Puppy Biting...

by Kelley Filson, CTC, CPDT

A normal, healthy pup will want to bite and chew--on EVERYTHING! This means your pup will try biting you!

RELAX! Your puppy is NOT aggressive. Your puppy is not trying to dominate you. Your puppy is not being naughty. Your puppy is just being a puppy!

This does not mean that you should encourage biting. Furthermore, this does not mean you should ignore your puppy's inappropriate biting. It is important to address biting BEFORE it becomes a problem!

Some Background...
Puppies have very sharp, needle-shaped teeth. When a puppy bites, these teeth hurt, a lot! This is good. Puppies lack adult-dog, jaw strength. If they didn't have such sharp teeth, it would be hard for them to realize that they are capable of hurting others with their teeth.

Puppies need to learn BITE INHIBITION. This is a term that is used by veterinarians, trainers, and behaviorists to describe how hard a dog bites down when they place their mouth and jaws on a person or dog. Think of your dog's teeth like the brakes in your car. You can press the brakes gently or slam on them. At some point when you are driving you will need to brake, but how you brake depends on lots of factors... Is there a threat, are you going slow or fast, have you been paying attention, etc...

At some point in your dog's life they are likely to use their teeth in a fight, or to protect themselves or their stuff. When this happens you want them to inhibit themselves and use the minimal tooth & jaw pressure needed to make their point.

When Your Puppy Puts Their Teeth on Your Skin...
I allow gentle mouthing until pups are about 3-4 months old (they start getting adult teeth). This is because I want my puppy to practice using their jaws gently. When a pup bites too hard, I say "OUCH!" in a calm, but clear voice. Then I walk away from my pup. I do not shove, grab, hit, or otherwise try to give the puppy a punishment. Don't hold their mouth shut or yell at them. The punishment is that you ignore them.

All puppies need SOME rough-play time. If my pup is too worked-up to use their jaws calmly, I bring a toy into the situation. They are allowed to be rough, bite, shake and growl at the toy. BUT... If they miss the toy and bite me by mistake, I say, "OUCH!" and walk away for 10-15 seconds. They get three attempts. On the third mistake, I stop playing with them for at least 20 minutes.

Once a pup is 3-4 months, I no longer allow teeth on skin. Should a pup make a mistake, I do the following:
1) On the first mistake, I re-direct them to a toy.
2) On the second mistake, they get an "OUCH!" and ignored.
3) On the third mistake, they get put in a confinement area until they calm down.

FINAL NOTE! Give your puppy LOTS of toys, bones, and chews!!!

(this article can be found in its entirety at http://blogs.dogtime.com/go-dog-training/2009/08/puppy-biting-teeth-on-toys-please )