Puppy biting. Help !

DD has two chihuahuas so when I see her for a coffee in a minute I'll ask her if she had any probs when they were puppies.

Do you mean play biting or snapping?

Thanks merlotgran. It is definitely play biting. She doesn't bare her teeth or anything like that it tends to be getting carried away when playing.

Unfortunate puppy teeth are much sharper than their adult teeth Gilly. I've solved this problem in the past but squealing loudly when bitten (this lets puppy know you've beeh hurt) and withdrawing by moving away and refusing to play.

Give it a few tries and it should work.

DD says the play biting didn't last long with her chihuahuas. All puppies do it - some longer than others. The best thing to do is stop playing, turn your head away so you are not making eye contact and fold your arms so your hands are out of reach. It doesn't help to say NO loudly because they associate that with the game and the more you say it the more they do it.

A nuisance but hopefully the puppy will grow out of it.

Thank you merlot and Anya I will pass this on to my sister. She is a lovely little thing, so I hope it is something she will grow out of.

I hope the problem gets sorted because they are fabulous little characters and make great pets. I knew nothing about them until DD got hers. I was surprised to say the least because we've always been a labrador/Jack Russell family.

DD has moved on to the farm with us now and the chihuahuas are having a great time. They don't run off, come when called and love to play 'chase' with our Jack Russells.

Our youngest DGD is coming to stay during half term, she's ten and they can't have a dog yet as everyone is out during the day.

I think she's going to have a lot of fun!!

It's a bit like teething. I always gave my puppies something firm to bite on, ie. rubber bone. Definately not an item they shouldn't have like a shoe etc. A firm NO always stopped any of mine when they were at the puppy biting stage.

Thank you everyone. I have passed all the comments on to my sister. They are really funny little characters merlot She has already become part of the extended family. The vet said that they have huge personalities and don't actually realise that they are so small. He said that it upsets him when the "wrong people" get these breeds and treat them like dollies instead of doggies !

The post from Agus at 13.14 is helpful, puppies need something firm to bite on. They play bite with their litter brothers and sisters and their mothers, squeals tell them when they've gone to far, so Anya's advice to make a squealing noise is helpful.

Puppies are similar to babies/toddlers, in that they can be a real nuisance when tired. It's easy to assume they need exercise but often a quiet time in their crate means they sleep and the manic phase goes away (for a bit). Puppies need mental stimulation. You can buy any number of feeding type toys, so the puppy has to work and think in order to get its food. Mental stimulation seems to tire them more than physical exercise .

Your sister could try one of these for the mad times.
Puppy Kong

Good idea shysal. Teach the puppy his kong is settle down time, give it in his crate and close the door whilst he eats it as he'll probably go to sleep afterwards. You can fill them with a mixture of prio biotic yoghurt/cream cheese/ peanut butter and freeze them. My dogs have just finished their's and are fast asleep. Thankfully

A recent tv programe about dogs showed an incredibly nast chihuahua that had ben treated as a toy; I'm sure your sister isn't doing so with her dog but they really do need to realise who's pack leader from a very early age. I can remember my whippet accidentally slicing my finger open like a sharp knife when she was a puppy when we both went for a ball at the same time, because her teeth were like razors.