# 16 weeks and still biting?



## KCsunshine (Apr 16, 2012)

So Coco is 16 weeks now, I think mentally I had kind of thought this would be when she stops biting, I don't quite know why I picked a time out of the air, wishfull thinking I suppose.

Anyway, the worst is my 7 year old Poppy, Coco seems to leave the rest of us alone, and gets Poppy the most of the nipping and biting. I feel so bad for poppy, she is a trooper putting up with it so long now. She has scratches all over her feet, coco constantly attacks her clothes (so far since we got her she has ripped holes in numerous pairs of socks, two BRAND NEW school skirts two pairs of pj bottoms and a few pairs fo leggings, and a new pair of jogging bottoms). This morning Coco went for her eye. I really shouted at Coco for this one, it was quite a vicious snap. I put Coco in the downstairs loo for timeout but it makes no difference, she comes out and does it straight away again. I have even tried spraying her with her Pet head "poof" spray because she hates that. Again, she just comes back and does it again. I'm having to resort to putting her in her crate until she calms down and to give Poppy some peace. 

Poppy just wants to love her so much, but 99% of the time Coco attacks her. 

When did the biting stop for you?


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## susanb (Jan 19, 2012)

Pretty much the biting stopped once all adult teeth had come through (although I'm sorry, I can't remember when that was). I have a 7 year old boy and he got the worst of it also.......particularly as he likes sitting on the floor - which made him an easy target!


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## colpa110 (Jul 5, 2011)

Betty was a terrible nipper of hands.....cant remember exactly when she stopped doing it but it was well after 6 Months! Fortunately Ted has done all his nipping on Betty so have not had to endure it second time round. I found replacing hands with toys/chews helped.


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## loopyloo (Aug 18, 2012)

Raffy is 12 weeks and we have a problem with his biting too. This isn't chewing, it's a real lunging bitey spell, usually aimed at me and usually when we are sitting in the lounge after our evening meal. I've tried a few minutes time-out in the kitchen and growly saying 'OFF' but nothing seems to work. I've also tried holding his mouth shut but I'm not keen on doing this so very infrequent. I'm going to try a long spell of energetic play when he would usually be like this and see if that works. First puppy class tonight so that might make a difference, hoping that he might be too worn out to pick a fight tonight. Any other ideas for a solution would be gratefully received.
His biting is also getting in the way of his training a bit too, as soon as you get your hand near him his teeth get into action. This isn't aggressive biting, playfulness really, but it makes grooming and making a fuss of him sometimes a painful experience  The chair legs and my trouser legs are also going through it at the moment, seems as if I'm constantly saying 'Off' and then 'good boy 
Just been for a walk in a country lane near us -what should have been a nice little stroll turned into nightmare 'cos they'd just driven the muck spreader up there. Rafferty heaven UGHhno:


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## BeckyP (Mar 21, 2012)

Just a thought which might help.... Kipper used to do this alot to my littlest (5yo) who was desperate to play with him but used to end up in tears after a few minutes. We had to be really strict with her about ignoring him when he nipped and not getting him too excited (she liked him jumping up sometimes but not others, we had to explain he didn't know the difference, and he just isn't allowed to jump at all! etc) 

I honestly think Kipper saw her as more on his level, and just like a puppy, and was playing with her just like he would with another pup; whereas he gave our 7 year old (who was intially a bit more wary of him) a bit more respect. I made sure littlest ignored him completely when he started at her, and also got her to feed him a few times. He's pretty much fine with her now, and even first thing in the morning when he's excited to see everyone he doesn't jump. He still gets that over excited bitey thing going on in the early evening, so we give him a toy and leave him to it!


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## KCsunshine (Apr 16, 2012)

Becky, thanks, great idea about the feeding thing, perhaps if I let Poppy feed her she will see that Poppy is one of us, not a litter mate, I'll start this tonight and see if it helps.


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## BeckyP (Mar 21, 2012)

Let us know how it goes!!


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## RuthMill (Jun 30, 2012)

Lola stopped at 14 weeks. However she has started again, but is very little and very gentle. I think her big back teeth are only starting to bother her now. At 16 weeks Coco should be starting to calm down. Have you looked in her mouth to see if her front teeth are adult teeth? She will probably start to calm down. Poor Poppy! I'm sure you have done all of the usual things like telling poppy to turn her back on coco and stop play. When you time out, don't leave her too long. A couple of minutes max then let her out and if she misbehaves back to time out for a couple of minutes. Lola was terrible at one point and short bursts of time out really worked. Any longer than a couple of minutes and they don't know what they've done wrong. Structured naps and routine also helped Lola and socialisation with other puppies her age. I hope she settles soon.


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## KCsunshine (Apr 16, 2012)

Ruth, as far as I know she still has all her baby teeth? I've not noticed any missing ever? Is it late for her not to be getting adult teeth?


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## benson (Apr 18, 2012)

Thought Benson was improving but has certainly regressed over last week or so, He is a nightmare we dont seem to be able to do a thing with him, as you say replacing hands with toys, time out, turning your back on him (he bit my daughters backside when she turned her back on him hadnt heard her squeal like that since she was a teenager!!)he goes absolutely beserk if anyone visits he constantly jumps up no matter what we do, when I was washing up last night in space of 5 mins I heard hubby say no 11 times (I was counting) I have had to pin him down on occasions just to stop him doing serious damage, not been able to brush him in weeks, its a major task on occasions to put harness or lead on!! On the plus side he is very good at night now and good when out in crowds and with other dogs though a bit bouncy for some dogs, dont know how I am going to do when hubby goes back to work next week after 4 weeks off, he pulls too much for me to walk him!! Sorry for the rant just getting things off my chest, things can only get better as the old song goes!!


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## Janev1000 (Oct 4, 2011)

Biscuit was at his nippiest at 16 weeks. This is about the time the teeth start to fall out. He had almost finished teething bar one tooth at 24 weeks. It is a short window of time and surprising how they all seem to start coming out at once. It's still quite early to expect it to stop totally and I would allow a bit longer. I think it's very common that the youngest gets nipped the most as they are often seen as a littermate, which is probably the case with Poppy. Definitely good advice for her to ignore and stop any play when this happens. x


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## SPCnut (Apr 25, 2012)

Daisy is nearly 8 months old and still biting. It is driving us nuts. We have tried everything we have read and people have told us to do and it doesn't help!!!


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## RuthMill (Jun 30, 2012)

You will start to notice when they are wobbly. I check Lola's ears teeth feet everyday as part of her grooming so it was easy for me to notice and she is used to me poking around. I suspect she will be starting to lose them in the next week. She will surely settle down when the adult teeth come up. It doesn't take long. Freeze treats and carrots etc let her relieve herself on those and don't let her away with nipping ever. I always wished I could give Lola Bonjela or something. It must be sore.


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## mary181 (Aug 1, 2012)

Our Barra was 20 weeks before he stopped nipping.He is so soft and gentle now but occasionally when playing he gets a bit mouthie but easy to stop or distract him now.When he was at his worst we used the small aerosols of breath freshener for humans.Whenever he bit we sprayed it in his mouth whilst he was biting,after the second time we used it we just needed to show him the spray and he stopped


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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

I wouldn't worry at 16 weeks, I would definitely say it was closer to 20 before we noticed a difference, it got so much better when the adult teeth came in. Unfortunately some dogs just do seem to use their teeth a lot more than others, Dudley still attacks my hands when I brush him unless I am giving him a treat at the same time or he is virtually asleep, and I have been brushing him, touching feet etc since getting him. He also will still bite if over excited and some times that doesn't take long!! I'm afraid they do learn that they get a reaction quicker with children and they are wriggly things more like pups, so the children do have to try to ignore them more and be boring for them. I'm a childminder and its interesting to see how Dudley behaves with the different children, the youngest (who is used to her granny's mad lab) is the best with him.


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## JoJo (Mar 2, 2011)

Puppy nipping differs from puppy to puppy ... there are a few tips on my blog which may help, I am not a dog trainer or expert, but these methods have worked for me, growling, muzzle hold, yelp and replace methods .. 

http://www.mydogslife.co.uk/2012/04/16/frequently-asked-cockapoo-questions-answers/

Regarding Poppy, I bet she wants to love her puppy and it must be so annoying that her puppy just wants to nip her. Just a few ideas here which may help, you could get Poppy do to some big girl training with Coco, simple stuff like sit and them Poppy gives the treat to Coco, poppy gives the command and gives the treat, this way Poppy will enjoy sometime and be in control of Coco, plus Coco will soon learn that Poppy is above her in the pack status.


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## Jedicrazy (Apr 26, 2011)

My DD was the target for Obi when he was little and now when Obi's not around is also Roo's target but nowhere near as much this time (thank you Obi). I think they know who the youngest is and try it on more. I did as Jojo has already suggested and got my DD to take over the giving and taking away of all food and lots of training with treats (with my supervision at all times). I also spent a lot of time showing her how to play with Obi (and now Roo) as some of it is accidentally driven by the childs actions. I can't remember exactly when Obi finished teething but I do remember by 5 months he was so much better that I felt safe for kids to approach him and play with him when we were away on holiday on the Isle of Wight. Hang on in there, Poppy will soon have the dog she's dreamed of playing with.


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## TraceyT33 (Jun 25, 2012)

Millie is 15 weeks tomorrow and I must say I have been v concerned about her biting/aggressive growls. Reading this post and comments has made me feel better that this is part of the course of puppy life and all being well she will calm down. I went to puppy class again tonight and she said Millie is only a baby and her experience with cockapoo's shows that at about 6mths old they start to calm down, not sure if this is the case as i suppose every dog is different. anyway Millie has been hard work lately, even bit my daughter while out walking.... also my youngest who is 9, like comments made above, he also gets a lot of nipping etc. it is so hard keeping things balanced etc.... Millie has behaved well since being home from training as prior to training she was becoming very naughty and wouldnt even sit on command, i thought it had all gone out of the window but thankfully she seems to be back on track again..... o the joys ;-)

love her too bits though and so so happy we have her in our lives xxxxx


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## terpom (Mar 31, 2012)

I also have a 16 week old puppy and 5 and 7 year old children and I can totally relate. The puppy (Piper) has been biting with more intensity the last week or so, and her teeth seem sharper! My 5 year old definitely gets the worst of it. 

One thing we've been doing over the last few days (after bringing my daughter to dog class and working with the instructor), is Stella( 5 year old) tells Piper to sit each and every time she goes to interact with her. After she sits she can pet her but as soon as the biting starts she gets up. Stella is never allowed to sit down all the way on the floor with her, she can get down on one knee, where she can get up quickly. She was sitting on the floor a lot before and as the instructor says, once you do that "you are one big chew toy" for a puppy. I've always told the kids to "be a tree" and ignore, but it's really really hard for them! Now that she has a specific thing to do with her it seems to be helping a bit. At least for this week. Like somebody else said, I've also had Stella feeding her.

I totally get it! It's so sad because Stella just wants to play with her and she doesn't get it when Piper is just too overstimulated and overexcited (which is quite often! ) I think we unfortunately still have at least a couple months of biting to go.


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## femmedufromage (Oct 20, 2012)

Hi Terpom,
Your last post makes loads of sense, I have just received a very nasty bite to my elbow - not drawn blood but bruised, I tend to sit on the floor a lot and Monty sees me as fair game. Over the past 3 weeks he has been a nightmare with biting, he is teething but instead of mouthing he is lunging and snapping again (more like when he was 7 weeks old). We have him off the sofa in the evenings now as he was growling at us when we moved him late at night. My poor husband gets the brunt of his biting as he is not home from work until 7.00pm each evening and Monty is usually at his worst. If we try energetic play it just makes him worse, so I do some training with him which settles him down - perhaps getting hubbie to do this whilst cooking dinner might be good!!!! Now theres a thought!

His routine has been a bit upside down with Christmas and the New Year and his teeth must be so sore, he has got big boy teeth on the top and the bottom at the front now. I have just put him to bed and he fell straight to sleep. Also changed walking patterns to 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes mid afternoon. He is 18 weeks now so roll on the adult teeth.

We are going to puppy training but also starting real life training with him on Monday so that is going to be great fun.


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## Sue T (Aug 1, 2012)

Hello. Our pup is 20.5 weeks old. She has lost all her baby teeth now, and her adult ones are coming through very quickly. It is only in the last few days that the lunging, nipping and biting has gone soo much better. She is also a bit clingy - like the puppy we chose. We are hoping we are now on the better side of her biting. I hope this helps.


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## femmedufromage (Oct 20, 2012)

Oh thank you, it does really help to know that we have not chosen a devil puppy! I must say yesterday afternoon and evening was much better. I took him over to see my sister-in-law who has got an Airedale who is 4 and Monty loves her so much. She really sorted him out and had him pinned down a couple of times for bad behaviour and they played tug which of course Magda won - it think it was what he needed a good bounce around with another dog. He was much more subdued last night and we had a lovely cuddle and a brush. Went to bed without any fuss.

I have got this horrible cold that is going around at the moment so not at my best either.

All the help we get here is invaluable. Thank you for your time taken to reply.


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