How to Stop a Puppy's Biting

Puppy nipping and biting is a troublesome dog training problem that many pet owners face. Puppies bite for two basic reasons. Puppies will bite a person's hands, arms, legs and feet during play. Puppies will also bite and nip as an attention-getting behavior. This article will explore how to stop a dog from mouthing and biting during play.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Hard Rubber Kong Puppy Toys
• A Washcloth
• Water
• A Freezer
• A Puppy Who Bites and Nips People When He Plays!

1. REACT WITH A SUDDEN "INJURED PUPPY" YELP: Many trainers advocate speaking in the puppy's own language when the dog bites or mouths too hard during play. A sharp "yowl" or "yelp" when the puppy bites a hand, arm or leg says "you're hurting me" in a way that the dog understands, as this is how puppies learn bite control when they're playing with their littermates as young pups.

2. GIVE A STERN VERBAL CORRECTION: As soon as the young dog releases your hand from his mouth, administer a stern verbal correction of "no" with eye contact. For older puppies, nipping and biting during play may be the beginning of testing dominance boundaries, so in these cases, many trainers will recommend putting the puppy on his side while holding his scruff while administering the verbal correction with eye contact.

3. IGNORE THE DOG FOR A COUPLE MINUTES: As puppies, a yowl or yelp of pain signals the end of the puppy's play. So when a puppy bites and nips a human, this must signal the end of playtime. Ignoring the dog for a few minutes will send the message that nipping and biting ends the play, while discouraging biting, nipping and mouthing as an attention-getting method.

4. PROVIDE A SUITABLE CHEW TOY: After ignoring the dog for a couple of minutes following the puppy's biting or nipping, provide a suitable toy for chewing. A knotted washcloth soaked with water and then frozen makes a great toy for a teething puppy, but the puppy must be supervised with this cold teething toy to ensure that the puppy does not shred or swallow the washcloth. Another great durable chew toy for puppies is a hard rubber Kong chew toy.

5. PROVIDE VERBAL PRAISE AND ATTENTION FOR SUITABLE CHEWING: When the teething puppy is chewing the frozen washcloth or his Kong chew toy, provide verbal praise and attention. This will help the dog form a positive association with appropriate chewing and biting behaviors, while the verbal corrections will provide negative feedback for inappropriate mouthing and biting behaviors.

Tips & Warnings

• For added interest, put peanut butter or cream cheese inside a hollow rubber conical Kong chew toy.
• If you administer a verbal correction, this must be done within 1-2 seconds of the behavior occurring. If you wait more than 1-2 seconds to give the puppy a verbal correction, he will not associate the correction with the inappropriate biting or chewing behavior.
• Never hit, harm, shake or otherwise physically harm a dog when administering a correction. This will only serve to instill fear in your dog, creating an entirely new set of behavior problems.

Resources

• More Tips for Training a Teething Puppy Who's Biting and Nipping
• How to Teach a Dog to Sit
• How to Pick a Puppy Name
• How to Pick a Dog Crate
• Puppy Shopping List: The Basics
• Puppy Shopping List: Puppy Toys and Accessories

[sanderdoe]

on 4/4/2009 Thank you so much for this information. We have been struggling with a biting puppy and now we know what to do! 5*

[Vanessa22]

on 1/14/2009 This is really good info! I would suggest the same to anyone who isn't familiar with puppy training. Take care! :) 5*