nutmeg

I'm new here and need help our darling 6 month old basset is biting us and being aggressive.There are only a few situations where she isnt biting us and when we can pet her and thats when shes sleeping or chewing on her toys.If we try to ignore her or tell her no she just comes right after us and if you walk away she bites us on our ankels.She will jump up and try biting us anywhere she can get a hold of.We don't know what to do.We have a kennel and put her in there when she's really biting and not stopping,but we don't want to keep her in the kennel long.We love her and just want her to stop biting us all the time.We got her when she was about 7 weeks old and she was so sweet she would lay her head down on my shoulder and fall asleep in my arms.Now I don't really trust her by my face or our teenagers.I must add that we almost lost her, she had lepto when she was 11 weeks old.We had to take her to a 24 hr vet hospital to save her.She was there for a week with iv antibiotics and pulled through.It cost a fortune but we couldn't just let her die like our local vet was suggesting we do.I don't know if her past illness has anything to do with her aggressive behavior or not.All I know is we need help.Thank you,Lori

SophieB

I can't believe a 6 month Basset is 'biting' as in biting as they aren't aggressive, or none of ours have been! Our two we got together have always played like pups do and kind of 'bite' each other in play and have done it to us in play but never 'aggressively'.

I don't have time to reply fully now as I'm on my way out but others will reply and may think like me that 7 wks was a wee bit too young for pup to leave her siblings and mum where they learn to socialise with each other and puppies often 'bite' in play but it's harmless and part of learning!

Mikey will be along soon and help you. Your pup ight be lacking in company and she might be trying to attract your attention to play with her and her mouth or paws (or a bit of barking) is the easiest way to let you know. Does she have lots of toys to play with?

Look at my two at 10 weeks old, they do some 'biting' of each other, but it's being playful and if you had another Basset they'd do this in play:

sadeyes2

Brilliant video Sophie, could watch your two all day.

Annie714

I got Annie when she was 6 weeks old...from an animal rescue group. She did the usual puppy biting and nipping. It seemed crazy and aggressive to me at the time, probably because as a puppy their teeth are sharp as razors. But this is the activity she would have been displaying with her siblings if she was still with them at the time. Now, at 6 yrs old, there isn't an aggressive bone in her body. She will play and jump and tug on toys, but nothing ever out of aggression.

bubbad

Although I think she is just trying to get someone to play with her I don't doubt people could be getting hurt by this play behavior.Ok Mikey do your thing and help this person

MollyMcFrecklesMom

I'm interested to see what Mikey says here too (he is always so helpful). Molly, who is 6 months tomorrow, is nipping as well. It's not aggression, but simply play. I don't appreciate it, however, and am trying to discourage it. I won't play as long as she is biting and will only play when she stops. She's stubborn though and persists. It gets to be quite aggravating.

SophieB

Just to join in this topic again.... we have never had a 'single/lone' Basset and always had two or three in our house living together and they have always played together, even at different ages, but we also play with them too and often roll around the floor with them and they love it!

Just looking back at a couple of old clips of our two... and in playing together, there is always some sort of 'biting' going on but neither of them yelps so I guess they don't hurt each other... and they can only use their mouth or paws to do anything with, unlike us!

Here they are at 5 months, sharing/playing with a tuggy toy but still 'play-biting' at times!

Similarly here they are at 9 months, playing together in the snow and still 'play-biting' each other. I really think that if you had two pups they would do the same to each other and not to you and a single pup probably gets bored and needs some stimulation, just as we'd be bored on our own!

bubbad

A puppy needs to learn bite inhabition. If you are nipped make a loud noise to startle the pup.I usually growl "NO" in as deep a voice as I can muster.After a few times of this they usually do not bite as hard as they did. I have always raised single puppies unless I have a litter and this has worked for me. You can also try squirting her with water when she nips. Growling "NO" at the same time.

Terry

Perhaps you should have her evaluated by a behaviorist or trainer to determine exactly what she is doing and why she is doing it. Dogs bite or nip for several different reasons, and there are different ways to handle the problem once the cause is determined.

We got our Moe from a shelter where he had been abandoned with his sister, tied to a gate in July of '99. I had always wanted a Basset and I fell in love with his beautiful face when I saw him while looking for a Dachshund for my daughter. He was from a BYB (we found this out later) and had many issues that I won't go into, but the most serious one was that he was a biter. He bit me and my son, mostly. We both had large bruises on our arms and legs. I couldn't touch Moe without him using his teeth on me. Sometimes he was scary aggressive. I was concerned for myself and my family but I was also worried becasue fall was coming. During the schoolyear I watched five children for an hour or so till the bus came to pick them up - I was worried for them, too. The shelter we got Moe from offered free training to help new adoptees and thier families overcome issues they might be having with thier new dogs. The trainer evaluated Moe and determined that he was attempting to dominate us. She showed us how to deal with his problem. It took time, a few months, for the worst of it to stop. We continued to work with him for a long time after that (he also had a problem with bite inhibition). Eventually he became a wonderful, loving, sweet hound. He was worth every bit of trouble we went through.

We had several tricks we used to keep Moe from biting that helped. They were so easy that I taught my bus-kids how to do them too. I bought bitter-apple spray and would spray it in his direction (but not into his face). I had coke cans with pennies in them in every room. If Moe did something he shouldn't (or even looked like he was on the verge) we tossed it near him. The racket startled him, distracting him from his mischief. He also loved attention and hated to be ignored. If he was naughty, I would say "NO, MOE!" loudly and turn my back on him. He hated this. He'd nudge my legs and whine (it was very hard to be tough). It's important to use a deep firm tone of voice when training. Tug-of-war games or anything remotely resembling them were banned completely. These game over-excited him and he'd use his mouth on people. We learned clicker-training. It's so easy that my seven year old son taught Moe tricks with it. He taught the bus-kids how to do it, too. Training Moe became a favorite before-school game for all of them. The bitter-apple spray worked so well that when it was gone we had only to show Moe the bottle to make him stop. We had that bottle for a year or more before I chucked it out. The coke cans were eventually emptied of thier pennies and put in the recycle bin.

The evaluation it the important part of taking care of your dog's biting problem. You must know the "why" before you can learn the "how".

Terry

__________________
Moe and Terry
"Don't worry, be happy"

Basset Momma

Our Frodo is 6 months old now. He is well socialized (we have his mom among other bassets)- but he is teething and so does tend to chew more- He doesn't bite us but will jump up to try and get our attention and sometimes that involves a nip as his mouth is trying to "catch" us since he has no hands to grab... I think it is most likely normal puppy behavior you are experiencing- but maybe she did miss some of the earlier socialization and has not learned her manners yet. Regardless a puppy training class would help- get her socialized more and help you teach her how not to bite- she's still a baby is some ways and learning how to interact with the world.

__________________
-Wendy
Mom to Samantha, Jake, Cuddy, Frodo, & Indy