Puppies bite. Canines explore their
world with their mouths. This is not a form of aggression, but a form of play and
communication. It's important to train a puppy to use his mouth
appropriately. Mouthing can become unacceptable and even dangerous
in an adult dog, so this is a very important lesson for a puppy to learn.
Some people will not want their puppy to
bite at all. Others may allow their puppies to play bite but want
them to learn to "be gentle". Each individual owner will have to
determine what level of mouthing they are willing to accept from their
pet.
There a different options for teaching
puppies to play nice. After you have determined what level of
mouthing you are willing to tolerate then you can try one of the
following suggestions to help you with this training:
For many puppies, all it takes to get
them to stop mouthing is for the owner to "yelp" when puppy
mouths too hard. Give a "Yip!" and stop
the game for about 15 minutes. Some puppies have strong predatory
instincts that are over-stimulated when a person yips, and for these
puppies this would then not be an appropriate method. In the
litter, the offended ("injured") puppy would retaliate in
some way by snarling or biting back,
or refuse to play with the rough puppy for awhile.
If no mouthing is desired, try
grabbing your puppy's mouth firming for a few seconds and repeat "no
bite".
Some people have suggested keeping a
squirt bottle handy and squirt him if he plays to rough.
Timing is essential though so don't use this technique unless he is
currently biting you.
You can also try closing your hand
over the puppy's jaw (from inside his mouth) each time he grabs your
hand. Hold on to it about 2 seconds past the time he realizes
that you have him instead of the other way around. He will try
to open him mouth further to "turn loose" of you and begin pulling
away. Remind him that you do not like his behavior with a firm
"no".
Each puppy is different and so each
individual will have to see what technique works best for their own
puppy.
Many trainers discourage any and all "mouth games" with the puppy.
There is some validity to this argument. The puppy will understand this vital
concept: no teeth on people. Even a gentle touch could get someone hurt
if they jerk their hand away, and people will do that, especially kids.
I, on the other hand, enjoy playing with
my puppies' mouths. Instead, I like to get them accustom to not
biting hard. I believe that each puppy is capable of learning to
mouth gently. I want them to get used to me placing my fingers in
their mouths, pulling up their cheeks, rubbing their teeth, etc. I
feel that this helps teaches a dog tolerance and self control. It
also helps me as they get older to be able to brush their teeth, inspect
their mouths and even give pills or other medicine more easily.
Now, while I will let them mouth me, I do
not tolerate actual biting. You must be able to make this
distinction if you do allow your puppy to mouth. Also, you must be
able to tell the dog when play-biting is inappropriate. You should be
able to tell him "No play" and expect him to stop mouthing.
Puppy Chewing -- What Do I Do With
My Piranha?
As we have previously discussed, canines
explore their world with their mouth. As puppies, their teeth are quite sharp, much to the
dismay of many a pet owner. When the permanent teeth emerge, they
are not as sharp and the puppies are better able to control their bite
pressure. Many dog owners make the mistake of thinking that the
chewing starts and stops with teething. This is NOT the case.
So the puppy owner discontinues the close monitoring because teething is
over ......
And Then It Happens!
The real chewing comes after the dog's permanent
teeth have come in. These teeth seem to require "setting" in the jaw by hard chewing. This
is a completely normal stage of dog development but it does seem to be more pronounced in
some breeds than others, and in some individual dogs than others.
Many owners get puppies but forget that
those puppies are dogs after all, and have not only a desire but often
times a need to chew. And, when they come home after being out all
day, and see the couch in shreds and the carpet pulled up, they think that the dog
knows full well why they are having a conniption fit. The dog, on the
other hand, has no earthly idea why and instead starts to develop
separation anxiety about the owner leaving and then coming home.
After all, the dog is not able to make a mental connection between
chewing stuff at 12 p.m. and their owner screaming at them at 5:30 p.m.
When this happens, dogs often begin to chew more to help relieve their
stress!
In any case, the dog may
ultimately lose his or her life, since destructive chewing is a major
cause of people giving up their dogs. Often the first step is to put the
dog outdoors to live. This can weaken the family's bond with the dog and
also introduce new issues, such as barking that disturbs neighbors and
brings authorities to your door. Now, not only does the dog chew,
he has become a general nuisance and has no idea why.
How to Manage the
Chewing...
Dogs need chew toys of good quality that are safe for the chewing
habits of each particular dog. It takes observation to determine which
toys are okay for which dogs.
Provide the dog with a variety of
textures to fill the needs of the dog at any given time.
Place
the dog in a crate or other human-stuff-safe, dog proof area when you're not able to supervise
him. Avoid
putting the dog behind a closed door in a room, since this often leads
to the dog developing habits such as clawing up doors or the flooring at
the bases of doors. In the case of a German Shepherd, it may lead
to the removal of your floors. I have had to replace the
flooring, the door casing, and the door handles in several different
rooms in my house over the years (thanks to the re-decorating skills
of a few German Shepherds). Crates or baby gates that allow the dog to see through the
doorway tend to avoid these complications.
Buy
a bottle of Bitter Apple spray or similar product. Bitter Apple has been around for a long time,
doesn't harm dogs if they ingest it, and doesn't stain most surfaces. It's also readily available. This is a training tool, not a
protect-the-house tool. Alcohol-based, the spray evaporates quickly and
has to be applied three to four times a day to keep its bittering effect
active.
When
the dog attempts to chew inappropriate items, redirect the dog's
attention to a toy with similar texture by playing and teasing him
with it. Give it to him immediately when he shows he wants it
and praise him. Do not to agitate the dog into a state of high
activity. You want the dog to continue thinking of chewing,
which dogs do when relaxing.
Remember
that he is likely to make mistakes. Scold mildly but praise
profusely -- You actually want
these mistakes made in front of you. You do not want to scare
the dog into hiding from you to chew.
New
and interesting toys pay for themselves! Get a variety of toys
and textures frequently. I
often recommend that you rotate toys to keep them interesting.
Many people make the mistake of buying 12 or more toys but don't
rotate them. They give everyone of them to the dog and then
wonder why the dog continues to chew their stuff. Like kids,
when the dog has played with all of his toys, your toys become more
interesting. But, if you keep rotating them, they become "new"
again. I especially like the "Kong" toys. You can fill
them with a different flavor each day (i.e. Cheez-Whiz, Peanut
Butter, etc.) and they become a "new" toy each day.
The destructive chewing stage can last for quite some time, but in
most cases will end by the time the dog is 2 years old or so. If you do
an excellent job of directing a puppy to appropriate toys using the
instructions above, some dogs will be focused on their toys by the time
they're a year old and able to have more house freedom. Either way, don't just give up and toss the dog outside because you
don't want to use a crate or other confinement forever.
Destructive chewing stage is just that, a stage. With
proper training and direction, most dogs (and owners) get though it just
fine.
You're helping your dog form habits for life. Not only do you want
the dog to chew dog toys instead of your things, you also want your dog
to form the chewing habit! Yes, that's right! The dog who continues to
chew on appropriate toys through life will typically have better dental
health. If you've ever had a dog with teeth that quickly got dirty and
infected and had to have a lot of dental work, you'll realize that you
want a dog who chews. Of course, you want the dog to chew the right
toys!
