Well this is the deal. Our German Shepherd puppy now 10 1/2 weeks old. Everything is going pretty good like the potty training ect... The one problem that we are having is his biting! I know it's play biting but he will do this constantly with us like when we put his leash on and play with him. It has gotten bad with my two younger kids ages 9 and 7. He will constantly bite at their shoes, socks, hands, and this morning the wife told me that he tried to bite my son on the face. We will say to him no bite and redirect him to chew toys. I even tried to gently pick him up once and looked him in the eyes saying NO BITE! When he does this we also will put him back in his crate when he is really wild. I spend the most time with him and do most or all of his training, but he will also do this with me although sometimes he will not do the play biting towards me as much as the other family members. This morning however, he did try to bite me whenever he had the chance! This is frustrating and I want to nip this in the butt if you know what I mean. We had him specially bred as both of his parents are high drive sch3 working dogs so I know his drive is high. If you please have any feedback let me know I would appreciate it. I have had great feedback from many of you in the past and always appreciate your time. Thanks again!

It can be hard because you generally want the whole family dog ideal, but I limit their contact while the puppy is going through these stages. My two youngest arent real interested in the dogs anyway so that makes it easier and my daughter has a knack for picking up on how to play with them, she's 12.

Our 1 Shepherd just turned a year old and he is very respectful of my kids. The only thing I did was not let things like chasing or nipping get started by using a leash and have my daughter play fetch with him.

As for biting you, be patient. With training it diminishes. I don't really re-direct so much as have a rag or whatever ready to play. Both of mine love flat basketballs or volleyballs and I keep them handy. Something that gets their attention more then your hands.

Sounds like a nice pup....send him to me...I love the land sharks! 10 wks old is just a baby. Take it easy on him. I used to walk around with my female hanging off my clothes.(sweatshirts, pant legs, shoe laces, etc) She would nail anything that moved & not let go. My body parts have the scars to proove it. If you plan on doing sport work training with this pup you don't want to discourage the biting...just keep redirecting to a tug or rag. If he gets too wild, just give him a timeout in his crate until he calms down. Use his prey drive....have him play chase a rag or tug on a pole for a couple of minutes to use up a little of his enegry & give him something that it is ok to chase & bite. I would limit his contact with your young children & not let them run around with him as this will stimulate his prey drive & then he will chase & bite them. And don't let them sit on the floor with him, which will put thier faces too close to him to nip. If he has high prey, he will want to chase & bite anything that moves around him. The leash biting is normal for a young pup until it leans to walk on a leash. Again, say no & redirect him to a treat & walk, giving him intermittent treats as you walk & he will learn to focus on you & the treats & not the leash. Give him some bully sticks to chew on. He will be teething until he is 5 months or so old & will have a greater need to chew & bite at this time. Just tell him 'no bite' & keep redirecting. You really don't want to ruin his want to bite if you plan on working him. Good luck. If he is too much for you....send him to me. I love raising alligator pups. They are great fun!

You might also give him a kong toy filled with some cream chees or peanut butter & frozen to him to keep him busy & cold to chew on for his gums while teething. This pup may just be to much dog for your living situation & experience level to handle. You might want to look into the Marker training DVD as it might help teach you how you can handle some of this issues that you are having with the use of markers & treats.

Ok thanks. Maybe I will try to redirect him more than just putting him in his crate when he play bites. I am sure that this will pass in the future, as he is a great dog! Another question that I had was when he this like when he bites my daughters boots and starts shaking it is it ok to grap his collar and pull up saying off? I do this trying not to be too hard but when he gets a hold of something he will not let go (like a death grip). So again what I do is grap his collar because I have more immediate control than just the leash and pull up some and say off. The only thing that worries me is he makes a small gag sound. He will drop the item though. I dont see any other way of getting him to drop the item. I just wanted to know if this is too extreme? Again I am new to this puppy thing and am learing alot, but always still learning.

You have to stop him from biting on the kids. Once he does you don't really leave yourself any choices but correcting him. Don't think re-direct, think more pre-emptive. Start right now teaching him two ball and trade him food for something in his mouth so he learns to drop it.

Why do pleas like this never cease to amaze me?

I was reading the original post and my other half happened to wander up, I had her read it.......She just walked away laughing.

David, what did you expect? Patience is the key word.

Hey Anne, I'm working through a pup now, but I'll start another one. I'm closer to David, I get first dibs.

Steve, I'm not going to have any baseball caps left by the time this one is of age, and the Carhart's are starting to show the abuse. The scar tissue on my nose is mostly gone and the scabs in my ears are heeling nicely.
How's yours coming along?

Randy

He's a great puppy Randy. Chaos is the perfect name. Everything is a toy and its always playtime.

No way Randy....I called it 1st !!!! :-) Besides you already have a pup....my youngest is 3! I'm ready for another puppy. Besides you are way up the line...I'm in CT....so I'm closer. Ha, Ha.


ETA.... David the gagging sound is that you are basically 'choaking him off the bite'.

every now and then Erika goes infantile on me and forgets her manners. Nipped me in the ribs when I said playtime is over

Now that may wounds are all tiny scars and the bandaids stay in the cabinet I find myself lusting after other peoples puppies.

My dog is still mouthy but he doesn't have needle teeth and he knows how to regulate the pressure.

He did manage to get over excited while playing tug yesterday and drop the tug to jump up and grab my shirt. I ripped big hole in it and missed some important parts by centimeters.

Just keep redirecting, having toys in your pockets at all times and enjoying these precious weeks. They grow up all too fast!!