How to Stop Puppy Biting

#AlphaDogTraining #dogtrainingsaltlakecity How to Stop Your puppy From Biting Published by Alpha Dog Training https://www.alpha-dog-training-slc.com (801) 910-1700 It’s puppy season! This is the time us dog trainers see a huge increase in clients, especially puppy clients. The weather is warm, the kids are still out of school and what better time to get a puppy so they can have summer adventures together, right? Maybe not so much. We’ve all heard it a million times; puppies are a huge responsibility. As adults we should be able to handle this responsibility, right? Well, to be honest, puppies are not for the fate of heart. Puppies bite, pee, poop, whine at all hours of the night and in general get into trouble. If you’re adopting a puppy soon you should know that puppies are difficult. The number one complaint I hear from new puppy owners is biting! You would think it would be housebreaking, chewing, or keeping their owners up at night, but nope! It’s puppy biting and teething that I get the most complaints about. Be realistic. All puppies are going to chew on something. If you can’t handle this then you may consider not getting a pup. So, Why Is Your Puppy Biting You? If you have a younger puppy and they’re “play biting” it could be for a few reasons. 1. You have mistakenly reinforced the biting behavior and made the puppy think this behavior is desired. 2. Your puppy is teething because they are feeling discomfort as their adult teeth come in. 3. Your puppy is going through their oral phase. 4. Your puppy is bored and biting gets you to interact with them and relieve their boredom. Many owners mistakenly reinforce play biting in puppies by swatting their puppy away, using corrections which lead to the puppy getting attention or they play with the puppy with their hands. Puppies do not always understand what these interactions mean and can mistake them to be play or encouragement to continue the behavior. When you have children, they can also be an issue because you have to teach them how to react to the puppy’s biting as well. Any reinforcement will help the behavior survive to see another day. We can solve the reinforcement of the behavior by “ignoring” the biting. You want to become as boring as you possibly can and stop everything when your puppy starts biting. Be perfectly still and quiet. Don’t interact with the puppy until the biting has stopped then offer them a toy to chew on instead. We want the puppy to realize that biting ends attention, play time, and fun. When they bite they don’t get what they want. There is no need to say “no” or get out the spray bottle. Ignoring the behavior can be “correction” enough. We want zero interaction or movement that could be mistaken as play. We want to replace your hands with something even more fun as well! So, that means playing with toys instead. If your puppy is biting your hand, make your hand “boring”and then wave a toy around to make the toy even more interesting so you can escape with all your fingers. We should be showing the puppy what is okay to chew on. Ideally though, you should have a toy nearby and be playing with the toy before the biting starts. When your puppy is playing nicely without biting, you can continue your play. I highly suggest only playing with your puppy with toys, not your hands. They are unable to understand sometimes they can play with your hands, other times they cannot. What if Your Puppy is Just Teething? If your puppy is teething or going through their oral phase you will have to wait it out. Have plenty of toys especially rubber toys or toys with bumps or the ability to massage their gums. Try to understand your puppy may be feeling discomfort if teething. Allowing your puppy to chew on ice cubes while supervised can also help relieve some discomfort. You should show them what toys you would like them to chew on instead of your hands by offering them a toy instead. Make the toy very interesting but again your hands should become “boring” the second the puppy starts chewing on you. Puppy biting is the worst but hang in there! It’s only for a short period of time and I have faith you can survive the horrors of puppyhood!