I Can't Stand The Biting Anymore

[Kvla]

good evening everyone,

I've posted about this a couple times before. I have a cat who's been biting me for as long as I've had her. (4 weeks old) She's just over a year old now and I know that she's still young and that she can grow out of it but I can't take it anymore. I feel like I've tried everything in the books to get her to stop and nothing will phase her. It's like she just hates me. I've listened to all the advice that was given to me: hissing at her, doing time outs, avoiding her, I take her outside 30 minutes a day on a leash and I play with her for another 30 minutes right before I go to bed.

I feel like I'm making no progress whatsoever. It's completely embarrassing having guests over and my cat comes over and bites them for no reason. She will even bite my dog. It also doesn't help that she draws blood part of the time.. tonight surprised me by biting my skin and I accidentally pushed her over on the carpet. This made her mad and I knew she would be so I didn't reach over to comfort her since I knew she would attack me. She just came back over and bit me harder and drew blood.

I've gone to the vet and expressed my concerns. She came back with a clean bill of health and hey prescribed gabapentin, but it didn't seem to do a difference.

I'm sitting in my bedroom just crying because I am so frustrated. This is my first cat that I've owned by myself and I've never had a family cat do this. I'll never get rid of her, but I just feel unloved and that I failed as a cat mom. I'll never, ever rehome her as I know that there are so many cats out there that need homes that she'll probably never find one with her attitude.

I'm dying to find a solution. I don't know what to do anymore and I'm heartbroken. Picture attached is what she did to me tonight.

 

[jen]

She came back with a clean bill of health and hey prescribed gabapentin, but it didn't seem to do a difference.

I don't know how long you tried Gabapentin for or how you did it, but it is something you give regularly and many times have to play around with the dosage a bit to find the right amount that works for her.

Also what is the rest of her body language like when she is biting? Is she ever just fine or is she literally always biting? Is this accompanied by hissing or growling or puffed up fur or swishing the tail? If so that is one thing, if not and the cat is perfectly happy and just randomly biting then it is a learned behavior and the cat learned it is something that gets a reaction or a response. Also it makes perfect sense that you got the cat so young, it didn't have proper time with its siblings and mother to learn how to behave.

 

[Kvla]

I don't know how long you tried Gabapentin for or how you did it, but it is something you give regularly and many times have to play around with the dosage a bit to find the right amount that works for her.

Also what is the rest of her body language like when she is biting? Is she ever just fine or is she literally always biting? Is this accompanied by hissing or growling or puffed up fur or swishing the tail? If so that is one thing, if not and the cat is perfectly happy and just randomly biting then it is a learned behavior and the cat learned it is something that gets a reaction or a response. Also it makes perfect sense that you got the cat so young, it didn't have proper time with its siblings and mother to learn how to behave.

Thank you for the reply. We've been on gabapentin for about 10 days straight now. It's a liquid and I've tried to put it in her food to get her to eat it without noticing, but she won't eat her food, so instead I have to scruff her and squirt it quick in her mouth. This just makes her angry if you could probably guess. I haven't noticed a difference, but I will contact my vet for a higher dosage.

Sometimes the signs she shows are super noticeable sometimes they are not. She's never hissed or growled at me. When I've done something that she doesn't like or gets her attention that she seems to show signs. (given medication, move quickly next to her, type on my laptop) She will have a super intense look on her face and stare at me, her ears will be laid back, and her tail will swish really fast. At this point, I will try to walk away from her. I'm unable to put her on a time out because if I reach for her she will bite me. Usually if I walk away she will chase me and get my ankles/feet.

I've thought of all the reasons as to why that she does it. I know that her being weaned too early from momma is definitely a reason as to why she bites. Along with probably that she was so bored. I try to play with her as much as I can and give her as much stimulation as I can, but I feel like I can never tire her out. Not even 30 minutes of running around like crazy after a laser pointer tires her out.

 

[sargon]

Oh. Ten days is not very long. For the first 6 weeks, I didn't think that Freya's prozac was working. It took a couple of months to see much result, but the biting behavior still needed behavioral work, too (kind of a half and half deal where the prozac allowed the behavioral work to start to have an impact). The whole process took about 6-8 months, but that obviously can vary.

If it doesn't work, you can always talk to your vet about trying something else, it is not uncommon for one drug not to work,but another one to work well, but you aren't there yet.

Sometimes a different drug works better, and, on occasion, sometimes none work. It isn't your fault, just like humans, a minority of cats have a chemical imbalance. usually one f the drugs helps, but not always.

if changing medication doesn't work, or your vet feels that your cat isn't a good candidate for other drugs, then you might try hiring a cat behaviorist and seeing if that helps (it may be associated with the dog, for example).

I doubt any of it is your fault in any case, so forgive your self. it is a very difficult and stressful situation, and you seem to be doing the right things.

 

[jen]

Have you thought of getting a friend for her to take her energy out on?

 

[maggie101]

Have you tried cbd oil I think its called

 

[cat nap]

Kvla ...I'm so sorry that this is happening to you. Especially the biting the arm.
I went over and read your other threads, and the video that you posted was extremely helpful. Most of the members gave excellent advice.

I'm not very familiar with medications to calm cats who bite, so I'll defer to the above members who do...and would suggest that you also videotape some more, so as to bring or send the video to the vet, or behaviourist, for more suggestions.

The thing that I do want to know, is what type of dog do you have?
Is he small, and does the cat want to dominate him-her?
Does she constantly want to wrestle, and play, tumble and fight?

From your previous video, your cat definitely looks like she is using you as a plaything. She seems to escalate the game...into a type of prey drive. And she does not know that she is being too rough, or learned not to bite.

For now, I would suggest that you always have a towel handy, and if she gets into any of these wild moods, then protect yourself with the towel, and you could also toss a smaller towel, or cat toy, to see if your cat will distract, and run after it. ping pong balls work well, too.
Try to keep track of when your cat gets into these moods...eg. after eating, only at night, when she sees something outside, when you are relaxing, ...etc.

 

[Kvla]

Oh. Ten days is not very long. For the first 6 weeks, I didn't think that Freya's prozac was working. It took a couple of months to see much result, but the biting behavior still needed behavioral work, too (kind of a half and half deal where the prozac allowed the behavioral work to start to have an impact). The whole process took about 6-8 months, but that obviously can vary.

If it doesn't work, you can always talk to your vet about trying something else, it is not uncommon for one drug not to work,but another one to work well, but you aren't there yet.

Sometimes a different drug works better, and, on occasion, sometimes none work. It isn't your fault, just like humans, a minority of cats have a chemical imbalance. usually one f the drugs helps, but not always.

if changing medication doesn't work, or your vet feels that your cat isn't a good candidate for other drugs, then you might try hiring a cat behaviorist and seeing if that helps (it may be associated with the dog, for example).

I doubt any of it is your fault in any case, so forgive your self. it is a very difficult and stressful situation, and you seem to be doing the right things.

Thank you. I contacted my vet last night so hopefully I'll hear something today about trying the gabapentin for a longer period of time/getting a higher dose/trying something new. I know patience is a pretty key factor in doing this, but 6-8 months is such a long time to go before saying "nope, this doesn't work" that I feel like I'll be discouraged. Were there any signs within the first couple weeks that you knew the medication was working/helping at all?

Have you thought of getting a friend for her to take her energy out on?

Yeah, I have considered it. I actually would really like another cat and think that one that was weaned properly and knows how to be a cat would be really good for her. The place I'm currently living doesn't allow me to have another cat though, so that won't be an option until July 2020. She does wrestle with my dog though.

Have you tried cbd oil I think its called

Unfortunately, I have tried CBD oil. I didn't see much of a difference when using that as well and it was the same problem as the gabapentin. She hated the taste so she wouldn't eat her dinner, so I had to scruff her and give it to her. This time it was a dropper though, so getting the correct dosage in her mouth all at once was difficult.

Kvla ...I'm so sorry that this is happening to you. Especially the biting the arm.
I went over and read your other threads, and the video that you posted was extremely helpful. Most of the members gave excellent advice.

I'm not very familiar with medications to calm cats who bite, so I'll defer to the above members who do...and would suggest that you also videotape some more, so as to bring or send the video to the vet, or behaviourist, for more suggestions.

The thing that I do want to know, is what type of dog do you have?
Is he small, and does the cat want to dominate him-her?
Does she constantly want to wrestle, and play, tumble and fight?

From your previous video, your cat definitely looks like she is using you as a plaything. She seems to escalate the game...into a type of prey drive. And she does not know that she is being too rough, or learned not to bite.

For now, I would suggest that you always have a towel handy, and if she gets into any of these wild moods, then protect yourself with the towel, and you could also toss a smaller towel, or cat toy, to see if your cat will distract, and run after it. ping pong balls work well, too.
Try to keep track of when your cat gets into these moods...eg. after eating, only at night, when she sees something outside, when you are relaxing, ...etc.

Thank you. That video very clearly shows her warning signs before she's about to bite. My dog is a pitbull mix and they do wrestle a lot. He'll run up to her and hit her with his paw and nudge her with his nose. He does the dog thing where he gently mouths her but doesn't bite. Opie will sometimes run up and attack his tail like she's hunting and he seems to let her. Sometimes she'll walk up to him and bite his face and his feet and he usually lets her, or if he doesn't he'll move.

I do think that the biting stems from not enough energy burned off and that she doesn't know better. The problem is, she still acts out even after 30 minutes outside and a half hour chase before bed. Google says you should play with your cat for about 15 minutes twice a day, but my cat could keep going. Toys that people always suggest to me she's either not interested or it doesn't tire her out. I don't feel comfortable letting her run outside freely, as much as I know that would tire her out because I live in the city. I just wish I could take her for a run like a dog! Haha

 

[maggie101]

A friend of mine that volunteers at a rescue is fostering a sweet cat that has a biting problem. He is going to see a cat behaviorist

 

[sargon]

To clarify, it took about 2 months for he drug to have very significant effects ( a 60-80% reduction in frequency and intensity), but getting that last third (or so) took months of behavior work. AKA when he drugs work you are left with a basically sane cat who still has bad habits you need to (but now can) train out.

if the drugs work, you should know in a few weeks, and the effect is more than enough to make you feel like you've already gotten your life back.

 

[walli]

You will have to teach your kitty not to bite, I have been working with my Joey for awhile and we are making progress, when your kitty bites say OW like your really hurt, they don't want to hurt us, you can hiss also, but I think the OW might work better, also if it's really bad you can gently scruff your kitty, don't lift the legs off the ground, just scruff, Say NO and hold for about 2-3 seconds down low, if it's really aggressive you can lift the front legs off the ground.
I would do a search about cats biting on this site, there is a lot of info here.

you are right your kitty was taken from the Mom too early that's why they don't know proper behavior, that's why you have to teach kitty.
The Mom would hiss at the baby and scruff also.

some people don't like the thought of scruffing but when your tired of cat bites we will try everything, when I scruff my Joey, he actually calms and kind of freezes.
(if I do it properly)

also I took Joey off Prozac and told my vet and she said it wasn't working because he is not anxious, I have him on a very high quality CBD now, and it really seems to be working.

He really has reduced the biting, I play with him in the morning with a wand toy and when were done I give him a treat, it completes the cycle, Hunt-Catch-Kill-Eat, I also play with him when I get home. He could play non stop!!
He's going on 2 years old now, so maybe he will slow down a bit in this next year!

 

[walli]

OH and every time you don't follow through with discipline when he bites, it's like starting over, you have to be diligent every time!
I had to train myself to say OW! It was more natural for me to Hiss, but I think the OW is working better for me.

 

[maggie101]

Thank you for the reply. We've been on gabapentin for about 10 days straight now. It's a liquid and I've tried to put it in her food to get her to eat it without noticing, but she won't eat her food, so instead I have to scruff her and squirt it quick in her mouth. This just makes her angry if you could probably guess. I haven't noticed a difference, but I will contact my vet for a higher dosage.

Sometimes the signs she shows are super noticeable sometimes they are not. She's never hissed or growled at me. When I've done something that she doesn't like or gets her attention that she seems to show signs. (given medication, move quickly next to her, type on my laptop) She will have a super intense look on her face and stare at me, her ears will be laid back, and her tail will swish really fast. At this point, I will try to walk away from her. I'm unable to put her on a time out because if I reach for her she will bite me. Usually if I walk away she will chase me and get my ankles/feet.

I've thought of all the reasons as to why that she does it. I know that her being weaned too early from momma is definitely a reason as to why she bites. Along with probably that she was so bored. I try to play with her as much as I can and give her as much stimulation as I can, but I feel like I can never tire her out. Not even 30 minutes of running around like crazy after a laser pointer tires her out.

There was a different thread about a pen now used to put in a cats ear. Something new. Have you tried clicker training?

 

[lawrence38]

I think its a matter of patience and you should not worry too much. Our Corleone, the black cat in the photo, was born mischievous I think (we named them Corleone & Palermo because I'm a big fan of the movie and I was watching it the evening before finding them and taking them in as small kittens, but it turned out to be a most appropriate name!). She also "threatens" us or sometimes even chases us around if we try to pet her an an inappropriate time or something like that, but we've learned to manage it and what starts her off, so even though when she was smaller my hands were never free of scratches, I'm happy to say now she hardly ever bites or scratches either myself or my wife, even though sometimes we have very spirited playing sessions, especially after we lost her sibling not long ago , so we try our best to give her more attention and play a lot more with her as she's been always so active and they used to tear the house down together at times together

 

[Kvla]

To clarify, it took about 2 months for he drug to have very significant effects ( a 60-80% reduction in frequency and intensity), but getting that last third (or so) took months of behavior work. AKA when he drugs work you are left with a basically sane cat who still has bad habits you need to (but now can) train out.

if the drugs work, you should know in a few weeks, and the effect is more than enough to make you feel like you've already gotten your life back.

Thank you, I will contact my vet about medication. I'm hoping the right medication is just the other half of what I need to help her and help me. lol I do notice that when we don't go outside/have our nightly playtime she runs up the walls more than usual. I'll have to see how it correlates with her biting too.

OH and every time you don't follow through with discipline when he bites, it's like starting over, you have to be diligent every time!
I had to train myself to say OW! It was more natural for me to Hiss, but I think the OW is working better for me.

I've tried that type of discipline with her and she doesn't seem to take it lightly? Maybe I'm not doing it right. I could hiss, yelp, say ow, or no and she would let go and bite me again 5 seconds later. Someone told me in the past to put her on a "time out" in a different room for 2 minutes. When I do that and open the door back up she seems to have forgotten what we were doing and has calmed down. I don't know if she understands that her time out is supposed to be a punishment though?

There was a different thread about a pen now used to put in a cats ear. Something new. Have you tried clicker training?

A pen to put in cat's ears? Like medicine? And no I haven't tried clicker training. How does that work with cats? I don't even know what I would use for treats, because she doesn't always eat the treats I give her, but maybe I should find some more tasty ones?

I think its a matter of patience and you should not worry too much. Our Corleone, the black cat in the photo, was born mischievous I think (we named them Corleone & Palermo because I'm a big fan of the movie and I was watching it the evening before finding them and taking them in as small kittens, but it turned out to be a most appropriate name!). She also "threatens" us or sometimes even chases us around if we try to pet her an an inappropriate time or something like that, but we've learned to manage it and what starts her off, so even though when she was smaller my hands were never free of scratches, I'm happy to say now she hardly ever bites or scratches either myself or my wife, even though sometimes we have very spirited playing sessions, especially after we lost her sibling not long ago , so we try our best to give her more attention and play a lot more with her as she's been always so active and they used to tear the house down together at times together

Ohh no! I'm so sorry for your loss ): I'm trying to be patient.. I figured maybe her biting was just a kitten thing, and I feel like I should have disciplined her more when she was younger and didn't have such a bad habit, but everyone told me that she'd grow out of it. The cats of her same litter have all grown out of the biting and scratching. I feel like it's a little bit more than just something she needs to grow out of. Though, someday I hope that she will and no longer need to be on medication to help.

 

[cat nap]

Thank you. That video very clearly shows her warning signs before she's about to bite. My dog is a pitbull mix and they do wrestle a lot. He'll run up to her and hit her with his paw and nudge her with his nose. He does the dog thing where he gently mouths her but doesn't bite. Opie will sometimes run up and attack his tail like she's hunting and he seems to let her. Sometimes she'll walk up to him and bite his face and his feet and he usually lets her, or if he doesn't he'll move.

I do think that the biting stems from not enough energy burned off and that she doesn't know better. The problem is, she still acts out even after 30 minutes outside and a half hour chase before bed. Google says you should play with your cat for about 15 minutes twice a day, but my cat could keep going. Toys that people always suggest to me she's either not interested or it doesn't tire her out. I don't feel comfortable letting her run outside freely, as much as I know that would tire her out because I live in the city. I just wish I could take her for a run like a dog! Haha

Hi Kvla , I'm so glad your dog is not as small as I thought, since I pictured some little dog breed being bitten and dominated by your cat. It sounds like the wrestling and playing with the dog, is a good way to release some of that extra energy, although Opie does need to learn "bite-inhibition".

That seems to be the biggest problem...how to teach your cat Opie, to lessen the strength of her bites, and also not to scratch, nor attack at full force.
How do you teach a cat that didn't learn it from her siblings.

The reason I asked about the dog, and about when you noticed your cat going into attack-mode...was that I was wondering if it were "re-directed aggression"?
Like does Opie seem to attack you after a 'dog-cat' play session?
Or does she seem to feel defeated by the dog, or her territory is invaded, and then she turns at her humans and attacks them?

"Google says you should play with your cat for about 15 minutes twice a day, but my cat could keep going. Toys that people always suggest to me she's either not interested or it doesn't tire her out."
(I'm not sure what type of cat 'google' has...but I've never heard of a cat tiring out after 30 minutes of play. They must have some type of 'robot cat' that we don't know about.)

I always thought you had to play for about 1-2 hours per day, with younger cats and less when older. But I seem to tire out after 10 minutes, so your suggestion of wishing to 'take her out for a run like a dog' seems good and funny. (in no way am I laughing at your situation, but I do appreciate that you can still maintain a sense of humour in all this...because just having stressful times, needs some humour to balance the day.)
(I sometimes wish I could send both my dog and cats onto the treadmill, to exercise so I don't have to. I am so lazy. )

Back to Opie...there was one thing that I remembered after reading W walli 's post. The thing about "Hunt, catch, kill, eat"...is that the cat has to feel that she accomplished her hunt, by catching whatever she is hunting...
So even though the 'laser pointer' game tires her out... She really does not get the satisfaction of catching her 'prey'.
It would be better to use a wand toy, similar to 'da bird', or something that she can physically catch.
(Also I'm not sure if she should be getting any 'cat nip' since sometimes in toys, it makes a cat hyper.)

 

[maggie101]

Thank you, I will contact my vet about medication. I'm hoping the right medication is just the other half of what I need to help her and help me. lol I do notice that when we don't go outside/have our nightly playtime she runs up the walls more than usual. I'll have to see how it correlates with her biting too.



I've tried that type of discipline with her and she doesn't seem to take it lightly? Maybe I'm not doing it right. I could hiss, yelp, say ow, or no and she would let go and bite me again 5 seconds later. Someone told me in the past to put her on a "time out" in a different room for 2 minutes. When I do that and open the door back up she seems to have forgotten what we were doing and has calmed down. I don't know if she understands that her time out is supposed to be a punishment though?



A pen to put in cat's ears? Like medicine? And no I haven't tried clicker training. How does that work with cats? I don't even know what I would use for treats, because she doesn't always eat the treats I give her, but maybe I should find some more tasty ones?



Ohh no! I'm so sorry for your loss ): I'm trying to be patient.. I figured maybe her biting was just a kitten thing, and I feel like I should have disciplined her more when she was younger and didn't have such a bad habit, but everyone told me that she'd grow out of it. The cats of her same litter have all grown out of the biting and scratching. I feel like it's a little bit more than just something she needs to grow out of. Though, someday I hope that she will and no longer need to be on medication to help.

I copy pasted this:
It seems like a new product so few people in general have used it so far. Here's some info if anyone is interested:

Topi-CLICK Micro - Specialty Veterinary Compounding Pharmacy
GGVCP's New Transdermal Pen NOW Available - Golden Gate Veterinary Compounding Pharmacy

The company that makes the application device:

Topi-CLICK Micro® - DoseLogix
Topi-CLICK by DoseLogix

 

[maggie101]

Go to menu
Search clicker training
And you will find numerous threads about it

 

[Kvla]

Hi Kvla , I'm so glad your dog is not as small as I thought, since I pictured some little dog breed being bitten and dominated by your cat. It sounds like the wrestling and playing with the dog, is a good way to release some of that extra energy, although Opie does need to learn "bite-inhibition".

That seems to be the biggest problem...how to teach your cat Opie, to lessen the strength of her bites, and also not to scratch, nor attack at full force.
How do you teach a cat that didn't learn it from her siblings.

The reason I asked about the dog, and about when you noticed your cat going into attack-mode...was that I was wondering if it were "re-directed aggression"?
Like does Opie seem to attack you after a 'dog-cat' play session?
Or does she seem to feel defeated by the dog, or her territory is invaded, and then she turns at her humans and attacks them?

"Google says you should play with your cat for about 15 minutes twice a day, but my cat could keep going. Toys that people always suggest to me she's either not interested or it doesn't tire her out."
(I'm not sure what type of cat 'google' has...but I've never heard of a cat tiring out after 30 minutes of play. They must have some type of 'robot cat' that we don't know about.)

I always thought you had to play for about 1-2 hours per day, with younger cats and less when older. But I seem to tire out after 10 minutes, so your suggestion of wishing to 'take her out for a run like a dog' seems good and funny. (in no way am I laughing at your situation, but I do appreciate that you can still maintain a sense of humour in all this...because just having stressful times, needs some humour to balance the day.)
(I sometimes wish I could send both my dog and cats onto the treadmill, to exercise so I don't have to. I am so lazy. )

Back to Opie...there was one thing that I remembered after reading W walli 's post. The thing about "Hunt, catch, kill, eat"...is that the cat has to feel that she accomplished her hunt, by catching whatever she is hunting...
So even though the 'laser pointer' game tires her out... She really does not get the satisfaction of catching her 'prey'.
It would be better to use a wand toy, similar to 'da bird', or something that she can physically catch.
(Also I'm not sure if she should be getting any 'cat nip' since sometimes in toys, it makes a cat hyper.)

Wow! Thank you so much for all of that. She seems to be “energized” almost or stimulated after playing with the dog, that when I reach over she will bite me. I don’t know if that’s her redirecting to me, or if she’s still in her play mode, or if she feels defeated. All I know is that I can’t touch my kitty when she’s playing or even after.

Honestly that makes me feel so much better and that my cat doesn’t just have such endless energy. 2 hours is such a long time to play intensely with my kitty, as much as I wish I could just sit there and do that! But if exercising her for 2 hours would fix what I have right now I’d do it with no second guesses.

I use the wand toy sometimes, but the laser pointer has always seemed to get her really going in circles and get her tired a lot fast

Also copy pasted this:
You can actually clicker train a cat to do anything you want, or to show them what not to do, by training them what to do instead. It is the basis of behavior modification and desensitizing techniques. My cat Sophie bites and scratches. She always look like wired to the point that her breathing and heart rate were very fast ALL the time even she she was sleeping or resting and she was constantly in predator mode, pupils dilated, staring at everything and me in particular. The vet recommended putting her on Prozac for a 3 months trial but also said that behavior modification therapy would really help her so I started clicker training her. I have no prior knowledge of this so did a little reasearch and what I found is that yes, you can teach them tricks of course, but also reinforce good behavior. For Sophie, my main goal is to stop her from biting me when I approach to pet her (it has become a habit of hers), stop biting my toes and legs when I walk past her (a habit she has been developing over the last couple of weeks) and let me pet her as I know she enjoys it as she was super cuddly when I first got her, but the constant need to bite has since taken over. I also wanted to have fun with my cat and rebuild our relationship as the constant biting has put a toll on our bond.
Now I am not an expert in clicker training by any means as I only started 3 days ago, but boy this thing is powerful and I already know it will change our life if I stick with it. First I “charged” the clicker and associated a click with a treat. Then I started to simply assossiate petting with a click and a treat. Now Sophie is EXTREMELY food motivated and loves the Sheba tender meat stick,which are awesome for training as they can be broken in teeny tiny bits. For our sessions, the key is to start small. I sit next to her, reach out to pet her. If she reaches out to bite and/or scratch, I remove my hand and clicker/tricks (which she now knows mean no treat) and say “no biting”. I wait till she looks at me and try petting her again. If she lets me pet her once, I said “good mama” as I pet her, and before finishing my pet, I click and treat. It can be hit or miss the first few times, but she quickly understood that if she lets me pet her, I click and treat. Once she consistently accepted one pet, I moved on to 2, and 3 and so on. The training sessions must be short. 5 min to start with and very frequent. I do 3 a day. Now I will also randomly come to her, pet her and say “good mama” to reinforce the behavior without the clicker. For now, I give her a treat when I do that, but will eventually just stick to “good mama”. It is by no means perfect yet and she still bites, but not all the time and she is starting to come to me to rest by me and let her pet her when she is asleep. The vet was right. The meds have helped calm her. Her breathing is back to normal. She can relax and blink her eyes at me before and is not constantly living with predator instincts on, but she was still biting. I have only started to notice a change in that since I started

That is absolutely amazing! I will definitely have to get myself a clicker. I think my only problem would be finding a treat that she would love to eat! She doesn’t like the treats I got for her, but maybe she needs something a little bit more smelly..

 

[maggie101]

I use Greenies for treats. Use a pill cutter to make 1/4 and put in a fanny pack. Take her in a bedroom,shut the door and start training! Also used pure bites. Keep a stash around your house. Clickers are at Petco or buy a pack of 4+ online. After so many times I did not need the clicker.

Click
Maggie come!
Give her a treat