Training your puppy to stop biting & nipping
Despite a well-known
misconception, it is absolutely important to play with your pup using your hands.
Like human babies, puppies explore the world by mouthing things.
Puppies play with us just like they used to play with their brothers and sisters, that is, using their front legs and their teeth.
The most important objective is to teach the puppy that people have very sensitive skin and that the puppy must be very gentle when using their mouth. If the puppy doesn't live through a biting experience, they won't possess the understanding that a human is a different species that may be bitten in a different way, closing the jaws with a different force.
A simple exercise
If the puppy bites a little too hard, the aim is to mark this action, explain it, and tell the puppy about it. For example, vou can give a high-pitched yelp using marker words like "Painful" or "Ouch!" and stop the game.
If the puppy stops biting upon hearing "Painful"or "Ouch!" and continues playing in a gentler way, we go on with the game. We say "good" or "perfect" and continue playing using our hands.
If after hearing "Painful" or "Ouch!" the puppy ignores you and continues biting, stop the game, take a time-out, take the puppy to a different room, and close the door for 5-7 seconds. In doing this we take from the puppy something that had been a source of pleasure for them until the moment they bit us too hard.
Of course, the puppy won't be able to understand this pattern after just a couple of times, but if you regularly play hand games, the puppy will understand that if they bite too hard, the game stops. They will thus learn to control themselves and their jaw- clenching power.
Distract your pup with toys
When you start a play session, always have a couple of strong and sturdy chewing toys on hand. If a game with your pup becomes too energetic or too rough and the pup goes to use their teeth, push a toy into their mouth.
Be patient. Playful mouthing is normal behavior for a puppy or young dog
Why does my dog play bite. What should I do?
Most owners are not really pleased when their dog bites their hands strongly or grabs clothes during a game. An adult dog bites much more painfully than a little puppy. Besides, It is harder to tackle adult dogs' biting because older dogs are bigger and much harder to control.
As a rule, painful biting is typical forthose adult dogs which were not educated to use their teeth properly when they were puppies.