Tips on Training Your Puppy Not to Bite
Biting is a completely natural occurrence for puppies, but puppy teeth are small, sharp and painful. Puppy biting is one of the more difficult parts of bringing home a new puppy for most people. Biting hurts and can destroy clothing and other household items. The most important step towards beginning the process of teaching your puppy not to bite you is to understand that puppy biting is completely natural and does not represent aggression.
Puppies bite each other as littermates before you ever meet them. Biting in litters of puppies is a form of play and a way to begin establishing rank in the litter pack. Puppies have a strong natural desire to bite and chew and can bite one another quite hard. When a new puppy makes the transition from living with his littermates to living in your home, he has not yet learned any new rules about biting. To him, biting is still a form of play and way to begin establishing pack rank. It is your job as the pack leader to teach puppy the new human rules about biting. Remember that your puppy is not being aggressive; this is his natural way of interacting with his pack mates. This being said, nobody enjoys being bit and no one wants an adult dog that bites humans. So your goal is to teach puppy the new rules of living with a pack of humans while still providing him with appropriate toys that he can bite and chew.
Puppies in litters use verbal communication to let one another know that they are being bitten too hard. This lets the other puppy know what is too rough and what is fun. The same technique can be applied when you want to teach your puppy about biting. Two important notes to remember are one: dogs should not bite humans, and two: as with any type of dog training the key point is consistency. Always be consistent when training a dog to do anything. When your puppy is spending time with you and bites, say ‘ouch’ and stop playing with them. Once they have stopped biting you then you can continue to play with them. For many puppies this simple verbal communication technique tells them they are biting too hard and by stopping play you will get their attention. The puppy will learn that he likes to play and will stop behaviors that take play away from him. Never hit or loudly yell at a puppy. The goal is to develop a tight bond between you two, not scare him. Consistent biting even after saying ‘ouch’ and pulling away may warrant a finger on tap on the tip of the nose, in a gentle fashion. This physically stops the puppy from biting. Gently place a finger on pup’s nose when he bites and say ‘no’. It is also important to provide the puppy with appropriate dogs that he can bite. You can use these toys to redirect his attention away from biting you. With consistency and time, your puppy will learn the new rules about playing with his human pack. Playing with humans involves praise, treats and toys, but not biting.
Other important key points to remember when training your puppy anything, including not biting, are mental and physical exercise. Getting the appropriate amount of exercise will help your puppy learn better and prevent a build up energy from causing behavior problems. Mental exercise prevents the puppy from getting bored and acting out. Keep your pup from becoming bored through play time, training sessions and by altering different toys. These simple techniques will help puppy understand his new place in the human home and create a happy and well adjusted dog in the future.
Dog Training
