Stop puppy biting

Question
Good evening Charlotte,

I recently purchased a female golden retriever pup (Georgie) 2 weeks ago... she will be 9 weeks on tues.  I am having a serious problem with her biting, and it's getting so bad that she broke skin 3 times on my 8 year old son.  I say very firmly.."NO BITING" but now she is growling at me.  I have tried coins in a can... I have tried the no bite spray, but it doesn't work.  

PLEASE help....


Thank you,
Lisa  

Answer
Hi Lisa;
Puppies bite when they play. It is natural for them, so you have to SHOW her not to bite.
Make sure the kids follow the no biting training too, or you will get no where.
It doesn't take that long.
When she bites, say "NO!, be a sweet baby ( good girl etc), and don't encourage biting by laying tug with her, unless you have a tug tow in your hand.
If she bites again, say the scolding again, and the third bite, STOP PLAYING with her.
She will soon associate biting with the play stopping.
Say "No, and leave her alone, and walk away. Be sure the children do this too.
Let her tug on a toy, and when she grabs skin instead of the toy, say "NO!" very sharply.
When she is playing nicely, tell her what a good girl she is eyc.
Make a big deal of praising when she does something right, that you want her to continue. Say no shar[ly, bad dog etc, and frown with your face and voice.
She will soon associate the behavior with the praise or the scolding, and she will do what gets the praise.
When playing with a tug toy, be sure the children understand that they should just hold it and resisit her pulling. They should not pull on it. If she gets a tooth hung on it, and they are pulling on it, it can pull a tooth out. Let HER do all the pulling, and they just provide resistance.
I disagree with a lot of people who say never let them play with a tug toy, it makes them vicious.
I am 71, and have been playing keep away and tug with dogs since I was 2 years old. Never had a vicious dog yet.
I let mine win too, sometimes. I also let my dogs get on my back when we are wrestling.
I roll over and put my face in my hands, and ye;; " Help, I'm being eaten by a beastie".
They all think that is a fun game, so the grandkids do it with them too.
about the growling. I don't tollerate that at all, unless it is growling in fun, whech mine do, and most I have had did. Theyt bark and scream, and that is the way they communicate.
My little Lhasa likes to growl to start a romp. He growls, I say  "Oh, no, A beastie" or something like that. I cover my head with the blanket, or throw the balnket over him, and we are romping.
When I throw the blanket over him and say "I caught a bear", he growls and pops out from under, and runs around the bed,
But growling in a threatening way is NOT ALLOWED!
For that, I send a puppy to time out.
Or an older dog. I say "NO! You go to time out", and I put them in a small room alone, for 30 min the first time, 45 the second and 1 hour the third time.
There are no toys to play with, just 5X5 feet of room in my smallest bathroom, so all they can do is lie on the bath mat and hear what they are missing out on.
My dogs HATE time out.
After a dog learns what it means, I just have to say "You want to go to time out?" and they sraighten right up.
Max, the little Lhasa would like to bodd the other three dogs, but when he gets testy, and I say that, he stops and acts like a good boy. LOL
Think of the puppy as you would a child that is just learning to walk and do things. You have to tell AND show what you want, until they understand what is done and what is not allowed.
Use the same words for correction for the ofense so they will learn what it means after they hear it, and associate it with not getting to play, or going to time out.
For the biting, you can say no and also tap on the nose, just enough to let them know it is not a pat. That gets the point across a little more. I say no once, the second bite, I say no and tap on the nose, and say something like "You don't bite! Be a good puppy!.
Look them in the eye when you say it.
They will learn what the word means after they hear it a few times. They understand the frown in your voice first. Pretty soon that associate that word with the sharp voice.
No that you say in a soft voice, they will not take as scolding.
Scold with the sharp voice, and say the same word. A few times is all it takes, UNLESS,,,,, someone else is letting them do what they are not supposed to do.
When you correct for biting, and they keep it up, and you have corrected 2 or 3 times, then you stop playing with her, walk away, and she gets the message pretty fast.
Hope that helps.
Petsmart and Petco have weekend classes for obedience.
I highly recommend them.
There is a qualified trainer, and they teach a group class. The owners handle their own dog, so the owner learns how to give the proper commands.
That is very good for children to go through the class with their dog.
The child learns the proper way to handle, and correct a dog.
It is a good ego booster for the child as well as for the dog.
The Humane Society also has classes in most chapters.
You might check with them if there is not a Petsmart or {etco in your area.
Charlotte