My 7-month German Shepherd puppy bites. Is it normal? How to stop?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! You are likely describing teething which is basically a normal type of behavior when puppies are growing up and it is secondary to mouth discomfort as teeth are growing. I recommend that you get Pechi teething type toys which you can get at your local pet store or online. Anytime that she tries to nibble at you, you say no and give her the toy. This is likely going to resolve the issue but it does take time as this is a normal part of their growth. Good luck and have a good night!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! You are likely describing teething which is basically a normal type of behavior when puppies are growing up and it is secondary to mouth discomfort as teeth are growing. I recommend that you get her teething type toys which you can get at your local pet store or online. Anytime that she tries to nibble at you, you say no and give her the toy. This is likely going to resolve the issue. Good luck and have a great day!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! German Shepherds are highly intelligent an highly trainable dogs. I recommend hiring a trainer and nipping this in the bud now. German Shepherds are also very large and can be aggressive to strangers as adults so being able to control Bentley is very important. I would start with sit, stay, and leave it. Purchase the gentle leader harness that goes on the muzzle. Use that for all walks. Bring treats on the walk and when he tries to jump have him sit. Once he sits he gets a treat. Jumping is unacceptable in a dog his size and is one of the hardest bad habits to break. He should not be allowed to jump on people. The gentle leader allows great control of the head. I hope this helps and I wish you the very best!

To help keep him occupied when you aren't able to actively play with him, I recommend getting him a Kong toy. My GSD loved his. Also, to save you hands, you need to work with him on learning what is and is not acceptable when mouthing and chewing. When you play with your puppy, let him mouth on your hands. Continue play until he bites especially hard. When he does, immediately give a high-pitched yelp, as if you’re hurt, and let your hand go limp. This should startle your puppy and cause him to stop mouthing you. (If yelping seems to have no effect, you can say “Too bad!” or “You blew it!” in a stern voice instead.) Praise your puppy for stopping. Resume whatever you were doing before. If your puppy bites you hard again, yelp again. Repeat these steps no more than three times within a 15-minute period. If you find that yelping alone doesn’t work, you can switch to a time-out procedure. When your puppy delivers a hard bite, yelp loudly. Then, when he startles and turns to look at you or looks around, remove your hand. Either ignore him for 10 to 20 seconds or, if he starts mouthing on you again, get up and move away for 10 to 20 seconds. After the short time-out, return to your puppy and encourage him to play with you again. It’s important to teach him that gentle play continues, but painful play stops. Play with your puppy until he bites hard again. When he does, repeat the sequence above. When your puppy isn’t delivering really hard bites anymore, you can tighten up your rules a little. Require your puppy to be even gentler. Yelp and stop play in response to moderately hard bites. Persist with this process of yelping and then ignoring your puppy or giving him a time-out for his hardest bites. As those disappear, do the same for his next-hardest bites, and so on, until your puppy can play with your hands very gently, controlling the force of his mouthing so that you feel little or no pressure at all. Also, the help keep that busy little mind occupied and teach him appropriate behavior, get him involved in obedience training. Many places have puppy kindergarten classes (if you have a PetsMart nearby, ask about their classes) that will teach you to teach them basic obedience. If he shows an aptitude for it, continue with his training as far as you would like to go. Teach him tricks, teach him tasks, play fetch, whatever you can and need to do to keep his body well-exercised and tired and his mind occupied. A tired dog is a happy dog.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I am sorry to hear that this has happened. This behavior is certainly concerning as you don't want Boston to cause serious harm to your wife or anyone else for that matter. I would recommend taking Boston to a behaviorist for training and other recommendations. There are trainers that will take Boston for several weeks for the training or trainers that will come to your house for in home training. At 4 months of age, this is easier to correct than when he is 4 years old. Now is the time to take action as it is much easier to train a puppy. I hope this helps and for now, please take the necessary precautions and keep Boston away from anyone until he is appropriately trained.

I hate to hear this is happening. German Shepherds are very active dogs and require a lot of training and exercise. Chewing is normal for puppies Enzo's age. So is picking up things they shouldn't. Also, dog training needs to be positive and consistent. Here are some links which may help: https://www.petcoach.co/article/chewing-in-puppies-how-to-control-it/ https://www.petcoach.co/breed/german-shepherd-dog/ https://positively.com/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/basic-dog-puppy-training-rules/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/rewards-are-necessary-when-training-dogs-and-puppies/ I hope this helps.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is certainly possible and recommended but this usually requires in person training by a qualified dog trainer. I recommend you consider contacting a qualified dog trainer to work with you in person. Good luck and have a good day!