How to Correct a Puppy Nipping & Chewing
Most people love puppies, but no one loves to have fingers nipped or clothes and furniture shredded. Nipping and chewing are natural behaviors in puppies; they learn about the world around them by exploring things with their mouths, and they chomp down on stuff to relieve the discomfort of teething. Learning to redirect them toward things that are more appropriate to nip and chew on is beneficial to puppies---and to everyone else involved.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Challenging
Instructions
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How to Correct a Puppy Nipping & Chewing
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Supervise the puppy at all times. Purchase baby gates or dog "playpens" to keep it from getting into trouble. Crate-train the puppy for times when you cannot be with it. Do not expect a young puppy to understand what you want after just one training session; it may take weeks before it will learn the rules completely.
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2
Teach your puppy to be gentle on your hands and other body parts. Discourage nipping behavior by yelping when bitten as another puppy would. Walk away from the puppy and ignore it for a few minutes. Return to the puppy and offer it an appropriate chew toy. If the puppy takes it willingly, give it praise and a few pats. Repeat this process until the nipping behavior stops.
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3
Train the puppy to sit for a food treat. Place it in the "sit" position. Put the treat in your fist and let the puppy sniff it. If it tries to nip your hand to get to the treat, tell the puppy, "No," and remove your hand. Repeat this until the puppy just sniffs at or licks your hand. Immediately give the puppy the treat and praise it profusely. This will teach it that hands are for treats and pats, not for biting.
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4
Remove any objects that you do not want the puppy to chew and anything that may be dangerous for it to have in its mouth. Put trash cans or bags out of reach and install safety locks on cabinets it may be able to open. Do not allow children to leave toys where the puppy may grab them. Do not leave shoes and socks on the floor. Remove small items like coins and medication bottles from the areas you allow the puppy to play in; pennies are made of zinc and are poisonous for dogs, and most medications can be toxic to your pup as well.
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5
If you catch your puppy chewing on something inappropriate, make a loud noise to surprise it. Remove the puppy from the item and offer it an appropriate chew toy. Praise the puppy if it begins to play with the toy. Spray items that you do not want it to chew but cannot remove with a bitter apple spray; it may help to deter the puppy from wanting to bite into it.
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6
Spend a lot of time exercising your puppy. Play fetch, take walks and let it hang out with you. Make it an active member of your family. Do not leave it alone in your yard all day. A tired puppy is a good puppy.
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Tips & Warnings
Purchase tough chew toys made of hard rubber, like KONG brand toys. They are long-lasting and have holes in them for inserting treats; some puppies will chew on them for hours.
Do not offer chew toys with squeakers and filling to a puppy that likes to pull toys apart; it may choke on the squeaker, fabric or the filling. The puppy may also suffer from an obstruction if any material is swallowed.
