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Why do Puppies Bite?
- Puppies use their mouths to discover the environment.
- They go through a painful teething period that lasts about two to three months.
- Some Breed dogs are prone to nipping, herding, and chasing small, fast-moving objects. Sometimes, it is young children who bear the brunt of this kind of behaviour.
- Retrievers have a tendency for grabbing and holding everything within reach, including your hands and anything in your hands..
This biting is probably not aggressive in young puppies, and they don’t intend to harm you, but if it isn’t handled when they are young, it may develop into an unwanted habit.
It’s the same as jumping up on you. It might not be so bad when he’s a 5-pound puppy. You might not like him when he grows to be an adult dog.
Jumping up
When your dog jumps up on you, your pooch is looking for attention. Whether you push them away, knee them in the chest, or step on your pup’s hind legs, Pup is being rewarded for jumping up, even if it is negative attention.
When your puppy Jumps do this:
- Fold your arms across your chest, look away from her, and say, “off.”
- Turn aside from her until all four of her feet are on the ground, then quietly praise and reward her/him. If she/he understands the “sit” order, offer it to her when all four of her/his feet are on the ground, then quietly praise and reward her while she’s seated.
- If she starts jumping up again as you start praising her, simply turn away and repeat step two above. Remember to keep your compliments subtle.
- When your puppy discovers that she receives no attention from you while jumping up, but does receive attention when she sits, she will quit jumping up.
Remember to reward her behaviour once you’ve taught her to come and sit quietly for attention.
Don’t ignore her when she comes over and sits politely, waiting for your attention.
1. Train your Puppy with proper bite manners
When you want to pet him, examine his hair, or play with him, start by substituting chew treats and toys for your hands, fingers, feet, and toes.
This technique should be taught to children as well. Have a toy or chew the treat in the other hand to give your dog as you reach out to pet or scratch him.
This way, his chewing and biting will be directed towards the object rather than your side.
Tips
- Provide plenty of interesting and new toys so that your puppy will play with them instead of gnawing on you or your clothing.
- Provide plenty of opportunities for your puppy to play with other puppies and with friendly, vaccinated adult dogs.
- Rather than wrestling and violent play, encourage non-contact games such as fetch and tug of war. Pull toys should be kept on hand or in your pocket after your dog is able to safely pull. Instead of allowing him to bite you, redirect him towards the tug toy. When he feels like mouthing, he should start anticipating and looking for a toy.
- When rubbed, patted, or scratched, puppies typically mouth on the hands of the person doing the stroking, patting or scratching. Your dog will be distracted if you feed him little goodies with the other hand when he becomes agitated when you pet him. As a result, your puppy will become more accustomed to being stroked without biting.
- Instead of biting your fingers or toes, give your puppy a toy or chew bone.
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2. Make your Puppy aware of your pain when they Bite you!
Petting and substituting aren’t enough to teach your dog that the family people’s body parts are off-limits. He’s happy, he wants to be noticed, so he grabs your sock and a couple of toes in the process… OOPS!
Face your dog and scream “OUCH!” as soon as the nip occurs. Let him know how much it hurts; whimper, scream, and complain… then turn away from him and forget him. Don’t pay attention to him until he’s calmed down.
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3. Don’t give too much attention to the Jumps- Ignore…
Our puppy yearns for your love, and he’ll go to any length to get it. One of the most common methods is to jump up on you.
“Isn’t that adorable?” Yes, for a few days, maybe.
It’s just annoying after that.
And if you order him to “Get down!” or drive him backwards, he’ll have attracted your attention… Regardless of how harmful it might be.
When your puppy jumps up, do the following:
Turn your back on him, fold your arms, and say, “Off Please”
Your dog will try to keep up with you. Continue to turn away and say “Down” before he finishes jumping. Praise him and invite him to sit (if he knows how).
Reach down to pet and thank him if he obeys. Maintain a gentle tone when expressing gratitude.
Jumping can be triggered again by an enthusiastic voice and acts. If he does jump, go over the steps again.
When your dog understands that jumping gets him no attention while sitting gets him attention, he’ll stop jumping but remain consistent.
Give him the love he craves if he comes up to you with his tail wagging.
4. Avoid doing these with your Pup when he Jumps or Bites!
- Physical punishment when it comes to puppy biting.
2. Hitting or yelling at Puppy when he nips you
If your pup is getting too excited or nippy, stop the play and pet him for a while. If he won’t calm down, ignore him, walking away if you have to, until he does.
If your puppy bites you, you need to ignore the behaviour and remove yourself from the interaction, with no drama. That means play is over, fun is over, and attention is over. Be as non-dramatic as possible.
If the action is difficult to overlook, hide behind a closed door or a baby gate where your dog will not be able to nip at you.
Remove yourself again if your dog wants to nip at you when you return.
Within a few days, you should notice a significant reduction in the rate of biting as well as the number of biting attempts.
When your dog is doing well, make sure to pay attention to them and compliment them.
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5. When should you be worried about biting puppies?
If your puppy exhibits any of the following symptoms, you should consult with a certified professional:
- When a human approaches, your puppy growls, snaps, or bites. (Food, toys, and so on)
- Until biting, stiffens, and stares at the human.
- Bite and crack skin on a regular basis.
- .When new people enter the house, he barks, growls, or nips (not in play).
- Children are snapped or growled at.
Encourage appropriate behaviour
When you pet your puppy, redirect her chewing to suitable objects by giving her a small rawhide chew bone or another type of chew toy. Rawhide and other bones should be provided only when you can keep an eye on your puppy to prevent choking.
When children want to pet her, this strategy can be extremely helpful. With one hand, reach out to scratch her behind the ears (not over the head), and with the other, offer the chew bone.
This not only teaches your puppy that humans and stroking are nice, but it also keeps her mouth occupied while she is being petted. Alter the hand that does the caressing and the one that has the chew bone.
You may need to pat or scratch your puppy for brief lengths of time at first because the longer she is caressed, the more likely she is to become aroused and begin to nip.
What to avoid
Attempts to hit, slap, or tap your puppy in the face for nipping or leaping up are almost always futile. Depending on your puppy’s disposition and the degree of the punishment, the following may occur:
- Your Pup could become “hand-shy,” cringing or cowering anytime a hand approached her face.
- Your Pup can become terrified of you and refuse to approach you at all.
- To defend herself, she may respond defensively and attempt to bite you.
- Your Pup could misinterpret a little smack as an invitation to play, making her more eager and more likely to nip.
- If your puppy is nipping, never play tug-of-war or wrestling activities with him.
- These games promote out-of-control behaviour, such as grasping, lunging, and competitiveness with you. These aren’t the kinds of things you want her to learn.
General Precautions
- Try to avoid waving your fingers or toes in front of your puppy, as well as smacking the sides of his face to get him to engage in play. As a result of these actions, your puppy may begin to bite at your hands and feet.
- Playing with your puppy is something you should encourage. Playing with a dog’s human family strengthens the link between them. In lieu of not playing at all, you want to train your puppy to do so gently.
- When puppies are slapped or smacked for mouthing around, it can make them bite harder. When this happens, they usually play more aggressively.
- The use of physical punishment can also make your puppy fearful of you, and it can even lead to true aggressiveness. Keep your puppy safe by not smacking his nose, shoving your fingers down his throat, or using other punishments that could damage or frighten your dog.
- You should not jerk your hands or feet away from the mouthing puppy. In response, he’ll leap forwards and seize you. Your hands and feet will be far less pleasurable to play with if you let them go limp.
References And Resources
- Source: Adapted from the Humane Society of the United States.
- Source: Adapted from the Humane Society of the United States
- O’Neill et al. (2013). Longevity and Mortality of Owned Dogs In England. The Veterinary Journal
Adams VJ, et al. (2010). Results of a Survey of UK Purebred Dogs. Journal of Small Animal Practice.
- The Whole dog Journal – Reinforce tour dogs Bite Inhibition
About the Author: Dog Behavioural Consultant
Jennifer W loves Pets! She is an animal lover. She loves caring for and sharing her knowledge of all kinds of pets.
Her Love for pets made her Join the pet paws hub Team, to share knowledge with the world.
Jennifer W – Dog Behavioural Consultant