Stop puppy play biting & nipping

Puppies especially love to nip and bite during play time and their baby sharp teeth often hurt and scratch very easily. But apart from the “ouch” factor, a nipping/biting puppy that does not learn to stop  this behaviour will often grow into an adult dog that uses his mouth for rough play on us and other dogs. Dogs love to play tug of war and our natural instinct to pull away during nipping emphasises this type of play. By starting training at a young age with your puppy, you can easily train your puppy or young adult that mouthing & biting is simply unacceptable. Here are a couple of techniques you can try:

1. Try and reverse your natural instinct to pull away from your puppies mouthing and gently pushing into the mouth a little. This isn’t about harming your puppy just about confusing his play. While the puppy is expecting the usual ‘tug’ away, instead the game is broken and they learn that that type of play isn’t rewarding to them, so the idea is that they will not repeat behaviour that is not rewarding for them.
2. Simply get up and leave your puppy and stop your interaction with your pup. Your puppy wants to get attention from you and if a behaviour removes this attention quickly, then they soon learn not to do this behaviour again. You must be consistent and everyone in your home must follow the same rules or risk confusing your puppy.

3. The good old water spray is a great deterrent for this and any other unwanted behaviour. Just a quick spray into the side of the body at the precise moment your puppy is about to bite, is sufficient enough to kerb this unwanted behaviour.

Leah & Angela OMeara

Hound Dog Day Care (Specialists in Dog Minding & Dog Boarding Brisbane, Dog Walking Brisbane, Pet Sitting Brisbane & Doggy Day Care Brisbane)