Its Puppy Season! How to deal with your biting puppy:
July 9th, 2007Ahh, it summer! Which means lots of new puppies with new owners! And lots of outdoor training fun to be had in the gorgeous weather!
Recently I’ve had a few e-mails asking me how to curb biting problems in puppies. Before I get to the solutions, let me answer the key question:
Just why do puppies bite?
Well, dogs are canines, and so are wolves, coyotes, jackals and African wild hunting dogs, and the answer lies in watching packs of wild dogs. If you watch footage of wild canine puppies at a den you’ll see that when the adults come back from hunting for food, the puppies run out of the den and swarm the adults jumping and biting at them. Its actually this demanding, biting behaviour that stimulates the adult canines to regurgitate some of the food in their stomach to feed the pups. So its just some left over wild instinct in domesticated canine puppies that cause them to bite the hand that feeds them.
How do I stop my puppy from biting?
The most effective method I’ve found is to fold their lips into their own teeth, as I instruct in lesson number 6.
After trying this method consistently for a few days if you are still having problems with your puppy biting frequently then grab your puppy by the scruff when they bite, lift their front paws off the ground slightly and say “NO biting!” firmly. Wait until the pup has stopped struggling against you and then put them down. Many puppies will try and bite a couple of times in a row before they give up and just repeat the exact same correction again and again until your pup gets it. Do not change the way you correct them or the words you say, and only say “No biting.” The more persistent and consistent YOU are with your correction the faster your puppy will learn not to bite. To follow your negative correction with a positive note, you should re-focus your puppy on a different item, like a toy or stick, that they can bite and play with. For example, it your puppy is biting your foot, correct them and then tease them with a toy and get them interested in that, instead of your foot!
If you have an older dog that is nipping ask yourself these questions:
1. Is your dog being startled by people approaching from behind and touching them?
2. Is your dog nervous of people that are not well known to them?
3. Does your dog have long hair around its eyes that would block its peripheral vision so people’s hands are startling them?
For questions number 1 & 2 have people always approach your dog from the front and make sure your dog sees and sniffs their hand first, prior to being touched. Also, have people pat your dog on the chest or under the chin first. This is a less intimidating way to touch a dog and many nervous dogs prefer this. Many dogs will shy away or flinch when people reach out to pat them on top of their head, this is a sign that the dog is not comfortable with that person patting them on top of their head.
For question number 3, trim the hair around you dog’s eyes 
If your dog still snaps at people, then follow the directions in the answer for questions 1 & 2 above.
FUN STUFF
PARADE!
On Canada Day, July 1, two of my dogs and I participated in a Canada Day parade to help promote the Pets and Friends Organization. They are a group of wonderful dogs and volunteers that “provides and promotes the healing comfort and companionship of animals” by having dogs visit people in long term care facilities.
Muppet laps up the love from the crowd.
‘China’ a big dog, with a big heart that gives out big love!
Muppet and Mick on parade duty.
A note about dogs and parades: most dogs do not enjoy loud, colourful, noisy events like parades. My dogs have been trained since puppies to work in such environments, but I saw countless stressed out dogs with spectators at the parade. Please be fair to your dog and leave them at home if your dog may be stressed in such a chaotic environment.
Happy Training!
