How to Stop a Puppy Biting
Anyone who has ever had a puppy will know that puppies love to play, and part of that play behavior is biting.
Whenever we think about behavior in domestic dogs, we need to look at wild dogs such as wolves and see how that behavior would benefit them in the wild. By doing this we understand why they do the behavior, and it can also help us understand how to stop it.
Play fighting and biting is a normal behavior for puppies. In the wild, this plays an important role in learning how to fight and hunt, which are both essential if a wild dog is to survive. This behavior can become problematic for people because biting can hurt or even cause quite bad injuries to children.
To work out how to stop biting, we can look at wild dogs. When they play fight, if a puppy bites another puppy too hard they do two things – they yelp and they stop playing. This teaches the puppy that did the biting that it was too hard and it needs to modify its behavior next time if they want to keep playing. We can do the same thing.
When a puppy bites you, you need to do the same thing as a puppy in the wild. A yelp or a loud NO! will give them quick feedback that it was not ok to bite. Immediately after the yelp you should withdraw your hands and turn away. By doing this you teach them that biting will end the fun and games, and they will also lose your attention. You only need to ignore them for a few seconds before you can start the game again. If they keep biting, keep repeating the yelp and turn away technique. Most dogs will learn within a minute or two that biting people isn’t a good thing.
NEVER hit a puppy for biting as it can create fear aggression and cause more problems than it solves.
It is important to be consistent with this, so make sure everyone in the family is doing the same thing. It gets very confusing for a puppy if they are allowed to bite some times and not others.
Because biting and chewing is normal, it’s important to provide some things for the puppy to chew. Toys and ropes for tug-of-war are great things for puppies to play with as they help redirect the behavior to a safe and acceptable place.