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How to Stop Puppy Biting
Puppy biting is a normal behavior… while he is still young. As your puppy grows older, a dog bite can cause not only a serious injury but a lawsuit as well.
A young puppy nipping at your hands or feet may look cute and harmless, but no matter how cute it looks, always discourage dog biting and nipping.
Never allow your puppy do something you don't want him to repeat. Not even once.
Unfortunately, I learned the hard way.
One of my Maltese puppies could make any piranha jealous when it came to biting but, at first, I thought she looked funny. I took me a long time to train her not to bite.
That's when I learned that it is a lot easier to prevent bad habits from developing than it is to retrain an adult dog.
Why do Puppies Bite?
Puppy biting is a normal way for a puppy to communicate and interact with his littermates.
Most puppies instinctively try to dominate, and biting their littermates is one way to exert their dominance. Unfortunately, some puppies and dogs want to dominate not only other dogs but humans too. Often, this desire to dominate us is the driving force behind puppy biting.
Some dogs bite because they are too aggressive. Others will bite out of fear.
Another very common cause of dog biting is dog separation anxiety . Have you ever tried to leave your house while your puppy was nipping at your clothes? That nipping was caused by an anxiety over being left home alone.
And, what dog owner hasn't experienced a bite when playing with his or her puppy?
As you can see, puppy biting has many causes.
Now that we know why puppies bite, let's learn about…
Stopping Puppy Biting
Before I introduce you to some techniques you can use to stop puppy biting, I want to mention one technique that will not prevent biting.
Hitting a puppy or an adult dog is not only counterproductive but is also dangerous. Never hit a dog that shows signs of aggression.
The best way to prevent puppy biting from occurring is to socialize your puppy to other dogs and humans. While this does not guarantee that your puppy will never bite, puppy socialization helps you to raise an all-around well-adjusted dog.
Puppies are very social animals and love when we play with them. The worst punishment you can give them is to refuse playing with them.
As soon as your puppy starts to bite or nip, give out a loud and sudden "OUCH!" sound to startle and stop him. Give him a toy and move away.
Ignore him for a while.
If he continues biting, put him in a crate to calm down. Do it in such a way that he does think you are punishing him. At first, he will cry and bark. That's OK. Give him some toys and let him out only after he quiets down. Visit crate training page for more tips on proper crate training techniques.
Another way to prevent puppy biting is to eliminate certain games that may encourage biting. Tug-of-war and chase and tackle are such games.
If dog biting is because of anxiety over being left home alone, I encourage you to explore dog separation anxiety page for tips on dealing with this condition.
All puppies love chewing and biting. If you want to cut down on puppy biting, provide him with plenty of dog chew toys.
A good chew toy will not only discourage your puppy from biting humans but will also keep him occupied for a long period of time. These toys are cheap and provide much tastier alternative to your household items!
Some of Bo's favorite chew toys are Kong Dog Toys.
They are made from tough rubber and come in many different sizes and textures.
Dogs love them because they are made in such a way that each toy has at least one cavity that you can stuff with food.
I guarantee you that your puppy will be busy for a very long time, trying to get the food out!
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