I love him. He's sweet, he's cuddly, he's the smartest puppy I've ever met (he learned "sit", "lay down", "no", "go to bed", and "wait" all in ONE DAY), and he's already highly reliable...but wow, does he have teeth and claws!

He's constantly mouthing me no matter how many times I redirect him, he's rambunctious and gets zoomies at least twice a day, he jumps on the couch constantly even though I'm teaching him "OFF" and "come on up", he still doesn't understand that the kitties DON'T want to be his bestest friends, and he occasionally tries to EAT the carpet for fun.

The only things I'm really CONCERNED about is that he tries to bite on and pull ears, and we can't seem to convince him it's not okay. It really, really hurts and makes us afraid to let him anywhere near our faces. We can't get his toys out when he loses them under the couch because he will jump on us and tear our ears.

I just need some reassurance that these are, at least MOSTLY, phases that just need persistence in correcting. How did you handle these things and when did they finally end?!

I'm sorry, I had to laugh at your subject line.  I have three pups, one I tag as "my perpetual puppy" in my sig and, in a lot of ways, he's till a puppy at heart.  The other two are less puppy-ish.  My newest addition, Sky, bounces around like a puppy when she's playing with Avalanche - so it depends on the dog but I'd have to say that with Sibes, no, the puppy period never ends.

On the other hand, they do, thankfully, outgrow the biting phase - but it may be 6 months to a year before you can feel comfortable that they won't nip at random.   Avalanche, in play, will "bite" but never intentionally breaks the skin - he's learned excellent bite inhibition.  Sasha and Sky won't bite in play at all!  

I'll comment that dogs really don't understand "sometimes" (sometimes it's okay to be on the couch and sometimes not)  It takes a lot of training to get them to understand that just because mom's on the couch and they can't be unless invited - best kept on the ground till they're old enough to understand that.

Thanks for the advice! He's a mix, so he's got a lot of mixed characteristics. 50% sibe, 25-25% unknown. But he's certainly got a whole lot of 'sky in him, that's for sure. And the real trouble is keeping him on the floor! We're trying to teach him to keep his paws to himself, but he's a jumper. We can make him hop off the couch a hundred times and he's still back at it as soon as we let our guards down or he comes in from going potty. We were trying this as a way to implement rules, but that hasn't worked out too well.

I would tether the puppy to you on a very short leash, this restricts the puppies movement, and doesn't allow him to jump. Did you get your pup before he was 8 weeks old? If so bite inhibition is much more difficult to teach. I would also implement time outs, when he gets too excited, that is usually the case with young pups who are sharks, too much freedom = excitability = nipping and jumping.

He was actually 9 weeks, and the second most gentle and sweet in his litter, which is why the biting took us so much by surprise. Sometimes crying out just excites him more, and if you turn away from him, he jumps on you, and on the couch, he bites your hair.

Also he bites on leashes if they're stopping him from doing something he wants to do, Any ways around that?

Yeh, put it around he neck and pull!  (( ouch, Al, that's rough!!! ))

Seriously, get one he can't chew through, a chain lead works since they typically don't like the metal (have to be careful though that he doesn't break any small teeth)

More seriously, do what you would normally do when he's on lead and misbehaving; stop, shorten the leash so he has no play room and wait it out.  What I've done before is to step on the leash, pull until he's in a "down" position and wait, He'll eventually stop pulling / chewing / jumping / ??? and then you can get on with your walk.  Initially "wait it out" might be 10+ minutes while he has a temper tantrum.  If you're consistent he'll get the idea quickly - I want to go, but if I don't behave, we don't go anywhere.

ETA: I second Renees comment about leashing him to you or some other fixed object he can't move when he's unattended. Having him leashed to you lets you know everything he's doing. Having him leashed to an immovable object on a short leash doesn't let him get into things he shouldn't.

Thanks, this is all awesome advice and we'll definitely try it out! Anything for the biting? I find myself getting extremely frustrated with him.

He comes over, and if you go to pet or play (always with toys), he goes right for your hands. This is where I tell him "no" and stuff the nearest toy in his mouth. If he is even a little bit excited or distracted, he instantly drops the toy and goes back for the hands. This tells me he wants to play with ME, not the toy, so I try to jiggle it around for him or play a game of fetch. Sometimes it works, but when it doesn't or the game ends, he's back at the hands.

I tell him no and give him a time-out immediately, but it doesn't seem to teach him a thing. When he's let back out, it's the same thing all over again.

He doesn't ever mean to hurt, but it often does. Usually because it's a painful nip, like being poked with razor teethy needles, and not because he's actually biting HARD. However, when he bites forearms, he seems to bite a lot harder. Possibly because he's used to there being more protection (long sleeves) there? I'm not sure.

Sorry for the long post! It was raining outside so we didn't get to go for a nice walk and as a result, he was very chompy tonight. I really hate to lose my patience with him.

When he's biting at your hands, that's "normal" for him, that's how the puppies in his litter pack play.  When it gets too rough for one of them then they back off and refuse to play.  If you take Renee's advice and tether him to something - like a table  leg / door knob / ??? then if he starts biting when you go over to pet him, you back off out of his reach.  Of course, giving him something safe to play with while he's tethered is a good idea in that it can help break his desire to chew on you.

You MUST be consistent, it is NEVER appropriate for him to chew (bite / snap) at a human - that has to get an immediate termination of play, right then.  If he bites, swap out a toy and leave.  That gives him something to play with but not his desired play mate.

Don't allow your frustration to show, correct the improper behaviour and leave so you can both "cool off"  Be especially aware of your frustration so that it doesn't come out as anger directed at the pup.  Remember, he's only a puppy and it does take time for him to learn what you expect him to do.

Last comment - he's going to live, hopefully, for another 15 years - more or less - and if you train the puppy now to be dog the that you want him to be those are going to be happy, loving years.  Don't let it get to the point that you "can't handle another minute" of his behaviour.  Consistent, patient training *will* win in the end.

Your response gave me a lot of really good ideas! I'm definitely going to start. My only question is, is there a maximum in terms of the amount of time it is okay to tether him? Or is it simply until you are more confident that the behaviour is going to stop? Thank you so much for all of your help. He really is my best friend in the whole world, and knowing that correcting this behaviour now is going to make him the best he can be for years to come really does push me through every nip and munch to do what has to be done to help him.

Tethering, to me, is a lot like crating - it's something you do to keep the dog safe.  I've had an on-going problem with one female - every time I leave her alone in the house, I'm going to come home to a wet spot.  She had gotten much better until I brought home my latest who apparently has never been house trained.

Sasha, the first dog I mention I'll let have free reign in the house as long as I'm there but she's going to go back on tether when I'm gone. She's never been destructive of anything so I'm comfortable I can leave her.  

Sky, the second, seems to have little to no bladder control.  She seems to go from okay to "I gotta piss!" without notice (or at least none that I've been able to determine) so for the nonce she's on tether (or with me on lead) 24/7.

If you interact with him normally - meaning you take him out every couple of hours - and play with him before or after he's out, you're giving him the opportunity to learn.  Though there have been times with the new dog that I've felt like tying her outside as her permanent home, I wouldn't do that.

I'll rephrase one of your comments: "confident that the behaviour is going to stop?" change that to "confident that the behaviour has stopped?"  In my case Sky will stay on tether / lead until she consistently lets me know she wants out.  Then I'll let her have run of the house, until then - nope!

Awesome advice. Thank you! I'm really excited to start working with him like this. I think it will be good for him. Good luck with your troublemakers. It's so wonderful how they all have such unique personalities.

Just wanted to give an update. We noticed an instant change in behaviour on the first day. It's been about four days, and two have gone by where he hasn't bitten me even once. I'm able to pet him longer and longer before he goes to nip, and a lot of times, he doesn't nip at all. If he does, we say "no" and walk away, and he lays down on his blanket for a few minutes before he goes to play again. I'm so happy and relieved to see such big changes so quickly. The lead makes life a lot easier for all of us!