# help! ive got a biter and a barker



## lolasummer (Feb 15, 2012)

hi all - 
i am hoping you might be able to offer some advice with our little lola. she is as cute as can be but is biting and barking like mad. she nips when you are playing with her and if you get up to ignore her, as all the books tell you to do, she starts barking (and its LOUD). we have tried the spray bottle (doesn't phase her) and the yelp (which also does nothing). i always give her a toy when she starts to bite but her interest in the toy wanes as soon as she sees your hand. 

she can be cuddly and give you a million kisses sometimes and then other times, its like a devil has taken over  dont let this sweet face fool you!

any advice would be greatly appreciated. we love our little doggie daughter but the barking and biting are driving my husband and i crazy.


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## designsbyisis (Dec 27, 2011)

First of all, don't panic 

Dexter too was very bitey - last week especially and it really got me down (he was also pooing in the house which was a pain too ). We tried yelping & ignoring but didn't think it was getting anywhere.

This week we have upped the 'anti' as it were....we now have a plastic water bottle with some hard pasta in & we shake it any time ANY teeth make contact. (i've put a few around the house so there is always one handy !)
Also if it doesn't stop immediately we stand up & say NO firmly & don't move or look at him until he walks off. If a stand off continues we pick him up & put him quietly in his crate to cool off.

I think that we weren't being consistent enough in the early days. Thinking it was cute, I let him 'mouth' me sometimes & we didn't always react quickly. We also realised that it takes more than once for it to sink in - in fact we've been at it a week & he's much better but still needs us to be tough on this.

Someone also mentioned that some dogs find it hard to relax & become biters - just like over wrought toddlers ! So we've been very strict with quiet time in his crate after play etc and also put a soft bed in the lounge which is 'his space'. I think this is helping too.

Good luck


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## S.Claire (Sep 1, 2011)

Oh my goodness Lola is super cute! - Definitely got a cheeky face though - looks like she could be a mischief 

Yelping didn't work for me with Nacho (he is now unbelievably soft mouthed) but a very loud shout of 'no' in his face worked over time. It startled him enough to stop. If he went for it again he was put in his 'room' and left on his own for 5 minutes. He hates being away from the activity so as long as i was consistent this did the trick. 

I can't help with the barking i'm afraid. Nacho only barks at night when he goes into the garden to do his business and it's dark. I've overcome this by putting him on a long lead. I can tug gently on the lead when he starts to bark - he stops straightaway now! 

Best of luck... it is only a phase. Be consistant and Lola will grow out of it x


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## jaimebpa1 (Nov 8, 2011)

Olive is a biter too. The devil takes over her sometimes and she growls, lunges at us and just gets crazy! That's when I know "playtime" is over becuause the only one having fun is her! She goes in her crate for quiet time when she gets crazy like that and she usually goes to sleep. When she is more calmly nipping at us I say a firm "no bite" and have everyone stop moving completely. If she continues to nip at us I say "no bite" again and gently but firmly put my hand around her mouth. Now i don't do this in an aggressive or angry manner. She has never yelped when i've done this, but she doesn't like it. This seems to work with her. However it's short lived. She's a baby still had has a short reset button! I'm hoping that I'll notice less biting in the next couple of months.


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## Pollypiglet (Oct 22, 2011)

Is she getting enought rest? They can get very overexcited and overstimulated and the build up of adrenaline means they do not know what to do with themselves. When Hattie was younger I used a rolled up newspaper to put in her mouth whilst I gained control. She is much better now.


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## Broughty (Jan 30, 2012)

I can't offer any advice but i can offer sympathy! Lola's brother Alfie is a terrible biter too! He seems to be worse with me than my husband. Sometimes the only way i can get him to stop is to put him in an area we have sectioned off "the sin bin" as we like to call it! Then ignore him. Does calm him down eventually. The other thing we have noticed is that he gets really bad and manic when he needs a poo! So often letting him out into the garden helps too.

How are you coming along with the crate training?


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## colpa110 (Jul 5, 2011)

I think most of us have been through this,it's pretty normal puppy behaviour,you will just need to work out what works best for you. The more I told Betty off the more she would bark in my face yelping did absolutely no good, turning my back on her only made her nip the backs of my legs of arms BUT the time out did work quite well. Just a couple of minutes in a boring room ( I used the downstairs loo!!) each and every time she was getting out of hand helped a lot. Don't leave them in for too long as after a couple of minutes they can't remember what they are being punished for!! Good luck...it does get better in time!!


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## MillieDog (Jun 1, 2011)

The nipping will calm right down once they lose their baby teeth at around 4 months old. They use their mouth the same way as a baby does,to feel, mouth & calm their sore teeth.

I always kept a soft toy to hand to shove in Millie's mouth if her nipping was too much. It her mouth something to do.

However, we did teach her to mouth gently. If she was just playing around gently with our hand, we'd say 'Gentle. good girl'. She knows now, that it is acceptable to gently mouth our hands, but not bite too hard. If she does, we simply say No.


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## lolasummer (Feb 15, 2012)

thank you for all the helpful replies. i know her behavior is textbook for a puppy and i have a feeling a lot of this will pass once she gets her adult teeth but its exhausting! we are toying with the idea of getting a puppy pen so that she isn't in the crate as "punishment". i also think we need to be consistent with our approach and let her know who the leader is -- just because she is enjoying playing and biting doesn't mean we are.

sarah - how is alfie doing? still eating stones? lola is MUCH better with the crate - she sleeps in it downstairs in the kitchen now and goes down quietly. she wakes us up around 4am to go into the garden and then goes back into the crate with just a few whimpers and barks. 

thanks again for all the suggestions and advice. its comforting to know we aren't alone with these issues. 

we start puppy school next sunday so hopefully that helps too. she has already mastered the sit command so we probably need to up the ante.


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## Broughty (Jan 30, 2012)

Alfie is doing really well. He is lovely. Seems to have gone off stones, developed a taste for the rose bush and lavender instead! Crate is fine too - he doesn't exactly like going in at night but only complains for 5-10 minutes at the most and we haven't had any overnight accidents for well over a week - he also tells us when he needs to go to the toilet during the day so all in all i think he is doing very well. The only command he obeys is sit (can't get him to lie down at all) and he is very good on recall when we walk, although we are told that they often go backwards on this as they get older. 

Now we are working on trying to stop the biting like you and also jumping up at people!


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## Blaablaa (Dec 4, 2011)

Yes, Lola's OTHER brother Alfie has a nifty set of gnashers too! I definitely agree about time out, also about his getting quite hyper and ratty when he needs a poo - also when he's 'over-tired' after too much stimulating exercise and training. 
I've found that the yelp on its own has a very short-lived effect, but if I follow it up with a puppy-like whimper he seems almost genuinely concerned - for a moment anyway! Keep stuffing the squeaky toys and chews in and hope she'll get over it soon. 

As for the crate..... After thinking that we were doing really well (he would go in reasonably calmly and settle in a few minutes) I've since had a week of absolute hell where Alfie would wake me up two or three times in the night, I would respond by getting up and letting him out and waiting and waiting and waiting in the cold and wet..... for nothing! One night he yelped incessantly for the whole night. Needless to say I've been exhausted and begun to think I'd made a terrible mistake in getting a dog. I decided the only thing for it was to move his crate back into the kitchen where I wouldn't hear him once I'd gone to bed - and nor would my neighbours! So far his crate has been clean and dry in the morning and I get a decent night's sleep. Not only that, but he seems to have more respect for me and I'm back in love with him! Everybody is happier.


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## lolasummer (Feb 15, 2012)

sarah -- sounds like alfie is doing great. lola has also mastered the sit command but can't be bothered learning to lie down. i am hoping the puppy classes we take her to will help with this but i have heard that you need to spend about an hour a day training them because their minds need to be stimulated as much as their bodies with walking and playing. they are clever dogs so i am sure they will pick it up eventually.

we were lucky in that lola has never had an overnight accident - she knows to hold it when she is in the crate but she does wake us up (and the neighbors) when she needs to go. 

barbara - maybe i should try a puppy whimper when she bites - we were whistling last night and that seemed to get her attention quickly. the problem with her is that if you get up and walk away or ignore her, she barks at you. i think we have created a little monster! glad the crate in the kitchen is working for you - it makes taking care of them during the day much easier when you get some sleep at night.

hopefully we will all look back on these trying times in a few weeks and laugh because we will have great dogs that don't bite or bark


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## Turi (Jun 28, 2011)

Hi Ilyssa

Lola is so sweet - you must be very proud 

I noticed in another thread that you are trying to keep Lola awake all day so that she sleeps at night. I've found that if Saffi nips and pulls at our clothes if she is tired. I immediately put her in her crate, she wimpers for a couple of minutes (I say nothing and avoid eye contact) and she normally crashes out. I was amazed to discover that puppies need around 18 hours of sleep a day so in these early days it really is a cycle of eat, poop, play, wee, sleep, poo, cuddle, wee, eat, poo and wee, play, wee, sleep etc. Exhausting I know!


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## lolasummer (Feb 15, 2012)

hi turi - 
lola does sleep on and off all day because my husband and i are at work. when we first got her, we thought her overnight barking was for attention but then quickly realized it was because she needed a bathroom break. we now get up and take her out when she barks at about 4am but otherwise, she sleeps very well at night.

i think she is teething which is why she wants to bite anything and everything possible. hopefully this phase will pass when her adult teeth come in. 

saffi is adorable and i love the name!


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## Turi (Jun 28, 2011)

Yes, the dreaded teething... we haven't reached that point (yet!) 

How does Lola cope with you going back to work? When Saffi is eleven weeks old she will start going to doggie creche - at the moment we have a relative staying with us so that she isn't by herself during the day. I worry about her being by herself for those four hours in the afternoon after creche but then realise she'll probably be asleep having been playing all morning! 

Btw, did you receive my personal message about the Bushy Park meet?


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## lolasummer (Feb 15, 2012)

lola seems ok with us going back to work - she is usually pretty quiet when we come and go. she loves her dog walker who comes twice a day for an hour at a time. she has a lot of energy when we come home after work so we try to play with her and take her for another walk. 

i did see your pm but i wasn't able to reply - we have a puppy class on the 25th so not sure we will be able to get to bushy park. what time are you planning on meeting? we live in north london - muswell hill. would be great to have all the pups play together.


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## Turi (Jun 28, 2011)

It's a relief to hear that Lola is ok with the time alone, I do worry! 

The meet is at 11.30am - would be lovely if you could make it!


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## lolasummer (Feb 15, 2012)

hi turi - lola's class finishes at 1130 so we will try to come after. do you know exactly where you are meeting? roughly how long you will be there for?


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## Broughty (Jan 30, 2012)

I might see if I can persuade my husband to go! Is not too far from us and would be nice for alfie to see his sister! Wonder if they would have any idea?!


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## lolasummer (Feb 15, 2012)

sarah - that would be so fun! i wonder if they would know -- would be interesting. we probably won't get there until noon because lola starts her first training class on sunday at 1015 and it doesnt finish until 1130. im sure she would love to see alfie again!

btw - we totally cracked the case with the biting. i spoke to a dog trainer and in 10 minutes, he told me that the reason why she was biting and barking is because we were paying too much attention to her and getting her overly excited. he instructed us to ignore her until she was calm and submissive - and it has done wonders. no biting and she just happily sits in her little bed.

now if only we could get her to figure out that you wee outside....


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