Ouch! Training a Puppy to Stop Biting

Bringing home a puppy is something that you will think of as an adventure but what you really need to realize is that it takes a lot of responsibility to take care of a puppy and to provide it with proper training. When you think you should be enjoying your puppy on day one, youre wrong ” training should already start the moment you take him home. Playing with your puppy, just remember that everything that you do with your puppy will instill behavior that will go on until your puppy becomes an adult.

The puppy training should be consistent throughout its life so that the behaviors that are allowed with the owner are also allowed with people that enter the home. If the behavior would be an embarrassment or could cause harm or annoyance to the person entering the home the owner must not allow it with himself, otherwise the dog will be confused as to what behavior is appropriate to do with people.

Biting

One issue that is common with puppies that should be stopped through training is their biting. Puppies, while exploring their world would usually use their mouths and will likely bite, however this can be negatively thought of by other people.

The puppy should never be hit or slapped when training it to stop biting since this can lead to the puppy thinking that the owner is playing with it, roughhousing like dogs will do with each other.

A mean of training a puppy to stop biting is by refusing to play hostile games with it. Some samples of these games are, chase, tug of war and wrestling. These types of activities are fun for both the dog and the owner; however, they will also promote behavior which may not be acceptable for the dog to show all guests that will come to the house.

One of the greatest ways of training a puppy not to bite is by letting out a sharp Ouch whenever the puppy tries to nibble or bite and then removing eye contact and turning away from the pup. This is the same technique that dogs use with each other ” letting the other dog know and be aware that what it did hurt and will not continue to play that way.

This will make the puppy understand that he will be given a negative reinforcement whenever it bites and will not be given attention like he thinks it would. On the other hand, if your puppy calms down and does not try to bite, give him a treat of reward him with attention and praise so that the right behavior is reinforced.

If and when the puppy bites down on the hand, the owner should place a finger inside the mouth of the pup and let it stay under the tongue holding down the bottom jaw for about ten seconds. Make sure that the pressure is firm enough so that the pup cannot run away for the whole ten seconds. This will show the puppy that he will be given a negative reinforcement and that the behavior he did is unacceptable.

Tags: animal, animals, dog, Dog Training, Dogs, home and family, pet, pets, Puppy Training