From: mlhb@mammoth.dr.att.com (Sky Warrior)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
Subject: Re: young puppies and biting
Keywords: Lhasa Apso
Date: 30 Dec 92 15:55:53 GMT
Reply-To: mlhb@drutx!att.com
Distribution: na
Organization: Bell Labs, DCTT, Denver, Co.

In article <1992Dec30.025612.3416@osf.org>, kenny@osf.org (Kenneth Crudup) writes:
|> Otis, my girlfriend's 9 wk. old Lhasa Apso male, has gotten into the habit
|> 
|> of biting everything in sight, including humans. I've used the advice of
|> a book I read that says to give him admonitions about this, but it's an
|> uphill battle. I think he's teething, and we've given him a furry bear he
|> seems to like to bite on, but he will occasionally bite when he's near us,
|> and goes after socks and shoes so adamantly we've almost tripped over
|> ourselves trying to stop when he decides to hang on tight when one of our
|> feet starts going up.
|> 
|> Is there some remedy to this? If it's teething, what can we give him to
|> chew on?
|> 
|> 	-Kenny


Kenny --

Tell your girlfriend to correct any and all mouth play when it comes to 
humans.  Mouthing isn't cute or funny; it is downright dangerous.  Letting 
your puppy mouth or chew on you will teach him to bite later on.  I made
the terrible mistake of letting my first puppy mouth and it took me TWO YEARS
to break him of this habit.  (Mind you, this is a dog that stands 2 feet at 
the shoulder with inch long canines!)

I don't know what kind of corrections you been giving him, but at this point
swatting him or yelling at him is probably not going to work.  For some
reason, it may become a game and he may slowly get desensitized to the 
correction.  Soon a swat is just an invitation at snap at you and you can
yell until you turn purple.  You need something to get control of the 
situation (Otis has got control right now, doesn't he?)

Go out and buy a choke chain that fits properly and attach a light 
leash or "tab" (as I've heard it called).  Be sure to have the chain on 
properly, the wrong way can choke the dog.  The
best way to be sure it is on correctly is when you hold it up to put it
on the dog, it looks like the letter "P".  If it is backwards, it is wrong
and will not loosen when the tab goes slack.  Keep this on the puppy only
when you can supervise him, so he will not accidently get caught on something
and choke.

When he tries the above antics, snap the chain and say "No bite!"  It may
startle him and he may yelp, but it will stop him from biting.  Keep this
up; it may be an uphill battle, but it is better than having a dog that thinks
it is ok to bite humans.  Secondly, stop all tug of war games.  This makes
him think it is ok to bite down hard and take things away from you.

Teething is really no excuse for bad behavior.  Your puppy should have things
like nylabones to chew on and other such safe items, but even if he is 
teething, it doesn't mean you and your girlfriend should be chew toys.
If he is chewing other things while you can't watch him, put him in his crate.
If your girlfriend doesn't have one, get her to buy one and learn how to use
it.  (Plenty of books that cover crate training).

Last, but not least, if all else fails, buy the book "People, Pooches, and 
Problems" by Job Michael Evans.  Many reputible Pet food stores like PetsMart
and Pet Foods Plus carry it or you can order it from R.C. Steele or a local 
bookstore.  In fact, I recommend this book to ANYONE.  While I don't 
necessarily agree with everything he says, I agree with about 95%.

Good luck with your girlfriend's puppy.

Sky Warrior & team
-- 
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