How to stop a Puppy from biting
A puppy bite can sting, especially if it?s on the soft skin of a child.
Many dog owners feel helpless when their puppy bites, and some even put their new puppies up for adoption rather than invest time in training.
You can stop a puppy from biting. It only takes training & patience and your puppy will be a lot more loveable & gentle?even from a young age.
Teach Your Puppy to Be Gentle
Teach your puppy biting control. This is your puppy?s ability to control the force of his jaw. A puppy who hasn?t learned this won’t recognize the strength of their bites.
A puppy that has been removed from its mother too young, has not yet learned the action of biting gently. That?s because they learn this action through biting each other as puppies. ?
How can you rectify this? Well you can mimic how dogs teach each other dogs?with signals. Simply yelp when your puppy bites you too hard.
If that doesn?t work, you can teach your pup that its teeth don’t belong on your skin. How?
Substitute your arm for a toy when your puppy begins to bite you. This distracts him from biting you or your clothing. Frequently doing this helps your puppy to play with other items instead of biting you.
Stroking Your Puppy
When you stroke or play with your puppy, he will get excited and might bite you out of sheer delight. Direct your pup?s attention to another toy or treat. This will teach your pup to get used to being touched without mouthing.
Don?t tease your dog by waving your fingers in its face. Don?t slap the side of its face to entice a ?playfight?. It?s just disrespectful to your puppy and won?t help you form a bond of friendship.
Encourage Non-Contact Forms of Play
Puppies love toys. They also love using their noses and other senses to find items like toys or food.
Play hide & seek with special treats. Make it easy at first so your puppy learns the game?and the associated reward. Then start hiding treats in hard to find places where they are forced to engage their senses.
Fetch is another great game, and will get your puppy excited to please you. Remember that a game of hide & seek or fetch will tire your puppy out as much as a walk will.
Teach your puppy that ankles are not chew toys
Puppy?s get excited when you walk around, and might attack your ankles or feet. Give him a toy as a distraction if this is occurring regularly. If you don?t have a toy, stop moving for a while until the biting stops. Then reward and praise your puppy with a phrase like, ?Good boy. No biting.?
It?s important to repeat these steps as often as you can. Over time your puppy will get used to watching you walk around without the need to bite your ankles every time.
Use a Taste Deterrent
If none of these methods are effective, use a taste deterrent spray to put your puppy off biting for good. Spray the taste deterrent in all the places you want your puppy to stop chewing.
Oh, and by the way? This stuff is super bitter, so wash your hands thoroughly after use or you?re likely to get it all over the place. ?
Keep applying the taste deterrent to these items for at least two weeks. This hopefully will limit your puppy?s biting behavior. But remember to always give your puppy a substitute while doing this.
If you believe your puppy?s biting behavior is extraordinarily bad, contact a certified animal behaviorist. This person can help understand what is causing this abnormality and implement better methods to correct it.
