Puppies as we know, are adorable, loveable little bundles of joy, but unfortunately the flipside of all that cuteness is……..the BITING!! Sometimes ranging from so-called play-biting, nipping, or downright savaging / temper tantrum hard biting, which leaves your arms looking like you’ve shoved them through a thorn-bush, there are a number of ways to get through this annoying, but also sometimes quite alarming, period in your pup’s development.
(Owners who attend puppy class, or who have 1-2-1 training with me, are coached on how to cope with puppy biting & are also provided with a help-sheet on the topic).
Firstly – we need to provide education for our puppies that they can no longer bite us:
(Owners who attend puppy class, or who have 1-2-1 training with me, are coached on how to cope with puppy biting & are also provided with a help-sheet on the topic).
Firstly – we need to provide education for our puppies that they can no longer bite us:
- An exclamation of ‘ouch’, for example & then disengaging (stand up, walk away, move hands out of reach, no eye-contact) immediately from pup, the instant we feel their sharp little teeth on our skin.
- Walk away dramatically & immediately into another room – for just 30 seconds, then return – repeat if necessary.
- This disengagement is similar to how another puppy would normally react in the litter when play between pups becomes too rough – the biting puppy then gets feedback that biting too hard, causes all the fun to stop & thus learns to inhibit his or her bite.
- Puppy ragging on clothing? E.g. pyjama bottoms, slippers, socks etc. – carry a dangly dog toy at all times, to divert the behaviour onto the toy instead.
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- Nylabones, Antler bars & tree roots / chunky wood chews – NB. Please ensure they are specifically for puppies, so there is some ‘give’ & are soft & safe enough for puppy teeth.
- Teething Gel – as the product suggests, it will help soothe your pup’s mouth & gums & hopefully reduce the urge to chew on furniture, bite you out of frustration, be more restful etc.
- Ice cubes & fridge / freezer-chilled carrots – for soothing gums & providing something to gnaw on.
- Fleecy tuggy-toys – or rope ones – to use to divert any ragging, & biting or chasing of your clothing or feet!
- Kong toys – various shapes & types for stuffing with food, to provide mental stimulation & a chewing / play outlet - but again, please ensure they are soft enough for puppy teeth – note the leftovers of a carrot inside the bone-shaped Kong toy – doubles up as a carrot holder!
- Toys of various textures & shapes – to provide relief of teething, but also exploration of different textures.
If your puppy’s biting is quite severe, getting worse, or just not subsiding at all, there are a number of areas to consider:
Help with teaching your puppy self-control & reinforcing appropriate behaviour – simple general training techniques are all helpful - (please use reward-based training only)
Toys / activities to help with teaching frustration tolerance
Puzzle toys which are achievable – not too easy, nor too difficult - to help puppy regulate their frustration levels & ensure willingness to engage & persevere to solve the problem e.g. getting food treats from puzzle toys such as:
- The diet & treats your puppy is consuming – cheap, colourful, poorly-made dog treats & dog food can contribute to worse behaviour & lack of impulse-control.
- Is puppy getting enough to eat? Are they eating food too fast?
- Is your puppy over-tired? Not getting enough sleep? Or constantly disturbed sleep?
- Is your puppy over-stimulated? Too much exercise, or too much excitement?
- Is your puppy currently teething? From 16 – 18 weeks onwards, is there increasing biting & gnawing on furniture etc. short-tempered-ness?
- Boredom? Does your pup have enough to do? Consider a little more mental stimulation / social interaction?
- Is there too much temptation in the environment? E.g children running & squawking near puppy / dangly clothing drifting past puppy?
- Is your puppy regularly having unfettered & poorly supervised play with other puppies, or humans? This can lead to learning inappropriate play, bullying of other dogs, lack of boundaries & self-control.
- As similar with over-tiredness, is your puppy’s behaviour quick to spill over into over-arousal e.g. manifests in adrenaline-fuelled, crazy running, biting, snarling, growling, jumping & a glazed-eyes look?
- Is someone inadvertently encouraging inappropriate play? i.e. rough-housing, wrestling & allowing puppy to jump up / bite clothing, arms etc.
- Has there been use of punishment / aversives? E.g. scolding? / physical restraints? i.e holding down, holding mouth shut, alpha roll etc. / waving finger at pup & shouting ‘no’ etc. / tapping puppy on nose / spraying water or compressed air at the pup?
- Maybe your puppy simply has very little self-control & gets easily frustrated? There are many activities & training exercises which can help with this – please see below:
Help with teaching your puppy self-control & reinforcing appropriate behaviour – simple general training techniques are all helpful - (please use reward-based training only)
- Train your pup to give you eye-contact, (‘Look at / ‘Watch me’), in increasing increments of seconds in time e.g. 2 seconds, then 3 seconds etc. – reward with food treats – to encourage focus on you, especially with distractions present. Also helps pup stop what they are doing and learn a ‘pause button’.
- ‘Sit’ – e.g. for 5 seconds etc.
- ‘Lie down’.
- Teaching ‘Stay’.
- Teaching ‘Leave it’ – i.e. don’t touch something / come away from something.
- Teaching ‘Drop’ – i.e. let go of something in your mouth!
- Play fast action, high energy games e.g. tuggy / coming back when called (recall) / ‘fetch’ / chasing & swapping games (swapping for tasty food treats, or more exciting toy) – for a short time e.g. 30 seconds. Then practise something calm such as exercise 1), 2) or 3) above, for 30 seconds.......re-start a fast activity for 30 seconds, then calm for 30 seconds, repeat a few times & then end with a calm activity, which could lead into something done relatively statically & slowly e.g. working with a stuffed Kong.
Toys / activities to help with teaching frustration tolerance
Puzzle toys which are achievable – not too easy, nor too difficult - to help puppy regulate their frustration levels & ensure willingness to engage & persevere to solve the problem e.g. getting food treats from puzzle toys such as:
- Kongs
- Kong Wobbler
- Slow-feed bowls
- Treat-dispensing balls / other shaped toys
- Nina Ottosson range of toys e.g. dog brick, dog tornado, spinner etc.
- ‘Find-it’ game – laying a trail of food treats, or scattering them, for pup to use their nose to find & eat them.
- ***Always supervise your puppy with their toys, or when around children especially, to prevent injury, choking, or inappropriate behaviours (from both sides) ****
Final notes:
Consistency is important & then the puppy biting should subside & eventually cease, in a short matter of weeks.
Please consider that the teething experience when the baby milk teeth are dropping out & adult teeth come through, appears to be painful, uncomfortable & interferes with your pup’s concentration, or ability to rest. (similar to a human baby teething).
Please don’t punish, nor use deterrents such as nasty-tasting sprays etc. ……..rather than dealing with the symptoms, it’s far better to manage the cause, to provide relief for your pup & to ease you all through this phase.
Consistency is important & then the puppy biting should subside & eventually cease, in a short matter of weeks.
Please consider that the teething experience when the baby milk teeth are dropping out & adult teeth come through, appears to be painful, uncomfortable & interferes with your pup’s concentration, or ability to rest. (similar to a human baby teething).
Please don’t punish, nor use deterrents such as nasty-tasting sprays etc. ……..rather than dealing with the symptoms, it’s far better to manage the cause, to provide relief for your pup & to ease you all through this phase.