Puppies love to bite! From your fingers and ankles to your furniture, shoes and clothes, they seem to love sinking their teeny chompers into everything that moves. It’s cute when they’re little, but it can be a real problem when they get older and start biting people.
If left unchecked, puppy biting can turn into dog biting, and an adult dog that does not know its own strength can cause serious problems for both the dog and the owner. Biting can lead to fights between dogs, and can also make some people fearful of dogs, which can lead to them being surrendered to animal shelters.
The best way to stop a puppy from biting is to teach them not to do it from an early age. You can do this by using positive reinforcement – rewarding your puppy every time they don’t bite – and by providing plenty of chew toys so that they have something else to chew on instead of human skin.
In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at why puppies love using those razor-sharp teeth on you and what you can do to stop the behavior.
Why Do Puppies Bite?
While puppy biting is an extremely common complaint, it doesn’t necessarily mean your puppy is aggressive. More often than not, they are simply using their teeth as a form of exploration.
- They Are Teething
One of the most common reasons why a puppy is gnawing on everything is because they are teething. Puppies are born without teeth, and by the time they are about three to four weeks old, they would have gotten their full set of 28 milk or deciduous teeth.
Then their 42 adult teeth will start to grow and push out their baby teeth, during which, they can experience significant discomfort in their gums and mouths. Like human infants, they get relief by chewing on everything.
Teething is a natural process, and by the time a puppy is about six to eight months old, it would have gotten its full set of adult teeth and hopefully start to leave your belongings alone.
- They Are Playing
Puppies play with their mother and littermates by mouthing or play-biting. Puppy mouthing is normal behavior for young dogs. It’s a way for them to explore the world and learn about their surroundings.
Some puppies mouth more than others, and it’s often related to their energy level and personality. Some breeds are also more prone to mouthing than others. For example, herding breeds like Border Collies and Australian Shepherds often mouth more than other dogs.
Puppy mouthing can be annoying, but it’s important to remember that it’s a normal part of puppyhood.
- They Are Excited
Pups are just little babies that want to play constantly. Giving an overexcited pup more attention is just screaming “bite me!”. High-pitched voices, quick movements, and fluttering fabric are all incredibly exciting to a pup whose natural instinct could be to chase and nip.
- They Are Throwing A Temper Tantrum
Just like us, pups get moody too. They might be overly tired, frustrated from the lack of attention, or feeling overwhelmed. A pup with a temper tantrum will have the potential to exhibit more aggressive behaviors in the future, and this should be dealt with immediately.
If your puppy repeatedly bites you in frustration or annoyance, it might be time to get help from a qualified trainer before the behavior escalates into aggression that is difficult to correct.
If you’ve just brought your new puppy home and they’re biting everything in sight, make sure you get some tips on how to survive the first 48 hours with your new puppy.
How To Reward Your Pup For Not Biting
Puppy nipping is extremely common and you’d be hard-pressed to find a pup that DOESN’T bite! However, this behavior can get extremely annoying and while most dogs outgrow it, you might want to correct it and save some skin from your hands.
Harshly correcting or punishing your pup for mouthing might be confusing to a young pup, who thinks the behavior is completely natural.
Puppies respond best to positive reinforcement where a reward is offered when the desired behavior is exhibited.
You can carry around treats or a favorite toy, and when your pup zeroes in on your hands and ankles, offer the toy instead and give a reward in the form of play or food when they leave your hands alone and redirect their attention to their toys. You should have plenty of chew toys so that they have an outlet for their natural chewing urges!
What Is Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is one of the most effective training methods for dogs. When used correctly, positive reinforcement can help your dog learn new behaviors and improve existing ones. Perhaps best of all, positive reinforcement is a kind and gentle way to train your dog.
So, what exactly is positive reinforcement? In short, it means rewarding your dog for good behavior. This can be done with treats, affection, or verbal praise. The key is to give the reward immediately after your dog performs the desired behavior. This will help your dog understand that he is being rewarded for that particular behavior.
There are many benefits to using positive reinforcement to train your dog. For one thing, it’s a very effective way to teach new behaviors. Dogs are highly motivated by food, so using treats as a reward is often very effective. In addition, positive reinforcement is a much kinder and gentler method than punitive methods such as scolding or hitting.
And finally, dogs who are trained with positive reinforcement are more likely to be happy and confident than those who are trained with punitive methods.
How Do You Discipline a Puppy For Biting?
Why Punishment Doesn’t Work
Punishing puppies for bad behavior is a common practice, but it is also an ineffective one. Punishment may stop the dog from behaving badly at that moment, but it does nothing to address the underlying cause of the problem.
In fact, punishing a puppy can often make things worse by causing fear and anxiety. Puppies learn best through positive reinforcement, so instead of punishing them for bad behavior, focus on rewarding them for good behavior.
This will help them to learn what you expect from them and to develop good habits that will last a lifetime.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Age To Teach A Puppy Not To Bite?
When it comes to raising a well-behaved puppy, one of the most important things to teach is bite inhibition. This is the process of teaching your puppy not to bite too hard, and it’s something that should start as early as possible.
The ideal age to start working on bite inhibition is between 8 and 16 weeks old. This is when puppies are most active and playful, and they’re also starting to teeth. During this time, it’s important to be consistent with your training. Every time your puppy bites too hard, make a loud noise or say “ouch!” in a sharp voice. This will help your puppy understand that biting too hard is not acceptable behavior. Once your puppy has mastered bite inhibition, he or she will be better-behaved and less likely to nip or bite in adulthood.
Are Puppy Bites Dangerous
The sharp teeth of a puppy can puncture the skin and the bacteria in their mouths can lead to infection. You’ll have to clean the wound if your pup got overly zealous with their nipping and broke the skin.
Most puppies that bite do so because they are teething or playing. However, if you think that your puppy is biting out of fear, frustration, or aggression, it might be prudent to seek help from a training professional. If left unchecked, puppy biting can escalate into more serious behavioral issues and it is better to err on the side of caution.
Why Is My Puppy Biting Me Aggressively?
The more intense or aggressive your puppy is when they bite is related to how excited they are. Puppies have lots of energy and a tendency to use their teeth during play or as an outlet for expending their energy.
If your puppy is biting you aggressively; focus on training them to be calm. Calmness can be trained by rewarding your puppy with a low value treat, calm drawn-out words of praise and slow body strokes when they are simply laying down, relaxing.
Only interact with your puppy when they are calm. Ensure your puppy is getting 20 hours of sleep a day or else they could be over-tired which increases mouthiness.
Provide appropriate outlets for their energy, long lasting chews, raw meaty bones, stuffed Kongs etc can help with this.
How To Stop Puppy Biting Ankles?
When your puppy chases you, stop walking and have a tug toy handy that you can redirect their jaws on to. Ensure that between games of tug, you get the puppy to calm down before initiating another game of tug. This will build your puppies ability to calm down from a heightened state of excitement.
How to stop a teething puppy from chewing everything?
Freeze a rubber Kong stuffed with green tripe or mince; your puppy will chew on this and their sore gums will be soothed. Freeze a bunch of them, so you always have some on hand and ready to go should your pup be having one of those days, where they seem to be chewing everything!
Secondly, supervise your puppy at all times to ensure they aren’t chewing on power cords, swallowing pieces of furniture or poisonous plants etc. Provide lots of opportunities for your pup to chew raw meaty bones, bully sticks, goat horns, deer antlers and chew toys.
Why Does My Puppy Bite Me When I Pet Him?
If you have a new puppy, you may have noticed that he enjoys biting your hand when you pet him. While this might seem like a sign of aggression, it is actually a very normal part of puppy development.
Puppies are born without any teeth, but by the time they are three to four weeks old, they start to get their baby teeth. These teeth are sharp, and they can be quite painful for puppies when they first come in. To relieve the discomfort, puppies will often chew on anything they can get their teeth on, including your hand.
Thankfully, the puppy biting phase doesn’t last long. As your puppy’s adult teeth start to come in, the discomfort will subside and he will stop chewing on everything in sight. Until then, you can deter your puppy from biting by offering him a chew toy instead of your hand. With a little patience, your puppy will soon outgrow this phase and become a well-mannered dog.
Stop dog chewing furniture home remedies
You can put some citrus juice such as lemon or lime in a spray bottle and squirt on the surfaces your puppy is obsessed with chewing.
Some puppies will continue to chew; supervision is always key. The more your puppy practises a behaviour, the more likely they will continue practising that behaviour in the future. When you’re not able to watch your pup, put them in their crate or puppy pen – remember, they need 20 hours of sleep each day!
My Puppy Won’t Stop Biting me I’ve Tried Everything
So you’ve tried redirecting to toys and chews, provided ample outlets for chewing and soothing sore gums and your pup is still tenaciously biting you.
It’s time to get a vet check to make sure your puppy’s bite and teeth are developing as they should be. Some genetic conditions like base narrow canines can make mouths more sore than they should be.
Narrow base canines can grow into the roof of the mouth and in severe cases, they can make holes which can become inflamed and sore.
Poodles and poodle mix breeds such as cavoodles, groodles, labradoodles, spoodles, bordoodles, golden doodles, moodles, bichoodles, tiboodles, bernedoodles etc are particularly predisposed to being affected by this condition because of the narrow shape of their head.
Generally narrow base canines will correct themselves, ball therapy and chewing bones can help. If the adult teeth come through and impact the roof of the mouth, the lower canines might need to be removed to improve the dog’s quality of life.
Final Thoughts
If you’re concerned about your puppy’s mouthing behavior, there are a few things you can do to manage it. First, provide your puppy with plenty of chew toys and interactive toys to keep their minds and mouths busy.
Second, ignore mouthing behavior that isn’t painful or aggressive. This will help your puppy learn that mouthing is not an effective way to get your attention.
Finally, if your puppy does mouth you, immediately say “no” in a firm voice and offer them an appropriate chew toy instead. With patience and consistent training, you can help your puppy outgrow their mouthing behavior.
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