Puppies seem sent from heaven above, don’t they? With their round puppy bellies, big sad eyes, and delicious puppy breath, they bring happiness to everyone they meet. Until they don’t! Those sharp puppy teeth, in fact, are the opposite of heavenly. Our family recently acquired a Chihuahua puppy named Chip, and when he starts playing, he starts biting. As a result, he has a whole host of nicknames: Land Bat, Chip-a-cabra, Demon Dog, to name a few. Puppies bite for the same reasons babies do – their adult teeth are erupting, and biting makes their mouths feel better. For most puppies, that process is ongoing between 12-24 weeks of age. In the meantime, what can be done about puppy biting? Read on for techniques to help you tame your own demon dog!
Yelping like A Puppy
If you’ve ever seen puppies play together, it’s often a blur of teeth and limbs. There’s jumping, rolling, tumbling, and plenty of biting. When puppies play with each other, they will give out a yelp if one puppy bites another one too hard. This is how a dog begins to learn bite inhibition, which is the ability of a dog to control the pressure of their bite, learning to mouth gently and not cause harm. So, one method for getting a puppy to stop biting you is to give a sharp yelp when those teeth chomp down too hard on your skin. Yelping has been my go-to method for other puppies I’ve owned, and it has always worked! At least, until Chip came along. When I yelped at Chip, he abruptly stopped biting, barked at me, and then resumed biting! So, on to tip #2!
Giving Your Puppy A Toy
If you haven’t learned this by now, it’s wise to have at least one dog toy in every room of your house at all times! No joke! Puppy biting is the reason. If your pup begins to play bite, you should have a toy at the ready to substitute for your hand, or foot, or arm…The toy should be at least as attractive to your puppy as human skin – so whether that’s a ball he can chase, a toy with a squeaker, or something else, a dog toy can provide an acceptable form of biting. The goal is that eventually, your pup will learn that biting humans gets him nowhere, and he should just go for the toy first.
You can help that process along by reinforcing appropriate chewing with praise and treats. Again – Chip pretty stubbornly decided that human skin was THE BEST thing to chew on. So, let’s talk about tip #3!
Removing Yourself from The Situation
This tip might seem obvious, but just in case it isn’t, I’ll review. Since Chip is a very small breed puppy, we’re often on the floor when we play with him. One evening, I was playing with Chip on the floor when he turned into a wild, fanged beast. Knowing that yelping only seemed to spur him on, I grabbed a squeaker toy. We played tug of war, but he intentionally grabbed the toy very close to my fingers and, on his next pull, got my thumb in his teeth. I was frustrated and at my wits’ end when I suddenly thought – “What if I just stand up?!” Ridiculous, I know! But it literally hadn’t even occurred to me that withdrawing myself from puppy play was an option. I stood up and sat on the couch. Chip looked a bit taken aback, and then he began to play with his toys. Score one point (finally!) for mom!
Removing Your Puppy from The Situation
Another other option is to give your puppy a time-out, especially if you notice that your puppy has a witching hour that’s consistent from day-to-day. Chip likes an evening bedtime of about 9:30pm, about an hour and a half earlier than ours. Starting at about 9pm, he becomes all teeth. He’ll literally start looking around for something – anything – to bite. It’s best to put him in his kennel or exercise pen at that time and say good night. For Chip, nothing good happens after 9pm.
Providing Play with Other Puppies
The first time I saw Chip play with another dog his age, I thought, “Ahhh, so THIS is what he wants!” The play was really active and appeared surprisingly aggressive, though both puppies seemed well-matched and neither complained. As humans, it’s virtually impossible for us to play with our puppies the way they truly want to play. Besides, it’s good for puppies to socialize with other puppies their own age and size. So, make sure to provide plenty of puppy playdates!
Hopefully, these tips have given you some ideas to curtail your own puppy’s biting. If nothing else, I’ve been assured that eventually, they all grow out of this stage! Fingers crossed that that happens while I still have fingers left to cross! Happy puppy training!
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