It is quite natural for puppies to stick their teeth into stuff every now and then, which is more frequent when they’ve just started growing teeth. Unlike cats, dogs always use their mouth to touch or move any object and tend to develop this behaviour from a very young age as that is when they’ve just started discovering stuff around them.
For sure, we all find their nibbling very cute at beginning, but letting them continue doing so would only motivate them to do it even more without being aware of how hard they are biting or how sharp their teeth are.
That being said, if you find that your furry buddy has started biting everyone and everything it finds, then it’s high time you ignore those “puppy eyes” and teach them not to do so anymore. Yeah, we know what you’re thinking about; but don’t worry, we’ve got you covered on this one.
In this article, we have mentioned some tips which will surely help you train your pup to stop that biting and be a good boy/girl!
Make them conscious
When puppies are playing with their siblings, they often tend to mouth each other every time. Chances are this mouthing may turn into a serious bite, which might ultimately hurt other puppies and result in them barking in pain. When a dog starts yelping, it is basically indicating the other puppy about its action and they immediately release their grip.
Well, this behaviour can be exhibited by humans too, to make them conscious about their biting habit. When a puppy grabs your finger or hand, make your hand go limp and pretend that you are in pain by making a yelping sound. As the puppy releases the grip, ignore him for round about fifteen to twenty seconds and then continue playing.
Bear in mind, not pull away your hand from that bite because doing just that will set off their hunting instincts and may insist them to harden their grip.
When training your dog not to bite, ensure that you aren’t teaching them for more than three times in a time span of fifteen minutes. If they still continue with the same behaviour, bring them outside for other activities so as to distract them.
The lesson they can take away from here is that, they are allowed to play gently, but being rough is a complete NO NO! Once you have made them conscious about their hard bites, continue with the same process for their gentle bites too.
Teach them commands
Now that you have made your puppy conscious about their bites, get on to teaching them that their constant mouthing is not a good behaviour. If they come near to mouth you, pull away before they can make any contact. Instead, give them a treat or throw a chewy toy for them to bite.
If your puppy is urged to mouth you, play a throw and fetch game or get into a tug-of-war with that chewy toy. But, ensure that this tugging doesn’t turn aggressive. Also, teach your puppy some relaxing commands like “Leave it” or “Let go”, as it will help you remove stuff from their mouth, in case they swallow something they shouldn’t.
Distract them
Puppies have a habit of biting everything that catches their eye. So, keep some quality chew toys made of hard plastic or rubber in your home. You can also play some games with them to increase their intelligence, such as hiding treat under bowls. Also, if your puppy has no siblings to play with, then take them out for a walk where they can meet other dogs and bond with them. This will also make them aware about their biting strength.
Now, even though you have taught your puppy not to mouth people, some of the herding breeds are reluctant to change their behaviour and often tend to mouth people’s ankles. When your puppy does the same, show them their chew toy and distract them until they grab on to it.
If you don’t have the toy at that moment, let them nibble a little and as they release their grip, offer them a treat or their chew toy and praise them for this good behaviour. By doing so, they will soon realise that they’ll be praised and rewarded every time for their good behaviour. This will in turn reduce that biting in future.
Training them to stop biting people and things cannot be done overnight, you need to understand the fact that it will take time for them to adjust to this behaviour. So, it’s better that you remain a little gentle and patient as you teach them how to control their biting behaviour.
Another thing you need to bear in mind is that they grow faster than you’d expect, so you may have to buy a lot of nutritious food, chew toys and good dog clippers to maintain their fur and their overall health. We hope that the tips mentioned above will help you train your puppy to stop nibbling onto you and flourishes your relationship with them.