Puppy Painful Biting Nonstop

[Marsha]

Our very first Basenji was removed from her litter at way too early of an age, and she was exactly what you describe, a big biter. We were in despair. It was the early 1990s and there wasn't a lot of information out there about Basenjis, so we contacted Susan Coe, the only author we knew who had written a book about basenjis: "The Basenji: Out of Africa to You." She recommended that we squeal and bite the puppy back. That sort of worked for my husband, however, I was the one staying home with the puppy and trying to train her and I couldn't bite her back. Here is what worked for me, when she got aggressive I would put her on her side in a time-out. After all I was bigger than her and I could hold her there and keep my hands clear of her mouth. I would hover over her and growl back "no bite!" much like her mother would have done. She would be furious at first. She would growl and try to bite me. But I would keep her there until she calmed down and once her heart stopped racing, I would give her praise and let her up. I would ignore her for a bit and then be her friend again when she was redirected to something good. She was very much an alpha dog and wanted to rule us, and I was so terrified that she might bite someone and we would have to put her down. I made sure I was very consistent in putting her in a time out and not allowing her up until she had fully calmed down. It worked, and even though she continued to challenge us for the alpha position throughout her whole life, she never bit anyone. She learned she could not use her mouth to get what she wanted. We later got her a male Basenji as a companion and he just automatically assumed he was her Alpha so she was very much put in her place. Life became easier with two. We miss those two, but now we have a beautiful female basenji who growls if you look at her wrong. She growls about everything! But she's all bark and no bite and we love her like crazy. Have patience and keep up the good work. You got this!

[elbrant]

Something I've done (with other breeds): Smear some peanut butter on the palm of your hand and offer it to your pup to lick off. As the puppy is cleaning your hand, say reassuring things, "good girl", "i love you", "love love love", whatever. It seems to be effective at introducing a different way for your pup to use it's mouth: kisses! Worth a tablespoon of PB to try, right?

p.s. Finding out who the pups breeder is (and contacting them) would help you get the answer to a lot of questions!

[Branch]

Hello, boy oh boy do I know what u r going through! My little guy, whom I rescued from Medfly 11 years ago was what u describe! He was 1 year old and would bite always! I have scars up and down my hands, but...and there is a bit..I tried pinning him down, sending him to his crate , nothing worked. Finally I found the solution...every time he went to bite and growled I took two fingers and wacked his nose and used the word loudly “outtt” , found he hated the sound and my wacking the tip of his nose. He quickly stopped biting...of course praising him him always when he acted normal ( if there is such thing with a B) . Believe me in a few days all I had to do was show him my two fingers and use the word loudly and he got the message.
It is important for the Basenji to know u are the alpha and for them to know u will protect them. My guy turned out to be a great boy and he is so smart and such a great listener!
Patience is the only answer , but I am so happy I rescued him...please keep trying!
Oh, one more thing, my guy hated the crate, I think he had been confined to it prior to me.
Best of luck and be grateful to have a Basenji... the are truly a wonderful friend!

[Pawla]

I've often wondered if a really loud (and surprising) blast from a marine horn (an aerosol can made for that purpose) would be a good way to stop a persistent dog from doing whatever bad thing he/she was doing (like jumping or biting). Has anyone ever tried it? I've been lucky not to need to resort to such a drastic measure. It seems to me that a quick/loud/surprising blast would make a dog think that the human was very powerful to make such a noise and stop it from continuing the unwanted behavior.

Bless you, doowop, for rescuing and loving this wayward little land shark. She's gotten a rough start but is lucky to have landed with you. You sound wonderfully practical and knowledgeable. I believe, if you can conquer this mouthy issue, you will end up with an extraordinarily delightful companion. Please keep us posted on how she progresses and what works for you. BTW, what's her name?

[tanza]

@elbrant said in Puppy Painful Biting Nonstop:

Something I've done (with other breeds): Smear some peanut butter on the palm of your hand and offer it to your pup to lick off. As the puppy is cleaning your hand, say reassuring things, "good girl", "i love you", "love love love", whatever. It seems to be effective at introducing a different way for your pup to use it's mouth: kisses! Worth a tablespoon of PB to try, right?

p.s. Finding out who the pups breeder is (and contacting them) would help you get the answer to a lot of questions!

Obviously Elbrant, this person has already acknowledged that this was not a responsible breeder.... They have acknowledged they know who the breeder is.... and to that point it really needs to be addressed

[tanza]

@pawla - Pawla, this is something that others have used and it does help as it breaks the action.... and once you get their attention you can direct to something else. I have never had to do this, but it is a good suggestion

[RGK9Ruler]

You have to be careful with what peanut butter you use. There is an ingredient in some peanut butters that are harmful to dogs. I’m sorry I can’t remember what the ingredient is. (xylitol, a sugar substitute, is deadly to dogs, often found in sugar free gum)

[doowop]

@pawla thank you for the suggestion! That is not something I have thought of. Her name is Marin, and we are thrilled to have her join our family. Here’s to hoping we can nip the biting in the bud sooner than later (no pun intended!). :winking_face:

[doowop]

Thank you, @tanza much appreciated. We are hoping with continued consistency we can curb the biting early on. I’m hopeful as she’s incredibly smart and catching on with all other aspects very quickly.

[RGK9Ruler]

Our second puppy, Tim was a biter as a puppy. I found that he mostly bit during play, and when he became overly stimulated. When he would bite, whatever we were doing would immediately stop. I would stand up, fold my arms, turn my back on him, and in a very soft voice, ‘oh, no, naughty boy’, and ignore him. It was a phrase I ONLY used when There was an extremely egregious behavior. Because I swear he though his name was, ‘no, puppy, no’! He hated when I ignored him, more than ANYTHING.

[elbrant]

@rgk9ruler said in Puppy Painful Biting Nonstop:

xylitol, a sugar substitute, is deadly to dogs

Thank you for the reminder! I don't do "sugar free" products (which would be obvious if you met me), but I often forget to mention this. Very important warning. Thank you!