Special Report How to Make your Puppy Stop Biting and Hurting Others Mark Mendoza
Common Puppy Behavior Problems: Nipping Till It Hurts All pups start out doing everything possible to seemingly want to annoy you, get in trouble or worse hurt themselves. But at the same time they are incredibly cute - they have to be so you'll still love them when they are being really bad, which happens often while they are learning how to behave in a human world. If your puppy is misbehaving, don't fret. You can do plenty to help teach him the right way to act in just about any situation. Let's look at a very common puppy problem of nipping and how to solve the issue. If you follow this approach then you can rest assured that your pup will stop nipping in no time at all. The Nipping Problem: An Easy Approach It's natural for a puppy to nip while playing, and your puppy surely will do it to you, especially when he's excited. But no matter how cute he is and how harmless it seems, you must put a stop to nipping the moment it begins. Puppies need to learn that their teeth should never touch human flesh, even in play. This will pay off when your dog grows up he'll be less likely to bite anyone, especially if you
have a big dog. And even the smaller breeds can give a good bite if the nipping behavior is not taken care of. When you play with your pup, redirect his biting behavior to his toys, especially soft plush toys that have a satisfying give in his mouth and have rubber toys that you can stuff with treats to engage his interest and his teeth. Even if your puppy is as young as 8 weeks old, he can still learn that biting is not acceptable. If your puppy bites you during play, say ouch in a low voice, and remove your body part from his mouth. If he continues to bite, walk away from him. If he follows you, step through a door and close him on the other side, but just briefly - don't leave him alone long enough for him to get in trouble! You're teaching him that biting too hard makes the fun stop. He'll learn to control how hard he bites so you'll keep playing with him. As he starts to get the idea, you'll notice that he bites hard with less frequency. Then you raise the bar, and start applying your ouch to softer bites, until he learns to keep his mouth off of skin completely.
How to Control Nipping & Biting One thing you can count on when bringing home a new puppy is the fact that he will nip and bite at your fingers during the first few days or weeks. This is perfectly normal and there is no reason to get alarmed that you may have purchased an aggressive dog. However, like any behavior you wish to change about your dog, you need to take a few steps so that he realizes that nipping is not something you as the pack leader want him to continue doing. So how do you change this natural biting behavior that a little puppy has? Well the first thing to do is determine his age. This is important because puppies under the age of about 15 weeks need to be handled a little differently when it comes to mouthing and nipping than puppies over the age of 15 weeks. If your puppy is brand new and younger than the 15 week period, the following tips can help you control his nipping behavior: 1. Start to show your puppy that you appreciate licking instead of nipping. When he changes his behavior and licks at your fingers or hands, be sure to praise him very lovingly. You can also encourage your puppy to lick more often by rubbing a little butter or coconut oil on your fingers. Let him
know by soothing caresses that what he is doing is a good thing with each lick. 2. If your puppy is still biting or nipping at your fingers and he is just been fed and really doesn't need anything in its mouth, set him aside with a nice bone for a little while. This is where a crate would come in handy. Place the dog in the crate for a short period of time so that he can divert his mouthing attention to his favorite bone. And it is very important not to yell at or scold your puppy along the way. You must create a positive learning environment. 3. Whenever the puppy bites down hard on your fingers or hand, use a disciplinary tone of voice and give a command such as "No No" while looking sharply into his eyes. Hold this firm demeanor for a few moments and then immediately change your body language and go back to whatever it is you're doing before, and with a soothing approach. Doing this procedure a few times is enough for your puppy to learn the command and to stop biting down hard when he is commanded.