Have you been so entranced by the cute antics of your new little puppy that you are now finding it difficult to break him out of his biting habit. Nipping and mouthing is one thing when puppy is only 8 weeks old, but it is an entirely different thing when puppy's teeth become stronger and sharper with each week. The trick to preventing puppy biting is to find a way to discipline puppy without squashing his playfulness and thus teach him the difference between right and wrong behaviour. When a puppy is up to his cute, mischievous tricks, it can be difficult to be firm, particularly when he has you smiling from ear to ear. But being firm can simply mean that you begin introducing some consistent commands from the start, commands to remind him when he has gone too far with his biting.
How to Prevent Puppy Biting
As soon as puppy arrives home, you can start some playful lessons that take just a few minutes of your time each day. In fact, the lesson itself can become a form of playing that puppy looks forward to each day. Starting right from the time he arrives home, you can work on some of these suggestions so that you minimize the problems that others have had when trying to prevent their puppy from biting.
The Hard Nip
A puppy litter tends to take care of the biting-too-hard problem quite naturally. When the puppies play together, they react instantly if one of their brothers or sisters has started to get too rough. They won't hesitate in turning around and biting back just as hard with a little growl thrown in for good measure. Or, if they have simply had enough, they'll take off and leave the tough puppy to his own devices. Similarly, they will regard you as one of the group but with the elevated status of "top dog" or "leader of the pack". So you can learn from the angry siblings and react in kind:
A growling-sounding "No" can work to stop puppy in his tracks as soon as he starts biting too hard.
You can also try the "taking-off" trick and leave the room if puppy doesn't respond to your firm "No".
Some dog owners have found success with noisy items in a can; items such as nails or coins. When you shake the can, the loud, unexpected noise will startle puppy and grab his attention for sure. This can become the "no-biting" noise, reserved only for the purpose of correcting this particular habit.
The Biting Wrestle
As a rule, puppy biting is quite innocent and just part of what puppies see as quite natural fun. It's not so much fun for you, however, if puppy starts indulging in a wrestling match with the sleeve of your jumper or with the cloth that is draping over the edge of the nicely-set dinner table. When that happens, you can hold him back, give the "No" command that he is getting used to and then the moment he releases his grip, give him a substitute toy, one that is on the "okay to chew" list.
Tug-of-War
Do you like to play tug-of-war with your new puppy, joining in with the odd puppy growl no less? Whilst this is something that we have probably all done with our puppy, it is a past-time that can become a habit which is hard to break. As soon as we start talking about "breaking a habit" it means we have already gone too far down the path of allowing an undesirable behavior pattern. Participating in a rough tug-of-war game is teaching him from an early age that biting is an acceptable, fun activity to indulge in.
Positive Reinforcement for Stopping the Puppy Biting Problem
As with all dog training techniques, it is important to lavish praise on puppy when he gets it right. As soon as he drops the sleeve of your jumper from his needle-like bite or backs off from grabbing your ankle, reward him generously.
The key to puppy training is in giving consistent and immediate feedback so that he knows when he has done the right thing as distinct from when he has crossed over the line. That way he is not left guessing about how you might or might not react to different levels of playfulness. With a little bit of perseverance, you will soon have a puppy that is a joy to play with and a soon-to-be adult dog that is a delight to be around.
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