and it keeps biting everything. i go to pet it and it bites my hand. its still only 5 weeks old and i think its only gone to the vet once, does it need a shot or something. how can i get it to stop biting everything?
It’s teething. Give it an old shoe or buy it a chew toy to chew on. Not much you can do till it passes through the stage.
alright thank you
No! Not an old shoe! Your puppy will then think that it’s all right to chew on shoes!
Ther is nothing wrong with your puppy. He needs to chew on thinks for his dental and mandibular health right now.
Keep rawhide chew-sticks, rubber bones, etc., at hand. Whenever you find your puppy chewing something inappropriate (Shoes, your hand, socks, whatever), say “Uh-uh!”, then gently but firmly take the thing away, and replace it a chew-toy. When he takes it in his mouth, pet him and praise him. He’ll get the idea.
Be patient. Your puppy WILL outgrow this, but it may take a year or more.
Also don’t worry too much about him biting your hand - teething puppies won’t bite hard enough to hurt you, they just have an insatiable urge to put things in their mouth. When he does bite your hand, a firm “No!” (or “Ow!” depending on your mood) will eventually teach them to stop.
About the vet - if you don’t have proof that any shots have been given, the vet will probably start will the assumption that no shots have been given yet. I don’t know if they will do it as young as five weeks (that is awfully young for a puppy to be separated from its mother, btw), but you should definitely have them done at eight weeks old. I would take the puppy into the vet asap, since you aren’t sure what has been done to it yet.
will = with
5 weeks too young, are you sure? I dont think it would have been sold if it was that young.
5 weeks is too young. Why did they sell you a puppy at 5 weeks? Because they could. People will sell anything to anyone. It is entirely possible that your new friend is the recommended 8 weeks or older.
Get him to the vet as soon as possible. You will need to get your puppy shots to get rid of worms (a 4-5 visit regimen), which most puppies have, and to get a rabies shot.
Expect the biting to continue for a while. My puppy is 4 months old and still likes to chew on me occasionally. Puppies need to bite in order to teethe, puppies bite in play, and puppies bite in order to find their pecking order in their society. A firm “NO” when to puppy gets a bit too rambunctious should help train him. There are many items at your local pet store made especially for teething puppies. Invest in a few toys, and make sure your puppy does not have access to wiring and cords.
I would also suggest you check the library for books on raising dogs. Your vet is always an excellent source of information as well. Make a list of questions to take with you for your first visit.
BTW - What kind of dog is he/she?
And since the pupper hasn’t had it’s shots yet, you have to be careful not to expose it to other dogs.
The pet store here sells dogs at 5 weeks old. Yes, it is way to young to have been separated from mom, but they do it 'cause it makes them money.
Here’s a fun and inexpensive toy for puppies: empty 20-ounce coke bottles. They’ll chew on them, but they’re slippery and just a bit too big for them to fit their mouthes entirely around, so it becomes sort of fun challenge that satisfies both their need to chew and their need for “intellectual stimulation.” A single bottle will keep my terrier entertained for an entire day. Just make sure you take the wrapper off so they don’t swallow any of it!
Some breeds are more “bitey” than others. A common complaint of new owners of Australian Shepherd puppies is that they are always chewing and biting their owners’ hands. This is NORMAL for Aussies!
The way to handle it is this: if your playing with the puppy and it bites your hand, give a loud “Yipe” (like another puppy would) and stop playing for a minute. Repeat as necessary. Sometimes it’s necessary to do it A LOT.
The idea is to indicate to the pup that biting a)causes a loud, alarmed noise to happen and b)causes play to stop. This is how puppies learn to inihibit their bites when playing with each other.
If the dog is teething, one thing you can do is get some old washcloths and soak them. Then put them in the freezer and let them freeze. Give them to the pup to chew on. CAUTION: Monitor the dog when he’s chewing them! You don’t want him to eat or swallow the washcloth or any threads he might pull out of it!
Rawhide chewies or pig ears can be good alternate things for the pup to chew also. I agree with the person who says do NOT give him shoes (or anything else you NEVER want him to chew up) to exercise his teeth/jaws.
Start them out right, and you’ll have fewer problems later on!
And 5 weeks is too young to take a pup away. Be sure to socialize him extensively.
Archergal, with 4 dogs at home, and some experience raising puppies.
This is perfectly normal puppy behavior, but that behavior does need to be modified. Five weeks is NOT too early to start learning that people are not chew toys. A firm “No” and being replaced with a safe chew toy now will save you untold time and aggravation down the road. People think it’s cute when he chews on them now, but when he gets bigger it won’t be as cute. By then it’ll be a lot harder to train him.
Most healthy five-week old puppies have never been to the vet. Most of those who have were in at a few days old to get their tails docked and dewclaws removed. My guess is that your little guy has either never been to the vet, or is older than 5 weeks (assuming he’s healthy, of course).
At 6-8 weeks he’ll get his first set of vaccines for parvo, parainfluenza, distemper, adenovirus, etc. (BTW-there is no such thing as a shot for worms). He’ll also need a worm check, where the staff examines his stool under a microscope for parasite eggs. Roundworms and hookworms are VERY common, and are pretty cheap to treat. If the worm check is negative, it’s a good idea to get it rechecked at one of the later booster appointments.
Most vets do boosters every 3 weeks till the puppy hits 16 weeks of age. At 16 weeks he’s old enough to get his final boosters and his rabies vaccine. He’s also old enough to start on heartworm prevention, but still young enough that you don’t have to have him tested.
Don’t let him around other dogs or out walking in public places till he’s at least 12 weeks old. His immune system is still developing, and the vaccines haven’t had a chance to really get a good response before then. This puts him at increased risk for catching something nasty like parvo. This goes double for little pit bulls and rotties, since those breeds are more susceptible to parvo to start with.
Oh, and I should point out that there are many other types of worms and other parasites that puppies can get. Most of those are more expensive to treat, but they’re not as common as hooks and rounds.
“The Art of Raising a Puppy” by The Monks of New Skete is an excellent book to start with.
Here’s a link to the book at Amazon.
alright i did everything i could with this puppy. it chews on its toys fine but now everything im barefoot or i go to pet it, it turns vicious and bites and claws and doesn’t stop. whats wrong with it?
Please do not take offense teemingONE, but have you ever had a dog before? Have you ever been around dogs before? Did you read the excellent advice that was given in the above posts?
Nothing is wrong with your dog. {IANAV} Your dog will not stop chewing on you until it learns not to do so. Puppies are just like any other young animal (human included), and do not usually learn new behaviour in a week. I seriously doubt that a 6 week old puppy would turn “vicious”. Biting and clawing, however, I can believe. It probably kicks at you with it’s back feet while biting you, doesn’t it? Again, perfectly normal behaviour.
[CrazyCatLady Quote]
This is perfectly normal puppy behavior, but that behavior does need to be modified. Five weeks is NOT too early to start learning that people are not chew toys. A firm “No” and being replaced with a safe chew toy now will save you untold time and aggravation down the road. People think it’s cute when he chews on them now, but when he gets bigger it won’t be as cute. By then it’ll be a lot harder to train him
[Archergal Quote]
Some breeds are more “bitey” than others. A common complaint of new owners of Australian Shepherd puppies is that they are always chewing and biting their owners’ hands.
[friedo Quote]
Also don’t worry too much about him biting your hand - teething puppies won’t bite hard enough to hurt you, they just have an insatiable urge to put things in their mouth. When he does bite your hand, a firm “No!” (or “Ow!” depending on your mood) will eventually teach them to stop
[SnugTheJoiner Quote]
Keep rawhide chew-sticks, rubber bones, etc., at hand. Whenever you find your puppy chewing something inappropriate (Shoes, your hand, socks, whatever), say “Uh-uh!”, then gently but firmly take the thing away, and replace it a chew-toy. When he takes it in his mouth, pet him and praise him. He’ll get the idea.
Be patient. Your puppy WILL outgrow this, but it may take a year or more
yea i read, and i have had a dog before. but it was never this vicous. is it because its a male and the one before was a female?
All puppies bite on things, fingers, toes, pant legs, you name it, they`ll bite it. Doesnt matter if male or female, and the word vicious, used in a 5 week old puppie thats funny.(Im sure puppy is older than that) but teemingone it sounds like you dont have a clue.Take him to the vet, he needs shots. get him some chew toys. not so small he can swallow and choke, and love him.
read over these posts, good stuff. was the puppy bought or given? I cant imagine any breeder selling at the way to young age. but by the way pup is acting, sounds older.
Anyway, good luck
Your puppy wants to play with you the way he would play with a littermate, and that’s how puppies play with each other. It sounds like he needs more interactive playtime. Dogs need mental as well as physical stimulation, or they get bored and destructive/clingy. This can take the form of chewing your stuff up, peeing on your shoes, jumping and chewing on people, anything to get attention.
Spend more time playing interactive “fetch” type games with the little guy. It’ll give him the stimulation he needs, give him less time and energy to misbehave, and teach him appropriate ways to play with you. He should be trained out of playing with you in the same way he’d play with a littermate, because of dominance issues. You don’t want your dog to see you as a littermate (and therefore equal), you want him to see you as his pack leader (and therefore dominant).
The sex of the dog has nothing to do with behavior, any more than the sex of a human baby affects how much it cries. This is more an issue of the puppy’s personality than anything else. Some of them are naturally more dominant or submissive than others, and those traits show even in the earliest stages of puppyhood.