Help 10 Month Old Biting

[Guest Robert]

I really could use some help.. I have two cairn's Junior 6years old and Pepper 10 months old.. Well our problem is Pepper we just cannot seem to get him to stop biting. And I don't mean the freindly playful kind either as I know these wonderful dogs have a very playful disposition. Pepper has bitten ewverybody in the house and has my wifde kinda scared on having to handle him.. I do training with him daily which he seems to be learning great.. the other night I was trying to get a paper clip out of his mouth ofcourse with giving our routine command give, drop, and my big one timeout which I use to end our play/rough time. Which have been working but the other night while trying to get a stupid paper clip he lashed out bite me on my hand and then took bite out out of my side drawing blood from a few teeth.. This ofcourse was in front of my two daughters and wife , I scoled him first by shoving him down pinned his head on the ground and all I had to say was pen and he went willing and quitley.. We ofcourse are very attached to Pepper but I am not sure I want to keep him knowing he could bite someone else as he went after me. We have 5 days left before we can have him put down or change our minds.. my daughters are 13 and 11 and weve had junior since he was 8 weeks old. someone please help as I would much rather give Pepper to someone than the other alternative ... roundyr@comcast.net

[CarCarDawn]

Hi! I don't know if this will help you or not - - I am learning as I go but - - - Riley started biting again at about 7 months of age - - he was always so gentle. My husband and I and our 2 daughters started to scold him and turn him over on his back and hold him down when he did this. It seemed to me that he was trying to be the "boss" and dominate our household. We did this everytime he tried to bite - - even during playtime. It seems to have worked - - he is now going on 10 months and the biting has all but disappeared. He will only bite when he is in a deep sleep and we try to pick him up. I think he is just doing his "guard" thing when we try to wake him. He is a very affectionate little dog. Good luck!

[bradl]

Please consider trying to get Pepper evaluated by a competent rescue organization before even considering having him put down. I have to assume Pepper was not obtained from a responsible breeder; that would be the obvious first place to turn.

CTCA Rescue - http://www.cairnterrier.org/rescue/

Cairn Terrier Club of Denver Rescue - http://www.stpaz.com/ctcd/rescues.html

Cairn Terrier Club of Northern California Rescue - http://ctcnc.net/rescue.htm

Cairn Terrier Club of Southern California Rescue - http://www.cairnterrier.net/rescue.htm

Chicago-Suburban Cairn Terrier Club Rescue - http://www.chi-cairn.org/rescue.htm

Potomac Cairn Terrier Club Rescue - http://rescue.potomacctc.org/index.html

Trinity Valley Cairn Terrier Club (see rescue link) - http://www.tvctc.com/

Cairn Rescue USA - http://www.cairnrescueusa.com/

Col. Potter Cairn Rescue Network http://www.cairnrescue.com/

If you are not working 1-1 with a good trainer, given your situation, you should be. Also, have Pepper thoroughly examined by a vet. In some cases pain or illness can cause a dog to lash out unpredictably. You should also get to a bookstore and read a book such as Dog Problems by Carol Lea Benjamin to get some encouragement and training ideas.

When trying to get something out of a dog that has questionable 'bite inhibition' I usually try a trade rather than trying to remove it from his mouth directly. "Trade you this giant biscuit for that puny paperclip." And I'd toss the biscuit rather than let him take it from me.

[Guest Robert]

Hi thanks for your responses, first to give you some more back ground. we purchased Pepper at a Mall store thinking that I would rather give him a warm wonderful home and he was at the right age 10 weeks, the store had only had him for a week so I brought Pepper home. Having Had Junior which I went to behavior training we both learned a great deal.. I have not gone with Pepper but I do spend the time training him everyday.. He has been to the vet just last week and had no problem. beleive me, we have not giving up on him he's his own pup and we love Pepper dearly. But I need to be sure that I can trust him around others.. and yes normal it's a trade for anything that either Junior or Pepper has.. It's not from lack of stuff to chew.. Sometimes I think that they have the run of the downstairs with all the stuffed animals and bones scattered around.. thanks I will try to let you know how it goes , and i will be calling one of the shelters you gave.. We live in Mass so not sure which one would be better suited but well call and find out.. thanks again

[wags]

strange hearing that you "trade" also. Whenever Wes has something bad in his mouth, we yell "trade." usually he drops whatever he has and runs to the fridge for a reward of cheese.

Sometiumes we have to poke around his mouth for rubberbands, etc. He dosen't usually bite. But when he was choking I had to put my hand in his mouth no matter what. I didn't notice the teeth marks until afterwards. but it was worth it to save his life.

[Scully'sMom]

Scully is a female, 7 months of age, and in the last week she started nipping again but only lightly. Robert, my heart was breaking when I read your post and I hope that you can find a good solution to the problem.

My vet recommended a trainer that comes to the home and works one-on-one. We want to work mainly on getting her to come to us when she's called and a few other things. I called him today and we are probably going to go for the in-home training. Perhaps that is something that you could try - one-on-one training in your home.

If you wouldn't mind a long distance call, this trainer was great to speak with on the phone and he made SO much sense. Here is his webpage if you want to look at it. He has 20 years of experience. Perhaps he might have some answers for you.

It's http://bobspetstop.com/

[wags]

Robert,

Wes once bit my husband and there was blood everywhere. "Look what you did! Shame on you!" worked very well. In fact, it worked too well, every time someone got hurt, Wes thought it was HIS fault.

[bradl]

Here are some links that describe teaching bite inhibition:

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/bite2.html

http://www.perfectpaws.com/bite.html

http://doglinks.co.nz/training/bite_inhibition.htm

http://www.clickertraininglv.com/bite.htm

http://www.parkvets.com/veterinaryservices...yclub-bite.html

[Guest Robert]

Hi everyone, Just wanted to give you an update on what we have been doing about Pepper.. I have called a trainer and am having them 1 on 1 in home help.. Also have been spending more time with him everyday.. He's been so good so far still some nipping , but he's not bitting with the force that he did... The most destrubing thing that I went thru was talking with the local shelters which said they would do everything possible to place him but ofcourse no garentees.. So I tried a Cairn shelter and they flat out refuse to take him if he has bitting someone needless to say I was not very nice after that... Pepper is staying with us we can not bring ourselves to do the other, he's just so addorable and his big brother Junior loves his playmate to much.. Me too

[wags]

Maybe you could try ignoring the biting (from his standpoint). I read that the more focus is placed on biting the more the dog will bite. Maybe you could encourage licking instead.

I remember my dog nipping when we first got him and someone told us to put peanut butter on our fingers to encourage licking instead of biting. Well it seems to have worked. But now Wes may be allergic to peanut butter....

[Guest Parker's Dad]

I don't know if you are willing to try this or not, but when Parker (he's 1 year, 3 months now) was 8 to 10 months old, he would bite all the time when he was playing or got really excited. My vet told me that any time he bit me, to yell "ouch" (and make it known that he really hurt you), pin his tongue down to the bottom of his mouth with my thumb using quite a bit of pressure, and to hold it there for as long as he would let me and keep repeating a command such as "off" (I just say "NO BITE!"). I had to do this quite regularly, but it was worth it. Now when we are playing and he starts to get too rough with his biting, I can even say "ouch" in a stern voice and he will stop and then give me a "kiss" and start playing again nicely.

It probably helped that ever since he was a puppy, I've had no problem sticking my fingers in his mouth to get something out. He doesn't like it, but he doesn't fight me too terribly much, either.

[Guest Guest]

Molly is 12 wks old and was purchased at 9 wks. Her biting is very aggresive and more so than I have ever seen. We cannot hold her w/o her biting. We have tried to distract her with different toys. When we say "NO", she keeps biting. I tried pushing her lip to her teeth so she can feel the pain that she causes. She eats her poop, she just doesn't listen. Please help!

[kayharley]

I also hope you find a solution to the problem and are able to keep Pepper. I've been fortunate that my dogs have never been aggressive to me or any other person. But I was wondeing in your case if there could be a jealously factor involved between your two dogs? Does Pepper bite Junior also, not in play but in defense?

[hallswel]

Be careful holding him down, in our training class we were told that it can cause more problems if it is not done right. You might want to have a professional train him.

Rebel was into bitting and we would pick him up and hold him out arms length. This put us in control. WHen he calmed down we would put him down. Rebel now knows that teeth can never touch skin. Sometimes when we play frisbee he gets excited and forget.

Our Pug is much worse than our Cairn and we have to pull his lip over his tooth and press down. Stops the biting every time, he is still a puppy and forgets after about a week and we start back again. I am hoping by the time he is a 9 months old he will stop competely.

I sure wish you luck!

[punkinsmom]

My six month old female, Punkin, has recently become possessive aggressive. Last week she started to show signs of this when my husband tried to take away the remains of her pig ear; when he got near her, she began to growl and even bit him, drawing blood. We are currently enrolled in obedience classes and the trainer at the course told us that the pig ear is something that is of high value to her and we must exchange the item for a treat, in order to get her to learn to make a trade. I don't know if this would be the best option because I do not know if she will recognize that it is a trade or will view this as receiving a treat for unwanted behavior. To make matters worse, two times this week she has growled at family members and has even bitten me - over a dog brush! I don't know why this would have any value to her, but I feel as if her aggression has now been transferred to other items that do not necessarily have a "high" value to her. This behavior needs to stop immediately and we are looking for suggestions. I have no idea where this behavior has even been initiated, in order to remedy the origin of the problem. Any suggestions are welcome!!!

[Guest Tototoo]

Hi, our pup is 5 mon. old and when we went to the vet clinic recently he tried to chew on the vet well he grabbed his mouth and held it shut until the dog gave in. When ever he grabs hold of someone we hold his mouth shut and he even cried to get his mouth back, but until he completely surrendered that's what we do. I have a two year old son and a four year old daughter and I just can't risk a biter.

We also had a 10 year old dog (shelty mix) that turned aggressive. I had hand raised him on a bottle and he was the sweetest dog. When he turned about 9 he suddenly became very jealous if I spent anytime with other animals. He almost killed my bird, grabbed a cat, just kept getting worse and worse. Well the day he attacked my husband in the face and he required 32 stiches is the day I decieded to put him down. The vet explained that as a dog gets older something just clicks and they can become very possevie of things and people. The only way to correct this behavior is by having them neutered when they are younger and this behavior may not develop.

Don't allow any aggressive behavior, over react, don't tolerate biting at all. You are incharge and the head dog. These terriers are fearless and will be incharge if you let them. Be nice, but don't be sorry you weren't stronger, the time for them to learn is now. And please get them neutered, it was a sad way to loose a best friend - I trained him to heel with no leash, he was my shadow and I still miss him - alright, alright I'm down off my soap box.

[Guest Butchie's Mom]

Hi - I don't have any suggestions for the biting that Punkin is doing but I do have a lot of sympathy. I found this site while searching for some help. We have a 9 month old male. He was just neutered on 1/27/2004. He has become more and more aggressive. Our trainer called it dominance aggression. It seems to be over guarding things. He gets all tense, stares you down and if you approach him he growls and snaps. The trainer has given us a lot of information and has Butch in a slip type collar and leash so that we can give him a tug when he is doing undesirable behavior. We had some minor problems with this behavior when we first brought him home. He would guard his food but we were able to correct that. This just started again since he was neutered. The trainer was postive that the behavior could be corrected. I however, am overwhelmed. I am home with the kids by myself at night ( my husband works night). So I am in charge of this training. I find myself watching every move Butch makes. Is there hope? I love this little guy.

[Guest Butchie's Mom]

Butchies seems the worst with this aggressive behavior on the weekends when the house is busy. He doesn't seem to sleep enough. He was so tired on Sunday that he was falling asleep sitting up at the trainers. Anybody else see this in their dogs?

[Rob D.]

Hey Robert:

I thought this may be of some help. Get him a kong. Fill it with peanut butter or his favorite snack and fill it really tight and leave him alone. This will give him something to bite on maybe he'll stop taking a bite out of you. Stay with your

one-on-one at home. It may cost you a few extra bucks but you'll have a happy

home and a happy dog.