5 Tips to prevent puppy biting ... and nipping ... and grabbing clothes
Have you got a new puppy? Do your hands and arms look like a roadmap of scratches and bites and bruises? Well you’re not alone! Anyone—dare I say everyone—who has raised a puppy has gone through this phase.
Just like human babies, puppies use their mouths to explore the world and engage in play. But their mouths are full of shark-like, razor-sharp teeth, which doesn’t feel so nice when they’re playing with us.
For puppies under 16 weeks, it’s one of the top concerns of new pup parents, along with jumping.
Here are 5 tips to prevent your puppy from shredding your arms, hands and clothes:
1. Minimize movement. Puppies love movement. They love to chase and grab. When your puppy lunges for your hand and you yank it out of their reach, they will think this is a great game and just try even harder to chase and grab your hand. If you stand up and raise your hands, this only encourages them to jump to try and grab with their mouths. Instead, put your hands in your pockets, on your belly, behind your back, or even on the sides of your neck, and hold still.
2. Keep a cool head. Remember: all attention is good attention. Many times, puppies just want us to play with them. If biting you or your clothing gets them attention, they’ll do it again. Instead of losing your cool, just disengage the puppy teeth from you, turn your back on them, and ignore. They’ll keep trying for a while and then give up. Then you can give them attention, and maybe even a cookie as a bonus!
3. Find your pup some pup pals. This is the #1 way to develop bite inhibition in dogs. Puppies bite each other during play all the time. But they have nice, thick coats to protect them, unlike us. Still, when they get overexcited and bite their pals too hard, you will hear a squeal, and see the “victim” end the play. The more your pup gets to practice on their pals, the more they learn that biting isn’t conducive to play.
4. Squeal like a little pup. Taking a page out of the pup pal handbook, copy your pup’s pup pals: when you’re play with your pup and he or she bites too hard, say “Ow!” in a high-pitched voice and immediately stop all play. Wait 10-20 seconds (not more, or their attention will drift and they’ll run off to do something else), then say, “Try again!” in a happy voice and return to play. If they repeat biting hard, end the play session and try again later.
5. Give them something “legal” to shred. Instead of shredding our skin, the next time you receive a package delivery, keep the cardboard box for your puppy to shred. It’s great fun for them, an opportunity to rip and tear on something worthless, and it can even be a mental game, if you turn the box so the opening is on the side or the bottom and hide some kibble or treats inside. Teach your pup to be confident in exploring this new situation.
After 16 weeks, puppies’ baby teeth fall out and are replaced with their permanent teeth. These teeth are less sharp, but still capable of doing damage, so it’s really important to do as much work on reducing biting as possible before those big teeth come in!
If you need help with puppy biting, jumping, or other behaviors, get in touch! Email me at carefree.hounds@gmail.com.