Your puppy might be cute, but their mouth is full of razor-sharp teeth. And, they’re not afraid to use it. “Play biting,” as it is called by dog trainers, might just be only slightly irksome for you in the puppy stage. But without proper training and biting inhibition, this behavior can escalate and be a cause for worry in adulthood.
Why Do Puppies Bite?
Puppy biting is natural, and all puppies will go through this stage. Teething, the process of growing teeth in puppies causes them to bite and chew on everything. It begins early on in the puppy’s life.
Like human babies, puppies chew on things to reduce the discomfort that comes with teething. In addition, some dogs just like to use their mouths instead of their paws to navigate objects.
Puppy teeth are also quite sharp; the young dogs don’t know how hard they bite you. This is definitely not a behavior you want your puppy to continue in the adult stage. So how do you train your puppy to stop nipping?
Here are a few tips.
Tip #1
Making Your Puppy Learn Bite Inhibition
One important thing you need to teach your puppy first is how to control that mouth and moderate the force of their bite. And that you’ll do by ‘Bite Inhibition.’
Bite inhibition is a response in which the pup learns to consciously hold back on the force of the bite. The foundation of this behavior is set when they’re playing around with their mother and littermates.
When the puppies are nursing, the mother dog will simply stand up and walk away if any puppy bites harshly. And when they’re playing with other puppies, they stop playing and yelp when someone gets rough. The same boundary needs to be reinforced with human interaction.
Learning bite inhibition is crucial for all dogs because there might be times when they’re anxious or in pain and would want to mouth you or someone else. But if they know bite inhibition, they will know not to bite you harder than what is acceptable.
And if any adult puppy bites you, here’s what you have to do to treat the dog bite.
How You’ll Teach Bite Inhibition?
Step 1 – When your puppy bites you, imitate the puppies’ behavior by making a high-pitched sound like “OW.”
Step 2 – Look at your puppy and observe how it reacts or responds. If it gets more excited and keeps biting you instead of stopping, then you have to change the strategy.
Step 3 – If your puppy keeps biting you, simply walk away from it or put your puppy in time-out by shifting it into its cage or crate till it calms down. Don’t punish them; just walk away. Make this process into a strict rule that will mean, “GAME OVER.”
Step 4 – If the puppy calms down and stops biting, then encourage the behavior by giving treats or verbal praises.
Tip #2
Use Up Their Energy
If your puppy ignores the toy, and no matter what you do, it continues to bite on you. There might just be a lot of pent-up mental and physical energy in them.
In this case, you just need to take them out. They’ll probably burst into zoomies and run around. Additionally, you can play fetch with them to burn some more energy and tire them out.
Also Read- 10 Amazing Things You Don’t Know About Your Dog
Tip #3
Practice positive reinforcements
Positive encouragments in the form of treats or just simple pats along with verbal praise do wonder. This way, you can make them learn what behaviors are good.
So every time your puppy is sitting calmly beside you and not biting, be sure to praise them or give a small treat.
Tip #4
Observe and try to read their behavior
Sometimes if your puppy is constantly gnawing on you, it might just mean they’re hungry or thirsty. Or need you to take them out so that they can poop.
Try and understand if your puppy is asking for something and do the needful.
Tip #5
Give Chew Toys, And Chew Treats To Your Puppy
Your puppy will continue to have a need to chew on things for a while. So it is always good to have chew toys and treats available with you.
Whenever you catch your puppy trying to chew on a furniture leg or mouth you, divert them to a chew toy. Let them know that it’s fine to chew on the toy but not on your hand or the furniture.
Always keep the toys handy and give them to them whenever they begin nibbling on you. Remember to stop playtime immediately if they continue to nip on you.
Tip #6
Enroll your pup in a daycare or a puppy class
It’s a good idea to help them learn to socialize with other dogs at a young age and at the same time learn some good doggie manners.
Tip #7
Avoid physical punishments
Never physically punish your pup. This can include actions of hitting and the likes. If you feel like you have an aggression issue with your pet, seek professional guidance to help combat the problem.
Teaching your hyper little puppy not to do something might seem like a huge task at first. But consistency and patience, you can make them learn how to grow into a good dog.
However, if you haven’t made any progress after 6 months, you might need to consult an experienced dog trainer to help you with the journey.
Also Read:-Is It Okay To Dress Up Your Dog?
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