Most dog biting occurs in young puppies who have not yet learned proper dog bite inhibition. If you have an adult dog who is offering to bite you then you should try to assess whether or not the situation involves fear, aggression, guarding behavior, or some other problem.
When it comes to how to stop dog biting in puppies and young dogs, here is some advice.
What Is “Bite Inhibition”?
Bite inhibition is what a puppy normally learns from his mother and littermates. It means that the puppy learns he is not supposed to bite or play too hard. Otherwise his social group will ignore him. And there’s nothing worse for a puppy than to be cast out of his social group or pack, even temporarily.
When your puppy comes to live with you he often doesn’t have much experiences with people yet. He doesn’t know that he is supposed to apply bite inhibition to you, too. So, when he plays he gets carried away and he bites you. Or he plays too rough.
Stop Dog Biting
In order to stop dog biting at this young age there are several things you can do.
When you are playing with your puppy or young dog and he bites you, you should give a yelp or other expression of pain. Make sure that your puppy knows that he’s hurt you. Over-react to the slightest tough if necessary. Then stop playing with your puppy for a minute. When your puppy has calmed down you can resume playing with him.
If you puppy bites you again you should take a longer break. This time ignore him. Stop playing for a couple of minutes. When your puppy is calmer you can return to playing with him.
If your puppy bites you again you should call off the play session. Turn your back on him. Leave the room. Give your puppy the cold shoulder. This is equivalent to a time-out for your puppy. Don’t play with him again for a while.
If you follow this process each time your puppy bites or plays too roughly, your puppy should start to get the message that he should stop the biting. He should stop biting and nipping in just a few days.
Other Considerations
Remember that your puppy is not biting and nipping to be mean or to show aggression. He is simply playing and he hasn’t learn to control himself yet. He hasn’t learn good manners.
If your puppy is playing with children remember that they should be supervised. Puppy play can be very boisterous and it can get out of hand. Plus, children don’t always know how to treat puppies. Any kind of biting or nipping that involves children can turn into something serious so they should always be watched when they play together.
Do provide your puppy with plenty of toys and safe things to chew on. This will help him as he teethes and keep him from chewing on inappropriate things. The more toys you provide for your puppy the less likely he is to get in trouble with things he’s not supposed to bother.