Stop Puppy Nipping & Biting Today: Proven Techniques for Calm, Well‑Behaved Dogs
A puppy nipping and biting is a very common problem, and as a behavioural specialist my advice would be to get control of this issue as quickly as possible, before it gets out of hand! It’s easy just to let it go sometimes because they are small and cute, but puppies grow up quick and their nips turn into bites very quickly.
It is very true that it is natural for a puppy to go through the mouthing stage, which can be unpleasant for us with their sharp teeth. Therefore putting rules and boundaries in place straight away will help the issue very quickly as they will have been used to having rules from their mum at a very young age.
A pup is just like a child, with no boundaries they will rule the roost very quickly.
Some Top Tips On How To Stop Your Puppy Nipping And Biting.
Hand Biting
If your puppy is biting your hand, try not to pull away sharply as they love any reaction and they will do it more. It is better to keep your hand still, make a fist and to reprimand with a guttural low tone to tell the puppy to stop. Once your puppy has stopped praise heavily.
Top Tip: Sometimes a strong smell on your hands can work very well, like perfume.
Feet Biting
If you have an issue with your puppy biting your feet, stop walking and stand still don’t forget to reprimand in a low tone until they have stopped, DO NOT run or do quick movements with your feet they will love it.
Exercise and Entertainment Can Prevent A Puppy Nipping and Biting
It’s great to keep a puppy amused so providing a few toys and games is great
A sand pit is great fun for a puppy, you can bury little bits of cheese or treats, so that they can enjoy digging for them and making a mess, its great exercise and lovely fun.
A Kong toy can provide hours of fun, this is a toy that rolls on the floor with a hole in the middle so you can stuff it with food and your pup has to work hard to get the food out.
Get them to follow you – It’s great exercise for a puppy and a good training method to. Leaders of a pack would generally lead and a lower dog would follow, so teaching a dog to follow you will instill in them that you are a good leader.
If you are a good leader they will pay attention to you, which makes it easier when you want to tell them to stop doing something.
How do we get a pup to follow us? Well all you need is something long for you to pull along the floor i.e. long lead. You could easily do this in your garden and around your house. Go through doorways before them, garden gates etc, but if they do run past you just turn and go in the opposite direction so that you are always leading.
Food
All puppies grow at different speeds and sometimes they do get a little hungrier on certain days, so you may find a puppy really biting your hand, for instance just after you have eaten a sandwich or pulling a tea towel to bits because it will smell of food.
It’s a great tip to have what I call forage food around i.e. raw carrots and broccoli ends for them to have a munch on when they are ready. These foods provide a lot of fun and nutrition.
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