Biting

ilovemybassets · 06-05-2007, 03:28 PM

Hi All!

I am a proud mommy of 2 basset hounds. Nelly is 2 and Vinnie is 1. We got Vinnie from a breeder when he was 6 weeks old and about 2 months ago, we got Nelly from a rescue.

From the very beginning, Vinnie has had mouthing/biting issues. We have tried everything, but nothing works. We tried obedience classes, but the instructor asked us not to come back! I have several Basset books/magazines, but they all say the same thing about getting your baby to quit biting. We have had zero problems with Nelly. She doesn't do anything bad —it's all Vinnie!!!

We also have problems with Vinnie getting into things. Since October he has been to the Vet ER 3 times!!!! He cannot/will not stop getting into stuff and chewing stuff up! It's driving me crazy!! He has torn/chewed up some very important valuables of mine and my husbands. When he gets things in his mouth, he becomes very aggressive with them and will not under any circumstances relinquish. He tenses up really tight and starts to growl and his lips start to quiver and he gets this look on his face.

Does anyone here have any suggestions? I'm at my wits end!!!

emc · 06-05-2007, 03:44 PM

When he has something that's not his and doesn't want to give it up, exchange it with womething he would like better such as a food treat. Hold the treat in one hand and show it to him while with the other hand you reach for what he has in his mouth. Once he lets go in order to get the treat, give it to him and praise him on what a good dog he is for let you have it. In time he should be more willing to give things up because he will think he will get something better.

Don't know what to tell you about the biting since you said you tried everything. Is it play biting or does he mean serious business? If the biting is stemming out of aggression you need to show him that he is not in charge.

Digital Paint Pet Portraits
http://dogshop.50webs.com

murraysmom · 06-05-2007, 04:35 PM

http://www.heatherweb.com/cyberhound/board...bite+inhibition

Click on the above- it will take you to a page where all past threads discussing 'bite inhibition' are listed.

I found this by going up to 'search' in the top right and typing in "bite inhibition".

Hope this helps.

daisy8869 · 06-05-2007, 05:59 PM

Hello and welcome to the forum. I'm sorry you are having issues with Vinnie. As emc asked, what type of biting is Vinnie doing? Have you noticed any particular times/situations that provoke the behavior? Is Vinnie breaking the skin when he bites?

You mentioned that you have tried obedience classes...was type of obedience course was it? Had Vinnie had a puppy socialization course when he was a pup? From what I have learned, puppies taken away from their mother before 8-10 weeks of age lack the skill of bite inhibition. Because you got Vinnie at such a young age, it is possible that his biting might be related to his socialization. If Vinnie did not learn bite inhibition and the recent addition of another dog may have caused his problem to worsen.

Biting is a complex issue to resolve, if you haven't already, you may want to contact a professional trainer for an evaluation and maybe some private training sessions before Vinnie will be ready for an obedience course with other dogs. I hope that reading some of the other posts about biting will give you some more wisdom and ideas. I know that Terry has a lot of experience with biting issues.

Good luck and keep us posted.

jameshayes · 06-06-2007, 04:52 AM

Hey!

I had this problem with one of my Tibetan Terriers, he was taken from his mammy to early... He bites quite hard but does not mean to hurt you... And he is very bold sometimes as well!!

When we got training it was tough but eventually we figured out that when he bites us to a degree where it hurts we let out a scream as if we were a dog in pain - well more of a squeal than a scream...

Another thing that worked also was holding food in your hand while your hand is closed (fisted) and letting him smell it and try get it out of your hand... He'll realise that he'll have to push his way through your fingers to get at the food instead of biting - and the whole time say a Keyword ("easy" is the one I used), When the exercise has been completed Many times he will learn when you say "easy" it means he is to be careful!

His previous owner did not have time to train him and instead of constructive training she hit him on the nose when he done something wrong. I do not know for sure but I can only guess that this made him worse.

Good luck with Vinnie...

bassetinkansas · 06-08-2007, 01:43 PM

my puppy does the same thing. good luck with getting him to stop

06-05-2007, 05:59 PM	#4 (permalink)
daisy8869 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: North Carolina Posts: 219	Hello and welcome to the forum. I'm sorry you are having issues with Vinnie. As emc asked, what type of biting is Vinnie doing? Have you noticed any particular times/situations that provoke the behavior? Is Vinnie breaking the skin when he bites? You mentioned that you have tried obedience classes...was type of obedience course was it? Had Vinnie had a puppy socialization course when he was a pup? From what I have learned, puppies taken away from their mother before 8-10 weeks of age lack the skill of bite inhibition. Because you got Vinnie at such a young age, it is possible that his biting might be related to his socialization. If Vinnie did not learn bite inhibition and the recent addition of another dog may have caused his problem to worsen. Biting is a complex issue to resolve, if you haven't already, you may want to contact a professional trainer for an evaluation and maybe some private training sessions before Vinnie will be ready for an obedience course with other dogs. I hope that reading some of the other posts about biting will give you some more wisdom and ideas. I know that Terry has a lot of experience with biting issues. Good luck and keep us posted. __________________ Daisy Mommy to Jackie the basset (born 5/20/06) and Charlie the golden (born 9/23/00).

06-08-2007, 01:43 PM	#6 (permalink)
bassetinkansas Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 40	my puppy does the same thing. good luck with getting him to stop __________________ anthony peck ks

06-05-2007, 03:28 PM	#1 (permalink)
ilovemybassets Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 2	Hi All! I am a proud mommy of 2 basset hounds. Nelly is 2 and Vinnie is 1. We got Vinnie from a breeder when he was 6 weeks old and about 2 months ago, we got Nelly from a rescue. From the very beginning, Vinnie has had mouthing/biting issues. We have tried everything, but nothing works. We tried obedience classes, but the instructor asked us not to come back! I have several Basset books/magazines, but they all say the same thing about getting your baby to quit biting. We have had zero problems with Nelly. She doesn't do anything bad —it's all Vinnie!!! We also have problems with Vinnie getting into things. Since October he has been to the Vet ER 3 times!!!! He cannot/will not stop getting into stuff and chewing stuff up! It's driving me crazy!! He has torn/chewed up some very important valuables of mine and my husbands. When he gets things in his mouth, he becomes very aggressive with them and will not under any circumstances relinquish. He tenses up really tight and starts to growl and his lips start to quiver and he gets this look on his face. Does anyone here have any suggestions? I'm at my wits end!!!

06-05-2007, 03:44 PM	#2 (permalink)
emc Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 119	When he has something that's not his and doesn't want to give it up, exchange it with womething he would like better such as a food treat. Hold the treat in one hand and show it to him while with the other hand you reach for what he has in his mouth. Once he lets go in order to get the treat, give it to him and praise him on what a good dog he is for let you have it. In time he should be more willing to give things up because he will think he will get something better. Don't know what to tell you about the biting since you said you tried everything. Is it play biting or does he mean serious business? If the biting is stemming out of aggression you need to show him that he is not in charge. Digital Paint Pet Portraits http://dogshop.50webs.com

06-05-2007, 04:35 PM	#3 (permalink)
murraysmom Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: southcentral Pa. Posts: 2,235	http://www.heatherweb.com/cyberhound/board...bite+inhibition Click on the above- it will take you to a page where all past threads discussing 'bite inhibition' are listed. I found this by going up to 'search' in the top right and typing in "bite inhibition". Hope this helps.

06-06-2007, 04:52 AM	#5 (permalink)
jameshayes Junior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Dublin - Ireland Posts: 23	Hey! I had this problem with one of my Tibetan Terriers, he was taken from his mammy to early... He bites quite hard but does not mean to hurt you... And he is very bold sometimes as well!! When we got training it was tough but eventually we figured out that when he bites us to a degree where it hurts we let out a scream as if we were a dog in pain - well more of a squeal than a scream... Another thing that worked also was holding food in your hand while your hand is closed (fisted) and letting him smell it and try get it out of your hand... He'll realise that he'll have to push his way through your fingers to get at the food instead of biting - and the whole time say a Keyword ("easy" is the one I used), When the exercise has been completed Many times he will learn when you say "easy" it means he is to be careful! His previous owner did not have time to train him and instead of constructive training she hit him on the nose when he done something wrong. I do not know for sure but I can only guess that this made him worse. Good luck with Vinnie...

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