6 Month old biting


dylanmix

New Member
Hello everyone.

I have a just turned 6 month old female (mini) Dachshund Jack Russell Terrier mix. Not spayed yet.

Dylan has a ton of energy. We are doing really good and nearly potty trained, although the crazy arctic air mass over where we live currently is making it almost impossible for her to tolerate being outside. She is great in her crate for sleeping, and also has a large "playpen" in living room she is put in when we are out. We are trying to do walks but with the winter it's nearly impossible right now. She is crated for 1-2 hours per day. At most. I am home all day while my husband works.

The biggest issue we have with Dylan is biting. I have tried to do a LOT of reading but most articles and help is geared towards fear biting, or aggressive "attack" type biting. Dylan bites while playing. A lot. We have tried many methods to curb this, and none stick. Dylan will grab clothes, and bite hands or legs or jump at faces. Shes been doing this since 8 weeks old.

Dylan does NOT bite in a fear situation or to attack. She greets new dogs, people and children really happily with lots of wiggling and kisses. But when play starts with us (she bites my husband and I the worst) she starts biting.

In the beginning we tried simply ignoring the behavior and handing her a toy. It didn't seem to phase her wanting to bite once the toy fun wears off. We've tried walking away and ignoring her. Sometimes this works but mostly she will follow and jump and bite your legs or clothes. If you yell at her or get loud it does not work. Makes it way worse. We have also tried simply putting her in the playpen when she bites and walking away for five minutes.

I've also tried just holding her mouth with a firm NO! when she bites. Like everything else it does work right then at the time but even with consistency doesn't seem to stop the frequency of her biting us.

Most recently when she bites me I've been saying No! Then asking her to give Kisses! And about half the time she stops biting now and starts giving kisses. But she still is just happy to constantly bite me.

Outside of trying to fix the biting we do play with her a TON during the day to drain her energy down. Mostly chasing balls, throwing other toys etc. I also work with her daily on "tricks" like sit, stay, come, hand me a paw, all of which she loves doing and is great at.

Anyone have suggestions?
 

dylanmix

New Member
I should add we have had Dylan since she was 8 weeks old. Maybe also add I have had previous Jack Russell Terriers (one male and one female from puppy to adults) so I am not totally unfamiliar. I have never had a Dachshund though. First one. :)
 
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