Hello all, new puppy owner here, I have a French Bulldog 4.5 months old. Crate training and housebreaking are well established so far. The Basic Obedience and Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months DVD's are very helpful, I've also read the "Training Puppies Not to Bite" article.

Problem: Puppy bites hard when playing

Attempted solutions:
1. Correction: I deliver one fast, strong scruff shake. This only seems to amplify her drive.

2. Yelping: I try yelping, but she does not acknowledge it. One interesting point here is that yelping works for my wife. The dog acknowledges the yelp and cools off. I'm thinking that I can't yelp high enough for her to understand it hurts.

3. Redirect to toy: The only time the puppy stays on the toy is if I am holding it and moving it around. If I throw the toy, she mouths it quickly then comes back to me ready to romp. Holding the toy while she chews seems like it could be the source of my problem, so I'm trying to avoid it.

Any help is appreciated. If you can recommend a re-read or re-watch of pertinent parts of the DVD's, that's great too.

 Quote: Anthony Grazioso

... Any help is appreciated. If you can recommend a re-read or re-watch of pertinent parts of the DVD's, that's great too.

Hi, Anthony,

Have you seen this article?

http://leerburg.com/bitingpuppies.htm

I try to use this method:

"This means that when the pup is being crazy I will CALMLY grab the pup by the cheeks and lift his feet of the ground, stare him right in the eye and tell him in a low voice to knock it off. I will hold him until he submits by relaxing and he looks away."

This works well for me, but not for my wife. I'll tell her to start yelping

THe holding until they submit is key (especially if they are amped and high drive bitey)

Great advice, thank you very much--and it worked last night.

The puppy didn't stop playing entirely, instead the correction cooled her down and set the right obedient frame of mind so that she chewed on a toy instead of my fingers.

WhoooHoooo! Glad it worked for you, too! I must mention here, that in different rooms/scenarios/variables, the high drive bitey May come up again, however, I have come to realize, that if my pup is that intense, it is generally time for some ob/marker stuff, focus, or fetch...something OTHER than "laying around playing" with the pup, or expecting him to just lay there. For instance, the other day, I was going to try to lay on the couch and read a book while my pup (4-5 months) lay quietly by my side on the floor. HAHAHAHAHAH!!! THat lil monster decided it was time for bite play, freaking HARD...Not that I want him to "learn" that by biting me he gets to go "work" but even changing environments/rooms will help too...

So much for reading my book...up off my butt and out on to the "field" for some ob/markers and some fetch. Turned it all around and later, he was fine...Not that I want him to "learn" that by biting me he gets to go "work" but even changing environments/rooms when they get all landsharky will help too...

I will say too, that he has not spent much time in the room with the couch. So, it's all "new" stuff to him in there, different smells, etc...I think this is a factor to be considered when play biting gets nutty. I say this because my pup does not get all goofy bitey much anymore in the room I do most of our marker stuff in...???? Just an observation. Have definately expanded regular focused marker stuff to other rooms in the house now.

 Quote: michele mcatee

THe holding until they submit is key (especially if they are amped and high drive bitey)

I thought this said, "Hold the submit key" and was going to say.. where is this "submit" key and why did it take so long to find?! Is it under the collar? Base of tail? I must know!

HAHaha.
oh, the "submit key" is right next to the off button on a high drive dog--in other words, NONEXISTANT.

 Quote:

For instance, the other day, I was going to try to lay on the couch and read a book while my pup (4-5 months) lay quietly by my side on the floor. HAHAHAHAHAH!!! THat lil monster decided it was time for bite play, freaking HARD

I got this message from Betty last year about her crazy bitch and the exchange went like this:

"Okay Will, you forgot to tell me where the hell little darling's off switch is."

I replied:

Dear consumer;

It has come to our attention that our product;

Weasel, female, version one

has inadvertently been shipped without a working "off" switch.
The product upgrade consisting of:

baseball bat, wooden, one

will be shipped to correct this oversight as soon as possible.
Thank you,
Customer Service "Weasels Are Us"