# biting and jumping!



## Superunknown

My vizsla Ted is 9 weeks old now. We had some problems as stated in other threads but they have now been sorted thanks to other people's advice 

However when Ted wakes up, has a meal or when he gets excited, he chases, jumps on people and bites anyone, ripping clothes and breaking the skin! We have tried to be firm, push him off gently and shout "NO" but as soon as he gets off...he does it again and takes no notice. We have tried to calm him down and encourage safe play with other toys but there are moments during the day when he just bites and bites us. We are out of our wits! He is well behaved 75% of the time and rather loving and just wants to lick us, We just do not like the biting moments.


We have also tried leash training but all Ted does is take notice of the leash and tries to bite it off.

If there are any advice..it would be highly appreciated. Many thanks!


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## hobbsy1010

Try saying or crying ow, or owch or the likes.

Even if its light biting. I was frightened of dogs before getting our Vizsla. And this is one of the only tips the breeder told us, along with teach him NO.

A loud clap of the hands or a hay or shht noise may work. Also try and stay calm.

The more worked up you are the more your pup thinks its play.

Worked for me. Small rips in your clothes soon pass. Dont wear your best clothes or white out for a while 

(MRS) Hobbsy


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## Looney

Laszlo is 10 weeks now got him at 9 weeks flew home with him.
Decent trip.

he is pretty good (knock on wood) but he's had some moments!

if hes barking nipping or air humping you Cesar him, stand up fast, turn back, cross arms ignore! works! then sit back down and if he does it again (which is good) pop right back up!!!! a few of these and he'll get the picture.

if he's nipping, you can YIP real loud and he should stop! this is to mimick litter mates or other pups/dogs saying "Too hard stop!" if that fails touch his butt while you YIP real loud...changes his point of interest for that second and they move on.


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## datacan

Biting: 
Spread some peanut butter or butter on the palm of your hand, let dog lick it off. That way they learn to lick instead of bite hands.

Jumping: 
Make dog jump (not hard to achieve this) grab dog's front paws (do not squeeze or pinch) and command "OFF" while letting the legs land on the ground. This will teach the "OFF" command. 

*Never discourage your dog's natural tendencies. Instead, divert or channel dog's attention to a chew toy or play. * Important to understand dogs are not human children and do not associate experiences the same way humans do.

Try and do not teach the dog arm assisted commands (moving hands while verbally giving command) because the arm movement will become the command and the verbal command will have no meaning. 

Outside, if the dog jumps and bites on walks, it may mean it is tired and you must go home. Or it may mean it is in play mode. Will not likely happen at the beginning of the walk.
In any case do not waive arms up and down in front of the dog. Grab font legs say "OFF". It will eventually get it.

Puppy teeth are sharp you can opt to wear soft leather work gloves to keep teeth penetrating your skin surface. Do not allow dog to chew on the glove. 
As mentioned above by hobbsy1010 yelp and stop play as if it hurts a lot, even if wearing gloves.


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## Ozkar

At 9 weeks of age, you must accept this behaviour. It is a natural way that puppies learn bite pressure. SO that they can play bite their puppy friends without hurting them, but hurt when they need to. So, it is a process that you will need to accept as part of having a puppy. 

I am not suggesting that you take no action when he does, as this would be foolish. But, what would mum do if pup bit her. She would correct pup first with a yelp, maybe a nip and perhaps then pushing it away, or walking away and ignoring it. 

Others have suggested that you "Yelp" in pain when pup bites and this is a great suggestion. It tells pup it has bitten to hard. Also, remember, pup is learning how hard it can play with YOU. Another pup would put up with way more bite pressure before yelping than us humans would. So it's learning that it cannot bite you as hard as it did it's littermates. 

As for the jumping, welcome to a very hind leggy breed. Now once again, I am not suggesting you cannot correct it, but don't get too stressed about pup doing it. It's a natural thing to get your attention. After all, your 5 foot taller than him. How else would he think to get your attention???? You're way up there! 

Gentle No's and effective body language will help slow and eventually stop the behaviour. But, you may find it stops after a few months or you may find it stops when pup turns 3. Depends on what sort of mindset pup has and how consistent and repetitious you are.


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## threefsh

We did the same as everyone else is suggesting... a loud "OUCH!" and then turning away helped quite a bit. You have to understand that as babies, they don't realize how sharp their teeth are, so don't get angry if he accidentally draws blood.

This video was INSTRUMENTAL in helping us to teach bite inhibition:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vrPDMc-I-k

The jumping is something you will have to deal with his entire life. Riley's jumping improved a ton and now that she's hit 6 months it's come back with a vengeance (along with mouthing, although we worked so much on bite-inhibition that it's a very gentle mouthing). 

Be patient and if all else fails, put him in the crate for a little while with a chew toy and drink a glass of wine to relax. I've lost so much sleep and hair these past few months but I wouldn't trade my girl for the world! Just wait until he's big enough to jump into a nice warm bath you've run for yourself.


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## born36

Our pup didn't get the picture at all with saying no or turning back. Actually if turned our back it would result in torn trousers in the bum area from a jump and bite! This was all play though
And usually took place when over stimulated or tired. What worked for us was walking out of the room and shutting the door counting to 30 and then going back in. A pup wants to be with u and once he realises that that behaviour results in u leaving and ending play he will quickly stop doing it.


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## jjohnson

Our Gus gets really excited when we get home and let him out of his crate- so much so that he used to jump up on us and nip at us in excitement. Over the past several months, we just stuck a toy in his mouth every time we came home and let him out. After just a few months, the bahavior stopped...now, when we get home, he grabs a toy and just wiggles instead of jumping. It is pretty cute--he will actually search for a toy to put in his mouth, and if he can't find one, he panics!


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## pippa31

We also went the "Yelp!" or "Ow!" route. Just yelping only stopped the nipping momentarily, but leaving the space and completely ignoring Pippa for 30-45 seconds, really helped. When it got OUT OF CONTROL and I was going insane, I would put her in the crate with a KONG (crate should not be used with punishment...it was more a time-out for me! haha) and would pour myself a glass of wine 

It also helps the more your pup is with other dogs. We found other dogs did a great job correcting Pippa when she bit too hard. 
If you are consistent, nipping will be a memory of the past by 16 weeks or so. Hang in there!!


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## Superunknown

Hi we've tried yelping and saying OW...no effect...it makes him do it more

We've tried ignoring him, turning around and giving him time out....no effect...he just jumps and bites us in back of legs

If he jumps on us and bites hard...we push him off...no effect

We try to distract him with other toys...he gets bored within a few min then chases us

Regardless of tactic...he backs off for a second then does it again!

For the past few days, he's been chasing us around, aiming and biting aggressively. He jumped up and bit my parents in the throat and drew blood today when they were stroking him and bit my ankle without letting go, as if it was a rag doll. It's making us nervous.

We've tried shouting out his name but he doesn't take any notice.

We've tried the above tactics but to no avail.

At a certain time of the day. ..our 9 week old puppy is very very aggressive.

We are out of our wits end.

We make sure he's fed appropriately, stimulated enough and gets enough exercise for his age and make sure he gets undisturbed sleep.

I must stress that these moments occur like one hour in the morning and one hour in the late evening. Apart from those occasions, he's a great pup and very gentle!


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## laurita

Superunknown,

I know these are frustrating times. I'm thinking that this is pretty normal 9wk banshee behavior. Mine would grab a hold of my pants with his teeth and it hurt and he wouldn't let go. He'd come at me and want to play and it hurt. I thought I had gotten an aggressive one, but it was just temporary and annoying (and painful). They're mainly being puppies and want to play. It's just that it's not fun for one of us. 

For me pushing my pup off when he was little just made him even crazier. That didn't work. You could try a spray bottle with water so that you don't have to use your hands and potentially have him go after them. Mine was a wild wild banshee when he was little! 

All I can say is that it will pass and try to give him enough exercise and exploration so that he isn't trying to channel his excess energy through you. Wear whatever you need to wear so that it doesn't hurt when he wants to play with your pants, your feet, hands, etc. 

Can you enroll him in a puppy kindergarten class so that he can socialize with other puppies in a safe environment? Take him to see new things, play with a toy tied to a string that he can stalk it. I took mine to sand volleyball courts when he was little to have him run out his energy. Even then he was a banshee but I can't imagine what it would have been like if he hadn't gotten that exercise. Try to remember that this is a temporary phase and he's not doing it to be bad! He will be as sweet as can be when he's a little older.

Addendum: I would try to start doing some very basic training with yummy food. Whenever Ted has his rear to the ground, treat. Even if you don't ask. I know they are wild devils and it's hard but try to reward the good moments to bring them out more often. I very seldom have problems with jumping. It could be that mine just naturally isn't inclined to jump, but the second I got him, I very generously treated his sitting down. He sat? He got my attention. Every time. He sits beautifully now.


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## threefsh

Superunknown said:


> We try to distract him with other toys...he gets bored within a few min then chases us
> 
> I must stress that these moments occur like one hour in the morning and one hour in the late evening. Apart from those occasions, he's a great pup and very gentle!


Sounds like a typical V pup to me! Riley STILL has what we like to call her "sharky" hours. For 1 hour in the morning when she wakes up and 1 hour before bed, she is super mouthy. The only thing you can do is have a stuffed toy in your hands to put in front of the area the pup is trying to bite. You don't actually *give* them the toy, you just shove it in their mouth as a kind of re-direct when they are going to bite you. Please don't label this as "aggressive" on your pup's part. It's a normal part of development.  Our Riley drew blood from just about every family member when she was tiny. They can't help it... their little teeth are needle sharp! 

Does he have other puppies to play with? They absolutely need to be able to bite on and play with another puppy/dog as they grow to learn better bite inhibition.


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## VictoriaW

Just one suggestion that hasn't yet been mentioned. When Gracie first came home, we had good luck with clicking and treating for paws on ground. I would literally hover around puppy and kids and click whenever she was anywhere near them with all four paws down. I did not think that she could possibly learn what I wanted this way, but within a day or two she was noticeably staying down much more frequently and jumping far less. Trailing a toy on a long string or shoelace is a fun way to have a very young puppy chase you around without nipping at your clothes (at least until they get old enough/smart enough/fast enough to just go for the string...we can't play that game anymore!).

Both of these suggestions come from Karen Pryor's DVD, "Clicker Puppy". Highly recommended. Available on Amazon.

Good luck! I second the suggestion to LEAVE after saying OW. If you don't have a room with a baby gate, consider setting one up.


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## jld640

If you go back through the post histories, you will find others who just couldn't find a discouragement that would work. Hang in there! Ted will start releasing his excess energy with the zoomies soon. Once the zoomies start, the biting should become more bearable. Search the post histories for a timeline, but I think Savannah started the zoomies around 10 weeks and stopped most of the unmanageable biting around 12 weeks. The timelines are all a little different for these super-determined puppies. 

Until then, plan to wear denim and gloves or some other sturdy fabric when you know he is going to go nuts. It will still hurt, but not as much. Keep experimenting with calm discouragements. As you have found, the 'ouch', turning your back, and yelling amp him up. The time out worked for us, but it took me a while to learn how to use it CALMLY. You are training each other and you have the longer attention span and memory.  Keep experimenting. 

By the way - when the zoomies start, bend your knees. He is learning how tightly he can corner and will miss occasionally. It really hurts when they slam into your legs if your knees aren't bent.


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## Ozkar

Pup is what 10 weeks now? If you're at your wits end now, you're in for a ride. 

OK, you need to firstly get a grip on yourselves and stop peaking out so much. It all reads like pretty normal 10 week old puppy to me. Pups are no different to toddlers. When they get really energetic for that hour in the morning and at night, what's the bet they crash hard and fast after. It's normal. Don't sweat it.

But, it sounds like pup is intimidating you with it's behaviour. Don't be, it's feeling out everything in this new world. It knows nothing. It is going to rely on you to show it. That means anticipating behaviour and altering the path to suit. You know the dog is going to go into hyper mode at a certain time of the day. It sounds like your around often when this happens. So use it. Get outside with the dog and do some playing. Get some rope toys and play tug. Get out and play with a ball. A frisbee. If it is cold and wet, play inside, they don't need a lot of room at 10 weeks. Do some training. Sit, drop, stay, leave it and even NO! 

Take immediate action when a behaviour is exhibited that is not desirable. IMMEDIATE. That means when pup nips you in way that is not desirable, isolate it. You've tried everything else and it's apparently not working, so try a time out somewhere. Best not use the crate as punishment and don't be harsh, just a simple no and straight into Solitary!  
Repeat this till it stops. 

When possible, be very vocal in praising the good behaviour even when doing normal things. You also have to teach pup what your happy and not happy tones and body language is too, so it has a lot to take in for such a young mind. Voice and body language are great cues for them. Be vocal and expressive with hands and voice. 

Repeat, repeat and repeat. It's the only way to get to where you want. Be also aware taht Vizsla play is very rough. It really is when compared to a lot of other breeds. If you have not had one before, you may be misreading it as aggression. Most are just being normal V pups. They just play rough and you need to teach them where your level of play is at. Each time they over step the mark. stop the play. Recommence a little later and stop again once they overstep the mark again. All with praise when right and gentle no's when wrong. 

Be patient. They know nothing the poor little things. Sometimes they make mistakes too. The punishment should fit the crime. What would mum do? Try and be a little like mum without actually biting them like she did  Mum rarely got upset either. More often mum just nudges pup away from whatever it is. Next is a low vocal warning, then a growl, then a snap which is just a jolt, not really physical. Replicate that in your way. 

But, do not let pup intimidate you anymore or frustrate you. Remember, you're the one with the intelligence, not pup


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## born36

You stated the response that you got from trying all the above tactics but you didn't say whether you tried leaving the room for 30 secs. I am telling you it will work. Not instantly but if everytime he trys to bite or jump you leave the room for 30 secs day on day he will do this less and less.


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## Superunknown

Hi we've left the room for 30 seconds. When we return, he does it again.


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## Superunknown

Hi is it normal for pups to show aggression? we know it's normal for them to nip but as of late, Ted has been growling and aiming at our throats when he bites.


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## kellygh

Umm, No, that is not normal. Should not be tolerated, IMO


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## Superunknown

Thought so :/ We push him off immediately, shout NO and walk out of room.


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## threefsh

Superunknown said:


> Hi is it normal for pups to show aggression? we know it's normal for them to nip but as of late, Ted has been growling and aiming at our throats when he bites.


Does Ted have time to play with other puppies? He may need some puppy play-time to get his crazy energy out so he's not nipping at you. This will also help him to learn to bite gently as other puppies will squeal at him if he hurts them.

I would contact your breeder ASAP. Did you meet the dam and sire of your pup? Any known aggression issues for either of them?


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## texasred

Superunknown said:


> Hi is it normal for pups to show aggression? we know it's normal for them to nip but as of late, Ted has been growling and aiming at our throats when he bites.


Just my two cents and I could be wrong.
I think he is being a normal vizsla puppy. Puppies growl, nip and tug when they play.
They remind me of red sharks with four legs till they learn its not okay to play that way with us. I think you should join a puppy training class and find him some dog friends to play with. Vizsla puppies can be tough for the inexperienced person to deal with.


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## Smiths

Superunknown said:


> My vizsla Ted is 9 weeks old now. We had some problems as stated in other threads but they have now been sorted thanks to other people's advice
> 
> However when Ted wakes up, has a meal or when he gets excited, he chases, jumps on people and bites anyone, ripping clothes and breaking the skin! We have tried to be firm, push him off gently and shout "NO" but as soon as he gets off...he does it again and takes no notice. We have tried to calm him down and encourage safe play with other toys but there are moments during the day when he just bites and bites us. We are out of our wits! He is well behaved 75% of the time and rather loving and just wants to lick us, We just do not like the biting moments.
> 
> 
> We have also tried leash training but all Ted does is take notice of the leash and tries to bite it off.
> 
> If there are any advice..it would be highly appreciated. Many thanks!


Can I ask , have things settled down now with Ted we are going through the same with our puppy but he is 16 weeks old. 😩


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