Mouthing

Mouthing & Biting in Puppies

Are you & your family your puppy’s favorite chew toy? Do your arms look like you sleep on a bed of poison ivy?  Mouthing & nipping are a normal social behavior for a young pup. Most people think that it’s related to teething but puppies don’t start to teeth until about 4 months & that will usually result in chewing & gnawing toys or furniture rather than nipping at people.  When dogs play, they tend to use their mouths & teeth; like Panda & Wren in the picture above. One of the things that puppies learn from their litter mates is called bite inhibition; how hard is too hard. This is one of the reasons it’s important not to take a puppy home until he’s 8 weeks old.  If your puppy is continuously nipping & biting you, be sure to stay away from games like tug or wrestling – these encourage them to use their teeth on you. Retrieving, training, swimming & walking are all great social interactions for puppies & their families. Always provide your pup with plenty of exercise & mental stimulation; a tired pup is a well behaved pup!

Can the chomping be stopped?  

First & foremost your pup must have exercise, attention & adequate play for this particular training to be put into action; puppies have energy & a need to be social so there must be an appropriate outlet for that. The way puppies teach each other that the force of their bite it too hard & hurts is by crying or yelping. This tells the other puppy “Ouch! Not so hard!!”  Most dogs just see people as strange looking dogs.   We can teach them not to bite in the same way. The best way to make it very clear to them is to simply not allow any teeth on you or anyone in your family at all; don’t wait for it to actually hurt.

                Whenever your puppy puts his teeth on you immediately yelp & then stop playing & ignore him. If you do this every time your pup bites you, what he will learn is that his teeth hurt you & playing too rough will get him ignored. He doesn’t want either of these things to happen so he will soon stop. Occasionally, a high pitched yelp sounds like a toy or fun to a puppy; if the yelp winds your pup up rather than stopping the behavior try saying “OUCH!!” in a loud, clear voice. As long as everyone is consistent, the biting & nipping will soon stop.

                If your dog has had plenty of exercise, training & social interaction & this method still isn’t working please ask me about “Bummer”