Stop The Biting

Biting is not an acceptable behavior in any dog, but how do you put a stop to it?  Maybe when you understand why dogs bite, you can then use the ideas here to train your dog not to bite.  Biting is a common complaint among puppy owners, and if the issue is not dealt with when a puppy, it could lead to having a very undesirable situation with your family pet.

To understand biting, you need to know biting is a defense mechanism for animals, including our domesticated dogs.  A dog needs to be able to protect himself from attacks by other dogs, and biting is a natural response for him. 

In addition, dogs are carnivores and in the not-so-distant past they had to be able to tear apart their raw food in order to eat.  Keep in mind, too, that puppies are getting new teeth and are teething, just like human babies do.  When they get new teeth it's uncomfortable and biting makes it feel better.

Puppies first learn to bite when in the litter, before they come to live with you.   Have you ever watched how roughly puppies play?  They are learning what is acceptable biting as the other puppies do squeal if the bite is too hard.  This feedback helps them learn how to control their jaw and develop bite inhibition or "mouthing" instead of biting down hard.

To train your puppy to stop biting, start off  by mimicking another puppy in the litter.  When your puppy's bit hurts you, squeal to let your pup know.   "Ow!" in a hurt voice should do the trick.  If not, you can use a negative tone of voice instead.

Just as with any unwanted behavior, you should give attention to the good behavior and ignore the bad.  If your puppy is nipping at your feet, don't give him attention until he stops.  Try turning your back and walking away.  Be careful not to step on the toe-nipping pup though!  Ignore him until he stops, then pet him and talk to him.

Instead of your arms and legs for biting, try giving him a safe toy. Although biting behavior is different from chewing behavior, you can use the toy to distract him. This will help him learn what is acceptable and reinforce the good behavior. 

You do need to  let them know that it's not okay to bite.  One way to do this is to give him a tap on the nose and say "no bite" when he starts biting.  Eventually he will figure out that biting is not okay with you. Some dogs are a little slower to pick up on this than others so keep on reminding him.

Remember that puppy nipping behavior does not start out as an act of aggression; it is just a fun activity for young puppies.