# 8 week puppy bit my face.



## Sunflower (Sep 18, 2013)

Hi,

I'm a week into having a vizsla pup, he's our first dog.

I've read that all pups play rough and nip but he plays so roughly and today as I sat on the floor to interact with him he just kept jumping up and trying to bite my face. I kept having to block him with my arms which are now covered in shark bites and saying no/off/down etc which seemed to infuriate him more. 

He has now succeeded in biting my face and it bloody hurts :0(
If I'm struggling to stop him biting at me how on earth will my kids. Is he just a typical pup or are these warning signs of things to come. 

Would be grateful for any help.

Thanks. X


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

This is typical puppy behavior. There are various techniques you can try in order to lessen that behavior, but basically, he just has to outgrow it (and he will).


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## MCD (May 4, 2013)

Dharma chomped on our ears our hands and got us in the face a few times. It wasn't just teeth it was nails too. Puppy things for sure. It does get better with time. Although she is not quite out of it yet at almost 5 months old. They have incredibly long legs and they fly too!


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

Sunflower, Try Ian Dunbar. thread below has links:

http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,2452.msg15914.html#msg15914

You'll need to start learning fast otherwise the pup will start thinking it has to take charge of the pack, and that is never a good thing. :-\

Suggestion on professional trainer was brought up earlier. Highly recommend finding someone who can teach the whole family how to interact. 

Read, ask questions, get help. You chose a hard dog to be your first dog. You can do it but be prepared for years of work. Are you willing to put in that type of effort? You'll be the only one that can honestly answer that question.

RBD


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Fast moving hands and arms will get the pup more riled up.
You think you are blocking your face, he thinks its a new game. I doubt very young kids can effectively stop the overzealous play. They normally scream, wave arms and run, which excites the puppy even more. It just throws the game into high gear. That is why you are to never leave young children alone with a puppy. 
You need help to correctly work with the pup. Then you can teach the kids (under supervision) the same tactics.


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## Laika (Mar 3, 2013)

Take the advice of the experienced Vizsla owners on this site, I have found their input to be invaluable. 

Our pup is almost 14 months now, and still has her moments of craziness--which we adore! Unfortunately her exuberance has lead very recently to my girlfriend having a split nose right between her eyes; sometimes Laika's excitement gets the best of her  

We also know that in certain situations she goes a little crazy and needs guidance--like when we walk up and down the stairs ... Not sure why, but she thinks it is play time and goes into full attack mode--biting clothes, jumping for hands, barking and having a great time. Unfortunately not so fun for the human walking the stairs ??? To counter this we make her stay either at the bottom, or top of the stairs until we have completed our climb/decent and then call her; not as much fun for her, but saves us ;D


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## tknafox2 (Apr 2, 2013)

I believe that Ian Dunbar is a must read! 
I will admit that it didn't all work for me, but the basic Idea is there.

My Pup (a singleton) never had any litter mates to chew on, or learn bite inhibition. We had to teach it all, and are still working on, but all my wounds have healed completely, and I don't have any new ones, Fergy is 14 wks now. We must be doing something right. When I want to interact, or play with him on the floor, I keep an array of toys handy and keep shoving them into his mouth, so his teeth are occupied, while I rub his little body all over, and run his angel soft ears through my hands. 
Chewing is a necessity for pups, so find things they can chew for several minutes and enjoy... I have found some bones at the pet store that are filled with taste stuff, he loves these, but I have had to saw them in to small pieces so he can reach the stuffing, or he gets a bit frustrated. I have also found some really hard pressed rawhide bones (pressed in the shape of a bone) he has to chew these for a really long time to soften them up and he ingests very little of the rawhide (I bought them about 6" long, not little ones. I use the Kongs when I what to put him to bed ( and he still needs to sleep LOTS... he can only play for about 1.30 to 2 hrs before he gets overstimulated and really nasty. He gets a Kong, or Antler, or chewy treat and goes to his pen/crate.


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## VizslaCity (Sep 5, 2013)

Olive is 11 weeks and last week she jumped up and bit me on the neck. She had never done that to me before and it hurt really bad! I don't know if I did the right thing but I cried/yelled out in pain (it was a natural reaction so I couldn't help it) and then I removed her off the couch and then I walked away and ignored her. 

She hasn't done it to me again.


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## GarysApollo (Nov 27, 2012)

This is normal. Dont worry about it to much, just try your hardest to teach him not to bite he will stop, but it may take some time. 

I got nice face bites from both of my boys when they were puppies. My father in law got the worst bit when one of them got his chin (he was trying to give kisses).

Try tying a few feathers or a stuffed toy to a string and to a stick or pole and wave it around, a great way to teach him to point and keep a little distance between you and play time.


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## debsy (Aug 22, 2012)

HI there when we got Ronnie our youngest was only just 6 and when he tried nipping her and jumping, we used to get her to sit still and fold her arms and turn her head away and ignore him. It was really hard as sometimes he would be hanging off her leg and she would have tears in her eyes. He did improve really quickly. This may sound gross but from a pup we got her to spit in his food bowl and then give him it, he has never tried to dominate her at all ( am I weird ?) :-\


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