If you are living with a new puppy, there are lots of things that both of you need to learn, but one of the most important lessons that he or she is going to have from you is that it is unacceptable to bite! Dogs, just like humans, are creatures of habit, and if they form habits early on in life, you will find them much more difficult to break the longer that they get ingrained. A puppy nipping at you is one thing. You may be able to ignore it, but a dog that continues to bite, even playfully, as an adult is a danger to himself and to others. Take some time to learn about puppy biting and what you can do to get rid of it.
First, be aware that biting is natural behavior for a puppy. A puppy that constantly bites and nips at you is not vicious; he is only exploring the world around him with the tools that are at his disposal. He is mouthing things and learning about them, and when he bites, he is also likely exercising his muscles and learning what kind of dexterity and strength that he has. Puppies who play with each other will play bite at each other all day if they can.
When you are getting ready to take on puppy biting, remember that you should not punish your puppy unless you catch him in the act. Unless he is biting you when you reprimand him, he is not going to have any idea what is going on. You will also find that it is possible to correct him without striking him. A puppy who gets hit is going to one that grows up easily startled and confused and when you want to make sure that your puppy grows up healthy and happy, this precisely the wrong tack to take!
You can learn a lot from how to keep a puppy from biting by watching adult dogs deal with them. When a puppy bites its mother, the mother will utter a short sharp yelp. If the puppy persists, she will march off and refuse to play with the puppy for a while. You can take this precise technique and use it yourself. When you puppy becomes too energetic or stops paying attention to how hard he or she is biting, say “ow!” in a high pitched sharp voice. The idea is to startle the puppy into stopping. If the puppy starts up again, walk away and refuse to pay any attention to the puppy for a while. This will tell the puppy that too much biting will result in playtime being over.
When you are training your puppy not to bite, remember that you should not engage in games like tug of war with the puppy. This can be a confusing thing for a puppy to deal with, so just avoid games like this for the moment. Dress your puppy up in cute dog clothes, take them for walks, but avoid rough and tumble games for a bit.
There are lots of ways to stop your puppy from biting, so take some time and really consider what techniques you want to use!
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