The sheer amount of biting and mouthing your puppy subjects you and your clothing to can be shocking, even a little alarming. The good news, however, is it\u2019s normal and healthy behavior, and not in any way an indication your puppy will grow up to be aggressive.<\/p>\n
Puppies are hard-wired to chomp on everything. When your puppy starts chomping on you, your first line of defense is to try to redirect her to an approved chew toy. Grab one of her toys and wave it in front of her\u2014make it squeak and seem interesting. When this works, great. When it doesn\u2019t, take the opportunity to teach her bite inhibition.<\/p>\n
Bite inhibition means that puppies learn how to control their powerful jaws and teeth by the time they have adult teeth at 4.5\u20135 months. Dogs who have been taught proper bite inhibition as puppies are safer and less likely to bite and cause damage to people and other animals than those who haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Bite inhibition has to be taught gradually. If you curb your puppies play biting too early or drastically, she won\u2019t have had enough feedback on how to be gentle with her mouth.<\/p>\n
Step 1<\/strong>. Accept only moderately hard mouthing on your hands from your puppy. For really hard nipping and all mouthing on other body parts, clothing, and shoes, say \u201couch\u201d loudly and turn your back\u2014but be sure not to use a tone that frightens your puppy.<\/p>\n Step 2<\/strong>. When your puppy is calm, turn back to her and praise her. If she continues to mouth hard or on your pant leg, shoes, etc., immediately step over a baby gate, pen, or leave the room for about 20 seconds. If you don\u2019t have anywhere to step away to, take your pup to a designated time-out spot for 20 seconds instead.<\/p>\n Step 3<\/strong>. Every week, lower your tolerance for the intensity of your puppy\u2019s play bites a little more. Go from accepting only moderately hard mouthing to accepting only gentle mouthing and so forth until your puppy has learned to not put her mouth on you at all.<\/p>\n Note: If your puppy is older than 5 months, all mouthing, even the gentle kind on hands, must be met with an \u201couch.\u201d<\/p>\n When your puppy has received her second DHLPP, you can attend puppy socials where they can learn bite inhibition with other puppies. Search online for organizations that offer puppy socials in your area.<\/p>\nTips<\/h2>\n
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