My Puppy Bites, How Can I Stop Him?
Question:
I have an 8 week old Labrador Retriever Puppy. The problem is he bites!! His teeth brake the skin 1/4 of the time, and the rest of the time there are severe teeth marks left behind. He has multiple toys, and bones to chew on, but chooses me instead!!! How can I get him to stop?
ANSWER:
I’m happy to read that your puppy is biting (yes, you read that right, happy) though I’m sorry he’s biting so hard! I had to work to get Peanut to bite me when he was a puppy.
It’s a good thing that puppies bite, because they can then learn to bite more softly. We want to teach dogs ‘bite inhibition’ (toning down their bite), so that if they do bite for real, later, it’ll be gentler. Right now, those puppy teeth are razor-sharp, but the jaws are still pretty weak, compared to an adult. So now is the time to teach them that humans are delicate.
You’ll get rid of the biting in stages. Here’s what you’ll get rid of, week by week:
1. Hard bites and bites to clothing.
2. Medium-hard bites.
3. Medium bites.
4. Medium-soft bites.
5. Soft bites.
6. All mouthing.
That means, when you’re in stage 1, you allow your dog to bite medium-hard or weaker. For the bites we want to get rid of, you’ll make sure that the puppy knows he’s done something wrong and that the consequence is no fun.
I mean that literally – ‘no fun’ versus ‘painful’ or ’scary’ is plenty to discourage biting. Just yip like your dog just bit you (he did), freeze, turn slowly, and walk away. If yipping isn’t your style, say ‘ouch’ or ‘no’ – just remember it’s what you do next that matters more than the word. Walk away.
If your puppy is the kind that follows you and bites you in the rear, then you’ll need to use tethering, baby gates, etc. to make that impossible. You wouldn’t just tell a toddler to stop falling down the stairs, but rather set up baby gates so that doesn’t happen. The same goes for dogs.
Top 7 Puppy Play-Biting Tips:
1. Have plenty of chew toys. Rotate through them so they are fresh.
2. Only wrestle when you *want* your dog to bite you so that you can work on bite inhibition, as above.
3. Have your puppy play with many different kinds of well-socialized dogs and other puppies – at least one every day.
4. Get to a puppy class asap!
5. Hand-feed your puppy. Have him sit, lie down, etc. for each piece of dog food. Only let go of the food if he’s being gentle and not biting you.
6. When you’re not hand-feeding, the food can come from a food puzzle, like the Pooch Puzzler, so your puppy has to work for it. A tired puppy is a good puppy.
7. If your puppy bites you and you can’t walk away, at least freeze, then move slowly again.
Grisha Stewart, MA, CPDT, CTP
Voted as Seattle’s Top Dog Trainer by the readers of CityDog Magazine, Grisha Stewart is the owner and founder of Ahimsa Dog Training in Seattle, WA. Grisha is a Certified Training Partner from the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training & Behavior, a Certified Pet Dog Trainer and since 2002, an active member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. She attends several training and behavior workshops each year and is a certified Pet First Aid attendant and evaluator for the Canine Good Citizen program.
For more information on Grisha and Ahimsa Dog Training in the Seattle, Washington area, visitwww.ahimsadogtraining.com.
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The main thing I have found with the puppy “biting phase”, is to let the pup know they are hurting. When pups play together, they yelp if they are hurt, to let the biter know they hurt them. I have found it works with us too. I yelp quite loudly to let the pup know they have hurt me. After a while they get the picture. I wish you all the best with your pup. Good luck!
Jeanette
Ipswich Dog Grooming
What ever happened to – no part of me belongs in your mouth – training? A dog does not need to put it’s teeth on you, no matter how gently. Bite inhibition and bite avoidance should be taught gently from puppyhood because no one finds a mouthy dog fun to be around. With all due respect, I find this half way approach really wrong headed.
Yes it is important to teach your puppy not to bite. It is easy to do it quickly and effectively you just need to track down the advice to make it simpler.
I’ve heard some of this information before – yip and stop playing whenever the puppy mouths you. I haven’t heard of the idea of working down through biting intensity until no mouthing is allowed at all. Thanks for the detailed post.
All of my doxie girls have been puppy biters and I have let them know with a loud NO when they bite too hard (and they all did!!!!!! The all broke skin and drew blood a few times!!!!!) The all learned to control their playful biting and became very gentle over time–they all became the sweetest, most loving little girls in the world and wouldn’t harm a fly. (though from the sound of their growling and carrying on they sound like little bear cubs) I think they just have to learn their limits and we have to help them understand that we do feel pain–that our hands and feet are extentions of “us”. My new puppy gets carried away with her kisses and starts out with little licks that turn into nibbles that get harder and harder–we have to let her know where to draw the line (laughing!) I can see progress every week! They are well worth the time and effort!!!!!
I wish I would have read this blog weeks ago. I have a 12 week Great Dane who has a bigger mouth than most dogs and her bite can pack quite a punch. I asked a good friend whose family has experience in training boxers and owns a kennel about what to do to stop the biting. She told me to grab her around the mouth and apply pressure every time she met contact with my skin. So my husband and I started to use this technique, and it worked for a short period.. but soon after anytime we would put her hands close to her face, she would try to bite us. Now she has become somewhat aggressive and my vet told me that she needs to be in obedience classes. I feel terrible! I wish I could have tried this technique before it got to the point it has. I never wanted to create an aggressive dog. I just wanted to help her.
Hi Jessica,
I’m sorry to hear that! That’s exactly the reason that I don’t recommend the muzzle-grabbing technique. Your pup is young enough that you should be able to reverse some of the damage. For the next few weeks, feed her dinner by doing this:
* Have dog food on the counter or in your hand behind your back.
* Reach toward her (empty hand)
* Feed her 1 or more pieces of food (or a spoonful if you’re feeding raw) right away.
The reach should be still within her comfort zone, not enough to make her bite, just close enough that you can tell she’s seen it.
If you feel like she might bite you, skip this and go to a reward-based trainer in your area (often called a ‘Positive Trainer’) who can help you with desensitization and counter-conditioning.
If you go to a reward-based puppy class, your trainer should also be able to help you.
Thank you for your suggestion! I’ll try it! I know that she is very eager to learn. I started working with her the day after we brought her home. She does well with treats and knows sit, down, and wait. At meal time. I have her sit and wait while I prepare so she doesn’t get over anxious and then I try to make her attention on me when I take the bowl to her feeding area. She waits for me to give her the ok to approach her bowl. She does so well in every instance that I have trained her, it’s when we are sitting on the floor or the couch and I reach to pet her that she lunges for me or bites me. I can tell there is some sort of improvement ever since I started using the technique in the blog. I do have her enrolled in a puppy class though, so I hope that you’re right and that she can get back on track soon! Thanks again!
You might also want to read through an article by Kathy Sdao on how to get your dog comfortable being handled. It’s mostly about trimming nails and such, but if you get the concepts, it should be easy to start applying to training her that petting is good.
Click to read Kathy’s website
It would also be useful to get your dog to touch your hand – you’ll need to adapt this so it’s not ‘lunge at hand’ for the treat. Click to read my article on teaching the Touch Cue.