Hello Lynne,

Okay, so its normal puppy behavior and I guess he is just more mouthy (urge)... I will continue to redirect (it's just nice to know there is hope in my future)...

You said to make sure he is getting the right amount of exercise - he is 13 wks old. Can I take him on walks yet? Before I was told he was too young. Do you have any idea how far I can walk him at this age? I do play with him outside all the time, but no walks. We have tons of snow so he bounces through that and I crawl (like a fool) lol through the snow on all fours and he chases me and we play till he is tired, here he is not being mouthy, just running around. I don't know how much exercise to give him and I want so much to take him on walks but not if I will hurt his hips.

He always (always) has a drag line on or is tethered to me. He is never free (I have cats) so that is not up for debate lol as I'm working him to make friends with the kitten, and later I'll add the adult cat. He is doing great with the kitten so far. But, until he is WAY older, like over a year at least he will always be on tether or long line.

When he bites I don't grab his collar I redirect, but like I said he redirects back and says I don't want the toy I want your hand/arm and I have tons of nice toys for him to choose from.

My 15 year old son, 9 year old son and husband are all in the same boat as me with the mouthness but it's really my 7 year old daughter that is the problem. She just wants to pet him. She is in no way rough-housing but he tries to bite her hair and well, really any part he can get. She wants to walk him and take him out but I can't let her at this point for obvious reasons.

I signed my daughter and him up to take a puppy class offered by my vet (because only dogs from the vet can go there so I don't have to worry about vaccines). I thought this might help the two of them. What do you think? Out of all my children she wants to be with him the most but he likes to eat her the most.

Thanks again for your nice response. And thanks to everyone for offering help, I really appreciate it.

I would just like to make one suggestion because you said redirecting isn't working.

I think alot of people make the mistake of just "showing" a toy or something to the dog and think that's enough to get them interested and redirect their attention...it's not.

Redirecting require's you making the toy waaaaaaay more interesting than your hand. If you are showing him the toy and moving your hand around while holding it and he's going past the toy to still get your hand that's not working. THROW the toy.
he will chase it.
make it more interesting and more attractive.

but what everyone else has said is also true. Some pups are just mouthy, and they will grow out of it. But often removing yourself (hands i mean) from the situation will help too. Pet the pup and he mouths...stop and walk away. Don't keep trying to pet him...just stop. He'll soon learn that contact on skin stops the good stuff!

Okay, I will try these new ideas for a few days... The making the toy more interesting seems like a great tip!!! Something to try, YEAH! Thanks...

 Quote: AngeliqueShatzel

Okay, I will try these new ideas for a few days... The making the toy more interesting seems like a great tip!!! Something to try, YEAH! Thanks...

No problem!
My other dog was a HUGE little alligator (I named him Taz for a reason) and i found that just showing a toy never ever got him interested.
the best toys for something like this are ones on a rope. That way your hand is up higher than the toy you are trying to get his attention with. No little mishaps with him nipping your hand if it's to high for him to reach!


Also the toy's on a rope are great for being able to drag them along the ground and have the pup chase them. Just make sure to not do alot of quick turns or circles. Those are hard on a growing puppy. You'll get some exercise too! Running back and forth dragging the toy for him to chase!

Edited by Wendy Lefebvre (03/06/2010 10:44 AM)
Edit reason: added thought

Thanks everyone for your ideas. It has been a few days and things are sooooo much nicer. Animating the toy worked, and using a calmer voice greatly helped I think. My daughter is able to pet him now, and we are working on the other stuff, but that will come in time (he is still a puppy)... Though, he is 36 lbs. at 14 wks tomorrow, geezz is that normal? Does the weight slow down, he keeps this up and he'll be 100 lbs too swiftly, good thing he is on a really good deit lol Thanks again everyone...

Okay, I've been searching for days on here. How is everyone putting up their dog photos? I really want to put a picture of my puppy up, can anyone help? Thanks...

I found this...

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/265032/Main/25341/#Post265032

scroll to the post by Scott Kapphahn