How to stop a puppy from biting and nipping

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You’re watching your cute Labrador puppy quietly chewing on a toy at your feet. You turn your attention back to your computer screen and suddenly feel little teeth grabbing at your sock!

You look down. Your once-angelic puppy is now having a full on game of tug-of-war with your pant leg!

This cute baby is now more like a furry little monster. You get up and try to walk away, but the fur alligator is still attached, munching away at your trousers and having the best time!

If this sounds like your life, read on to learn how to stop a puppy from biting.

Contents & Quick Navigation

• 1 Why Do Puppies Bite?

Video: How to stop Puppy from nipping and biting ................Peter Caine dog and puppy training

• 1.1 To Explore and Communicate
• 1.2 The Breed is Hardwired to Bite
• 1.3 Biting Makes Fun Things Happen
• 1.4 Terrible Teething

Why Do Puppies Bite?

Believe it or not, this scenario is actually very common! No, you don’t have the world’s most chewy puppy- you just have a normal one!

Biting is one of the most natural things in the world to a young pup- and they do it for many reasons.

To Explore and Communicate

Imagine if you didn’t have any hands to grasp and touch the world? You would be left with your feet and mouth to interact, taste and feel your environment. Now, what if you had puppy paws – incapable of grasping anything?

Video: How to stop your puppy nipping, mouthing and biting

That leaves you with one final way to interact – your mouth.

Time-Out Room

If your puppy simply isn’t getting the message, it’s o.k. to calm them down in a time-out room. You can do this if they just can’t seem to stop biting you even when presented with a fun toy or when they can’t control themselves around your toddler’s pant leg.

Don’t use a crate as a time-out room. You want the crate to always be associated with only good things. Crates also should be in the middle of the household, with the rest of the pack – not isolated.

When you put your puppy in a time-out room, you are separating them from the pack and from fun things because they can’t calm down. This is the same way other canine pack members would isolate them.

A laundry room or puppy pen works well for this exercise. Make sure the room is comfortable and safe for your puppy. When the puppy is too stimulated, calmly put him in the room with some teething toys and leave. Once he’s calmed down, you can let him out.

Teaching “Leave It”

You can also teach your puppy to “Leave it.” This training can then be given when they try to bite your hands or feet. Here are some positive approaches to training your puppy to “Leave it.”

Teach Positive Interaction with Toys

Remember, your goal is to show your pup a better way to play. Teaching them interactive games like fetch or bringing you a toy to tug helps show them that they can have even more fun when they play by your rules.

Positive play helps develop a bond with your dog. You never want to avoid it, you just want to show them how to play without biting you.

Teaching puppies to retrieve objects helps to tire them out, gives them something positive to chase, and focuses their bite on an appropriate item. Plus, most Labradors are pretty good at retrieving!

Video: How To Teach Your Dog To Stop Mouthing!

Remember, anytime we ask a puppy to stop a behavior, it should be because they are rewarded in an even more exciting and positive way for doing something else (and things our way.)

Reward What You Do Want

Instead of correcting a puppy when they make a mistake, it’s always better to train for what you do want and reward this behavior.

Train puppies that a hand reaching for them doesn’t automatically mean they need to open their mouth and bite. The following video shows how.

Video: How to Stop a Puppy from Biting

This video shows how to use clicker training to stimulate a puppy in situations where they normally would bite- and then reward them when they choose a closed mouth and calm interaction.

Dominant Puppies

Dogs are individuals. Most puppies aren’t trying to challenge you with their bite, they’re just overly excited. However, as puppies mature, there may be the rare pup that uses biting as a way to take charge.

Dominant puppies may bite to show you that they want to be the boss as they mature. This happens naturally among littermates, as all packs have a pecking order.

If you think your puppy wants to be the boss with their bite, don’t yelp anymore. This reinforces to them that you are backing down and that they are the leader in the relationship.

Instead, use the leash to tether the puppy so they can’t get to you or put them in a time-out room. Always remain calm and assertive with your puppy, but end the game as soon as they begin vying for leadership instead of playing.

Take It One Bite at a Time

While it may feel like your puppy isn’t getting the message, you will start to see results as long as you stay consistent with their training.

Remember, the alternative to not training your dog is a large animal putting his mouth on people. That’s no fun for anyone- and it can also be dangerous!

Be patient with your puppy. Remember, mouthing and biting are normal parts of canine culture. It’s your responsibility to show your fur kid how to interact in our human world.

If you stay patiently positive, train consistently, and redirect and reward good behavior, you will soon see a puppy that learns to bring you a tug toy instead of shredding your trousers.

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