Puppies always bite, and will continue to do so for the next couple months until it matures.

are you kidding?! what the hell kind of advice is that?! that is no way to treat a dog, especially one that is only 4 weeks old, and it seems you have a lot to learn before giving people advice.

as for the puppy being 4 weeks old? who gave you this puppy? sounds like a back yard breeder situation to me. its very hard to have a puppy at such a young age because now you are in charge of teaching the puppy a mother would do. you are responsible for bottle feeding, for weaning. for socializing.

have you taken the pup to the vet? that will be especially important for the next few weeks. that puppy shouldn't have been when anyone but its mother until it was 8 - 12wks, sometimes 16.

and of course puppies will bite. they don't come out proper, once the puppy is old enough I recommend finding a trainer near you to start basic puppy obedience. border collies are high strung breeds, with means lots of energy, and they need something to tame that energy, which means lots of training and activities.

i hope you do the right thing for that puppy!
- Kiae

---------- Post added at 04:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:06 AM ----------



woops, didn't see this but left my original comment up just because. it's good you did the right thing, you would have regreted it later down the road had you not.

Of course biting is normal for puppies. they're teething.
However, Puppies are not supposed to leave their mother and litter for 8-12 weeks for several reasons.

1.You have to be sure they are fully weened off the mother's milk. Breeders typically don't even start this process until about 3 weeks of age, so the fact that yours is only 4 weeks of age and not with it's mother is terrible.

2. They learn not to bite through playing with their litter mates. The first 12 weeks is imperative to their socialization with other dogs. It's the most important period in their lives because that's when they learn the most.

3.They're supposed to get their shots and de-wormings at 8 weeks of age. Any DECENT and knowledgeable breeder knows that and will provide that service before sending the puppies home with you along with the puppies papers.Any one who doesn't should NOT be in the breeding business and it's not a good idea to get your puppies from them.

As for teaching them not to bite, when they DO bite, yell "OUCH" in a sharp tone, then ignore the puppy.
They learn eventually but it will take time not only because of the teething, but because it should have been well on it's way to learning not to bit before you even took it home.

Biting is normal, but as it gets older, if you let it continue to do so, it wont see a problem with it, but the bites get harder. As a puppy, you need to show it that you're the leader of the pack. I heard a tip from a vet once to hold the puppy in a position on its back where it can't bite you but at the same time you're not hurting it (be extra careful) this shows that you're the stronger one and it has to do as you say.