# A Biting Problem



## Kay92 (Oct 19, 2012)

Lately, Riley has gotten a little too outta hand with the whizzes and he has been biting. Usually, it's just the play bites and we have been able to calm him easily. Recently he has been getting excited and biting WAY too hard, leaving bruises and bite marks all over us. We have been putting him in time out....but now he just walks in his kennel and we let him out and two minutes later he's at it again. We tried the walking away thing but he comes after us from behind, then he'll go after Chuck and make him yip. And when we try to protect Chuck: Riley goes after us again. So, if he no longer cares about going in his kennel and he comes at us from behind if we walk away, what do we do next? Does anyone have any tips on how to "protect" ourselves and Chuck?


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## David (Jul 17, 2012)

How old? 

I would grab Mikas muzzle, not too hard, and say "no" firmly and deeply. 

Time out may not address the actual behavior maybe?

The dog probably sees it as playing and when he gets too excited he's told to stop and go to the kennel. And not that his biting is a problem. 

Just my thoughts.


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

Our Riley has the same issue. The things that work best for us are: stuffing a toy or bully stick in her mouth, grabbing some treats and making her do a few puppy-pushups (sit, down, sit, down), or screaming "OUCH" at the top of our lungs and walking away.


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

Kay, I am just wondering if all this biting behavious is a result of all the time he has had with little exercise as a result of his hips and then other problems. Perhaps too much love and softly softly approach has just gone to his head.

Certainly, giving him soft toys works with my young puppy, but Riley is older and should know better. I disagree with holding his muzzle as Vizslas have very sensitive noses. Could you keep a spray bottle of water+ lemon juice (weak solution) to hand and spray him when he bites giving the NO command. I would also put him in his crate/bed for time out. Hopefully he will get the message sooner rather than later that this sort of behaviour is unacceptable.

Keep us posted.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I think Riley maybe feeling better. Yes he has been through the mill and it would be understandable that he has been babied to this point. I wouldn't grab his muzzle, I would give him busy work. Sit , Down, Stay and add some new things to his bag of tricks. Teach him Touch, Stand in place until released, anything that works him mentally.
If that doesn't work break out the spray bottle. I never needed anything but water in it. It might be a good idea to give each dog a separate time of training and walks each morning. Then you could walk them together in the evening.


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## dmak (Jul 25, 2012)

I'm going to be the devils advocate here as some won't agree with me. When I was having the biting problems with Kauzy, i started reinforcing and exerting my alpha dominance with him. When he would bite, he would get a sharp toned command, a squeeze a the muzzle and a flick on the forhead. As a mother dog would use her mouth to correct negative actions of a pup, I used the flick on the forhead. Sometimes I'd have to grab his scruff and physically control/dominate him. I would then reinforce my love for him. Either way, I let him know I was the boss and my rules are the ones we would adhere to. After a week of being flicked on the head, he decided that biting was counter productive and stopped completely


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## David (Jul 17, 2012)

dmak said:


> I'm going to be the devils advocate here as some won't agree with me. When I was having the biting problems with Kauzy, i started reinforcing and exerting my alpha dominance with him. When he would bite, he would get a sharp toned command, a squeeze a the muzzle and a flick on the forhead. As a mother dog would use her mouth to correct negative actions of a pup, I used the flick on the forhead. Sometimes I'd have to grab his scruff and physically control/dominate him. I would then reinforce my love for him. Either way, I let him know I was the boss and my rules are the ones we would adhere to. After a week of being flicked on the head, he decided that biting was counter productive and stopped completely


Well said. biting is a non-negotiable, its not allowed, ever. So discouraging it via distractions doesn't seem like it will solve the problem. Dogs don't "suggest" to subordinates to do something else instead of bite, they correct the behavior immediately and as swiftly as it appeared. As much as they seem like people they are not, and to correct a dogs behavior you must behave like an alpha dog would.


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

The pup isn't biting out of aggression, he's being mouthy. I don't understand how inflicting pain on a playful pup is going to be helpful. Pups mouth on each other MUCH harder than they do with humans & it's fine. Riley & Cooper grab chunks of each other's skin & pull hard! The only correction I've ever heard was a high yip with one of them walking stiffly away from the other and immediately ceasing playtime.


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## dmak (Jul 25, 2012)

That's why I chose flicking. It doesn't inflict nearly as much pain on the dog as another mouthy puppy, or lemon juice in the eye for that matter (I tried water with lemon juice in my own eyes and, even diluted, it burned like ****). The flicking was a very effective method of putting my pup in check. I wouldn't do anything to my pup that I wouldn't be willing to do to myself, my Mrs or my children for that matter.

With that being said, my pup is a dog not a human. Sometimes to teach my dog I have to teach him as an alpha dog would. Not as a human would.


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## Kay92 (Oct 19, 2012)

Thank you everyone for the advice! We are going to give the spray bottle and see what that does. with him being a year and nine months old it's not an acceptable behavior. Riley is on all types of medicine right now and he is on a what we call a "nice doggie" pill. He takes seven pills a day, still a lot for him. We will try some of the things that you suggest.


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## Lai (Nov 9, 2012)

I'm having same problem with my 11-month old V-Raylan. It's like an abundance of energy drives him mad and he attacks me! I attribute it to dominance. The only thing that works for me is using a sit-means-sit collar otherwise I could not handle him and keep him. I try daily training, heel on leash, let him run off leash, doggie care but he so far always wants to bite no matter what I do. :'(


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## VizslaNewbies (Jun 10, 2011)

A rough play with Dax every now and then and sometimes he gets to rev'd up and his biting or gnawing goes a little out of control. This isn't the V' fault since I normally instigate this rowdy behavior when were playing. However! If it gets the point that he's become overly aggressive and he is non-respond or no longer listening... another great method that we use which is passive-aggressive is that we would tell him the command 'down' (sometimes with a treat).

Letting him go down on his stomach as he nibbles on a treat (if you decide to hold it) or just holding him in that 'down' position will help relax and bring him back down to a manageable state. Do not reward him excitedly though when you're doing this. Reward him with calm physical gestures like stroking his back while your holding him in his 'down' position or while hes nibbling on the treat your holding on to.

Muzzle holding and giving a firm No is a good tactic as well which was mentioned earlier. Also giving a solid flick under the chin and pressing down on his tongue with your thumb while he's biting may fend him off from biting you aggressively. Do the flick under the chin or pressing down on his tongue when he's not expecting it though.. because it may end up registering as 'okay lets play' signal in his head. 

V' are non-aggressive in nature and not dominating so leave the Dominance Act of pinning him on his side as a last resort... It is the easiest and effective tactic but over-doing it... especially if you do it out of anger or frustration can lead towards negative effects.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Forget the physical reactions and even the spray bottle. Just keep up with consistent corrections when pup bites and eventually they will get it. As another has already said, the worst thing mum will do is push them away and perhaps walk away. A sibling will just yelp and walk away immediately ceasing play. So you do the same. Isolate pup each and every time he nips too hard, cease the play/cuddle session. He'll soon associate the two occurrences.


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## rimrock5151 (Nov 13, 2012)

After 11 yrs with my prior V and a year without a dog I had to have another V so I got a puppy. Upside, is great to have a V again. Downside, I forgot all the "puppy" traits that happen and right now biting and chewing are high on the list especially for my wife.

Gentle muzzle hold with a no, squirt bottle, beans in a metal cocktail shaker, time out etc all work for a time. But TIME is the answer. As the V grows his body is going through a lot and with patience, along with the discipline, you will experience your V grow out of it. 

My wife expects miracles from a 12 week old pup. Not going to happen.


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## nika01 (Nov 27, 2012)

Holding my dogs muzzle does nothing but escalate his bad behavior. We have left the room or put him in time out rather than negative reinforcement. We are at a loss on how to get him to stop though.


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## nika01 (Nov 27, 2012)

rimrock5151 said:


> After 11 yrs with my prior V and a year without a dog I had to have another V so I got a puppy. Upside, is great to have a V again. Downside, I forgot all the "puppy" traits that happen and right now biting and chewing are high on the list especially for my wife.
> 
> My wife expects miracles from a 12 week old pup. Not going to happen.


Living the same unrealistic expectations here. We had goldens previously and the contrasts are constantly drawn. The V will never be a golden, and vice versa.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

*Re: Re: A Biting Problem*



rimrock5151 said:


> After 11 yrs with my prior V and a year without a dog I had to have another V so I got a puppy. Upside, is great to have a V again. Downside, I forgot all the "puppy" traits that happen and right now biting and chewing are high on the list especially for my wife.
> 
> Gentle muzzle hold with a no, squirt bottle, beans in a metal cocktail shaker, time out etc all work for a time. But TIME is the answer. As the V grows his body is going through a lot and with patience, along with the discipline, you will experience your V grow out of it.
> 
> My wife expects miracles from a 12 week old pup. Not going to happen.


I would never grab mine by the muzzle. The most physical I get is a little gentle space occupation or physical diversion. Their ol factory is super sensitive plus most Vizslas do not respond as well to physical force.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

*Re: Re: A Biting Problem*

_
Oz...
"I would never grab mine by the muzzle. The most physical I get is a little gentle space occupation or physical diversion. Their ol factory is super sensitive plus most Vizslas do not respond as well to physical force."
_

Quite agree with this and I would add, from what I observed, they may not respond well to yelling, either :-[
I can easily shut down Sam if I yell at him or anyone else, if the boy is around. I have learned to dial down my anger response.


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