Hi all. I (41f) and my partner (41m) recently adopted a beautiful little German Shepherd mix puppy from a shelter. She'll be 12 weeks this week, and we love her SO MUCH. One of the most exciting things for me is seeing how much my boyfriend and my son (11 years old) love her. We all share the taking-care-of-her tasks, and things are going fairly smoothly. She is sleeping through the night, and she rarely has any accidents inside.
However, I have found that I take things SO personally with her. She is very bitey, and I'm having a hard time not thinking that she hates me because she's always nibbling on my hands and feet and ankles and clothes. When I try to pet her, she nibbles me. When I try to take her outside to play, she bites me. My rational brain knows that she's just being a puppy, but I worry so much that she hates me and will never bond with me. I love our training time together because she is focused, not bitey, and I feel like we really connect during those times as she's learning and I can be proud of her for every little accomplishment. She is so smart and already knows sit, stay, down, paw, twirl, and center.
Did any of you have similar problems? I'd love to hear any stories of puppies that were super bitey with their owners and then went on to love them and bond with them a ton. I'd love some reassurance that her bites aren't a sign that she hates my guts. Lol. I think I might also have a bit of the puppy blues.
Just a note: We are absolutely working on the biting. We realize it's a puppy behavior. We are replacing with toys/chews when she bites our hands to play, and we are removing ourselves from her area when she gets too bitey.
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