puppy biting

But never stare out a dog ... It threatens them.

Puppies are just very excited to see you ... it'll calm down soon.

paddyann he sounds lovely and will make a brilliant companion for years to come . I used to push my cats round in a pram too , it must be a little girl thing

Thanks everyone. I'm afraid it's not a place I can stop going to and the owner is definitely not into training. I'll just try to keep my hands out of the way and ignore the puppy in the hope it will get the message like the older dog has.

f77ms,thanks ,we play with him all the time ,have a laser light and loads of other toys and he's brilliant fun.We bought him for our grandaughter who stays with us half the week ,but its been 30 years since our last cat died age 13 so we have to learn all these wee things again.All the grandchildren adore him,he sleeps in one's bed,and she tells him stories ,they wheel him around in a dolls pram and he loves it .I draw the line at them dressing him up though.lol

I totally agree with Anya and the others who have given good advice. My sis-in-law has a much loved young Lakeland terrier who is a lovely dog but at nearly three is actually becoming worse because his "endearing puppy habits" are becoming less endearing now he is a teenager. A bit like kids really.
He needs to see a good dog trainer, but as, if not MORE importantly. so does she
She needs to learn that softly spoken reasoned argument does not work with a feisty terrier and he needs to know jumping up because he is jealous or attention seeking is unacceptable. IMHO a well trained and well behaved dog is a happier dog and one whose company you can enjoy, a friend for life.

I so agree that visitors to a house should greet the humans first and almost ignore the dogs. Unfortunately it is so natural to want to greet cute little puppies that it makes life hard for owners to instil the rules.

Same when out walking puppies. So many want to stop, admire and 'ooh ahh' puppies that they naturally respond by friendly gestures and jumping up.

As Anya says though, puppies need to be trained by their owners.Older dogs respond to the Dog Whisperer approach.

Nannaandgrampy That is exactly what the Dog Whisperer does, blocks the dog with the hand gesture, and makes a sshh sound.First of all though, he greets the person and totally ignores the dog, and only does the blocking if the dog gets too close.

f77ms is correct. Puppies and kittens are play biting, it's not a dominance issue. Their litter mates would normally be their play mates and there would be lots of this rough and tumble.

But us humans take them away from their natural playmates at about 8 weeks. At this age they still need to play, but some people seem to think they ought to suddenly 'behave'. They are 'behaving' perfectly naturally by play biting and jumping up on people.

A good owner will encourage playing by giving them toys and playing with their puppy or kitten. Then, they have to set boundaries but letting them know they've had enough and don't want to play any more. This is what standing up, folding arms and turning away says to them 'I don't want to play any more'.

Trying to discipline other people's pets by telling them to sit, pushing their bottoms to the ground, holding out a hand, etc. simply won't work with puppies. Any physical or verbal contact will be seen as a invitation to play unlike older dogs who know the rules.

paddyann forgot to say that you are obviously his Mother substitute which is why he is only doing it with you .

paddyann Kittens always jump up and play bite - it is how they learn to be cats . The kitty will grow out of it as long as you don`t chastise it for this natural behaviour. You need to play with him but maybe stop and say no if he gets too carried away and breaks the skin! . By about 12 months he should settle down .
The best kitten toy I have used is one of those light laser pointers ( not sure what they are called) Cats just love them and will chase them endlessly . Like puppies they need lots of play, exercise and cuddles to grow into a nice pet x

I do hope that Nanna&Grampy's method works, but from my experience in similar situations, I too wonder whether it will if you are the only one doing it (may be connected with how often you visit, and the message reinforced)

I have to say that in your shoes I would be considering the implications of stopping visiting & how to manage the situation if you did. I presume it is not a work or formal voluntary commitment, or there would be a system in place. I assume that you are worried about someone in the household (will they be at risk from n undisciplined dog?).

I have a kitten who jumps up and bites ,I thought he'd grow out of it as someone said that its the type of "play" they have with the mother and siblings.Maybe there are training methods for cats I should use? Anyone have advice ?Its only me he does it with.

I haven't seen any empirical evidence to the contrary Whitewave .

I'm just speaking from personal experience obviously and what's worked for me. I suspect it will be very hard to change this puppies behaviour if the owner herself is not working on it too.

I thought the dominance thing had been disproved? It is all about confidence apparently.

This form of biting is about dominance not play and needs to be nipped in the bud.

Like some other comments I would suggest firstly trying ignoring the pup completely but I suspect you will need to do more especially if this puppy is not getting any training.

As it jumps I suggest a firm NO accompanied by a hand gesture - ( not a rude one ?) , arm extended , palm facing the pup. Bending your knee towards the puppy will mean he can't actually jump up.

When he is firmly 4 feet on the floor then praise him but if he attempts to use his mouth, repeat the firm NO and hand gesture.

I like to marry up a voice command and a hand gesture for use at a distance.

Our little Sam likes to jump up and we have taught all 4 of our grandchildren using this method so even the 2 year old can be stopped in his tracks and now just the hand gesture will get him standing waiting for a fuss,

Good luck .

I didn't realise I was offering the other dog out . Fortunately (for me) I must intimidate in another way.

The owner doesn't train her dogs in any way. I'm the only person the older dog stays away from.

So I'll keep ignoring it and remember to hold my hands higher when I go into the house and hopefully it will give up trying to get my attention.

Thanks for all the advice.

It depends how old the puppy is. Puppies naturally bite and mouth rather like infant humans, - it is their way of learning about the world. They will do it to each other in the litter. If you watch a litter of pups playing, one will often overstep the mark and nip too hard, and the victim will squeal. The biter will immediately stop biting. So that is how to deal with pups who overstep the mark, squeal loudly and suddenly and follow it up with a firm "no" To stop them jumping up simply block them with your raised knee, or turn away sharply.

Agree with Anya, also with all my dogs a sharp ah ah sound stops them. I love dogs but appreciate not all my friends do so keep them under control with non dog people.
We have friends who insist on bringing their dog when they visit, I would not ever think of doing that, my dogs stay comfortably at home and I can enjoy talking to friends. I have said my friend's dog is not welcome when they come here for a meal as my dogs are trained to stay out of the dining room and away from the table when we eat but theirs is not. Caused a little friction but my house my rules.

Yes, exactly what Anya says. Never stare a dog out. Totally ignore any dog when you visit, it's part of helping the owner ensure they have a well behaved pet who doesn't jump all over visitors. No eye contact, fold your arms and turn your back each time the pup jumps. Do not speak to it or interact with it in any way because any attention is seen as good by dogs so they'll repeat the behaviour.

What Anya says

Don't stare don't dogs out, it's a sign of aggression in doggy language and if you try it on the wrong dog they may attack.

Puppies teeth are very sharp and can easily break the skin and yes, it is only playing but you need to let it know you don't want to play. So ignore it when you go there. If it jumps up at you then fold your arms and turn your back on it. If it tries to jump up when you've sat down, do the same, stand up, fold your arms and turn your back on it.

Well, if their older dog knows its place it's likely the puppy will follow suit. The owners must be used to implementing some kind of training, so will probably be doing the same with the new puppy. Also the behaviour of the older dog sets a good example in itself to the puppy. I would let them get on with it, the biting exuberance usually calms down.

Perhaps drop the staring out bit Vampire !! I am a cat person but I have read that you need to position yourself over the dog and push its back end down to show dominance . I am sure there will be some doggy types along to dispute this but I did read it in a dog training book when I was looking after one for a relative and cat methods were not working lol Please don`t do anything unpleasant , it is not the dogs fault and may just make it bite you .