Biting Pup

We have a relativly new puppy. She's about 2 months old, maybe a bit older. She's a really sweet dog and loves to play, but she has a really bad biting problem. When playing, or even if you are just sitting watching t.v, she will try and bite hands, arms, legs, anything she can get a hold of. We've tried holding her bottom jaw, saying "No" firmly, even popping her lightly on the nose, but nothing seems to be working. She thinks everything is a game. We've also tried ignoring her when she bites, but nothing is working.

Today she was a lot better with the biting. We put her outside for most of the morning, so she wore herself out by running around outside. We then took her to PetsMart and she loved the car ride. So today, she hasn't been biting, but on a normal basis, she leaves cuts and scratches on our arms and hands.

Any ideas for stopping her biting?

put bitter apple on your hands or lemon juice.... she will quickly stop after realizing it tastes yukky

I would not hit the pup on the nose, even lightly, as it may learn to associate your hands with pain and fear. I have oes, which are a herding breed, and they are always nippy as pups. I've found the best way to change that behavior is to say a firm No! or yelp like a puppy so the dog knows it has hurt you, this teaches bite inhibition that most pups learn from momma and littermates around 8 weeks of age. Then replace whatever the pups was nipping with something appropriate to chew and praise the puppy for having the right thing in it's mouth.
It's usually worked in just a few days for me....

I did not teach my dog not to bite in play, I taught to not bite hard.
When I first got him, he would play a little too rough, when he got too hyper and was scratching, or biting too hard, startled him by saying OW! very loudly.

Now he still plays rough, but when he gets carried away we simply say ow, and he immediately stops and licks us.

Does puppy have plenty of toys? Charlie used to bite when he was getting permanant teeth. Doesn't bite anymore, but still likes to play tug of war.

The best thing I've found is to yelp really loudly (like a dog would when it's tail is accidentally stepped on). My friends dog would stop bitting immediately and act submissive to make sure she hadn't really hurt me.
Then I think you can immediately give them something appropriate to bite on. If she's biting you to play, you may try getting those tug of war toys, so she can bite and play with you at the same time.
I think time outs would also be appropriate if the yelping and substitution don't work.

~Julia

Nala has all the toys she could ever want, so she has plenty to chew and bite on, but she still likes to bite fingers, hands, chins, and well, anything she can get a hold of. We've tried saying "No" or even saying "Ow" or yelping, but nothing is working. Putting a sour tasting substance on our hands sounds like a good idea. I'll give it a shot and let you know how it goes.

When Kisses our chocolate lab was a puppy she was a big biter. The vet told us to use a firm NO and to redirect with a chew toy every single time. That when we played with her with our hands she began to see our hands/feet as toys. It was harder to teach my kids not to play with her with their hands than it took her to actually learn that hands were off limits to chew on.

Good luck with the bitter apple thing I didn't try that.

Well I'm using the "No!" and giving her a toy, and she calms down and stops biting after a few times. Nala is definatly becoming more affectionate with me. This morning she hopped into my lap and curled into a ball and fell asleep. Then she stretched out on her back and wanted me to cradle her like a baby. The only problem with my trying to train her, is my brother. He lets her chew on his hands. When I tell him not to let her do that, he tells me not to tell him what to do with his dog.

I was bitten by a rottwieler a few years ago and I don't want it happening all over again with Nala. My mom is also afraid Nala will turn into a biter because my brother will not put forth any effort in training her or socializing her. Basically its my mom and I who do all the training. I've taught her how to sit and will start "Down" soon. I'm working on the biting, but my brother isn't exactly helping things. He won't even put forth money to take her to Petsmart for thier training sessions. Nala isn't even mine and I offered to pay for a third of the training fee. He still won't agree, and he'd only be paying $30. Just a few days ago he went out and bought a part for his car that he definatly didn't need ($100, he's into making his mustang faster and street racing.) and he doesn't want to put forth any money for Nala that he says he doesn't have to. He says she can be trained at home, but its me doing all the training. Nala is bonding with me! and I'm not her human, my brother and cousin are. I just don't know what to do.