# 8 weeks and biting



## Blusky (Jul 15, 2020)

We have a male Vizsla puppy who is 8 and a half weeks old. We’ve only had him 5 days and he’s very nippy and I’m not handling the mouthing very well because we have a toddler at home. 
My partner is very good at dominating him so he’s in control. I try and follow his lead on the telling off, saying ouch and stepping away but he’s very determined and it doesn’t seem to be working for me, let alone my daughter. Our breeder has a few working Viszlas and a toddler of 3 so we felt comfortable ( getting the pup from her) and she’s helping us through these days by staying in touch. I know the mouthing and nipping is indicative of his age but I’m very nervous with my little one around. Have we made a mistake? Any advice would be much appreciated


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## Sunshinesol (Jul 3, 2020)

Meh kids are lame, keep the pup!


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## Sunshinesol (Jul 3, 2020)

on a more serious note, I would have waited until your child understands how to interact with a dog. I’m a bit concerned about the dominating. Corrections should be quick and sharp, you shouldn’t have to intimidate your dog. If you want to learn about instituting rules and structure in your home and that your dog is not to be pushy with your baby- look up Larry Khron on YouTube. There’s a lot to type, you’ll learn a lot by watching those videos.


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## PhilipL (Sep 28, 2018)

Vizslas are well known for having the 'sharkies' as pups, it is their primary way of communicating with their siblings and you and is not full on biting, so I wouldn't worry overly. At only 8 1/2 weeks old your puppy has only got his 'puppy' and not fully formed 'adult' brain, so he is very much learning about the World and his new home surroundings and won't understand everything yet. Vizslas are very, very sensitive dogs that will in time give you absolutely masses of love and affection provided you are kind to them and not overly physical at all. The 'sharkies' stage will eventually pass, but it takes time and gradually reduces to a stop as they grow up. My boy Rafa fully stopped nipping at 3 to 4 months old, but he wasn't too bad long before then as he learned not to do it and his brain matured. He never ever drew blood, nowhere near that, I think the worst he did was tear my daughters pyjamas ever so slightly once as he had a good grip and she moved and he is a very boisterous Alpha male dog. Hope this reassures you that all will be well, given sufficient time, love and patience.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

At 8-9 weeks old physically "dominating", intimidating, or threatening" a puppy,may lead to some serious behavioral issues down the line.
At a critical time when you need to be establishing a lifetime bond based on trust, you would be conditioning the puppy to avoid you, and distrust you. This is a "hole" that will have to be corrected later on, or you risk having aggressive, unpredictable behaviors later on.
At 8-9 weeks old everything should have been "gentle, consistent, and repetitive", corrections. The more predictable and regulated you can make his day, the better off you will be.
8-10 week old puppies do not have an "Adult Brain", they do not have the ability to process "cause and effect" with any clarity. This is the time where patterned behavior is instilled. Potty training, crate training, NO!, fetch, sit/set, eating, out, drop it,etc. You really can't start any type of "behavioral modifications based training for a few weeks yet. You will however be laying the ground work for that training now.
He will have his adult brain in about a month, and he then has the ability to process information at a higher level. He'll still be immature, and his attention span short, but you can begin to have higher expectations.
You will correct him a zillion times a day. I'm sorry, that's just how it is with puppies.They have the attention span of a mosquito at a porch light, and every lesson has to be continually repeated, sometimes every 5 minutes it seems.
Vizslas are a very "mouthy" breed. Everything goes in their mouths, to the point that you will tire of chasing them down and taking things out of their mouths. They can be a real trial as puppies. Finn is 9-1/2months old, and still I have to chase him around at times and find out what he is chewing on.
An 8 week old puppy Vizsla puppy can easily be contained in a child's play pen, or a small area made of panels.
When he gets unruly, it's simply pick him up and put in the playpen area, with all of his toys. Let him blow off the excess energy in there. He cannot be confined there indefinitely though.
Have you made a mistake? No,I don't think so. You have a tough few months ahead, as you are dealing with basically a toddler and a puppy that are at about the same mental state, so you may at times feel as overwhelmed as a one armed wall paper hanger. At these times though, just confine him to a small penned area to give yourself a break. He needs 16+ hours of a sleep a day, and there's no reason that you can't exercise some control over that. Get through the puppy phase, and your daughter will have a friend for life. You just gotta get through it.
You will though need to very quickly, as soon as you can, break him of jumping up. By Christmas time he'll be able to put his paws on your chest, or shoulders, while standing on the ground. Your daughter probably won't be much bigger than she is right now. He could easily knock her over, without ever intending one bit of harm.
Create a space where he is not socially isolated from you, and when he just doesn't listen, quickly, with no emotion, pick him up and put him that space. In a month he'll begin to recognize the cause and effect behavior, and he'll start to settle in for a few extra moments each day.
Good luck, you have a lot on your plate right now.

One more caution;
Please don't compare your relative success, or failure, by using the breeder as your metric. The breeder has a lot of advantages that you do not. Primarily experience, and other puppies/dogs for a puppy to blow off energy, and interact with. That's a huge advantage.
Make no mistake about it, when the time comes, an older Vizsla can get a young puppy to stop nipping at it very quickly. They'll only tolerate it for so long, before a correction is made


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## PinDave (Jul 1, 2020)

Hi Blusky, I’m in a similar situation, as I’ve got a 4-year-old daughter, and a 15-week-old Vizsla. The ‘biting’ with the needle teeth can be quite painful, but Maui’s bite is getting softer as time passes. Maui’s never been remotely aggressive, but rather quite playful. Occasionally, I’ll hold his feet, and he’ll bite his feet. I think this gives him some idea as to how pointy his teeth are!

I’ve found some success in grabbing his mouth (gently) and saying “no biting!” every time he bites. Every time. You have to follow through every time. Dogs, like children, learn from when you give up or give in.

As Maui’s getting bigger and stronger, I don’t ever leave him alone with my daughters, just in case he gets playful. Getting a puppy to respect that you‘re the leader is difficult as they’ve got way more energy than you do, especially with a toddler! I was so glad when he had his vaccinations that allowed him to go on walks. I‘ve had great success in taking his energy edge off with hour long walks in the morning and evening. When Maui was 8-weeks-old, he was full of energy and easily bored. Puppies don’t have much attention span, so make sure you have enough different toys to address boredom. I also gave him some rolled rawhide ‘bones’ to chew on rather than everything else in my house!

Maui’s bond with me is getting stronger and stronger, but he’s definitely a lot of work! It is starting to get better, but I’m not entirely out of the woods yet!


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