Hi everyone,
I’ve worked with many adult dogs over the years but this is my first puppy. I have an 11.5-week-old Beagle and she’s biting quite hard during play. She nips while I’m walking through the kitchen or outside, and when she gets serious she locks onto a finger or clothing and won’t let go. It’s all playful, but the pressure is enough that I wouldn’t feel comfortable having her around small children right now.
I’ve tried the usual “ow!” and immediately stopping play, but that seems to excite her more. I have what feels like every toy available — frozen teething toys, KONGs (with and without treats), rubber toys, crinkle toys, squeakers, tug toys that come apart, tennis balls, etc.
Our daily routine is solid:
Potty/yard time every hour
Crated 11pm–7am (she’s excellent about not soiling her crate, eats there all day, break at night if she stirs and wakes me, alarm set for around 3 am for the first few weeks until I learned her habits)
Lots of play sessions (I keep them gentle and end play if she gets too rowdy)
2–3 hours of backyard play with a mini Nerf soccer ball
Short leash walks in the fenced yard (we stop and wait when she pulls hard, then continue once she settles)
I’m doing everything I can think of, but the biting level is still higher than I expected. Any advice from Beagle owners who’ve been through this stage? What worked for you? Thanks in advance.
Edit: The first picture is not her actual crate right now it is from when I first got her and the plastic things were promptly removed. She just fell asleep in it before I got to it.
She now has a normal large crate that she does well in with a crate bed that she has never once soiled.