Hello from New Jersey!

Meglet

Meglet

New member
Just wanted to say a quick hello! I have my first Newf Hershey Bear who is now 8 months old. I have been reading up on everyone's posts for any helpful hints with my puppy. She is so much fun but I am having a problem with her biting. We have been working with the trainer but she loves to bite...is this normal for a puppy at her age? I don't know what to do:crazy:
 
charlieinnj

charlieinnj

New member
Welcome from another fellow Newf Jersey'er! What kind of biting does she do? Play biting? What has your trainer suggested?
 
YorkvilleNewfie

YorkvilleNewfie

New member
Welcome from the suburbs of Chicago! I second the statement from Charlie above...what kind of biting is it and under what circumstances does she bite?
 
Meglet

Meglet

New member
It seems like she is always biting. She does bite with play but not often. She mostly bites if I am trying to leave the room that she is in. She will run after me and bite me or my clothing. The trainer first had me turning around and ignoring her. That didn't work and just lead to her biting the back of me and jumping. So now I have to ignore her and leave the room. It ends of with me having to gate her in the kitchen so I can get away. She goes hysterical then. We do drop it and leave it to let go of my clothing but its an issue when she has my arm in her mouth.
 
padkins

padkins

New member
:kgo_057: She is a doll baby. We need more pictures. As far as the biting, we have used "Leave It". Whenever she bites, stop and firmly say leave it. Correct her with an "ack" and leave it until she stops biting and moves away. I think that if you move she might think that you are playing. When have done this when we are petting, grooming, walking, etc. If they bite something that they shouldn't, we don't move and give them the "Leave It" command. Good luck. I'm sure you will get lots of good advice! :D
 
BlackLightning

BlackLightning

New member
Ayasha was a huge biter as a pup. Exactly as you described. It felt like we tried everything. Ignoring her did seem to work best, or re-directing the behaviour. We'd give her one of her toys, or we'd do a quick inside training session to get her to focus on something else. We also did a TON of rewarding when she stopped biting after doing a loud "OUCH", etc. She did this until she was at least 9 months old. I am happy to report though that it does get better if you stick with the training. She's no longer a biter. Well, she doesn't bite us anymore.... but she sure loves a good muzzle war with her newfie brother Boum (as you can see in my avatar) :)

Welcome to the group!! We need lots and lots of pictures!
 
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pabusinesswoman

pabusinesswoman

New member
Welcome from Pennsylvania! :wave:

We always tried to redirect to a toy.

Another thing that is nice.. is to put a chain in a cloth bag or coins in a can. I personally liked the chain in a bag since I could keep it in my pocket. If an unwanted behavior is done, you can drop the bag on a hard surface.. the sound usually startles them ... and redirect to something they can chew on.. say a rope toy.

I always have a "bad" sound when Sadie does something wrong (not that she really does anymore)... sort of an Ack sound.. like when you correct your kids. It's really hard to put the sound in "writing."
 
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YorkvilleNewfie

YorkvilleNewfie

New member
Oh boy, that sounds like what we went through with Mila. We tried everything. Every single training and redirection method we could find. Nothing worked. Until I started "grounding" her. The moment she gave us or any of our guests innappropriate mouth contact, she was put away in her room for a few minutes. We did this every single time and after a lot of hard work and consistency, over time, she got better! She was a bit of a nightmare though for a while :)
I think many times you have to find what works for your dog as an individual. Something that worked for someone else may not work for her. Trial and error. I think that's what a lot of training is sometimes.

I hope you find what works for your little bear!
 
charlieinnj

charlieinnj

New member
This is just my 2 cents but when it comes to any actual mouth on skin contact, I think using the drop it/leave it command would send a mixed message to the pup. The leave-it command is most often used to teach a dog to ignore something and in puppy-training, it usually means they'll get a higher reward for ignoring the lesser temptation. Personally, whenever there's any mouth-to-skin contact, I go back to the basic scenario of teaching bite-inhibition and that is to let out a "Yipe!" (and I leave immediately). I'd always head to the nearest room I could close the door and I'd stay there for about 15-30 seconds, then return. Once they get that biting means you're gonna leave, they do start to catch on.

I do a similar thing with the jumping (and my 8-month old LOVES to jump up at me). If she jumps at me in "play", I give her a stern, "Nope!" and I leave te room.

It's worked for me but you'll find what works for your puppy.
 
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sendchocolate

sendchocolate

New member
I agree, if there was biting, play or mouthing, I would YELP like a pup (apparently she didn't learn bite inhibition from her litter mates...when did you get her?) and IMMEDIATELY leave the room, or put her in the crate. Every. Single. Time. She stopped. Because in our house, mouthing = end of play. Each and every time. Be consistent, and you should see changes.

Also, google NILF = Nothing in Life is Free and make her start working for her attention! Remind her that you are da bawss and have her sit before you do anything for her. Keep her occupied and working, she will have less mental energy to terrorize.
 
Meglet

Meglet

New member
We got her at 11 weeks. I started tonight yelping and then leaving the room. This started her barking, but at least it distracted her from biting me again. Hopefully I will see a change in her soon.
 
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