# Mouthy little gator!



## Christina Stephens (Jul 14, 2010)

Hi!

I have a month old gsd that I'd like to get into SCH training.

Right now as we're mostly working some fun OB (sit, come, down, down-stay, back up, shake) as well as house and crate training. I don't want to push the OB too hard and kill his drives. 

For drive work we're playing with balls, puppy bite sleeve, rag, etc.

One problem I am having is that he loves to bite my ankles, arms, hands, clothes, etc.

My response to this is to carry toys with me and redirect him to a toy, telling him "no" when he bites me and praising him to the sky when he bites a toy. 

Sometimes he spits the toy out and still goes after me. I figured after months of doing this he would have gotten the hint, but no.

So what do I do? I don't want to kill his drives by correcting him too harshly, but it hurts!


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

????????? A month old GSD?????????????


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## Ashley Campbell (Jun 21, 2009)

> I figured after months of doing this he would have gotten the hint, but no.


I'm assuming there's a number missing before "month" in the dogs age if the oP has been working it for "months" - lol.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Ashley Campbell said:


> I'm assuming there's a number missing before "month" in the dogs age if the oP has been working it for "months" - lol.



I was hoping that was it also! :lol:
My suggestion would be to find a good Schutzhund club in the area. That's a lot easier then getting advice as a beginner on the web.


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## Ashley Campbell (Jun 21, 2009)

^ what Bob said. It's easier to have someone show you how rather than be told how. Maybe try the Leerburg video on dealing with puppies - the title is like "puppies 8 weeks to 8 months" - might be useful, might not, but I was able to borrow it from the local library awhile back.


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## Shane Woodlief (Sep 9, 2009)

Christina Stephens said:


> Hi!
> 
> I have a month old gsd that I'd like to get into SCH training.
> 
> ...


:lol: Welcome to the world of working pups good luck!

On a serious note how old is the dog and how much time do you spend with him?


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## Sue Miller (Jul 21, 2009)

Don't wait until he bites you to give him the toy or else he will think he needs to bite you to get the toy. Tie him out on long line & play with him--when he starts biting, say no, walk away & ignore him for a while. Stay in the area so he can see you-ignore barking. After a short time, come back & play like nothing happened-if he starts nipping again walk away. This way, you are punishing the nipping instead of rewarding it with a toy.


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## Jeff Threadgill (Jun 9, 2010)

It will go away as he matures. I thought my dutchie would never quit. He's 5 months now and I can just say no. Earlier though, he would not give haha. I just kept redirecting as best I could, and let him play outdoors. 95 degree heat wore him out in lil ball drive sessions.x


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## Adam Rawlings (Feb 27, 2009)

Bob Scott said:


> ????????? A month old GSD?????????????


It's the food these days, dogs seem to mature so much faster now.:lol:


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## Jason Caldwell (Dec 11, 2008)

I just went through this with my puppy. 

I say "no bite" and I depress my thumb on his tongue, bottom palate. I do this for a second or two, release. Watch him and see that he is calm, then I praise him.

If he really bites you, IMHO, you need to hold him by his front shoulders, firmly, make eye contact, and say, "knock it off" or the equivalent. Or, put a prong on the dog, and very, very lightly pull at the drag line. I want to stress lightly...say the same pressure needed to lift 8 ounces up an inch on a drag line.

The re-directing to me with a chew toy is a problem b/c it is simply a distraction from the problem at hand. 

I just hope you aren't having another problem I was having with my puppy: a real flair for not only eating his own poop, but also chewing rocks.


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## Kat LaPlante (May 17, 2009)

I never redirected mouthing or challenged it. Just let it run its course, and cleaned the scratches with antiseptic.......lots and lots of antiseptic.:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:


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## Christina Stephens (Jul 14, 2010)

Grr.. The FIVE key on my keyboard sometimes has to be pressed a little harder. 

He's exactly 5 months old. 

Usually when he comes running out of his crate or from inside I am there waiting with a toy to stick in his mouth. 

Our schedule is something like this:

Wake up on the morning. Out to potty. Play for 15 minutes. In the crate. Off to work.

Come home from work, out to potty. 5-10 minutes or so of obedience and play, or walk, or trip somewhere interesting, whatever I feel like doing. In the crate for food. Sometimes he is out after work for 30 minutes before food, sometimes longer depending on what I am doing and how much time I have. 

After food he chills out while I get stuff done around the house. Before bed we have another play session and he gets to run around the house or outside on our deck (we live in the city, the house had an addition put on it that doubled the size of the house and hence the house takes up most of the lot. We have a yard but it is not big enough for more than potty, though we have a few parks within a few blocks, including a more or less abandoned roller hockey rink that can be closed off for any off leashing I want to do) - then he gets dinner, potty and sleep. 

I tried to go to the schutzhund club a few weeks ago but they decided not to meet that day because it was pretty hot out. I will have to try again. Should I bring him the first time I go or just go by myself?


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## Christina Stephens (Jul 14, 2010)

The "whatever I feel like doing" recently has been tracking, because he is teething and not quite as interested in tug as he was before those teeth started coming in. Most of them are in already though. The other day he had one (a premolar) hanging by just a little flap of skin but my gentle tugging didn't make it come out and I did not want to yank too hard. He bled all over my beige carpet. Puppies!


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## Chris Daleo (Apr 22, 2010)

I have a 6mos old Mal who was a holy terror. My poor wifes arms looks like she is serial cutter. He was like this from about 10wks and now as he has lost all his baby teeth within the last month, he no longer bites. The OB also helped bring him in line. A firm 'Nooooooo" giving him the tug/kong/object he is supposed to bite and marking that behavior with a good boy, worked well. Higher drive requires a bit more but be careful a physical correction doesn't tune him up more. You don't want to break drive, if its good lines and genetics you won't. Some will disagree, about correcting any biting and say it will detract from the work. I say BS, inapropriate pack behavior, especially to the handler is unacceptable. If the dog is going to bite, he's going to bite. My guess is he will grow out of it after teething. Good luck!


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## leslie cassian (Jun 3, 2007)

How many hours of every day does this puppy spend in his crate?


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## Mike Lauer (Jul 26, 2009)

I saw this a lot with my puppy and what he was doing was biting what had more movement
think about your pant legs, loose fabric all wiggly and moving vs a stuffed tug
move the rag/tug more than your pants and he should want that more
its just drive, its ok
i lost several loose un-tucked shirts to puppy teeth sized holes, just part of the process


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