Lilu has been teething and biting A LOT. Nothing seems to work and we've been doing everything constantly. We walk away, say no, put a toy in her mouth, say oww. Nothing works.

I was wondering can I just close her mouth shut every time she puts teeth on skin. With either my hand or with a rubber band or something. I don't know if that is cruel or not, I don't see why it would be it doesn't hurt.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

I don't know where you would have gotten the idea of putting a rubberband around her mouth but you should absolutely in no way shape or form do this; do not artificially close your dog's mouth because she is using it.  

Part of owning an animal is accepting the fact that they have a nature and instincts and a particular way about being in this world and human beings are the foolish creatures that we are have chosen to adapt them to our lives.  Moderate domestication aside we don't have the right to tell another creature that they can't be themselves.  

I'm sorry, but if you don't want a puppy biting on you and using its mouth on you so badly that you would even consider closing its mouth with an instrument then you shouldn't have gotten one in the first place.  You can't expect your puppy to not be a puppy.  And you can't teach her things but expecting her NOT to do things or by saying NO all the time.  

NO means nothing without a corresponding YES.  You need to show her how to behave, not only how to not-behave.  If you think of it in terms of ratios, the YES items should outweigh the NO items.  Show her some leadership.   

Yes they're annoying and they're frustrating and they can hurt and be a headache and a menace, but tough.  Take some responsibility for your choices.  You brought a puppy into your world now deal with it responsibly and as a number one rule, you have to have patience and calmness to deal with a puppy.  Nothing is gonna happen overnight and nothing is gonna be stay the same. She is growing and changing and adapting and learning and developing and part of the nature of a puppy is biting on its pack members.  

Which ever conventional method you choose: oww, walk away, time out, verbal corrections, a light but assertive physical correction to the muzzle...own it and stay with it.  

The number one thing your puppy needs from you is consistency.  You are teaching her how to live in your world and you need to do your best to not get upset or frustrated or angry or reactive, because when you do, she wins.  

Have patience.  Stay calm.  Be consistent. And have more patience.

I personally consider putting a rubberband around a puppy's mouth to be one of the most offensive things I have seen on this forum.  I could not be in more disagreement about that option.  

And practically speaking , the more physical your corrections are the more likely your puppy is to fear you and mistrust you. Not what you should want at all.

Cheers, and good luck.

Thanks for replying so quickly. I will take some of the things you wrote into my practice since it was good advice.

With a lot of the other things you have written here I found to were disrespectful and blatantly wrong, since you know nothing of me expect this ONE post you have read.

First off “And you can't teach her things but expecting her NOT to do things or by saying NO all the time. NO means nothing without a corresponding YES. You need to show her how to behave, not only how to not-behave. If you think of it in terms of ratios, the YES items should outweigh the NO items. Show her some leadership. ”

How do you know what or how I’m teaching her anything? Since the 3 weeks we’ve had her she’s learned sit, down, wait, stay, rollover, Police hands on the wall, play dead, both paws, and speak. I don’t know if every husky puppy learns this quickly or if this is not enough since it’s my first puppy. But most people (on this forum) that have seen the youtube videos are pretty impressed.

Second you wrote, “Take some responsibility for your choices. You brought a puppy into your world now deal with it responsibly and as a number one rule, you have to have patience and calmness to deal with a puppy.”

Wow again. You are telling me to take responsibility, while not knowing that I have taken off of work for 3 weeks now to be with her EVERY second. Oh and she hasn’t had an accident in 6 days now. She goes and sits by the door when she needs to go out. Maybe she does this cause of how impatient and not calm I am?

The only reason I posted this was because I have read on this very forum people saying that the only way they stopped their puppy from biting was with physical correction. By holding their lower jaw, or by holding their entire mouth while saying “NO bite”. I was just wondering instead of doing something like that and have her afraid of you hand if you used a prop like a muzzle or something. A simple No that’s not a good idea would have sufficed.

I’m sorry that I offended you by writing that. Obviously that was not my intention.

Finally “And practically speaking , the more physical your corrections are the more likely your puppy is to fear you and mistrust you. Not what you should want at all.

Cheers, and good luck.”

I read this before, and agree which is why I’m trying to go any other route. I never want to put her in any discomfort, she is my entire world right now, which is why your post got me so upset.

I really do appreciate your response most of it was taken with great consideration.

Thanks

After rereading my initial post I can see why one would get angry.

I did NOT mean an actual rubber band, I meant something more of a muzzle type which just shuts the mouth. I would never wrap a rubber band around her mouth.

Cool, you're welcome.

Just for the record, you didn't offend me, personally. I said I found the idea of putting a rubberband around the muzzle of a biting puppy offensive. Very different.

I claim to know nothing about your past or your personality, only what you've posted and some things via insinuations you've eluded to.

I was writing what I feel are good pieces of advice and guidelines for someone who seems to be frustrated with the nature of their puppy and who was perhaps looking for a quick fix, albeit in my own rather sharp tongued manner. That's it.

I think it's awesome that your puppy is a fast learner and is an impressive little bundle of fluff.

All the better for you going forward and watching her grow and chew on your skin

Again though, I don't think a muzzle is what you need. Muzzles are for aggressive dogs who pose a threat to others. You have a puppy who is acting like a puppy. Different situations entirely.

You don't have a biting problem, you have a puppy. Harnessing and channeling their nature is the game, not changing it.

We have found a partial solution where we took a face towel rolled it up, dipped it in water and froze it. She goes completely nuts and chews on it for a while.

Yea I will not be using any type of thing for her, now knowing that people don't. I really was just checking if other people were experiencing this and what they did, besides the usual.

I am sorry for responding the way I did. I understand you're just a husky lover like all of us, and after reading my pretty dumb question, had to respond like that.

Again thanks for all the advice. It truly is good advice.

It wasn't a dumb question, and even if so, we all make them and it's normal and fine

I get my own self in trouble enough....PC and diplomacy ain't my strong suits, never have been and never will be.

I am an impassioned Husky lover though who is very sensitive to ethics and behavior dynamics and I escalated for sure.

Several deep breaths later, I hope it's all good for us both

We used kings with Greek yogurt and froze them. Soothes the teething. We also had lots of chews all over the place. Lol

This is all normal puppy things, so yes, I think everyone experiences it and it applies to almost all breeds of dogs. For awhile it seems neverending, but just keep working on it and find what works best for your puppy. Have you started a puppy class yet? Our first day was so enlightening to see how many others of all breeds were dealing with same issues or worse.

Loki didn't respond at all to No or us squealing. It kind of got him going more. What we have been practicing is no attention without him being calm. This means, no jumping, bitting, or anything. He must give us a good sit or down to get attention. Now he nicely walks up and sits for lovings, his ears go back and he will start air kisses. The time outs worked to help and we continue to use them as well as giving him lots of chews. It is important to find a few things they really like to chew and switch them up I think. Sounds like you already found one.

I also like that Loki is not allowed on our couch or bed. So if we need breaks, we just sit on the couch. He rarely jumps up on us now and it allows us to have a break from him. Not sure what boundaries your house has as I know some let their dogs up on furniture. Just seems to be nice retreat for us to practice the time outs.

That wouldn't work for us...Cato is sitting next to me on the couch as we speak. I'm not even sure I could have trained it out of him. He wants to snuggle at all times.