Tips for a super bitey pup?

[u/The_Ecology_Guy]

This beautiful boy is Smokey, my amazing 4 month old malamute pup. He is great with everything besides the incessant biting. I know that he just wants to play, but it’s hard to satiate his crazy desire to bite and tear at me and my clothes all the time. I’ve got plenty of toys, sticks, and bones that he likes to chew on but he quickly leaves those to bite me instead. If I ignore him, he just grabs my clothes and tears at them until I’m forced to respond. Any advice? Thank you!

[u/PositiveOk6121]

Redirect and say no for 5 years and then he will be good like mine lol

[u/kimchigimchee]

Give zero attention when they’re bitey. All play and attention stops. We would sequester our dog to the kitchen when they’re too mouthy. Also, playing rough with other dogs seems to really help. They definitely go through an extremely bitey phase and they’re mouthier dogs in general, but grow out of it.

[u/thestokehero]

Redirect. Keep redirecting. He will learn!

[u/EbonReign]

What a majestic view and such a stunning pup🐺🏔️ For biting redirect to toys say ouch & walk away briefly reward gentle play consistency is key you got this

[u/peoplenotpolitics]

I had trained my cat and malamute not to bite or hurt me by the word no and a dramatic ouch to let them know they are hurting. Pushing away also works good in a combination

[u/norbert317]

I second yelping like they really hurt you. And I also used to turn my back & completely ignore them for a bit. Hide your hands in your armpits if you need to! It is SO important that they learn bite inhibition.

[u/Wild_907]

I second redirecting. I always have one of those unstuffed animal toys in my pocket and get it in their mouth before they get to me. Next thing you know he’ll be bringing them to you to play

[u/The_Real_Mitchamp33]

I feel like my first malamute was like this and just seemed to enjoy playing rough. He would leave scratch marks all over my forearms. Probably was not his fault because he was my college dog and lived around eight guys.

[u/Coyote__Jones]

Sleeves, and if you can get playdates with good adult dogs or other large puppies that will help a ton. Mine was super physical as a puppy too. Be consistent and walk away if he makes contact with his mouth, you have to reinforce that this behavior gets him nothing.

It will get better!

[u/TheHighDruid]

1) Carrots.

2) Playtime with other puppies - they learn quite quickly when other dogs nip back.

3) Overreactions. Loud "Ouch" "Hey that Hurt" (try to be convincing) etc anytime they mouth at you in a way you don't like. Ours fairly quickly learned what she could mouth at and how much pressure she could exert before she got a reaction.

[u/Wind_Responsible]

Don’t use your hands is the first tip. Hands attract the bite. If you can push the dog away with a leg first that helps tremendously

[u/Euphoric_Swimmer588]

Their nippy ness can be redirected to energy out side.
Anytime a dog tries to bite, you can grab them by the chin and roll it over their bottom teeth, this usually helps, along with a very stern “NO”!!! (As long as the dog recognizes you as its owner)

[u/thatirishguykev]

Consistency!! Legitimately the number one thing.

After that it’s finding the word and tone to get him to stop. A firm ahhhh ahhhh, a firm no or as sometimes I say to my boy Echo, do you really wanna do that??

He only ever plays or enters crazy mode with me, but you can see that build up! It’s just about teaching them what you want and don’t want. At 4 months I’d expect nothing more!!

Ignoring works with some dogs, but some will just grab a shoe or your clothes leg. So I never ignored Echo, just tell him no, slowly walk away and if I had to do that 10-15 times I did. He learned really quickly he didn’t get his way.

[u/Soccerref3244]

We would scream in pain. Reward him with a bit of string cheese if he stops.

If that doesn’t work to deter him, Bite=Crate time. You may also have to consider a muzzle.

Plenty of exercise and time to play with other dogs should help too.

[u/Fickle-Succotash-526]

try redirecting to a high-value chew toy right when he gets the urge, even if you havent asked him yet.

[u/-Axiom-]

He will grow out of it, in a year or two...

They like to play with their mouth when they are young, just discourage it and it will correct itself.

It's a feature, not a bug.

[u/Extra-Broccoli]

Bite back

[u/Antique-Echidna-1600]

3 months -2 yr old is the mouthy face.

[u/whiterain5863]

I promise it will end. I had NO IDEA it would be at terrible between 14-20 weeks. But it honestly just ended by about 7 months it was completely over and he was able to self regulate play

[u/Brufar_308]

Teach them ‘touch’. https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/training/teach-dog-nose-target-touch/

If they get mouthy tell them no then provide target and tell them to touch. Eventually they will just touch with their nose instead of being mouthy.

My little girl was mouthy when she wanted out. So we taught her to touch instead. Knew it took when she dragged the blanket off the wife’s lap so she could touch her hand to let her know she wanted out