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Biting problems.


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Hi! My newest border collie puppy, Sadie, is almost 3 months old. I have had her since she was 8 weeks old. She is generally very sweet. However, she has a biting problem. She has these certain times during the day when she goes crazy. She gets so excited and wants to play and jump and bite and chew. Then, all the sudden its over and she's a sweet little angel again. She specifically wants to jump on small children when this is happening, which I understand why, but it is unacceptable. She also doesn't only play nip during these times, she bites quite viciously, cutting into the skin and drawing blood.

Anyway, I know of several ways to discipline for this but I'm not sure which is best for border collies. Any suggestions?

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Put her in a crate or x-pen during those times of day to prevent it happening until she grows out of it. Only allow her to play with children when she's behaving and remove her from the situation when her behavior's inappropriate.

 

Correcting her when she's behaving inappropriately runs the very real risk of creating negative associations with children.

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If she's not allowed to continue to do it, which is self rewarding, probably. Most puppies, of all breeds and mixes, tend to go though nippy periods while they're learning what it and isn't acceptable behavior. In their own litters, when they do this the other puppies either get pissed off and bite back and/or the play stops because it's no fun for them any more. Most puppies learn quickly that the result of their getting nippy is to lose their playmates, an undesirable consequence.

 

BTW, what usually works well for adults when the pup is getting wound up and nips is for the human to yell "OW!" and simply stop playing and withhold all attention. Again, puppy learns that the fun stops when s/he gets nippy and learns to control their mouths, without anyone actually having to punish the pup.

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All my bc I have ever had get the "zoomies" where they want to race and chase like someone spiked their puppy food. They run full tilt for about 30 min then collapse. Usually the biggest zoomies come about the same time in the evening. I try to get the pups outside where they can really race and play. Mine have other dogs to play with so I do not need much intervention. I have given them a ball, kong, or even an apple and they race around with that for a bit and I play fetch ect. YOU can put a long line on her and go for longer exploration walk so her mind gets busy. If you go outside and play a game like fetch then you can channel that energy into good things rather than waiting for it to escalate into unwanted behavior.

 

The problem with children is they run, squeal, raise their arms ect so the pup equates those things with playing. Teach the kids the correct things to do if they are capable of that.

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Is it likely that she will grow out of it?

Yes, very likely. My Peli was a little terror, especially to the kids, at that age. Now at 7 months this obnoxious behavior has completely disappeared.

We did instruct the kids how to handle him, and how to behave to not excite the puppy too much.

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Definitely remove the puppy from the situation immediately when she goes into those moods and put her on a time-out away from the children. Don't let the kids play with or talk to her or pay any attention to her while she is on her time outs. It's very much like when a toddler goes ballistic and throws a tantrum just before they tip over for a nap. ;)

Puppies of any active breed are prone to over-stimulation in exciting situations, and I'd guess that's what is happening here. She gets over excited and does not know how to control herself. She's going to have to do a lot of growing up before she can do that, so you'll have to help her out. And the best way to do that is just scoop her up and put her in a crate or x-pen to chill.

Don't get her in trouble - she's not being bad, she's just being a puppy. Simply put her away, give her a couple toys or treats or nice chewies and let her have some quiet time. She may even take a nap.

As Denice said, children are extremely exciting to puppies, particularly a breed that is motion-and-sound sensitive like border collies. So, you'll be helping your puppy by removing her from the situation when she starts to wind herself up. There's no way to say exactly when your puppy will grow out of this, but with proper management, I'd say eventually she will. ;)

But also, as has been suggested, work with the children on how to behave with the puppy. Teach them to play nice, be gentle and avoid getting the puppy wound up. If the puppy does start to get too rowdy, if you can, teach them NOT to scream or yell, but instead stand up and stand still, and refuse to look at the puppy until you can come scoop her up and time her out. Best of luck!

~ Gloria

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