Papillon puppy biting problem

To stop biting in our home (I have a female Pomeranian) I would grab her mouth and hold it tight enough for it to hurt her a little bit and scared her while saying NO! right at her mouth. Afterwards I then gave her a toy says "yay good girl!" :o) and praise her for playing with it. Also when I caught her biting on her toys I would randomly praise her. We had to do this every single time she did it "NO BITING" and next thing you know she wasn't doing it...

I've tried to grab his snout and hold firmly (not to hurt though) but honestly, his snout is so small that you really can't get a good grip on it. When I say No Biting he looks at me and snaps again. I swear he thinks its a game.

dfr

I've tried to grab his snout and hold firmly (not to hurt though) but honestly, his snout is so small that you really can't get a good grip on it. When I say No Biting he looks at me and snaps again. I swear he thinks its a game.

He probably does think its a game. My Pom "Kayla" did too. Paps & Poms are about the same size so I know how little they are. And I also know I deff don't want to hurt my baby just as much as parents don't want to spank their kids.

We really had to hold her mouth close to the point she'd yip like "ow ouch!" then we'd let go. After doing that multiple times she learned biting mommy was not fun.

A different aproach others take b/c they dont believe in "harm" or "punishment" is ignoring the pup. If the puppy is engaging in activity that you don't like, get up, move, and walk away. Don't let the puppy see your face and ignore them every single time. Soon the puppy will realize it makes you want nothing to do with them.

Personally I found that punishment provided faster results... but training is one of those things that is totally up to you as the individual.

We have some trainers here on the forum that could probably also offer some great advice. I hope they read this thread.

I haven't tried the "get up an walk away" approach. I will add that bit and hope it helps. He does the same thing to my feet when I'm walking around. I got the alpha male from the litter and while he is an excellent dog, I can see how his behavior might not be so welcome in the show ring.

Have you ever own a toy dog before?? Kayla is my first toy and I've got to tell ya... they are a totally different animal I swear. [My first dog was a Sheltie, sheepdog breeds have this creative totally different type of intelligence]

All though these breeds love to please their owners therefore make it easier to train, I have had to have a lot of patience and I worked really really hard to get her to where she's at now! Toys just have that "alpha male" personality too them [especially Paps & Poms!] These guys are total big dogs in small packages.

Keep strong on him, you really have to show him who's boss.

Where in MA do you live! I'm a fellow MA too :o)

No, it's not my first small dog. I had a chi/jrt mix from a shelter that was a legend in his own mind but he never bit me. I also had a purebred JRT that nipped in play when we first adopted him but we were able to break that habit fairly quickly. Although both of those dogs were 2 when I adopted them. But, this is my first puppy and sometimes I feel totally overwhelmed by the responsibility. I feel like everything I do wrong is going to ruin him. There were 3 males in his liter and he was boss of the playpen for sure.

I'm in eastern Mass - Woburn. How about you?

dfr

There were 3 males in his liter and he was boss of the playpen for sure.

I'm in eastern Mass - Woburn. How about you?

Yeah I know what you mean; he's also a Pap too which has much much personality and pride.

I'm in Framingham right now, moving soon out of our apartment once we find a house to rent. Hopefully it will be somewhere in this area, I love this middlesex area

Foot chewing is a big problem - once again it's only me he is doing it to. My son works at a pet store so I've asked him to bring home some of that bitter apple spray. I'm hoping if anyone has any experience with that stuff they will offer up some advice on whether or not it works.

He has some excellent qualities too. He had no seperation anxiety what so ever. He took right to the crate and sleeps until about 4am. He has the ability to amuse himself if left to his own devices, which is nice too. He likes riding in the car and is very social, he loves meeting new people. Once I get him completely housebroken the plan is to bring him to work with me every day but we have to work through some of these biting"issues" first and I'm sure you have heard that Papillons are notoriously hard to housebreak. Well, I can tell you that this is no lie - it's been a month and he still isn't housebroken.

dfr

Foot chewing is a big problem - once again it's only me he is doing it to. My son works at a pet store so I've asked him to bring home some of that bitter apple spray. I'm hoping if anyone has any experience with that stuff they will offer up some advice on whether or not it works.

He has some excellent qualities too. He had no seperation anxiety what so ever. He took right to the crate and sleeps until about 4am. He has the ability to amuse himself if left to his own devices, which is nice too. He likes riding in the car and is very social, he loves meeting new people. Once I get him completely housebroken the plan is to bring him to work with me every day but we have to work through some of these biting"issues" first and I'm sure you have heard that Papillons are notoriously hard to housebreak. Well, I can tell you that this is no lie - it's been a month and he still isn't housebroken.

Bitter Apple: Didn't work for us! Kayla will bite and lick anything she wants no matter how nasty. The reason why it sells is it obviously does work for some people; but of course it doesn't for others.

Nipping at Legs: Kayla did this too as a puppy. Sometimes still does it now, but without the biting part. She will charge at my legs to iniciate play. We correct this behavior because everyone knows this is deff something unwanted in a dog. Ever "scruffed" a dog/animal? Grabbing them by the extra skin full of their back behind their neck? I will do this to Kayla if I really want to grab her attention. It sounds to me like right now your Pap thinks he is more in charge than you. Make sure to show him you do not like the biting. It might have to do with your reaction? Maybe he likes the negative attention he gets out of you? Kid of like a kid when they giggle and keep on doing wrong, same type of "taunting" behavior.

Housebreaking: Kayla wasn't housebroken till 10months old!! We were moving a lot so I don't blame her, and I didn't realize how much more often these little ones need to go outside. I was also feeding her too much and giving her too much water. She now eats 1/2 cup of dry kibble a day [1/4 cup in the morning, 1/4 cup in the evening]. I also only let her have water three times a day plus after playtime. She gets let out about 5 times a day. I really recommend potty breaks every 3-4 hours with much much praise when they go outside! treats, happy voice, etc... Poms are also very very notorious bad housebreakers (most small dogs are). Practice practice and patience patience

Small puppy dogs are deff a lot of work! It is situations like this that make people go wow I can't handle this and give up their dogs or their small dogs turn into a nightmare!

Dedication and patience is all you need... he'll come around!! If you ever need to vent, chat, talk, or need advice I'm always around on this thing.

P.S. I have also been scolding about doing so but also when it comes to housebreaking I must admit that I have used punishment (the old stick their nose next to the pee shouting "No! OUTSIDE!";) I am not saying I support or recommend it, I just can't deny that I have used it. And it did appear to work... because once she was almost "scared" or "nervious" to upset me about peeing inside she never did it again (once again the whole whos in charge who makes the rules idea)

Hopefully some of the trainers will come online today and see this post! I am no professional trainer of course, but I do have a small dog and had similar problems and can offer any "experience advice" I have.