Biting is a natural behavior that all puppies and dogs do. It can be controlled with a little proper training though. Since dogs do not have hands, they tend to use their teeth and mouth to investigate what other senses will not provide. Therefore, a puppy will bite your fingers to see what it is and if it is food or not. Remember also that puppies are brought into this world biting around for food since they can not see right away. Therefore it is natural and all dogs will do it. It is important to start training right away though because you will not want a biting dog in the house, especially with kids in the family.
At first, it seems cute that your new furry friend is nibbling on your fingers during play or with other puppies. It is a method that a dog has learned at a young age to play-fight with other puppies in the litter by biting. Although it seems little rough and a little like WWF styling wrestling however it is essential to develop reflexes, coordination, social skills and physical skills. Usually mothers will teach new puppies when to bite and when not to bite by her reactions. Unless you have both the mother and puppy in your house, the puppy will not have the time to completely learn from the mother that biting is not acceptable. Therefore, you have to take the place of the mother and teach the biting puppy when it is appropriate and when it is not. One of the best ways to prevent them from pulling and biting is to buy them the best collar for large dog that pulls. This is more applicable if you own big dogs.
It is best to use a mother dog’s natural training techniques to achieve the best results. Here are some suggestions that work:
1. When a puppy bites you, scream “ouch!” It is important to say this loud enough to shock your puppy however not scare him/her from playing again. This should be done each time the puppy bites, even if it is a small love nibble. Then, stop playing with the puppy for a few minutes. Most puppies will learn not to bite from just doing this action.
2. For more persistent puppies, try using the exaggerated “ouch!” scream. If this does not work after a few tries, gently flip the puppy on its back and hold it done in that position. After a few moments, the puppy knows you mean business and will stop. Then, you will allow the puppy to roll back over again.
3. For older dogs that were never taught to stop biting, try holding the muzzle gently closed and say “no bite!” Then, release the muzzle and proceed to what you were doing before biting.
4. If none of these tricks work, next time the dog bites you, keep your finger in the dogs mouth. Make sure it does not choke the dog though. It will shock the dog and after a few times of this action, the dog will stop. If just a plan finger does not work, try placing a little cayenne pepper on the finger which will give a bad taste and the puppy should stop. Keep repeating until the dog stops. We had one dog that it only too two times with this method and the dog stopped forever.
These are rather simple techniques that are used by the mother dog, therefore they are effective. It is important to always use these techniques, even while playing. Teach your children to do these techniques also. It is patience and persistence to teach a dog not to bite however they should learn in a few weeks time. Just remember to not allow any biting; they need to know that it is not acceptable at any time – except to a toy. Biting in a puppy is a serious condition because although a puppies teeth are small and dull the adults teeth are not. In addition, it only takes one bite from a dog to get a large court payment to pay because the dog bite someone.
