Mary Allen
I think every puppy owner has already had their experience with it. The cute little brat has developed into a real piranha.
The puppy will snap and bite anything it can get between its small, razor-sharp teeth.
The puppy bites while playing or growls while hanging on the pant leg. This time takes a lot of nerves…
But what can YOU do to stop your dog from biting?
You can find out the answer and many other helpful tips in THIS article.
In a nutshell: How do I get my puppy to stop biting?
The most common question from puppy owners is: what should I do if my puppy bites and how do I stop him from doing so?
A puppy bites because it has not yet learned bite inhibition.
Of course, you can train the dog to stop pinching and biting, but this only takes time and consistency on your part.
The easiest way to turn away without comment is when your puppy is extremely biting.
If you want, you can also verbally combine this with a loud “Ouch,” especially if the puppy won’t stop biting.
Do you not only want to break the habit of biting your puppy, but also teach it more?
Then take a look at our dog training bible. Here you will find great and simple exercise instructions that are suitable for puppies.
Weaning puppies from biting: Here’s how
Puppies are not yet well socialized. That means they don’t have much experience in dealing with other living beings and have to get to know them first.
Puppies learn through experiences and their positive or negative consequences.
If you play with your little one, the excitement and joy is great and it often happens like this: the puppy goes nuts and bites.
Since the little one has not yet learned to use its teeth and its biting power in a controlled manner, this can often end up being very painful for you.
As soon as he bites you stop the game and let him know he hurt you.
Discourage puppies from biting while playing
If your pup encounters this situation, quit the game immediately and do something else.
This is how the little one learns over time, if he sets his teeth too hard and growls, the fun that he really wants is over immediately.
If you do this consistently, he will learn to use his teeth and his biting power in a dosed manner.
So here again step-by-step:
- Immediately stop playing as soon as the puppy snaps and bites.
- Give a cry of pain, e.g. B. “Ouch” from you so that the little one knows that it hurts.
- Turn away from the dog and ignore it for a moment.
- Only when the puppy has calmed down and accepts your behavior do you pay attention to it again.
Martin Rütter has always written a very good, detailed summary on the subject of puppy biting.
My tip: Disinfect and clean even small bite wounds
Small bite wounds are the ideal entry points for bacteria. Therefore, make sure that you thoroughly clean and disinfect the bites, even if they are small.
This will prevent any inflammation and complications.
Wean puppies from biting their hands and feet
Puppy owners’ hands are the part of their body that suffers the most during puppyhood.
The little ones often see stroking as a challenge to play. He begins to exert himself and the puppy bites and growls as he is in his element.
You can read below how you can break the habit of pinching your dog.
In addition to your hands, the second victim is often your feet.
Because they are constantly close to the ground, feet are very tempting for biting games.
The same principle applies here as with the hands. Stop biting immediately. There is nothing more annoying than puppies constantly biting their feet due to the risk of tripping.
Puppy bites and is aggressive?
If you want to stop your puppy from biting because you feel he is growling because he is being aggressive, I can reassure you.
Puppies are not naturally aggressive, but can become so if not well socialized and taught how to deal with stressful situations.
Puppies often growl in play. That means they are fully committed. The growl is not an aggressive growl, but a play growl.
Also in this situation, end the game together. Once your puppy is older, he will stop growling while playing.
What you should know: Bite inhibition in puppies
Normally, puppies learn bite inhibition in their pack from an early age. Each little puppy just bites as hard as it can. This is normal puppy behavior.
Why?
Because he is unaware of his teeth and his biting power. They have to learn the inhibition to bite first.
In the pack, puppies that bite too hard will be reprimanded by the adult dogs. In this way they learn slowly and consistently in what dose biting is allowed.
Once your puppy has moved in with you, you can start practicing bite inhibition. It is best for them to learn this by the 18th week.
4 professional tips against biting
Puppies need to be socialized from an early age by socializing with other dogs. Not only you, but also peers and adults of the same age can teach your little one where the social boundaries are.
The dog school is an ideal meeting place to put this into practice.
Tip 2: Offer the puppy security
Make your dog feel safe and know that you are protecting and guiding them. For example, if another dog rushes at him, stand protectively in front of him. Your dog needs you in difficult situations.
But you should also face other situations in which your dog feels afraid with sovereignty. He should always have the opportunity to return to his emotional well-being.
Tip 3: Build positive dog training
Dogs learn best through positive reinforcement. This means that you are immediately rewarding your dog’s desired behavior.
So use the reward in a targeted manner to encourage desired behaviors. Only when your dog senses success will he repeat and reinforce his behavior.
Remember: You can also unconsciously validate your dog for behavior that is undesirable. For example, if you try to soothe your agitated, barking dog with pets and a soft voice, he may take this response as a reward for his behavior.
Tip 4: train bite inhibition
A puppy should learn to control its biting power at an early age. The puppy learns bite inhibition in dogs by playing with other puppies. However, you have to teach him bite inhibition towards humans yourself. This also works in the game.
Breaking the habit of biting in an adult dog
Adult dogs don’t just bite for no reason.
First it is important that you find out the reason for the biting. With this knowledge, you can break the habit of pinching the dog.
Adult dogs may bite for the following reasons:
Insecurity or fear
If your dog bites out of insecurity or fear, it is important that you address the source of the insecurity/fear.
With a calm, confident leadership on your part, you convey security to your dog. Routine in your daily routine and a certain regularity of the processes ensure that your dog always knows what is coming next.
Pain or illness
Dogs usually don’t show when they’re not feeling well. Watch your dog, do you notice that he’s been biting lately, doing things that he used to be totally relaxed about? Then consider a vet visit.
Resource or territorial defense
Do you approach your dog when he has something he doesn’t want to give away, i.e. a resource, and your dog begins to growl and snap? Then he bites from resource defense.
If you are sure that your dog is biting for this reason, please contact a competent trainer.
Stress
Stress is often caused by incorrect or insufficient workload. Your dog develops frustration due to the stress and uses the biting as an outlet.
Question your daily routine. Does your dog get enough exercise? Is his head busy too?
If you have to deny this, make sure that you exercise your dog according to its species.
Especially quiet search games are very well suited for stress-prone dogs, as they have to search in peace and concentration and are not unnecessarily pumped up and stressed.
Prey aggression
Dogs that bite because of prey aggression usually do so without warning and very quickly. Here is an urgent need to talk to a trainer!
It often happens that a bitch, which is currently having puppies, tries to bite. This is normal behavior in the eyes of the bitch, she protects her offspring.
If you are in this situation, offer your dog and puppies a safe space where they can rest and withdraw.
If your dog is stressed when you have visitors, offer her a place to retreat, and do not let the visitors to her.
Conclusion
Weaning a puppy from biting is not difficult. You don’t need any training accessories, just timing and, above all, consistency.
As soon as the game degenerates and the little one bites, you turn away immediately and interrupt the party. This failure will teach your puppy: It’s not worth biting!
Tired of more dog training failures? Then I would like to recommend our dog bible to you.
Here are great exercises with tailored answers that will surely get you to YOUR goal successfully.