We see it all the time that puppies and even dogs are tempted to gnaw on things like your shoes or maybe furniture. Sometimes it is because they are teething and other times they might be trying to play. Biting or nibbling is a common dog behavior as they prefer to use their mouth, over paws to manipulate things. Biting starts from puppyhood when they begin teething and need something to chew on in order to sooth the pain of their new forming teeth.
If the puppies aren’t trained to stop biting from the beginning their playful behavior might soon turn into a painful one. So, do you want to learn how to train your pooch not to bite? Here are some training tips to help you stop your pooch from biting.
Stopping The Bite
Puppies need to be taught that play is good but biting is bad. Puppies and dogs do not recognize how sensitive human skin is and therefore they may bite a little too hard even when they are playing. Bite inhibition teaches puppies to control the force of their mouthing. Here are some techniques to teach your pooch bite inhibition:
1. Encourage play with friendly puppies
Puppies learn a lot and explore when they play with other friendly and well-mannered pups. Puppies indulge in a lot of chasing and pouncing while they play. They may also bite each other while playing and when this happens the dog who is bit usually snaps, growls and stops playing momentarily. Although they soon get back to play, this type of interaction enables dogs to learn and control the intensity of their mouthing.
2. Play With Your Pup Until He Bites
Another way to teach your pup bite inhibition is to play with him until he bites. When he actually bites, give him a high-pitched yell and make your hand go limp to make him aware that he did something bad. Stop playing for some time to reinforce that his behavior was unacceptable. Play with your pooch again and if he repeats, make the loud “yelp” again, simulating what another puppy might sound like if he was bitten too hard.
3. Time-outs
If your pooch is just too naughty, you may want to switch to an alternative method. Time outs can be an extremely effective way to curb puppy's mouthing behavior. When your pooch bites you, yell loudly and ignore him for 10-20 seconds. If he mouths again, move away from him for some time. Resume playing with him after sometime. This will teach your furry friend that gentle play is good but biting needs to stop.
More Tips:
- Use toys and chew bones to teach him that teeth don’t belong on human skin
- Encourage games that do not involve physical touch like freebies’ and fetch etc
- Allow your puppy to play with other vaccinated and friendly pups from the neighborhood.
- Stay away from physical punishment while trying to teach him a lesson.
- Stay confident and strong in front of your puppy to establish yourself as the alpha
These tips should be really helpful if you want to learn how to teach your pooch not to bite.
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