Help - 11mth old puppy biting to Initiate play :(

Katrina101

Hi,



Hoping someone on here can help as I am at my wits end. I have a 11mth old male Boston Terrier puppy. On the whole he is pretty good and well mannered. I have trained him in a few basic commands such as sit, stay, high five, paw, lie down and recall. He is generally good on lead and a fun loveable dog!!


However, about six weeks ago he has started to run at us and bite our hands and paw/dig at us. I think he wants to initiate play or wants attention from us, but as you can imagine this is totally unacceptable and I need this to stop. I am really worried and will not let him interact with kids ect in case he does this to them.



I thought he was out of the puppy biting/teething phase and I am so disappointed this new phase has started.



Could someone please shed some light on why this behavior has re-surfaced and what I can do to stop it as quickly as possible?


My previous method when he was younger was to say ah-ah when he bit me and re-direct to a chew toy, or get up and turn my back to him for 30 sec’s, however this does not seem to working this time. Not sure if I need to keep this up for longer, or If I am giving in to him by using this method as he is getting attention from me.


He gets walked two to three times a day for at least 1.5 hrs a day. I work from home so he is not left for long periods. He has lots of toys, kongs and brain training toys. We also play fetch/other games with him most days for 30 mins. So I am not really sure where I have went wrong. But I do know that Its probably my fault and would love some help!!



Thanks in advance and sorry for the ramble....just a bit wrecked by it all..lol

Discostuy

Is he biting you or mouthing your hand to get a reaction?.

There is a huge difference between the two, although to the person being bit, it can be hard to tell!.

Your dog is still very young, and I would guess he is just mouthing. Mouthing is perfectly normal in dogs and is a form of communication. Its a way to get your attention or to even lead you somewhere.

My Akitas did this from a young age. They would lead me around the house or out the back garden to show me something. They would also do it to initiate play or get my attention when they are hungry or its walk time.

I never stopped mine from doing it, but found letting out an exaggerated yelp made them release my hand. They quickly figured out not to apply any pressure.

I noticed when they play fight they mouth each others legs, tails or muzzles. One will yelp if it gets too much and the other will instantly let go.

There is loads of articles online about mouthing and bite inhibition. Its worth reading up on to get an understanding as to why they do it, as it will make it easier to control but I found the yelping thing worked pretty quickly.

tk123

My dog did the same and the only thing that worked was putting him out for 30-60 seconds and being consistent with it. He'll soon learn that mouthing = game over.

BTW you should only be walking him 5 mins per month of age to protect his bones/joints - so at 11 months that 55 mins...