How to Cope With a Mouthy Puppy (puppies That Bite)
When
you bring your new puppy home there are some adjustments to be made,
for both the puppy and your family. Sometimes a puppy will be
especially mouthy and bite or nip at family members. This rough play is
your puppies way of determining his rank among your family. If not
handled properly, you could end up with an older dog that tries to
correct family members for overstepping boundries that the dog sets.
Here are some guidelines to help prevent problems later on as your
puppy reaches adulthood.
How to Cope With a Mouthy Puppy (puppies That Bite)
Did your family recently buy a puppy only to find that you just brought home a little furry alligator?
All
puppies bite and chew and they need to learn how much pressure is
appropriate and if they are allowed to bite other family members or not.
High
drive working dog puppies can get truly wild and will snap and bite at
anything that moves. Some will even bite when you are simply trying to
pet them.
You certainly do want your puppy to knock down and bite your children, those puppy teeth are sharp and hurt!
So what can you do to teach your puppy what they can bite and keep their little teeth off of your children???
I may have the solution for you.
Things You'll Need:
*puppy toys
*collar
*leash
*treats
Puppies,
especially high drive puppies from working bloodline dogs tend to be
very mouthy. They jump and bite constantly. Those little needle like
puppy teeth can do a lot of damage!
In a litter the puppies chew on
each other in play as well as chew and bite on Mom. When a puppy gets
too rough it screams and either gets agressive and stops the game or
runs away and stops the game.
When you bring your puppy home,
it doesnt know it's place in your family. So he will bite you the same
as he would his litter mates, in order to determine his place in your
family pack. If he is allowed to get away with rough play with family
members then he believes that he is in charge of the game and that he
holds the highest rank over other family members , who he will percieve
to hold a lower rank than he does. This means that as he matures, he
will (in his mind) be able to correct you and your children for
"mis-behaving". The corrections a dog gives are seen in his body
posture, growling and finally a bite. So with this in mind we need to
put an end to his mouthy behavior now, while he is small, to avoid
problems in the future.
When ever he is biting your ankles
don't continue walking. Say NO in a firm gutteral voice and if he still
continues say NO again in that same voice but this time you will grab
him by the scruf of his neck and remove him from being so close to your
ankles.
Truly hard, tough puppies may look at this as a game,
in which case you will need to be a bit firmer. When you grab the pup
by his scruff you will pick him up off the ground and give him a gentle
but firm, hug while growling NO at him. If done correctly you will be
holding him firmly in place until he relaxes, the puppy but he may cry
or scream in response to the close confinement and not getting his way.
When your puppy is being mouthy. for example Misty will try
to bite my hands while I am petting her. If I were a child this would
result in the child no longer wishing to play with a puppy that hurts
them all the time. You can try saying NO in a firm voice and get up and
walk away from the puppy. Do not look at the puppy, do not say anything
else to the puppy, do not touch the puppy! Pretend he isn't even there.
The idea here is if he bites, the game stops.
Have a toy handy
while playing with or petting a wild mouthy puppy. When he tries to
bite you, growl NO in a low deep voice and then give him the toy to
chew on. Then resume petting the puppy, if he continues to bite tell
him NO and re-offer the toy. The idea here is to teach him what he can
and can NOT chew on.
Redirect the behavior. when he bites or
gets excited you can bring out the treats and try to train a bit. Say
his name and if he looks at you then you can say "YES" and give him the
treat. If he bites, you could ignore the behavior and try to redirect
him to the new game of looking at you when you say his name.
You
can also begin to teach the "look" command this is where you point to
an object to direct his eye in that general direction. You can say Look
as you swing your arm gently and release a treat at the end of the
swing.
Tips & Warnings
*
Never take a puppies mouthyness to heart, he really doesn't mean
anything by it. He is just trying to find his rank in your family
* Never hit a puppy.
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