A Unique Way to Stop Puppy Biting and Other Bad Behaviors

Puppies bite. It is what they are supposed to do when they first get their milk teeth in. These teeth come in through the gums while the puppies are still nursing, and are very tiny and sharp. The purpose of these little "razors", according to my dog trainer are to help with bite inhibition. When a puppy is playing with its litter mates and mom and bites down too roughly, the pups and mom will squeal or otherwise let the biting puppy know that it hurt. Another reason for why puppies bite is because it is how they learn to understand the world. They see something, bite it and try to understand what the object in their mouth is going to do (if it is food and good) and if it is something worthy of continuing to pursue. (I personally liken puppy biting to how sharks feed-they take a bite of whatever is swimming in their paths and if it is appealing, they attack and eat; if not, they spit it out and move on).

When puppies are brought to our homes, it becomes our job to help it learn bite inhibition. At first, puppy biting may be cute (who doesn't think a pup gently knowing on our finger while they look up at you with those big eyes is cute?) but if not curbed it can become a dangerous problem when the pup is full grown: dangerous for the owner, anyone the dog comes into contact with and for the dog itself, who could potentially be euthanized due to its bad behavior.

The most typical way to stop your puppy from biting is to remove your hand from its mouth, and replace it with a chew toy or nylabone. This teaches your pup good biting from bad and lets them see what they are actually allowed to chew on. Another common way pet owners teach their pup bite inhibition is to squeal or say "ouch" when the pup bites down too hard. This simulates the pups littermates and mother's response to pain and the pup learns this is not what it is supposed to do. I know some pet owners who have used a can with some coins inside to successfully cure their pet of biting and jumping on the couch (basically it scares them and they learn to associate the behavior with the awful sound).