How to stop puppy biting

Does your pup bite you.... or other family members? Does he nip and `mouth` your hands, arms, legs, pants, shoes, hair ......?

If so, you`re not alone.

All that puppy biting is actually perfectly normal canine behavior, but it does need to be discouraged early on to prevent it becoming a (bad) habit.

Nipping or biting is VERY RARELY a sign of aggression or that you have a `bad` puppy.

Video: How To Stop a Puppy From Biting in 6 Easy Steps

It`s simply the way puppies play and communicate..... so even if you`re convinced that Fido should have had a bit part in the classic movie `Jaws` you can relax, he`s just a perfectly normal puppy!

QUICK LINKS:

Why do puppies bite and nip so much?

How to teach your pup not to bite

How to decrease his desire to nip

Nipping and biting their siblings or momma comes naturally toevery puppy, and the reaction that they get to their biting is how theylearn `bite inhibition` (how hard they can bite without getting into bigtrouble!).

This knowledge will be very important to them as they grow up.

Think of herding dogswho need to `nip` their flock (but not take off a leg), or guardianbreeds who may need to `warn` an intruder without drawing blood.

Even in squabbles with another dog it`s important that each one knowshow hard they can bite without breaking the skin. Most dog `fights` are99% noise!

Although all puppies nip, many times it`s workingbreeds who use their mouths to herd, hunt, retrieve or guard, who arethe most persistent and stubborn about it.

If you have a pup from one ofthese breeds you`ll need a good supply of patience to stop this deep-rooted, instinctive behavior.

Why Do Puppies Bite So Much?

Nipping and biting is rooted in basic canine behavior and is purely instinctive - and tends to peak during the teething stage.

One of the ways that puppies establish their place in their doggyfamily`s `pecking order` is by `play biting`.

If you watch a litter of puppies at play, you`ll see them`mouthing` and nipping at each other ALL the time.

The rolling around,squealing and growling is all part of the way they learn acceptablecanine interaction.

If one of them bites too hard, another puppy will yelp andlikely bite back harder.... lesson learned!

And watch what happens if one brave little puppy decides to try sharpening his teeth on his momma or another nearby adult. He gets told in no uncertain terms that this is NOT okay.

But although puppy biting is normal, and has an important role to play in puppy development, all puppies need to learn that they are not allowed to nip, mouth or bite humans - ever.

Because it seems fairly harmless, and maybe even cute (even ifit`s a bit irritating at the same time) when a 7lb puppy nips andgrowls, it`s definitely a habit you need to discourage right away.

Because that tiny puppy will be an adolescent and then an adult in theblink of an eye, and then this behavior will be a lot more thanirritating.

As pups mature that puppy biting is often an attempt to dominateother members of his family (remember the doggy family pecking order?).

If he`s allowed to put his teeth on you - or any other person - he will begin to think that he`s `in charge`.

Nipping might seem funny when Fido`s tiny, but if he`s allowed to believe it, he won`t be willing to renegotiate his position later on (when he may weigh 50lbs or even 150lbs!)

Luckily there are lots of very simple ways to do this and the most important part of training a puppy to stop biting is correcting him consistently.

Teaching Your Puppy Not To Bite

Video: How To Stop Puppy Biting: Training Puppies Not to Bite

So, how exactly do you stop all that puppy biting?

I`ve raised more thanmy share of puppies of all different sizes and breeds, and have found that there are several different puppy biting corrections that are simple andeffective.

Not all of them will work with every puppy though, and which one ismost successful depends a lot on your individual puppy`s temperament,his breed, how old he is and how persistent or stubborn he is aboutnipping.

It`s best to start out using the easiest and leastconfrontational method first, and to be consistent with it for at least 2weeks before you decide whether or not you need to try a less subtleapproach.

Being consistent is hugely important. All members of the familyneed to be `on the same page` and to use the same correction techniqueevery single time your puppy nips or bites.

It`s also important not to expect instant results!

All puppytraining takes time because puppies learn through repetition and byassociating cause-with-effect (ie `I bite momma and she won`t play withme anymore.... hmmm, maybe I`d better not bite her!`).

It takes time for them to realize what is happening and also whyit`s so important to be consistent because if the cause-and-effectcombination is only there sometimes your puppy won`t make thatconnection nearly so quickly - or at all.

These techniques DO work (not one of my puppies grew up thinkingit was okay to nip or bite people) all you need to do is find the rightfit for your puppy`s personality and stick with it.....

Withdraw Your Attention

Every time little Fido`s sharp little puppy teeth touch your skin say "OUCH" loudly. This lets him know that his puppy biting hurtsand may surprise him into stopping (at least temporarily).

Immediatelystop interacting with him by breaking eye-contact and/or walking away.Be sure to follow this procedure every single time he nips or bites and he`ll soon get the message.

All your puppy wants is to be with you and to have your attentionso when he realizes that if he bites or nips you`ll stop playing withhim he`ll stop. Of course, be sure to praise him and love on him when heplays nicely without biting.

It`s just as important to rewardgood behavior as it is to discourage the bad.

If your little guy is a bit stubborn or dominant, or if he`s fromone of the more `mouthy` breeds (such as German Shepherds, LabradorRetrievers, Border Collies and many Terriers), then it`s possible thatthe `softly-softly` approach won`t work and in that case you may need tobe a touch more dominant yourself!

So, you`ll make your "OUCH" louder and more forceful and add theword "No!" Fido has no idea what the word means but your tone of voicewill help him get the picture. You can also try spraying your hands withone of those little minty breath-sprays - dogs and puppies usually hate the taste.

Bitter apple spray (available at pet stores) works in the sameway as the breath spray. Both of these products can dry out, or irritateyour skin though, so wearing a pair of thick cotton gloves that areliberally sprayed with either nasty-tasting substance can be a goodidea.

Simple & Effective - The `Squirt Method`

If you`re still having problems after trying the above tactics, I`drecommend that you go out and buy a small, plastic spray bottle (you canget them at Walmart or any Dollar store for about $1).

Fill it withwater and set it to `stream` (not the fine mist spray). The next timeyour pup decides to sink his teeth into you, shout "OUCH, NO!" loudly and shoot a quick jet of water right on his nose.

The surprise should stop your little Piranha is his tracks. It`s agood idea to have 2 or 3 of these spray bottles around the house sothere`s always one handy when Fido is struck by the biting bug.

Occasionally you`ll get a puppy who actually doesn`t mind beingsquirted with water, which makes the above tactic seem more like a gameto him. In that case, stop the nipping by replacing the water with a1:10 solution of vinegar:water instead.

Or you can buy a couple of those tiny breath-mint sprays and givehim a shot of the breath spray directly on his tongue whenever he nips.Be very careful with these sprays though, you don`t want to spray hiseyes or nose

NOTE: Make sure the spray you use doesn`t contain the artificial sweetener, Xylitol, which is toxic to dogs.

If you can`t find a suitable breath spray, Bitter Apple spray (available in pet stores) is a good, safe, alternative.

Puppy Training Technique For Stubborn Biters

There`s one more puppy training technique that you can use if you have apuppy who is very stubborn about biting and nipping and who doesn`trespond to ANY of the corrections you`ve tried (but remember, it takestime to stop this type of behavior and you need to be patient andconsistent and not expect overnight success!).

This final correction I call the `Muzzle Wrap` because that`s howyou stop this puppy biting behavior... by wrapping your hand around hismuzzle.

Do this gently and hold his mouth closed for a few seconds(start with maybe 5 seconds the first couple of times, you can increaseit to about 15 if necessary) while repeating the `No bite` command.

It`s very important to stay calm and firm but gentle, don`t grabhim angrily or roughly, or use force, that will turn the whole situationinto a battle and he`ll either be angry or scared.

This `stop puppy biting` technique has worked with every pup I`veever met, even the `mouthiest` ones.... eventually! Of course, some puppies `get it`right away, but others take a little longer.

Occasionally a pup may come back at you biting more strongly, oreven barking. If this happens, simply repeat the correction calmly andgently, it may take 3 or 4 repetitions before the penny drops.

Then usethe same correction every time the puppy starts biting again. If after 4muzzle-wraps your little guy is still doing his `Jaws` impression,simply give him a time-out in his crate to calm down and try again nexttime.

Very rarely a pup will get so upset by this correction method that he won`t settle down, and instead gets angry andcombative. If this happens after you`ve tried it on several differentoccasions then it`s not the right correction for that particular pup andyou need to try a different tactic.

A `time out` is often the best way to handle an over-excited or `worked up` puppy, and it`s perfectly okay to use his crate for this.

So, if all of your efforts to stop your pup from biting have failed at any given point, simply removing him from the scene and giving him time to calm down usually helps.

An Ounce Of Prevention......

Even though the instinct to bite and nip is strong in all puppies, it can be increased by certain situations or behaviors......

Just like little children, puppies get excited when there`s a lotof noise or boisterous behavior around them. They express this pent-upexcitement by chasing, nipping or barking.

Also, many dog breeds have highly developed herding instincts orprey drive.

This means that they have an in-built need to chase fastmoving objects. It`s hard-wired into their brains and is anautomatic, unconscious and reflexive behavior.

It doesn`t matter if it`s a cat, an unsuspecting cyclist or yoursquealing 5 year old, anything that moves fast (even better if it`smaking a high-pitched noise too) is a target.

This canine instinct is one of the factors involved in many dogbites and and attacks on young children.

It`s important to bear this inmind and always supervise your puppy and children when they`re playing together.

You can help reduce the excitement-induced puppy biting by keeping your household as calm as possible ;

• Reduce the amount of shouting and roughhousing and discourage the kids (and other adults) from playing rough with your puppy.

• Don`t allow children to run squealing through thehouse, or to tease Fido by riding their bikes around him, swipe his toysor generally `wind him up`.

• Puppies are also attracted to flapping, twitchingmovements. Encourage everyone to use slow, deliberate hand movementswhich will reduce your pup`s desire to bite and mouth on your fingers.

For most families, the dinner time hour can be a bit crazy.... there`s a lot of noise, everyone is tired and hungry and whiny!

At times like these it`s often a good idea to put your pup in his crate, playpen etc. to help keep him out of the mix.

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