How to Stop Aggressive Playing in Dogs

When dogs play, they play rough. They wrestle, use their teeth, and shove with all their might. Although this is acceptable play behavior in dogs, it is unacceptable when playing with people. Aggressive playing in dogs often leads to unintentional bites. But it is easy to stop aggressive play in dogs if you are persistent.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Vet
• Dog toys
• Bitter apple spray (optional)

How to Stop Aggressive Playing in Dogs

1. Yelp like a hurt puppy whenever your dog's mouth or teeth touch your skin. This can also be modified to include yelping whenever the dog pushes you with a paw. Puppies and dogs let other dogs know when they are hurt during play by yelping. Once a playmate yelps, the dog knows that he or she was too rough and to be more careful.

2. Leave the room or walk out of the yard and back into the home if the dog still plays too roughly. This sends the message that being too rough means no more playtime.

3. Reward the dog for sitting, standing still or other polite behavior during play by giving a special treat or toy. Also do this whenever you catch your dog behaving quietly to reinforce the behavior.

4. Spray bitter apple training spray on your hands before playing with the dog. The stuff tastes so bad that this usually deters dogs from putting their mouths on your hands or skin.

5. Take the dog to the vet if the dog still is aggressive during playtime. This could be due to a medical condition such as deafness.

Tips & Warnings

• Dogs that are spayed or neutered are easier to train because they pay more attention to their human handlers. Play more fetching games or take more walks with an aggressive dog rather than playing tug-of-war games. Sometimes dogs that win tug-of-war games think they are stronger than humans. As the dog becomes better behaved, then you can reintroduce tug-of-war games. Make sure everyone in the household adheres to these rules so as not to confuse the dog on how to properly interact with people.
• Never hit your dog. This will only teach him to be frightened of you and that can lead to severe biting.

References

• The KISS Guide to Raising a Puppy
• Video: Train Your Puppy Not to Bite
• Grannick's Bitter Apple

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