German Wirehaired Puppy - Biting A$$Hole

[Marble]

Lots if good advice in this thread gents.

 

[AirborneEScouter]

LMAO - what he is biting is certainly not alluded to in the title. The interwebs are full of advice that suggests pain and fear driven responses are not a good long term solution and I think we’ve maybe interpreted that too much. He’s a very smart dog, has understood and been very consistent with “here”, “sit”, “down”, and “stay” to quite an impressive degree. Part of me thinks this is partly boredom being manifested but I’ve already tried putting my thumb under his tongue when he’s biting too hard and have had some decent response. I definitely don’t want to break his spirit - he’s really good when he’s not overhyped but also can’t put up with this shit much longer

 

[Marble]

IMO...the secret, or trick or best practice, whatever you want to call it with training a dog, is being consistent and have some patience.

 

[Rob5589]

Our lab/gsd was a biting a$$hole himself. Took a lot of everything I found online to slow it down. He's 7 months now and will still get nippy when playing but nothing like when he was younger. The best thing we found was to have a ton of chew toys so when he'd get nippy, we'd shove one in his mouth. He is an extremely heavy chewer and destroys just about anything he gets in his mouth. Be patient, consistent, and firm. Those puppy teeth hurt like a mofo.

 

[Rich M]

I didn't read the whole thing. Dog bites, smack it. You cannot reason with a child or dog, they do understand corporal punishment tho. You won't have to do it often.

 

[Rob5589]

I didn't read the whole thing. Dog bites, smack it. You cannot reason with a child or dog, they do understand corporal punishment tho. You won't have to do it often.

Not with mine. He took it as play time. Distracting him with a toy worked mich better. Every dog is different though, just as people are.

 

[280Ackley]

I have a GWP that just turned 8. She is by far the smartest dog I have ever had. I had the same problem with her when she was a pup. The 2 things I did was make her bite herself like and put her on her back to show dominance like people have recommended. I made sure neither were done in mean way. She is now the sweetest, loving dog. Never had an issue with ever biting or showing aggression.

 

[JPD350]

A tired dog is a good dog.
Just don't teach him aggression, he will out grow it but like others said, use his own mouth against him. He only likes your hand in his mouth when it's on his terms, make it only on your terms, of course you might want to put a glove on to teach him your terms.

 

[MuleyFever]

A tired dog is a good dog.

The saying at my house is the best puppers is a tired puppers.

My dog is a biter. I never got on top of it though. At 3 years he just plays hard and bites. Doesn’t bite hard or anything but his perspective of playing involves biting.

 

[Steve O]

I’ve had two dogs for 13 years each; one after the other. A German Shorthair and a Chesapeake. Both males. IMO you are getting good advice to make it uncomfortable with the lip deal AND turning them on their back...and I’d do it at the same time. YOU have to absolutely be the alpha. Both my dogs got that treatment and when they were in their prime, we could play rough and they could be barking, snarling, and being very aggressive..and I could snap my fingers and tell them to sit and it was exactly like turning off a switch. They always knew who was in charge. I sure do miss them both.

 

[granite7]

Not with mine. He took it as play time. Distracting him with a toy worked mich better. Every dog is different though, just as people are.

Same with my girl. She was top dog and she was out of control. Trying to get her to come inside was a circus. She would zip around the yard in circles, snarling and growling as she ran by. After a few laps she would slam into me. Yelling or trying to swat her just encouraged more of the same. She thought it was great fun!

What worked was holding her down on her back with my hand on her throat. It took a couple times to break her of it, but she is a sweet girl now. I decide when we play or wrestle, not her. When I say “all done”, man she stops.

 

[npm352]

Flip the dog on his back hard, then hold him until he relaxes and stops fighting.

It is likely a dominance issue. All dogs respond to this, young or old, small or big.

It is exactly how a female dog disciplines her pups and how dogs/wolves show dominance.

-nm

Cove Mountain Kennels

 

[Slingblade]

Hello, I have trained, judged and bred Drahthaars so am familiar with the breed. Sounds like he is bored and testing his limits.
You are replacing his mother and if he were still in the kennel with her and got a little too nippy, she would set him straight quickly and decisively. I would not advice using a submissive "ouch" because you are setting him up to be dominant which could lead to huge problems down the road.
One of the best NAVHDA judges once told me that the first thing a dog thinks about when they wake up in the morning is "today is the day I move up in the pack"

 

[Rich M]

Not with mine. He took it as play time. Distracting him with a toy worked much better. Every dog is different though, just as people are.

Looking at my post it seems a little harsh. When necessary, I've found that a quick rap on the top of head, butt, or tail seems to change the "tone" and helps convey the "no" or "stop" message. Or like you said, change the tone another way - those little puppy teeth dig in sometimes...

The guys I hunt with have pit bulls and labs - they whack em hard if the dogs get too rough or don't listen. Seems to work pretty well. If they slapped me like that I'd listen to em too.

 

[Wrench]

my Drahthaar is 13 now and pretty much deaf, going blind, teeth broke down to nubs and basically wore out. I'd give my left nut for her to be a pup again with those razor sharp teeth and endless enthusiasm.

Enjoy it.... you'll miss it some day.

 

[NDGuy]

The title of this thread is fairly misleading lol

I was thinking the same thing lol. I was going to suggest maybe getting another dog lol

I would suggest using Peanut Butter if he keeps biting your a$$hole...LOL

 

[NDGuy]

I will echo catching their mouth and folding lips over their teeth when they bite down. And always reward with treats if they use a soft mouth.

My Vizsla used to have shark teeth her first few months so we had to act quick after getting her!

 

[Lukem]

My GSP passed this last winter, but I knew what the OP meant in the title. You could have put any activity in front of the descriptor up until he was about 6 and it would define him, sleeping, eating, you name it . Don't get me wrong, he was a wonderful companion, he just had a switch that would put him in full jerk mode. I was probably a poor trainer, but he had some opinions, was incredibly intelligent and simply didn't care.

To the OP, don't necessarily see squeezing his mouth as corporal punishment, he just doesn't know how much his teeth hurt others at this point. He needs to learn that.

A tired dog is a good dog.

Yeah, that always made for a peaceful half hour with my GSP...

 

[Painless]

Raising my Griffon now he is almost 6 months old, what I did was every time he tried to nibble or bite down on my hand I pushed down on his tongue with my thumb and made it extremely uncomfortable for him, he will still mouth an arm or a leg from time to time but he will not bite down.

 

[AirborneEScouter]

This is all great stuff guys. Thumb in mouth has stopped biting so far. Also, when he’s getting too riled up I’m just holding him on his back on my lap until he calms down. Already seems like a different dog. This is only day 1 really but liking what I’m seeing