Bitey Bad habit

Re: Bitey Bad habit

Originally Posted By: Sephly
if its bad i'd go ahead and buy a citronella collar, one with a remote and when he bites spray him, he should pick up quickly that biting means icky smell in my face.

Click to expand...

I have to respectfully disagree here. Citronella collars have a low success rate, because it uses the smell of citronella to mark corrections - it is a strong smell that can stay on the dogs coat for hours thus the correction/aversion is there long after the undesirable behaviour has been distinguished. This can be very confusing to the dog and makes it hard for the dog to connect biting with the smell of citronella, as the smell is there long after they have bitten.

I also agree with encouraging the dog to bite a toy instead - I bet he has a high prey drive and would do very well on a tug toy. I train my beagle using a tug and she loves it! Make a game out of it, if he starts nipping, re direct him to the toy and encourage him to tug with you. Use the word 'ok' to signal he can grab the toy, move it around etc. You can also use this to teach him give - when you want the toy back, bring it in close to you knees and hold it very still and say give in a calm, slow voice. Praise when the dog releases This might give him an outlet to get rid of his energy!