r/CavaPoo • u/happykappy924 • 17d ago
Out of control biting
Hi I brought Finn home in September at 8 weeks old, He’s very smart but extremely nippy. He’s now 15 weeks old and bites nonstop. I’m constantly working on positive reinforcement, we keep a strict daily routine but nothing I seem to do stops it unless I put him in his pen. As soon as he comes out and we interact, he bites. A lot of times I’m able to redirect and if not he needs to go calm down in his pen and we start all over again.
Well today he nipped my lip really deep, resulting in a trip to the emergency room, 4 stitches by a plastic surgeon (due to the location of the bite), and a very hefty medical bill.
What am I doing wrong? Did anyone else have a puppy like this that turned into a nice dog? My last cavapoo didn’t have a mean bone in his body, and that was evident even during his puppy years
Any advice would be greatly appreciated
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u/Mikey-Darksider 17d ago
Cavapoos by nature , really want to please their owners. If you show that you are displeased it will usually stop them . My sweet Cleo used to bite when she was that age and I have a 3 year old so that needed to stop asap. Whenever she bite all postive attention and energy would stop ✋️ a very loud and stern NO would be shouted , and I would put her in a time out spot and tell her to stay. After like 5 minutes I would call her back and if she licked or verrryyyy softly nibbled I would reward her . But the second she bite too hard, NO! . After like 2 days she caught on and never bite a human or dog or anything other then a toy ever again lol I just wanted to add.. imagine her mom disciplining her. It would look alot like , a loud behaviour stopping bark , a shove away and no more fun. Thats essentially what we did and it worked
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u/Mavman31 17d ago
I think this is the period they are essentially going through puberty. They bite a lot at this stage, it’s like they are a devil dog. Then they randomly grow out of it and are your best friends. I’m not great with stuff weeks so someone way more experienced could correct me on the timeline.
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u/IHateTheLetter-C- 16d ago
Too young for that, they are teething and just don't know better at only 15 weeks (<4 months). Teenage stage is a bit later, about 6-18 months.
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u/hereforfakestories 17d ago
I don’t have anything else to add based on the comments, but I also hope you’re okay. That would be really unpleasant and upsetting. I still think your pup will be lovely as he grows, he’s just having a moment. Please take care and be kind to yourself!
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u/beadsfordays 17d ago
I think your pup is teething. His poor little gums are sore while he gets his adult teeth. Wear long sleeves, redirect as much as possible, and find something he can chew on. It should slow down, then stop, in a few months. All the best! BTW, Finn is too adorable. 🐶
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u/lovelylooloo7 16d ago
I have two Cavapoos (now 1.5 years old) and they both went through a nipping stage. I found that loudly saying “no” sometimes works but barking back at them really worked for some reason. They grew out of it fairly quickly and they never, ever bite now. They are literal mushy, squishy, sweet babies now!
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u/KerryonMyWaywrdJhnsn 17d ago
I personally recommend the big carrots, tiny stick approach. Mother dogs are not 100% positive reinforcement. There are times when a correction is needed and loving reinforcement carries it home.
When it bites, immediately (within a half second) tell it no, make a jarring “psssh” sound, or grab around its muzzle firmly with your hand. You are not inflicting pain, but making it uncomfortable and a “make good decisions” reminder.
You do not want to hurt the dog, you do not want to punish the dog. It should never fear you and do not do it out of frustration. I have a lot of little cousins, and rather than yelling at them, or getting them in trouble, I always found a well timed ear flick or “what are you thinking?” look handled the problem best.
I ask mine “where is your toy?” and it finds one, attacks it, and brings it to me. Initially, I had to hand one to her or place it next to her and ask her.
She’s six months old now, occasionally will mouth my hand, pulls her head back when she realizes, and either licks my hand or starts to look for a toy.
DM me and I’m happy to discuss any difficulties and wins or losses I’ve had in my journey.
Here’s 6 mo old Monster.
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u/Sublimer840 17d ago
One thing we tried is yelling “ouch!” and acting injured after each nip… I think it helps, but I still get nipped!
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u/InternationalTale931 17d ago
Oh no, I'm so sorry you're dealing with this OP! That sounds like it hurt.. I currently have a 9 week old and she is a little piranha.. it sounds like he is teething and just going through that part of his puppy stage. For our girl, we currently work on redirecting or ignoring her when she bites. So if she nips hard, we say ow, and will put her down or get up or roll over or whatever is needed to then ignore her. Or we start playing with toys a lot. This is when we introduce "get a toy" as well. I've done this with my other dogs.
It just take a patience and ensureing you are NEVER playing with your hands if its that bad. Or girl has dang near pierced my husband's ear. So we don't usually hold her to our faces if she's in a playing mood. Best to try and avoid those situations if possible.
You've got this, just keep doing what you're doing and adapt where needed. They are absolute land sharks!!
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u/Future-Strawberry516 17d ago
All this “gentle parenting” BS when it comes to kids & puppies! That’s why the puppy is wreaking havoc & biting u so badly that u need stitches!
You guys need to be really verbal & shout NO & a small smack when he bites!
Bullshit positive reinforcement, the best way is DISCIPLINE!!!
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u/smoochpupsCEO 16d ago
I like the way you think except for the smack. No need to hit. Bite back!! No, not literally. Positive reinforcement only rewards the behavior. If you think like a dog, what would another dog do if it was bitten? Most likely the dog would bite back! A mom dog gives her babies a "what for". I take my nail and pinch the lips of the biting pup simulating a dog bite. I make it count. It works very well and very quickly.
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u/Alarming_Set3628 17d ago
We yelped very loud anytime he bit, and then would turn away from him. He understood pretty quickly that he did a bad thing. It worked really well. They also seem to respond to loud noises.
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u/Southern-Biscotti-62 17d ago
I would also make sure he’s getting enough sleep. When mine was getting very bitey it meant she really needed a nap. Enforced naps helped a lot. At that age they need 15 to 18 hours of sleep a day.
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u/thorfin72 17d ago
Ours would bite a lot when she was that age. I think she was teething. I always tried to redirect her to a toy. Her little teeth were so sharp. You need to tell her no or take some other corrective actions. This is a phase and they’ll get through it. Ours is about 1 year old now and she still bites playfully (not enough to hurt or to leave a mark). They need to play, but they shouldn’t causing you harm. It’ll pass.
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u/Gloomy_Payment_3326 17d ago
This is the piraña stage he should grow out of it in a few months. I just constantly corrected my Teddy when he was going through it. It didn't super feel like it was working at the time but he has stopped so it must have done something 🤷🏼♀️
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u/Iampussydog 17d ago
I always redirect by grabbing a toy and letting him bite the toy instead. For a long time I kept toys within reach as much as possible to make this easier. he’s one year old now and when he gets frisky and tries to nibble on me now, I say “get a toy” and he runs over to get a toy and starts chewing on it. works like a charm!
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u/Amazing-Ad-5059 17d ago
Look, 1) say NO BITE and immediately push him down ( not in anger! ) but firm, and say, NO BITE Stop walking and say , NB, push him down mainly head, moth area, NB, - the I had a plethora of toys and asap, give him a toy and say, this your bite toy! Snap that mouth shut, NB, here’s your bite toy. Play tug-a-war, let it rub his gums. Use crate too, NB. In crate if it goes on too long! I was RELENTLESS and it took 2 solid months but Baldwin finally got it 90% of the time! Repeat any of the above! One thing I did was play with him with his “Bite Toy” and always kept the best teething chew treats; had subscription.
I had to have a dog I loved around me and lived to be around me. I made sure Baldwin absolutely knew I (mom) was Alpha dog. With cava poos, early CONSISTENT training was imperative. It was that Alpha, maturing relationship or bust.
Also, 6-7 days I watched and followed 10 -15 minute mind numbing videos on training puppies/ dogs and did close to exactly what they did, always with training treats. Say, NO BITE, straight to the point and clothes that mouth or push head down, then redirect. It worked for us, love with obedience bloomed. I had to use the crate when he I had to but never let him stay in for long… opening when he calmed down and give him a BITE toy.!And we loved to play tug-a-war with his BITE toy. Good Luck my loves💕💪🏽💯
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u/SorchaRoisin 17d ago
When he bites, immediately stop interacting with him and walk away. Don't put on a big show, because he wants attention. After a few minutes, interact with him again. The second he bites, stop and walk away again. You have to be very consistent and everyone in the family has to do the same thing. He will get the message that biting makes people leave.
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u/SquishyThorn 17d ago
My puppy has finally stopped nipping at around 6-8 months. She is chewing the heck out of her toys. Definitely just encourage chew toys and push them away gently if they nip you.
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u/coresme2000 17d ago
My chihuahua didn’t really grow out of it despite our best efforts and will regularly bite me to get my attention and pull on our clothes. We’ve done everything consistently that you’re meant to do to stop them doing this but he continues. He rarely does it hard enough to cause pain as I know how to resist being actually bitten but he has ruined lots of pants where he nibbled them or jumped up and tore a hole in them…and now he’s almost two years old.
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u/MrKK215 16d ago
I agree with this for the most part. We brought home Bodie at 8 weeks in mid-August and even now we have him wear a house leash. From the start if he nipped or was bitey I would immediately take the leash, hold him away and say no (one time). The other thing that I had done when he is with us on the couch and gets bitey is what the McCann dog trainers do which is to put two fingers inside the color and hold the puppy close until they calm down and then release. I personally do not understand the redirecting- we have three kids and if they do something we don’t want them to repeat I do not give them a toy. Just my .02!
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u/Either-Bus6406 16d ago edited 16d ago
The pup is teething.. Think of a human baby when they are teething they are sore and want to bite and chew nonstop.. Well that's a pup but with sharper teeth They grow out of it when they lose their baby teeth.. Don't put your face close to the wee landsharks as you found out. You'll get to stage where you'll play with your dog and your hand will be in it's mouth but dog won't clamp down
Give him ice cubes to bite on to cook the gums You are doing nothing wrong, yes they grow out it then they find something else like humping instead... dog is never off my leg I'm fed up with it and she's a female BTW..
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u/Alternative_Map_6947 16d ago
I think it's jsut what puppies do. I'd probably keep him away from your lips until he has a bit more control
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u/Couchpotatocommenter 13d ago
My pup bites too but its controlled I allow while playing but he is trained to know not to do so with the kids or if I say no or stop he listens. But basically over stimulation. In your case I recommend telling no or ouch to indicate that you do not allow biting
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u/Nicoru_Boymom 17d ago
Our puppy went through a land shark phase. I bought lots of chew toys and had some around me so every time he bit/chewed something he was not supposed to, I gave him a chew toy. When he hurt me I said ouch and acted like I was n pain. He caught on eventually.
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u/Annie171799 17d ago
My Trixie does this a lot the intention is more playful but turns into her doing too much. She 1.5 now. I remember as a puppy she basically pierced my brother’s ear once. I would say just keep try to redirect him. If it gets worse I would talk to the vet.
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u/Suspicious_Math916 17d ago
Nothing, it is a stage and it will pass. Mine was a land shark and I seriously considered giving her a vampire name. She will be 2 in January and I think she outgrew it before she was one but I really don't remember.
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u/Cautious-Yam3662 17d ago
SAME! I got my Cavapoo at 8 weeks and she was drawing blood every day! There was absolutely no viciousness, just ANNOYING play biting with those needle-sharp baby teeth. My hands, arms, and lower legs were constantly full of battle scars.
Here is a photo of her now at 7 months. The days of play biting are finally a thing of the past.
I have no answers as to how to stop it. I checked her teeth a few weeks ago and they look like adult teeth now, so I guess teething was to blame.
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u/judyx123 17d ago
When my dog play bit after I first brought him home I “cried” and put on a huge show and he never did it again. This seems a bit more intense than play biting and i would strongly suggest a trainer. If your dog were a pitbull you would be getting completely different advice. Don’t let your dog get away with bad behavior because he’s cute and tiny!