Help me to stop my puppy from bitting!!

My name is Corissa, this is my first puppy. she was born dec 28, 2008. i got her Jan 31, 2009. I was thinking this was to early to be away from it mother but she was eating soild food and drinking water. It didnt take long to get her trained to do her business outside, which i thought was awesome!! BUT then the bigger problem arose, i cant get her for the life of me to stop biting me!! Is this because she is to young to be tought to stop this? I dont know what to do, im pulling the hair out of my head trying to get her to stop. Someone please help me!!

WOw.... I hope that is a typo... What you are saying (if those dates are indeed correct...) is that you brought your puppy home at 4 weeks old, so its no wonder she is is bitting - The period between 6-9 weeks with the litter is the MOST important- they learn to socialize, proper play, and most important - Bite Inhibition. Its likely your puppy had NO idea about proper playing and that bitting is inappropriate. I dont even want to think of the type of "Breeder" (using the term VERY loosley) the poor puppy came from. Puppies should under no condition be released that early, unless the mom is ill for some reason. You are lucky she took to potty training so easily- keep it up!

You are in for alot.. I dont mean to sound harsh - but ALOT of work. You need to fill the void of her not having a proper development from 4-8 weeks old. She needs to learn that when she bites - attention, affection, playing stops. Period. If she nips - yell a high pitched "OUCH" - the sound another puppy would make if she plays too hard, and walk away from her. She will in time learn that inappropriate nipping and biting means play/attention stops. You will also need to provide her proper outlets for teething - try freezing a rope toy, face cloths, get her a Kong that you can stuff with goodies. You will need to make sure you also start to leave her own her own for small periods of time - to ensure she learns that it is OK when you leave, a puppy that young may have seperation issues as it gets older due to being removed from the litter.

Try googling and reading as much as you can about puppy developement and there are a ton of awesome threads here about puppies (there is one posted about a Boston Terrier Puppy - I cant remember the poster's name but she was having nipping problems too and got fantastic advice - have a look around for the thread)

Good luck with your puppy!

no typo, lol i need sleep! they had to get rid of the pups early cause they had a baby and it was allergic. Thanks for the tips. So i guess im not doing the rite thing by letting her sleep in the bed with me?

Ok... So its not a typo that puppy was indeed 4wks when you got her?

As melanie said the loud "OUCH" and walk away, does help.

What kind of puppy is it? We would love pictures as well.

I wouldnt let her sleep in your bed - a dog needs its own space or den to feel confident and to have safe place to go to. I would recommend getting her a crate (its ok to keep it in your room) and have her sleep in there. My dog is a rescue and I used to let him sleep on my bed, until he decided it was his bed and was a bit snarky when I told him to get off - since then he is on his bed on the floor and his overall behaviour is 100% better. She needs to learn boundries and when she goes through teething, and when you have to leave her alone it will be easier if you start with crate training right away. They dont see it as a crate, but as their den (or safe place), you can even put a blanket or shirt with your scent on it, that helps sometimes ease some of the initial resitance to being in its crate.

So how old is your puppy if "she was born dec 28, 2008. i got her Jan 31, 2009" was a typo? What kind of dog is it? You should post some pictures!

Good luck!

yup she was indeed 4 weeks old when i got her. im new to this so tell me how to post pics and i will be happy to do so. Im not sure what kind of dog she is, the mom is a small dog, that ran away once and got pregnate. lol so i dont know what kind of dog the dad is. How can ya tell what they are? She is now 6 weeks old and about 4.4 lbs ( used house scales with her in my arms)

lol took me a min to figure out what typo u were refering to lol i havnt got much sleep, when she gets up to pee she thinks its time to play again! takes a bit for her to back to sleep again. A crate is a good idea then maybe i can get some sleep and not worry if she's into something she's not supposed to be into.

Thanks, the loud ouch works. What can i do about brining her in car. Brought her to work with me and the whole car ride she cried and cried, and did a little howling, u swear to god she was being hurt. What sounds comin from her. Is there anything i can do for this?

You'll have to slowly get her used to traveling in a car - some dogs don't handle it well. The crate training will also come in great for traveling - just put her crate in the car.

Wow - 4 weeks old. :eek: So if the baby is allergic, then I would imagine that means ALL the dogs, mom included, are being rehomed? :sad: It would have been much better to keep the mom & pups together for at least another month. Not only does being taken too early from the litter affect the pups, it also affects the mother.

You will need to work very hard on the pup's socialization as she gets older - but right now you need to protect the pup from infections/diseases. I would limit where you take the pup and what she's exposed to until she's old enough for her first shots.

You'll have to slowly get her used to traveling in a car - some dogs don't handle it well. The crate training will also come in great for traveling - just put her crate in the car.

Wow - 4 weeks old. :eek: So if the baby is allergic, then I would imagine that means ALL the dogs, mom included, are being rehomed? :sad: It would have been much better to keep the mom & pups together for at least another month. Not only does being taken too early from the litter affect the pups, it also affects the mother.

You will need to work very hard on the pup's socialization as she gets older - but right now you need to protect the pup from infections/diseases. I would limit where you take the pup and what she's exposed to until she's old enough for her first shots.

I concur with Kandy. Please do not bring the dog near or around other dogs until the shots are done. Also, when the dog is outside DO NOT let him sniff other doggie excraments -this could be deadly for your pup as the immune system is not secured.

yup even the mom had to be givin away. they were bought to the spca. :sad: The pups were not at the spca for long 2 days and they all were in new homes.

Thanks guys for all the help. And any other tips u think i need please post them. Ill take all the help i can get.:)

I froze a face cloth and she loves it :)

Im glad some of the suggestions you got are working - keep up the good work! You will need to devote alot of time and patience to your pup as it is so young away from the litter. As it was said - please keep the puppy are secluded as possible until its first shots - you don't want it contracting any illnesses at this age as its immune system is already compromised.

I am sure you didnt know any better - but next time you get a dog (or someone asks you) PLEASE go to a rescue, SPCA or ****Reputable*** Breeder - There is NO reason to be litter the puppies leave the mom that early - if the rest of the litter was brought to the SPCA - there is NO way they were all adopted out at 4 weeks old, they would of been kept until at least 7-8 weeks old with the mom. I have a hard time accepting this was the case as SPCA's and Humane Societies will not adopt out 4 week old puppies with no vaccinations, deworming or spay/neuter contract. I just hope people who read this thread and are considering getting a puppy or dog learn that this is the consequences of buying a puppy from a backyard breeder...because I dont know of ANY reputable breeder who would rehome a litter/mom due to allergies...:wall::wall:

i havnt got much sleep, when she gets up to pee she thinks its time to play again! takes a bit for her to back to sleep again.

I think there's something about babies (fur babies and flesh babies) that tell them the best time to play is at about 3am :laughing:

A crate will definitely help with the training. It may take a little while, especially since her bladder still has so much developing to do, but eventually it'll help her to sleep through the night longer. It'll also give her a safe, secure place to stay while you're out of the house, and also while you're travelling in the car.

Best of luck with your little one. Keep us posted on the progress.

The mom went to a different home, and the pups to the spca and they didnt keep them they were adopted out within a few days. I went to the vet a few days after i got her and got the deworm stuff for her and told them how old she was and they told me as long as she was eating and drinking not to worry.

Its nice to know about not exposing her to other dogs till she gets her needles, i wasnt aware of that. You think the vet wouldve told me that when i was there!