Mouthy or biting dogs

[babsbeeble]

My 7 month old golden retriever, Molly, has some biting issues. We have tried, since we got her, to say OUCH, to freeze, holding her nose and saying NO etc. It seems like we've tried it all! But, she still will get bitey with us.
It starts of as a game to her, I think, and she doesn't understand that it is hurting us. It eventually gets to the point that she has to have a 'time out', but that only solves the problem temporairily.
We always have chew toys available for her, and frequently give her Kong treats and ice cubes. I don't like the idea of rewarding her when she bites by giving her something she likes. Although, she does respond well to reward when doing something positive, like teaching her to sit, lay down etc.
I am running out of ideas, and patience! Can anyone help!

[melanie]

when a dog bites or nips i find it is best when the dog bites, to immeadiatly put the dog in his naughty place or crate and do not say a word. every time he bites say ouch and remove the dog to solitude or even just ignore it. if he bites, no or ouch and immeadiate solitary confinement., he will soon associate the biting with the seperation and punishment and hopefully figure it out. but hey, im no dog trainer, just a thought.

[Spoiled]

I've heard of substituiting a positive command for a negative action: Dog bites, "ouch!" "Sit" type of thing.

[babsbeeble]

I don't have a problem putting her in time out, which we usually do right away when she gets out of control. The only problem is that her time out crate is the same place we have to put her when we leave the house, because we can't trust her yet to be out on her own when we aren't there. She is a bit too distrucive to my couch!

What do you think of us using the bathroom with the light out as a different place for her to go when she is bad. That way she may know she is in trouble because she is in a different place, and still isolated from us.

We have tried telling her to sit when she starts biting to get her to stop, but we have trouble calming her down, and getting her to listen to us. I don't want to introduce a treat to get her to sit in that situation either, because I don't want her to associate barking/biting with reward.

We have yet to start a formal obedience training with her, because in the town where I am, there isn't a class constantly running. Will it help stop the biting when we can finally get her into a class?

[melanie]

i thinkwhen you start dog schoolthings will get better, the dog will learn manners and training and you will have a professional trainer on hand. do you have a laundry you can put her in?? the light of in the bathroom may just be a little too scary for her and may make her have other problems. i have a large dog so i need control, so in the past when i have had no where to put her for confinement (visiting ect) i have taken her right down the back of the yard and put her on a rope for 5 minutes never aly longer), no one is allowed near her when we do this and she hates it (i haveonly had to do it a few times. i am careful and always watch her constantly in this situation, so she wont choke ect which is easily done). i think it is the fact that we take her away from everyone else to total isolation that she really gets it, be naughty and you will not be accepted in the group. and often we laugh and have noisy fun when she is isolated to demonstrate that we are having fun and she can come back and join in when she can behave. it always works for me. but yeah i would say dog school is your best start.

[LavenderRott]

Time out is a human concept that dogs don't grasp quite the same way. If your dog is biting your hands when you play, pull your hands up out of reach and turn your back to the dog.

I have a rottweiler, so I spend a lot of time communicating with rottweiler owners and trainers. When teaching bite inhibition, which is what you are trying to do, it is often recommended to redirect the bite from you to some type of toy. If this is done consistantly, the dog learns to chew on the approved toy and not you. You are not rewarding the dog, you are teaching it that it can chew on "this" but not "this".