Buzz
Does your puppy tend to bite? If so, it's essential to find ways to stop this harmful habit without causing any emotional harm to your puppy. Fortunately, there are several methods you can apply to teach your puppy to stop biting, while also encouraging more positive behaviors. Once your puppy learns to stop biting, you can move on to teaching them more fun tricks, such as how to perform playful antics.
Steps
Teaching a Puppy to Stop Biting
Consistent Reaction When the Puppy Bites Every time your puppy bites, you should firmly say "NO!" in a serious tone. Afterward, you can walk away and ignore them. Isolation and giving them time to reflect is an effective way to discipline a pack animal like a dog. You can also yelp (like a dog) if your puppy bites too hard. Although it may sound silly, puppies in a litter often whimper when their siblings accidentally bite too hard. If you yelp when your puppy bites, they'll learn what behavior is acceptable and what isn't.
- Teach your child not to yell, run, or clap to avoid triggering the puppy's natural hunting instinct and complicating the training process. They should remain calm and keep their hands close to their body when the puppy bites.
Pippa Elliott, MRCVS
Veterinarian at the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
Veterinarian at the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
Pippa Elliott, a licensed veterinarian, advises: "Biting is a natural behavior for puppies when playing, but it’s important that they learn that biting humans is not acceptable. When a puppy bites, yelp and drop your hands to end the game and stop playing. Only resume play when the puppy backs off and shows remorse."
Use of unpleasant-tasting substances to prevent puppy biting. Before playing with your puppy, you can spray a bitter substance on your body and clothes where your puppy likes to nibble. When the puppy starts biting, stay still and let the puppy react to the unpleasant taste. When the puppy stops biting, praise them and continue playing. Remember to wash your hands with soap and water to remove the substance.
- Some products you can use to deter puppy biting include "Bitter Apple", "Vick’s Vapor Rub", tea tree oil, or white vinegar. You can spray it on your hands to make it unpleasant for the puppy to bite you.
Redirect the puppy’s attention to a teething toy. Once the puppy calms down, you can talk to them and gently tap them. Avoid bringing your hand close to their mouth. Continue playing, but make sure not to excite the puppy too much. This time, provide a toy for them to interact with instead of your hand. You can also play fetch to keep the toy out of reach and help the puppy focus on a more positive target. Use the toy as a reward during training or to avoid contact with the puppy’s teeth.
- Some trainers suggest playing tug-of-war with your puppy. This game can be fun for the puppy and allows you to control one end of the toy. Stop playing tug-of-war if the puppy breaks the rules to ensure safety.
Allow the puppy to play safely under supervision. Do not engage in rough play with your puppy or let them bite. Rough play encourages biting and may create a habit in the puppy's behavior. Never use your hand as a toy. It is also important to supervise when your child plays with the puppy, as young children are not capable of training dogs, which could lead to unintended injuries.
- Allow young children to play with the puppy only when an adult is supervising, when the puppy understands the rules of play, or when the size of the puppy does not pose a risk to the child during play.
Use a water spray bottle in critical situations. If the puppy is biting hard and relentlessly, it's a good idea to have a water spray bottle on hand. Firmly say "NO!" while spraying water in the puppy's face to stop the biting. Set the nozzle to a gentle spray—enough to startle the dog without causing harm. Be aware that the dog might associate you with the spray bottle, making it more cautious around you in the future.
- Never use the water spray to threaten or frighten the puppy if you don't want it to obey only when the bottle is visible.
Reward the dog for good behavior. You should express affection and show love whenever the puppy behaves well. For example, if you ask the puppy to drop the toy and it listens, you can say "Good job" or "Well done" while rewarding it with more toys.
- Remember, you are like a parent to the dog, so encourage it to become a well-behaved, healthy, and happy member of the family.
Learn about biting behavior in puppies
Understand how puppies learn to bite. It is normal for puppies to bite as they grow up. Typically, puppies will learn to avoid biting other pack members, including adult dogs. They usually play with other dogs in the pack, which teaches them when not to bite to prevent harming others. If the puppy doesn't control or stop biting, it will be punished by other dogs or even injured.
- If the puppy learns easily, other dogs in the pack will demonstrate stronger and more clear biting behavior until the puppy behaves properly and is accepted by them.
Recognize the importance of teaching the dog to stop biting. Allowing a puppy to bite will lead to a loss of control, and it won't know when to stop. This could result in behavioral issues as the puppy grows up. If you suspect the puppy bites due to fear or anger, you should speak to an animal behavior expert for assistance.
- Puppies should only be allowed to bite people or other animals when there is a real danger and they need to defend themselves.
Implement preventive measures when the puppy bites. If you're training a puppy with the help of a qualified trainer, you should prepare a muzzle for the dog. The puppy will likely learn to stop biting faster when wearing a muzzle. However, never use the muzzle without understanding the purpose and training methods. Improper use of the muzzle could pose a real danger, especially to those trying to place it on the dog.
- Don't allow young children to participate in training the puppy, even with seemingly “safe” dogs. You may need to confine the dog or place it in a crate when no knowledgeable adults are around.
Advice
- Help the puppy socialize as much as possible. Allow the puppy to meet other dogs and people in a positive environment. Expose the dog to new experiences while it's still young. You might consider enrolling the puppy in a training class early on to establish its position within the family unit.
- If the puppy is separated from its mother too early, it may struggle to learn to stop biting once it has developed this habit.
- Adult teeth start to emerge when the puppy reaches about 4 months (around 16 weeks) of age. Thus, you should teach the puppy to stop biting before this age to avoid causing harm to human skin.
- Small dog breeds can also cause injuries, so don't ignore a bite just because the dog is small. Puppies of any size need to be trained to stop biting. This will prevent more serious biting behavior in the future.
- If you want to effectively prevent biting, consider joining a puppy training group where the dog can play and learn at the same time.
Warning
- If you use a spray bottle, the puppy may become afraid of water or the sound of the spray.
- There are various ways to control biting behavior since not every dog or person responds positively to the same methods. If you or any family members are in danger or afraid of the puppy, you should immediately consult a certified trainer or an applied animal behaviorist/veterinarian. The longer the biting behavior goes unaddressed, the more ingrained it becomes, and the greater the risk of injury to humans.
- If you notice aggressive behavior from the puppy, consult a veterinarian to help assess any behavioral issues. The vet may recommend seeing an animal behaviorist.
- Be cautious when spraying water on the dog. A strong spray can injure the puppy and may aggravate the dog even more.
