we switched to Binaca.

[COLOMBIAN]

u can try my approach ,once bianca bit me onthe face and actualy busted my lip a little bit, so i just returned the favor i bit her back in the neck, my mouth was full of hair but she learned her lesson. lol
 i would actually just hold mer mouth shut and say no until she would calm down, worked like a charm, oh and the me bitting her  is true but only happened once. make sure there is always something interesteing for them to chew on, bianca has like 5 different toys but w eonly leave 2 or 3 out at the same time, after a couple of days we switch them , she think oh cool new toys, , u gotta keep it interesting for them to chew on thing u approve of, try different toys

[sweet_pea]

Well it just appears that there is no toy more interesting than our hands, cos they move by themselves!  As for the holding her mouth shut thing, I tried that a few times and it made her want to play more, like it was a game.  I am eager to try the vinegar, though.  Hopefully I can deal with smelly vinegar/puppy breath...