Biting

[ncordova]

Good day!

I recently got a Chow Chow, turning 3 mos by the end of the month, and named him Pao. At first he was very calm and shy with everything but after a while he got used to the environment. There came a time when he started to bite and chew anything he would see in the house, including our feet, and thought of it as him just playing or maybe his experiencing teething. We gave him toys, treats and others to chew on but after a while he would come back to biting feets and shorts, or any clothing below the waist, and we usually say "No" whenever he tries to.
Recently though, 3 days ago, he started to become aggressive with biting. There are times that he would not stop biting feet, shorts, even hands, when one would try to pet him, even when one would say No. This is to the point where he would jump and run around and back to a single target. There are some of the people in the house where they would usually shout or physically reprimand Pao though I told them it might worsen his case. Yesterday, I was surprised that he just suddenly started biting my shorts, shirt, had and feet after I cuddled and pet him. I ask the person who's guarding the house what may have happened since the rest of the people in the house goes to work or school from 8am to 530pm. She told me that there was an accident earlier as she may have accidentally closed a door when Pao hurriedly run trying to get out of the room and may have pinned Pao since she heard him cry.
Right now, there are times when he's calm and friendly but there comes a time when he just suddenly comes right at me and bites my feet and short and wouldn't even listen. Treats and toys would change his attention but after a while he'll leave it and would run towards feet and shorts.At times I get frustrated and would transfer to another room to calm my self down. I really don't know what to do whenever he would start to be aggressive. Despite the blood, nail marks and hopefully no bite marks, as he hasn't taken an anti rabies til next week, I still do love him and will patiently try to calm him down if ever this would happen again.
In addition, he's not given exercise yet as he is about to get his last vaccination tomorrow. Though I see that he may need one to lessen his over-activeness at home.

[NanouetJon]

Good news: Everyone who has had a puppy went through the biting phase. Do a search for bite inhibition on this forum, you will find the training needed.

In terms of getting squeezed by the door. First, check to make sure there is no physical damage, everything is healthy. If in doubt see your vet. Now remember that chows (dogs) live in the now. They won't hold a grudge against you for a door pinch. They may be wary of the door but not the person. If you remember and treat her differently, you will confuse them

Imagine all our chows after being spayed or neutered, if our chows did not live in the now, you would have to change vets after all visits.

[ncordova]

There was no physical damage that can be seen but to be sure I'll just have him checked as we're going to the vet this afternoon. I'll keep reading more here and I'll try to remember that dogs live in the now. Thanks for the advice and I really appreciate your reply.

[chowpups]

I have a 15 wk. golden retriever puppy and she is doing some of the same stuff (puppy biting) but you need to stop it .. She bites my slippers and toes if she can get them when Iam having breakfast so if she doesn't stop and just seems to be getting worse, I take her to the laundry room and put her in there for a few minutes till she calms herself down. Then I bring her out and put her on her rug and tell her to stay on the rug (with her chew toys)..trying not to allow her close to the table where my feet are.. Some times she gets more excited when I push her away and then it becomes a game so try to keep her calm and put her in a sit and then a toy or chewy thing. My pup is teething definitely and some baby teeth are starting to come out.. But I know the first instinct when those sharp teeth hit is to yell and push away, sometimes this excites them more and they get even more bity..so try to stay in control and with a stern voice not a scream tell them NO Biting, and try to get them interested in their toys or time out.. Good luck I think your chow will catch on faster than mine, I've had chows before and they learn quickly, my pup will be more puppy like for a longer time so they tell me..

[Victory]

Yes, pushing a biting puppy away is inviting them to play and it won't teach them not to. Withholding attention after a bite is natural. When they play with their sibs and mom, if they get too rough and bite too hard, the puppy that is bitten will yelp loudly and then refuse to play with the biter. This is something any puppy should know by the time they are 8weeks old if they have spent that time with their mom and siblings, (which is one reason why adobting them before 8 weeks is bad). To mimic this, you should yelp or say no, in a firm voice then place them immediately in a time out. Make sure it is a good 5-10 minutes, during this time do not speak to them, do not look at them, have no interaction with them at all. A chow puppy will learn in less than a week that biting is not a desired behavior and will stop. When I got my Dreamdancer he was 8 weeks old and I started this training immeadiately, he was in a carrier from the airport and I put my finger through the wire to pet him, when he was calm and licked it was okay and he got a pet and a "good boy". When he tried to bite, I said "No." and with drew all attention. Once we got home and he was out of the carrier, I continued, I made sure all people interacting with him did the same, not allowing him to bite or attempt to chew on their fingers, toes or clothing. In less than a week he had learned not to bite or chew. Firesong had a more maternal way of doing this, she growled and held him in place for doing it. He learned who was the boss between them and to this day he respects her as the boss of the two of them. More importantly he doesn't try to bite any person, adult or child.

[Fozzbear]

All good advice. Humphrey still has a bit of excitable biting but does it very gently now - it is just a puppy thing.

[ncordova]

Thanks for all the replies and help. I do agree that the Pao wouldn't stop biting whenever one would try to push him instead he'd started running and his bites becomes stronger in some points. I'll try to lengthen the time of withdrawal of attention because whenever he would stop biting, after a minute or less I would usually play with him with his toys. I'll also try to find a place where he could calm down a bit so he may associate it in the future. Maybe one of my problem is that I also allow him to bite some of the unused clothing as I usually use it to play tug of war with him. We've went to Vet yesterday and thankfully nothing's wrong with him after the door accident.

[chowpups]

I would stop the tug of war games, especially if you are having trouble with your pup biting ,you are encouraging him to play that way.. Get a toy and throw it and get him to bring it back, teach it to release the toy or you don't play. and I too wouldn't let the pup play with clothing even if its old, he wont beable to tell the difference between what you think is old and what is new.. He will just know the scent. You want to encourage calm playing while Pao is a pup cause they get so excited so easily. Iam not saying don't play with the pup but since hes having a difficult time understanding gentle play and what is excepted by other right now .I'd try toning down how you play alittle and not use tug of war with clothing. They can definitely chew on a rope with out you pulling it and get the chewing effect still. Bella throws her rope up in the air and catches it and chews on it without me touching it at all. Its her favorite toy ..and I only touch it if..I throw it for her to chase down and bring back but she has to release it, no tug of war with it.. I know chows aren't always that interested in toys but maybe even take some treats and teach him some little things to keep his interest in you as a leader. Teach him to give paw or lay down all these things help in the long run and it tires them out too.. Nikki use to love her treat ball. It had a hole in it and I'd put treats in it and as it rolled along it gave treats she looked like a seal pushing the ball with her nose, but she loved it.. hope this helps you alittle..

[PCC]

A very loud yelp from you, mimicking a puppy yelping, may work to get Pao to stop biting.

[ncordova]

Thanks to both of your replies. Will find some new toys for him after work. And I'll stop playing tug of war with him. I haven't tried a toy with a rope on him so maybe I'll look for that later. Only tried a squeaky toy, dog chew toy, and a ball with a bell inside, he seemed to like it the least. I'm also using treats in training him, still trying to apply what I've read in the training section of the forum, still working on it.
I've applied the previous suggestions and it seemed to lessen his biting. Whenever he starts to bite a leg, I would say No and walk away. There are times when he stops but there are times when he would follow and continue biting, and this is when I put him in a place to calm down for a while. After a minute or more, I would give him attention and he seemed to be back in normal state and would forget about biting. Will continue to apply your suggestions so, thanks again.