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Anyone know the answer??? Help…

692 views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  Laco  
#1 ·
We have an almost 10 week old Cavapoo puppy. She has been with us 1 1/2 weeks. She immediately attached to me, which I’m quite fond of. HOWEVER, I am the ONLY one she nibbles on or play bites. It’s confusing as she trusts me and prefers me above anyone else, but seems I’m her chew toy.
I have raised other puppies and this isn’t what I have experienced before. Yes, I know she is a puppy and nibbles and bites, but why just me? I’m feeling love and hate from the pint size crocodile 😩
Any input is appreciated!!!
 
#2 ·
Puppies solicit play from other puppies by nipping and mouthing them. It sounds like these are, literally, love bites. You are her favorite companion, and so you are the one getting the toothy play requests. I would get a variety of puppy-safe toys you can redirect her onto. Show her a toy and and offer a game of tug or fetch when she invites you to play. Play WITH her; she will be bored and start pestering you if you just give her a toy and then ignore her.

A tired puppy is a bitey puppy. If I offered the puppy a toy, and the puppy switched back to nipping at me, I would get up and walk away for 30 seconds . This pause gives the puppy a chance to calm down. I would then go back and start playing again. If the puppy immediately reentered land shark mode it was time for a nap. I would put the puppy to bed in his crate or playpen with a little snack to chew on. Usually they'd conk out pretty quickly, occasionally protesting it was so unfair before doing a face plant into their dinner.

When my guys were in the mouthy stage I got an inexpensive bag of 20 rope toys from Amazon. Once or twice a week I would pull a new toy out of the bag. There are other good toys you can use as well. Skinneez by Ethical Pet are also great, as they don't have stuffing and are relatively lightweight. They are a bit more expensive, though; my pups got one monthly rather than weekly. You could even make toys with crumpled newspaper and knotted socks (and do it more cheaply than most dog toys.) What's important is to keep the toys new and interesting and novel smelling, hence my habit of breaking out a new tug toy every few days.

Fortunately, this stage will eventually pass. My experience is that the nipping at people continues up until they shed all their milk teeth. It may get pretty intense at the end of the phase. Once they get their adult teeth they shift a lot of their chewing over to objects instead of people. 6-18 months is when you will find the puppy chewing on your shoes, your books, and anything else that appeals to them in the moment.
 
#3 ·
Having recently raised a small land shark masquerading as a terrier puppy I can attest that all of the advice given above by @Curls is excellent, and is what I would have recommended if I had been the first to respond. I did all of the above things.
Those Skineez toys are great, and are also hardy. My puppy loved socks so I sacrificed an old pair of big socks, tied a knot in the middle of each one, and he still loves them as toys. I also got one of those bones made out of compressed wood, and he loves to chew on that to this day as well.
 
#4 ·
Though ours is over the puppy biting stage she is still a chewer. Redirection has been what has worked for us. She has a number of her own toys that she has been and is encouraged to chew on, instead of us or our clothes. She is good at understanding what is hers and what is not. We fortunately can leave alone for reasonable periods of time, and she only chews on her things, and sits on the couch staring at the door until we come home. I have a camera and can watch her when we are away from the house.