Need help with my dog that is mouthing and nipping

[coopersmom]

I have a 4 month old, 30+ pound, unneutered male pit bull mix. 90% of the time he is a sweetheart, 10% of the time he is Demon Dog. He starts puppy training next Saturday but in the mean time I have a problem that needs to be addressed.

Recently his mouthing has started to escalate. It starts off with chewing on my hand and when I move my hand away he goes after it. Pushing him off and saying "NO" doesn't work, in fact it only makes it worse. It will finally reach the point where I will stand up and walk away from him but he follows me and pulls on my shorts and nips at my knees and feet.

This morning when he started chewing on my hand I gently and slowly pulled it away and he went after it again. This time before the situation had a chance to get out of hand (no pun intended) I grabbed my "no can" said "NO" firmly and shook the can once and waited to see if that would work. Surprisingly it did. Within two minutes he was much calmer. Did I handle this correctly?

Any suggestions?

[Cheetah]

If the dog isn't responding, a correction can be handy... some are more stubborn than others lol... in your case it's probably acceptable (although, I never shake a can, but drop it down by the dog... I've found that for some reason, shaking it can desensitize the dog to the can). Something else that helps though is if after the correction, you immediately redirect the chewing to a toy he's allowed to chew and bite, and praise him when he chews on what he's supposed to be chewing on.

This reminds me of my puppy... a friend of mine who comes over often used to encourage him to chase his hands around on the floor... UGH, I coulda killed him! After he left, Shippo would try BITING me because he was encouraged to do so by my friend... I told my friend not to do that anymore, because it teaches him to bite people. >X.x;<

[Becky]

Another course of action is, when he mouths too hard (eventually you'll ween him off of mouthing completely, but this help w/ bite inhibition) you yipe like another pup, litterally. Immediately after yiping, you should get up and away from him and ignore him for at least a few minutes. You me need to even exit the room and shut the door in his face to get the point across. In the end though, he should get the point; "if I bite mom, she won't play with me anymore. I better be more careful with my teeth!"

You can also say "no bite" and (gentley) shove an apropriate chew toy into his mouth. If he plays/chews it, praise him. This teaches him what he should do.

Using your hands to push him away is more of a play behavior to him, so he may very well think you're trying to play with him.

[nancy]

I would continue to use the no can if this works for you but also reward when he does not bite . I give my pup chews and bones to chew on and if she is getting to rough even with her toys (starting to chew them) I put them away and replace with a chew or a bone. Now this is only things she chews , she is now 11 months. Use what works for you. Good Luck.

[opokki]

Yiping in a way that startles but does'nt excite the dog and redirect him to a chew toy. If he continues, ending the play session often works well. Practice in a puppy-proofed room so that when you leave he can't really entertain himself or get into trouble. An alternative is to spray unscented deordant on your arms and hands or bitter apple spray so that mouthing your skin is aversive. Redirect him to a proper chew toy.