Training the Ankle Biter

Training and behavior topics, guidelines, and tips for Chow Chows.

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Meatball
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Training the Ankle Biter

Post by Meatball »

Hey everyone!

I am proud new owner of a Smooth Boy ChowChow who has been living with us for the past 3 nights. In 2 days it would be her 10 weeks.

He is absolutely adorable and I love him to bits except for a few bad habits which I would like to train him to stop. He is called Meatball and seems to really like to bite things. He lunges at everything and everyone and just bites and loves to go for your calves, ankles and toes. My arm is full of scratches and the furniture is destroyed and any kind of stationary object apart from his toys. Though I don't mind about the damage it doesn't mean it's acceptable. When he is biting my family and myself he is very happy and keeps lunging and lunging after we say no or walk away. He wasn't like this the first 2 nights and suddenly he is like this and it is getting worse and worse.

I tried time out isolation in the laundry room recently when he bites and looked him in eyes and said no, tried the high pitched ow, smacking his nose and the hand in the back of his mouth (all recommended from this forum) which all work temporarily. He will lick and say sorry and go at it again.

I was wondering have I missed something and is there other methods I could try. I did read about gently holding him by the scruff of neck and hold him down to show your authority like his mother would if he misbehaved but I am too scared of hurting the poor fella.

Sorry for the long post but wanted to be as informative as much as I could.

Victor
Rory's Dad
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Re: Training the Ankle Biter

Post by Rory's Dad »

If you took advice from the forum on smacking his nose, then your are following the wrong posts. Absolutely NEVER correct a chow pup with an aggressive response, you will teach him fear and response biting. Same for grabbing him by the fur for correction. Pinning a pup down is also not an appropriate training method.

Some chows are biters, and they can be difficult to deal with. I have a 1 year old female who is definitely a chewer. She finds table corners, and used to find my shoe a favorite toy. Usually with my foot still in it. As i sit typing this she is chewing on the height adjustment lever to my desk chair.

The desk chair is easy. I put my hand on her muzzle and deflect it away from the chair. She becomes distracted and moves on. When she used to grab a hold on my shoe (and it was a pretty decent grip), i utilized a combination of the 'no' and 'leave it' commands and then substitute an acceptable chew object (toy, ball, etc). She actually learned that she could get us to play with her by starting out with poor behavior. Like i said, its not always easy.

She continues to chomp on furniture at times. She has learned to "leave it" and stops immediately, but we then need to give her attention. She will actually roll a ball under furniture so that she needs help to get it out. My shoes are fairly safe now, but the rear hinds on my 2 year old male Chow are in peril. Haven't figured out the cure for that one yet other than keeping them separated (its playful, but still...)

Try to find an alternative item. If that doesnt work, then i would visit "treat" world. Puppies chew, its just natural as they get their teeth. Provide an ice cube, or a frozen waffle. If he goes for something unsuitable, find a chew toy or a ball and place it in his mouth instead. Try not to make it a game (my mistake with her, as my male has no chew tendency whatsoever).
612guy
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Re: Training the Ankle Biter

Post by 612guy »

I second what Rory's Dad said. Anything your chow puppy is doing wrong it's up to you to figure out without aggression. I have always had good luck with chicken flavor Nylabone Dura Chew - Wolf Size bones that are about 5 1/2 inches long.
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Brutus
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