Okay, I know he is only 3 months old (13 wks yesterday), but does anyone know how long the mouthiness will last? I read in the book "The Art of Raising a Puppy" Monks of new skete, to stick your finger down their throat or hold their mussle shut. I tried this for a few days only, before someone on here said that would make him worse - problem is I discovered the book was wrong after I spent three days trying it. If I did as the book suggested as soon as I let go he just barked more and tried harder to bite.

It's worse with my seven year old daughter, he really likes to eat her hair and bite at her. I would like to point out he is wagging his tail, and I really think he is trying to play he is after all just a puppy, but is this just a German Shepherd trait because my friends lab never did this as a puppy. Other puppy lick you and don't bite, so I'm wondering if this is just because he is a Shepherd, I don't get why he won't stop.

My father-in-law suggested tapping above his nose and saying nine, I tried this (not hard) and he hates it and actually now thinks before he bites, however, I'm scared this is the wrong thing to do. I don't want to create a problem if this will go away on it's own. We do the redirect, redirect, redirect and he just redirects passed whatever you have and goes for your arm or hand and he is sooooo stubborn. I must be doing something wrong but I can't figure out what.

He bites me least now, but he still barks like he wants to bite.

Generally he is really really sweet, he is calm and relaxed but the moment you try to play with him it turns into a game of lets eat everyone. Hey, maybe I'm playing wrong? Any thoughts there. I sound like I'm rambling (sorry) I just really want this dog to turn out great and I don't want to screw it up, I'm so attached to him. I know I have alfa with him, no qusetion there (aside from this biting thing, but like I said I don't think it's an aweful issue... When he wont stop the best way I've found to stop him is to place him between my legs and say "Settle", he will than lay down and I can groom him (this is how I trim his nails and such) and he lays there till I say "free" it works great when I need him to stop biting right away.

For some back ground, I got him at 7 1/2 wks. He is tethered to me all day. That way he can't have accidents cause I can see him all the time. He is in the crate for approx. 2 hours every day. I train him (basic puppy stuff, sit, down, come, settle for about five minutes 3 times a day and play with him several times a day. He goes on a car ride to all the kids places every day and loves the car. He eats three times a day on a tight timer and is doing great. The biting is just strange, you say no and he barks and does it again. I'm at a loss if this is just puppy, or if he is just stubborn, or if I'm doing something wrong. Any advice would be great.

Sorry I don't have time right now to respond with more, but LOL welcome to the world of GSD's, I've got to get my two out.


And yep, it last for awhile.

Later, thanks for the laugh.
If my dog isn't learning, I'm doing something wrong.
Randy

Angelique, welcome to the world of puppyhood!

This is normal puppy behavior; some pups are more mouthy than others. Redirecting is the right thing to do. It will go away, but you have a ways to go yet...

Keep redirecting and make sure he is getting a good amount of exercise outside, multiple times a day.

Keep a short drag line on him in the house; this makes it much easier to control his movements and is more effective than grabbing at his collar.

Closely supervise him with your daughter, and discourage any roughhousing between the two. If you can't supervise directly, put the pup in his crate.

Give him food-stuffed chew toys that he can keep himself occupied with.

If he gets too riled up in the house, take him outside and let him burn off some energy. If he's had plenty of exercise and still won't calm down in the house, crate him until he does.

Good luck...

My Lacy was and still is 'mouthy'. He just LOVES to greet by holding your hand/arm in his mouth. Never breaks the skin.

When he was a puppy, I always made sure I had a soft toy in my hands when engaging with him. As soon as he opened his mouth to bite I would shove (gently) the toy in his mouth and say 'get your toy' and praise, praise. Pretty soon (4 months?) when he got rowdy I would say 'get your toy' and he would grab a toy to chew on & get lots of praise for it.

Now @ 15 months, when I first let him in after work, he will run directly to the toy basket to bring me a toy and get petted. MUCH easier on the arms!!

Angelique: Not to dampen your spirits but it took 2 years for
my female GS to Stop the mouthing. Once in a while she will
grab your arms but no pressure. She finally figured it out. I
don't know what took so long. I tried everything. Bitter Apple
Binaca, lemon juice, I even bought leather gloves, redirecting
helped tremendousley with a grabbing issue playing ball. All I
can say is hang in there it will get better just don't give up. The mouthing is now a thing of the past.

If the pup is tethered to you, this should help prevent him biting and eating your daughter's hair. :-)

Make sure he is getting enough exercise, several times a day, as to be very tired, happily worn out, and not in the mood to chew on family members at every opportunity.

When Falcon was this age I bought a long lenth of wooden dowel from Home Depot and secured a piece of rope probably 5' long to it (drilled a hole through the dowel then knotted the rope through one side) and then tied an old towel to the rope. This allowed me to run around the yard, looking like an idiot, but having Falcon chase after the towel. When I got tired, I could stand in one spot and still have him run around. It worked great! He got a great workout (we both did...) and it was easy to do. THIS might be a way the pup and your daughter can interact - with your supervision - because it gives him another target other than HER.

It is a stage. No one can tell you how long. Try all the suggestions folks have provided - especially making sure he is TIRED out several times a day. It will get easier.

edited for spelling

I feel your pain! My pup is 4 ½ months old and has had a full, crushing mouth bite since the day I brought him home! I have had many pups in here, including my daughter’s Mali’s, and I have never felt such bite force on a young dog! It was my # 1 priority to get this under control so I really tried it all including having him play with the golden I have here, problem was is that he never bites hard while playing, He is not “nippy,” using his front teeth, just a grab and hold of arms and legs, yelps would cause even more pressure. I fed from my hand and he learned “easy” very quickly, he also knows “out” and most importantly “NO,” this has helped tremendously, as does re directing onto a toy. Toys get lost in his mouth and he will even carry two toys at a time! I would set him up to bite me so that I could teach him NO! It had been weeks since he has grabbed, until yesterday, he grabbed my leg, could be teething… or maybe those big furry boots I put on…duh!

While not a GSD, my 16mo. pup can be dead tired and still want to put my entire hand in his mouth while I'm petting him. He's gentle about it and he likes doing it, so I'm not too strict about it. When I don't want him mouthing me I just pull my hands away, say "no bite", wait for him to settle himself, and then continue petting him. I also find that the more calm I am with him the more calm he is with me. If I use much of any excitement in my voice it makes him nutty.

Your mileage may vary.

This is true... Falcon will gently mouth me if I rub his tummy and he used to do so if I rubbed his ears. Without the evil puppy teeth it easier to tolerate, isn't it?

MUCH easier without the daemon needles.