We’ve had several puppy owners recently ask how they can stop their puppy biting.
Those sharp, razor teeth can really hurt.
Nipping and biting, though completely normal for puppies, is not pleasant.
There are several things you can do to avoid being ripped to shreds by your tiny Jaws monster:
– make sure they are getting enough rest – pups need to sleep for around 16 hours a day and over-tiredness is a major trigger for biting sessions. Give your pup a quiet place to go and rest, such as a crate or bed in a utility room. Take them there whenever they are tired and they’ll soon chose to go there themselves to rest when they need
– avoid over-arousing your puppy. (They can do that perfectly well all by themselves.) If the children need to charge around to let off steam, keep the puppy away and give them a filled Kong or other engaging food toy
– be prepared with soft toys and whenever they bite. Offer them the toy instead and encourage tug games with their toys
– biting is always worse during the “zoomies” – that time where they tuck their tail in and do the wall of death round your house. It’s usually an early evening thing, but can often be mornings as well in some pups – it tends to be same time(s) of day for each individual pup
– please don’t tell them off or say ’no’ (especially with a wagging finger, which is just another target for the saw-toothed monsters) – it often makes things worse from inadvertently either rewarding or scaring them
– keep very still if they bite (difficult I know), just moving a toy to attract their attention, them explode into Mr or Mrs Fun when they attack the toy and have a great game
– avoid wearing loose garments. Flappy pyjamas, dressing gown cords, flared trousers or whatever can be very tempting targets!
Teach children to “be a tree” – stand with legs together and feet steady on the floor (the trunk and roots), fold arms (as branches) and look up to the sky (to avoid looking at the puppy), then call for an adult to come and deal with the puppy.
And remember, all things shall pass, and your puppy’s shark-monster stage will too.
There’s more on our free help sheet on the subject and in my books, which are available from the website or Amazon or in class.
Keep training and stay safe,
Carol