Puppy Bites Hard

[deerminator]

We have a 3 month old beagle and 90 percent of the time he's a loveable knucklehead. But he's had a tendency to growl and snap the past month since we got him the other 10 percent. Usually when we stop him from chewing on something he's not supposed to, etc. We've corrected a lot of it by spraying him with a squirt bottle when he starts and then he usually stops. However, he ended up biting my wife so hard tonight when she tried to pick him up that she was in tears and there was broken bloody skin. This was before I got home from work and when I did get home, I was instructed that she will have nothing to do with him anymore. So now he's on house arrest. I told the kids not to mess with him either until I can get his behavior corrected. I'm calling the vet tomorrow to get some pointers. Earlier this week during a normal round of shots, she told me growling and biting is normal but that we need to correct it. She firmly held his mouth shut when he tried to growl. I've tried that too to varying degrees of success.

Does anyone have any pointers on the forums? I'm not ready to give up on him yet but if he does start biting the kids, he may have to go.

[Todd Caswell]

I'll put my finger in the pups mouth and when he clamps down I roll his lip between my finger and his teeth, applying pressure so he is bitting himself while saying NO BITE I'll apply as much pressure as needed to correct problem. Usually doesnt take long. He's only 12 weeks old so i wouldn't be to concerned just bite it in the butt now befor it becomes a problem.

And lots of structured exercise, start OB now remember he is still a puppy so let him be one but it is never to early to start. Remember a good puppy is a tired puppy.