DewBe Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 Hi there! Our 4 month old Husky is starting to bite at our faces when we put them over hers. Is this normal, or is this an early sign of agression. Normally, she used to lick at us. Please help! Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazz Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 It's only normal if you allow it to continue. You need to stop it. I'm no expert and there are others on this forum who will be more than happy to fill you in on how to stop this. When she attempts to bite, tell her no in a firm voice. Avoidance may be a good approach also. WELCOME! Just noticed this was your first post. This site is awesome, and you've come to the right place to get the information you are looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DewBe Posted September 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 thanks for your response. I've tried saying OFF and turning away, but when I do it later, it seems like she is giving me a glare. Once, afterwards, she went to her crate and turned away from me. I really like this forum, it's helped a lot!! Thanks everyone!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 Hi there! Our 4 month old Husky is starting to bite at our faces when we put them over hers. Is this normal, or is this an early sign of agression. Normally, she used to lick at us. Please help! Thanks!! Sounds like overly excited puppy play to me, not aggression. But it's something you want to deter her from doing, to start with don't put your face close to hers because she's obviously seeing this as a game. When she gets over excited and bitey get up and ignore her, teach her that you will only engage with her when she is calm and that she doesn't put teeth on you, ever. Encourage her to play tug or grab a toy intsead of biting you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazz Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 Have you taken her to any obedience classes? Don't know where you are, US, UK, or elsewhere, but if there are some obedience classes available near you, it might be a good investment. It would help a bit with socialization, and often times, the traine may have some good suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damrod Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 http://www.the-puppy-dog-place.com/puppy-biting.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damrod Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 A dog's mouth is designed to be particularly good at grabbing and holding. In wild dogs play biting had a good deal of survival value attached to it. In fact domestic dogs learn important Life Skills though play biting, just as wild dogs do. Dogs learn many social rules through play. Play biting teaches bite inhibition, social status, to be pushy, easygoing, or fearful, appeasement behavior, and how to respond to appeasement behavior. In my professional dog training practice I use a many faceted approach to preventing or correcting problems associated with play biting. Let start by avoiding activities that encourage unacceptable mouthing. One activity that in some dogs can greatly increase the desire to grab with their mouths is tug. Until the dog has developed appropriate social skills, such as bite inhibition and knows a command for don't touch (I use "off") do not play tug. This is a general rule, and like all rules there are exceptions. If you think your dog is an exception to the rule talk to a professional trainer or behaviorist for advice. The next activity to avoid is roughhousing and wrestling. Again, these activities can heighten the dog's natural tendencies to grab at hands, arms, feet, and your face. When interacting with your puppy or dog don't make quick movements around the dog's face. This could be deliberate such as teasing the dog, or it could be unintentional such as with drawing you hand quickly as the puppy's mouth moves toward you. If you have an orally oriented puppy, it may be prudent to avoid putting your hands or face in or near your puppy's face. The next thing to consider is don't reward mouthing, snapping or grabbing behavior. An example is a puppy that grabs at its leash and owner, while getting ready for a walk. In this scenario don't reward the pup for grabbing and play biting with a walk. If your puppy is very intense, you may need to find a way to break this association of biting with the leash and walks. Try getting the pup to hold a chew toy or look in to formal dog training. Now that you are not encouraging mouthing, you will start to find times when the dog would like to mouth but chooses not to. DON'T IGNORE GOOD BEHAVIOR, INSTEAD REWARD IT. Some good rewards are food and playing retrieve. To get the most benefit from playing retrieve, your dog should learn to get its retrieve toy on command. This way when your pup starts to get mouthy you can give it something else to do. It is much more effective to have your dog get its toy, than for you to give the toy to the dog for mouthing. An exercise that can be effective for controlling social mouthing is sending the puppy (the biter) away from the person (the bitee). Two of these exercises that are commonly taught are "place" sending the pup to it's bed, rug, or crate, and "out" to send the dog outside. A somewhat similar approach is for you to leave the puppy. When the puppy is too mouthy, terminate the social interaction and ignore the dog. This is a good general rule, people initiate and terminate interaction with the dog. With puppies that are extremely mouthy avoid physical contact during times of the day when the pup is most active. Instead play retrieve or ignore the pup, or just let it run. The exception to this is if you are in a formal training program with the pup and you have specific training exercise to use at this time. Don't encourage your pup to grab at toys by holding them just out of the dog's reach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valkyries Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 great advice mike Odin did this as a pup we did walk away from him and ignore him for a while then played with his toys, he soon realized he could with the toys an not us xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaiya Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 Great post Mike! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 great advice guys added to reps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DewBe Posted September 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 Another question Just a follow up question. My puppy now seems like she is bored of me and will not play very much, choosing instead to lay down and sleep rather than interact. What do you think this is a result of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 does she do this all the time - pups do need a lot of sleep but she should still interact with you - is she eating ok - is she dehydrated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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