What do you do with a 4 month old that is always biting? She is breaking the skin and also jumping at your face?

Originally Posted by barrie

What do you do with a 4 month old that is always biting? She is breaking the skin and also jumping at your face?

I would also love to know what people think on this one. My 4 month old is literally lunging at me and others, often while we're walking. she seems to go for hands and arms consistently but she's gone for the face too. VERY frustrating.

Dogs especially Berners remain puppy like till at least 3 years of age.

You need to find a way of distracting them from this behaviour it could be treats or toys but do not be harsh or yank they will kick their heels at that kind of training and you will get nowhere fast. Lower your voice and try the distraction technique it will work but may take some time.

In the house you can use fetch a toy we did this with our boy and it worked a treat.

We have two Berners who used to be quite mouthy as puppies. We found it very helpful to yelp loudly (high pitched - like a puppy or other dog would if they were in pain) whenever the biting/mouthing happened. Our boys always let go or stopped as soon as they heard the yelp because they were concerned that they had hurt us. If they tried to nibble again, we would yelp again. It was so effective - worked way better than a simple "NO"! We also use the "OFF" command whenever they jump on us or others. Instead of trying to push them off, we say "OFF" and turn away from the dog and refuse attention until they stop jumping. We tell our guests to do the same. Good luck!

Originally Posted by barrie

What do you do with a 4 month old that is always biting? She is breaking the skin and also jumping at your face?

Oh, I so feel your pain (no pun intended)! Our boy Truman went through a very "mouthy" period of time but please know it does get better. It was very frustrating at times so what our trainer suggested is having a phrase such as "all done", walking Truman to his crate and placing him in there. We would never yell or scream (though, I can admit in my head I was fairly upset!). Our backs would be turned and we would count to 20, turn around and in a cheerful voice ask if he was ready to come out. It takes patience and consistency, but I promise it will get better and they learn rather quickly. At about 11 months to a year they will go through a second teething (just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water!) where they need to chew on something hard to set their teeth in their jaw. Again, our trainer recommended freezing cooked marrow bones (the large kind) so that he could have something rather than our mouldings or furniture. With all of the teeth marks Truman embossed in my arms during his puppy teething, I wouldn't trade him in for the world. Best of luck !