Puppies bite, we all know this. They use their mouths to explore their environment. They also use it to play and communicate when they are stressed or don’t like the way you are handling them. But those needle-sharp puppy teeth are no fun in our soft skin – because we don’t have a layer of fur to protect us!
If you are planning on bringing home a puppy, or you have one now, then you will want to remember these 5 training tips that will help you teach your puppy not to bite.
#5. Be gentle
Only a man with a stone-hard and dead feelings cannot appreciate the cuteness of a puppy. They are so cute, lovable and huggable that we cannot resist pinching, cuddling or even wrestling with our puppy. Being rough hypes your puppy up and makes them go roughly to you, too. And being rough results to them biting you. If you want to play rough and be ungentle to them, you must know the repercussions behind it.
In case your puppy bites you during your playtime, immediately give out a hurting yelp to make your puppy startled and stop biting you. If he stops or starts to lick you, give him praise and a couple of taps on their heads. Just do these steps every time he bites you. These steps will teach your puppy that gentle plays should take place and not painful plays..
#4. Let your puppy know the difference between you and objects
As mentioned above, puppies are usually in their teething stages, so you should really expect several bites and chew on the things in your home and even on yourself as well. Train puppies not to bite by providing him a toy or a chew bone and give it to him every time he tries to devour an item or your hands and leg.
Puppies also tend to bite hands if they are getting stroked, patted or scratched. To alleviate this behavior, you can give him some small treats coming from your other hand. This will get them distracted, thus training him to allow anyone to touch him without getting bitten.
#3. Don’t be afraid to scold your puppy
Teach him to be more disciplined and stop his biting behavior by doing some disciplinary action. Train puppies not to bite by immediately stop whatever things you are doing and walk away from him as soon as he bites you. This will tell him that your playtime ends when he bites you. This order could be more effective if your puppy is on a harness or a leash, making it impossible for him to follow you. If your puppy becomes sad or calms down, then it is time to resume your playtime. You can also put him on a “box of shame” kind of thing every time he bites you.
#2. Respect your puppy
Familiar with the saying “Do not do unto others what you don’t want others to do unto you?” This also applies to puppies and humans. If you don’t want your puppy to bite you, then you should also not pull his ears or tail, tease or hurt him.
#1. Do some handling exercises
There are some puppies that hate being handled. Handling must be worked out if your puppy tries to bite you when you try to hold him. A good start can be handing him out some treats. This could be even worked out more with the help of some puppy classes or a good puppy trainer.