One of the most common ways that puppies explore their world from a young age is through nipping. They begin to learn about different flavors, textures, and tastes and to find out the things they like and those they don’t. Nipping hard and biting are not acceptable however and your puppy needs to know this.
Be the Alpha Dog
The first of the 5 tips I am going to share is to make sure you are the Alpha Dog. A summary of the key points required to be the Alpha dog are as follows:
Make sure your dog never goes through the door before you.
Always eat before your dog.
Respond to any bad behaviour immediately.
If your dog is in your way, make it move.
Never allow your dog to sleep with you on your bed.
Avoid encouraging nipping and biting through rough play.
Be consistent and never allow nipping – this means not play fighting with your dog. You shouldn’t really participate in games where you are going head to head with your dog (such as tug of war) as these also encourage nipping.
If your puppy bites you – ignore it.
If your puppy bites or nips you, give a short sharp high pitched noise to show you’ve been hurt (imitate the way a puppy would yelp after being bitten during play with siblings). Following making this pain-demonstrating-sound you should turn away from your puppy and totally ignore it for the next 15 – 20 minutes. Your puppy will learn very quickly that biting and nipping during play is not a fun behavior.
Don’t allow snatching of food or toys.
When your puppy snatches food from your hand, don’t tolerate it. Immediately turn your back on your puppy and don’t give him the food for a full five minutes. After 5 minutes has passed, turn back to your dog and attempt to give him the food again. First make your dog sit and then slowly gift him the food. If he snatches again you’ll need to repeat the process. Eventually your dog will understand that snatching is not ok.
Stick to a Consistent Routine
As with teaching anything things to dogs, consistency is a real key. You must make a conscious decision that biting will not be accepted and then rule it out altogether. Allowing your dog/puppy to bite some times but not others only confuses him.
The links listed below go to websites that have much more information about how to teach dogs not to nip and bite. Click below to find out more useful dog training information.
