Training to Stop Puppy Biting

When you get a new puppy you will be very excited. But you must be aware that with ownership comes the responsibility for bringing the puppy up with proper training. Start your training on day one to stop puppy biting. You will naturally be enjoying your cute little puppy, but keep in mind that everything that you do with the puppy is reinforcing behavior that will continue as the puppy becomes an adult.

Puppy training should always be consistent so that their behavior pleases both the owner and other people who come in contact with him. If the behavior of the puppy is an embarrassment or if it could cause harm or annoy the visitors, the owner must fix the problem immediately with appropriate training.

Whatever the owner allows the puppy to do, they should assess if it is also OK to let the puppy take the same actions with strangers. If there is a double standard the puppy will be confused. All puppies ‘play bite’ but you must undertake training to stop puppy biting.

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How to Train a Puppy to Stop Biting

With a puppy, a common issue that has to be stopped through training is biting. As puppies explore their world they are likely to bite, and unfortunately, they will even nip and bite people to get their attention. Never hit the puppy when training it to stop puppy biting as this can have the puppy thinking that the owner is playing or rough-housing like puppies do together.

One way to train the puppy to stop biting is not to play aggressive games with it such as wrestling, tug of war or chase. These activities are fun for both the puppy and the owner, but unless the puppy realizes that there is no biting to take place in these games, they can get pretty aggressive and cause harm. These games do encourage aggressive behavior which can develop into something to really worry about when the puppy becomes older.

An easy way to stop puppy biting is to let out a loud exclamation whenever the puppy tries to bite. It is also important to remove eye contact and turn your back on the puppy. This method works well whenever the puppy is doing something you do not approve of. The puppy soon realizes that this is unwanted behaviour as dogs respond to each other in the same way.

This is called using negative reinforcement to stop puppy biting as he will not get the attention that he wants. You should then positively reinforce behaviour when the puppy calms down and does not try to bite, by giving him praise and attention so that the proper behavior is reinforced.

Another way to stop puppy biting If it bites on your hand, is to place one finger inside the mouth under the puppies tongue and hold onto the bottom of the jaw with the thumb for about ten seconds. Do not exert too much pressure, only be firm enough so that the puppy cannot get away. This is another form of negative reinforcement so that the puppy will learn that the behavior is not acceptable.

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