So, you just got a new puppy and you’re very excited about it. You love how cute and cuddly your puppy is and how much it adores you. But, there’s one little annoying thing – the puppy bites you sometimes.
Puppies have about twenty-eight teeth in their mouth and these razor-sharp teeth are, somehow, always attracted to your fingers, leading to painful bites and small injuries. These bites are pretty normal and important for the puppy’s growth and development. Some dog trainers call it “play biting” because the puppy usually has no ill intent and it occurs mostly when playing or cuddling.
As a dog owner, especially for the first time, you should treat your puppy with patience and not get discouraged by occurrences like this, as they are pretty normal and signs of good development. You have to engage your puppy healthily, without abuse so that they’ll grow out of the biting phase into a dog you will love for a long time.
So, these are a few tips to stop your puppy from biting you when playing:
Teach Your Puppy Bite Inhibition
An important thing to know about dogs is that they are going to bite. It’s part of their nature and responses to different situations. You can always read more here about puppy behavior if you want to understand bite inhibition, but I’ll walk you through some of the best ways to teach your puppy bite inhibition. As a puppy owner, you have to train your dog in bite inhibition.
Your little furry friend should learn how to moderate the force of their bites. Sometimes, when dogs are in pain or distress, they immediately bite someone around. If the dog is trained in bite inhibition, it will immediately know that it isn’t supposed to bite anyone.
Depending on your dog’s personality, you can teach bite inhibition in different ways. You can make a loud sound of pain when it bites you, thus alerting it that you are hurt. Sometimes, this method doesn’t work as your puppy can panic and bite even harder.
Another response is to quietly walk away from the dog or put it in its cage to calm down. Dogs are pretty smart, so your puppy will immediately notice your response and back off, be sure to reward them with treats and verbal praise if they do.
Give Your Puppy An Alternative To Chew
Puppies will always bite, which is why it is always a good idea to have a chew toy on hand. This allows you to anticipate biting behavior and substitute what or who they are biting with the chew toy.
The puppy will, after some time, know what is okay and not okay to bite. Offer your puppy a toy whenever it starts to nibble on you or anyone. Also, have a variety of toys so the puppy can always have more things to bite or chew on.
Tire The Puppy Out
I know – the last thing you probably want to do is tire your puppy out, but, sometimes, this works best. There are times when you offer your puppy a toy and it is still hyperactive and chewing on the wrong things. If that is often the case with your puppy, then it might just be full of a lot of energy. So, a great way to salvage the situation is, for example, to take it to your backyard and allow it to run around till it is finally tired.
This will help your puppy use up whatever energy was making him or her hyperactive and also stop the wrong biting.
Reward Behaviour You Like
When your puppy is calm and well behaved, you should not forget to reward it with something as simple as a “good boy”, a pat on the head, and a treat. This will teach your dog the kind of behavior you are looking for through positive reinforcement.
Never Hit Your Dog
This is an important thing that must always be said. Physically punishing your dog is never a good idea. You make the dog frightened, more aggressive, and you won’t also get rid of the biting problem. Dogs are more complex than we sometimes give them credit for and abuse will never give you a good result.
These are some important ways you can stop your puppy from biting you without causing harm to the puppy. Dogs are smart and after a few weeks of putting these tips into action, you will begin to see some results. If the biting continues and you think it’s out of aggression, you can take the puppy to a vet for a more professional look at the situation. You can also enroll in a puppy class to help you understand dogs’ social behavior even more and improve your dog’s relationship with you.