7 Steps to Teaching Puppies Not to Bite
Welcome to the Puppy Training Academy blog! Today, we’re addressing one of the biggest training aspects for puppy owners: how to stop a puppy from biting. It’s essential to establish boundaries and be consistent to teach your new pup that biting, anything human, is not acceptable. Let’s have a look at what we do about this.
- Set Clear Boundaries:
Puppies need routine and clear, firm, boundaries. From day 1, establish rules regarding biting. Consistency is key – every member of the household should follow the same rules to avoid confusion.
- Use the word ‘No’:
The word ‘no’ can be a powerful tool when used appropriately. When your puppy engages in biting, (or anything else you don’t want it to do), firmly say “no” in a calm but firm tone. No need to shout. The tone of your voice and facial gestures will get the message across. You will read on the internet that you shouldn’t say ‘no’ to your puppy. That’s the same advice as not saying ‘no’ to your children. Do you really want a spoilt dog, that does nothing you say?
- Immediate Consequences:
If your puppy continues to bite after the ‘no’ command, introduce immediate consequences. This could include a brief time-out in a crate or safe space away from you. This action must be prompt. Pup must link the consequence with the behaviour. Avoid getting in to a game of chase at this point. If necessary, to avoid a game of chase, you walk in to another room, removing your attention from pup. Check out crate training if you’re unsure about how to use a crate.
- Redirecting Attention:
Instead of focusing solely on what your puppy shouldn’t do, once you have corrected the biting, redirect their attention to what they can do. Give your puppy a chew toy or something like a licky mat, kong or something to keep their attention. REMEMBER, this is only, after you have corrected the biting, as above. If you’ve put pup in their crate, when you let them out, after a few minutes, (if they haven’t fallen asleep), this is when you give them the toy. If you’re not sure what a kong is or how to use it, check it out here.
- Consistency is Key:
Consistency is vital in training your puppy. Puppies learn by habit. Puppies are quick learners, and with the same result, every time they do something, they’ll start understanding that behaviour delivers negative consequences. There is no quick fix, it takes time, but you should quickly see an improvement.
- Pre-empting the Behaviour
Often a puppy will be more bitey when they are tired. They often have a time of day where it is worse. Pre-empt this, by putting pup in a crate or safe space, with a kong BEFORE the biting starts, Pup will most likely fall asleep.
- Be Realistic
If you have young children in the home, pup is bound to get excited if they are running around, or when they come home from school. Pop pup in their crate or safe space, with a kong or something exciting, at times like this. Be sure everyone in the home gets the chance to do the things they need to do, without puppy jumping all over them and biting. Puppy biting is the one thing that can make young children scared of their pup. It hurts!
Conclusion:
Teaching a puppy not to bite requires patience, persistence and most of all consistency. You need to get everyone in the home to follow the rules. Support young children. Puppy biting hurts, don’t expect them to be able to manage this on their own.
Set clear boundaries, use the ‘no’ word, implementing immediate consequences, if this is not responded to. Teach puppy the good things to do by redirecting attention, once the biting has been corrected.
If you need more help with your puppy training, check out all of our Puppy Training options or visit our Free eBook section to download some useful, FREE, puppy ebooks.
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