New puppies are adorable, but if they nip, they can cause significant injury.
While nipping is a perfectly normal and natural behaviour for teething and teeth-learning puppies, it must be discouraged as your dog matures to ensure everyone’s safety.
The key to preventing your puppy from nipping is to immediately interrupt any biting actions you see. Here are 6 things you can do to help them stop puppy biting: Let’s start.
- Instill Bite Restraint Skills
Puppies often play bite each other as they grow and wrestle.
A warning bite or yell may be given in response if they bite down too hard on the other animal. Puppies usually let go of other canines when they are bitten as a warning or when they hear an abrupt yelp that leads them to quickly snap out of their bite.
You may achieve a similar effect at home by letting out a loud, high-pitched “Ow!” if your puppy nips at you. If the dog is aggressive, this may get them to let go of you.
Be wary, though; some dogs are more prone to bite if they hear yelping.
Dog owners should discreetly back away and leave the area, or place their young puppy in a crate until it calms down.
- End Playtime
Your puppy must learn that biting is never acceptable behaviour during play.
It may seem like a good idea to catch your puppy’s attention by yelling at it or punishing it when it nips, but this will have the opposite effect. The more you give your dog attention when it bites, the more it will learn that this behaviour is acceptable.
Instead, please set down the dog and leave the room discreetly. To show your pet that they no longer have your full attention, tuck your hands into your armpits.
If they can understand how their actions affect you in this way, they will be more likely to change their ways and stop annoying you.
- Provide Alternate Solutions
Puppies experience teething for the same reasons as infants do. They’re trying to figure out what to do with their newfound abundance of teeth. Your puppy might bite if your arms and legs get in the way.
If your puppy nips at you, try substituting a chew toy right away. If your puppy is displaying biting tendencies, it is essential to keep a toy on hand as often as possible.
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Your puppy will learn that biting these toys is acceptable behaviour while biting people or objects is not.
- Time Out
Puppies often nip because they are overstimulated and excited and don’t know how to calm themselves down.
If your puppy bites you or another person, put them in their crate or a separate room until they calm down. It teaches them that when they bite, they won’t get your attention and it teaches them to calm themselves, both of which are essential skills for a puppy to acquire.
- Make good use of reinforcers
The best way to train your dog is to catch it doing something good.
Pat your puppy gently and tell it “Good dog” if it is behaving itself and playing properly or sitting quietly. They’ll figure out that being excellent gets them noticed, and they’ll want to keep doing it for the praise.
- Take a Course
Taking your puppy to obedience class may be the next logical step if you’ve exhausted all of your at-home options for preventing biting and your dog still won’t stop chewing.
If taught by an expert, these courses can help you train your puppy to stop biting and provide you with tools to help reinforce the teachings at home.
