Dog Biting Training
The best way to prevent your dog from the habit of biting, is to start training him when he is a puppy. Puppies are impressionable and are easily influenced by what you train them to do. Therefore, if you teach your puppy what is right and wrong, at the beginning and keep reinforcing it, your puppy will not develop bad habits, such as biting or chewing.
Puppies are usually playful and like interacting with people. But no matter how cute and playful your puppy is, if he is biting you or others, even playfully, he could turn into a menace. If this habit is not controlled, he could actually hurt someone. In case he has the habit of chewing on things, he could destroy some of your important or valuable things.
Why Dogs Bite
A dog's mouth is ideal for grabbing and holding things. While play biting is natural in dog, serious biting can sometimes be motivated by fear, aggression, boredom or stress. In well-disciplined dogs, instances of biting can also occur when they are in pain, wounded or if anyone gets too close to a tender area.
Training puppies
Proper training is necessary, to teach puppies the appropriate biting and chewing habits. To train puppy not to bite, you need to:
- Buy some “chew toys” for your puppy, preferably, that is mentally challenging for him. However, please ensure that the chew toys are not in the shapes of hands or feet.
- Teach your pet that biting hurts you, by yelling “ouch” or yelping loudly, every time he bites you. This will tell him that he is too rough and he will try to be more gently with you next time.
- Avoid playing rough and aggressive games like tug-of-war and wrestle, as these games will only encourage the habit of biting.
- Make sure that you pet gets a lot of exercise and play time every day. Activities like walking/ jogging and playing fetch are great distractions and can reduce biting.
- Appreciate your puppy’s good behavior, by giving him plenty of praise (or other rewards), when he plays with you or licks you, without using him teeth.
Do not punish the puppy or be too severe, as this will only add to his stress and will confuse him. He may also develop a fear toward you.
Training dogs
If your dog with biting or chewing problems is an adult, it is first important to know the reasons that could cause him to be stressed. Training an adult dog is not as easy as puppies and you may need to seek the help of a professional.
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