The Dish by Darcie

[If you are feeding a good nutritious diet to your dog (see The Dish: Feeding to find out if you really are) and you're using positive training and you're still having trouble with a biting puppy, take a look at Separation Anxiety, the Cure UPDATED! and Anxiety and fear Exercise This exercise is never to be taken lightly. Please try everything else first.]

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Ouch, ouch, ouch! Darn those needle sharp little puppy teeth and the monster behind them! “You little jerk, you awful, awful, terrible, terrible stinking land shark! I love you so much, puppy. Puppy, stop biting me!!” You have my permission to say these exact words when you put your pup in time out.

Keep reading, I’ll tell you how to train bite inhibition, what a time out is, and why bite inhibition is so important.

Puppies have needle sharp teeth. I am convinced that Nature gave needle sharp teeth to puppies for a very good reason. To learn how to use them. You have until your puppy is four months old to set bite inhibition, after that you’re taking your chances on having a biting dog. Start gently teaching immediately from the womb if you can and certainly the instant you choose a pup to take home.

Puppies put everything into their mouth to test, try, and experience their world. Those needle teeth can hurt Mommy when puppy wants milk, they hurt other puppies, and they hurt soft human skin. The only way to learn how to use teeth appropriately is to bite somebody and have that somebody tell you it hurts, to tell you how hard you can bite. Puppy bites Mommy, Mommy moves away, no milk. Puppy bites other puppy, that puppy yelps or quits playing. Puppy bites human, human yelps or quits playing. Puppy loves Mommy’s milk and loves to play so puppy learns to use teeth gently to get what puppy wants. When you follow this logic, bite inhibition is easy to train.

Keep in mind as you start training your puppy not to bite, it will hurt at first. The goal is to go from hurting biting, to not hurting so much, to hurting hardly at all, to no teeth pressure at all. Take pride in being able to take a bite without losing your cool, don’t get mad, don’t hurt your puppy. The puppy is innocent and is not biting you because it’s mean, it’s biting to learn how to use it’s teeth. The more your pup bites and mouths you, the better bite control you’re going to get. Be brave.

Dogs who bite even if they are just playing are no fun and usually get kicked outside where they learn to be alone. That dog usually finds something else to do like eat the garden hose, dig up all the plants, or jump the fence and go. People don’t like their stuff chewed up, dug up, and they don’t like paying the fine to get their dog back so the dog usually winds up at the pound. And remember, the dog who is outside the fence is still a biter. He’s going to bite someone out there in the big bad world when somebody tries to catch him. And if he bites, he’s a dead dog.

If your dog bites a person, your dog is a dead dog. Let me say it again. If your dog bites, he is a dead dog. There are no second chances any more. The public doesn’t like to be bitten and suing has become a lucrative past time. If someone is bitten by your dog and they sue you, they will win. They will win. Save your dog and your wallet from that end. Save your human skin, that of your children and grandchildren, and save the public, too. You can do it and it’s pretty easy to do.

Puppies have to learn quickly that humans are not for biting. Humans are soft and fragile. If you don’t teach your puppy now and definitely get a soft mouth before he’s four months old, you will most probably have an adult dog who will bite somebody, some day. He could be the nicest dog ever and he may not bite in play or anger but when he gets his tail caught in a ringer somewhere, like a door, or someone steps on his tail and he gets hurt, or little kid pulls his ears, he’s going to turn and bite somebody…hard. And if that somebody isn’t you, expect to pay hospital bills, live with a child getting it’s face bitten off, get sued and expect that someone is going to want you to euthanize your dog. Things are changing. Dogs do not get a free first bite any more. No second chances.

A soft mouth is pretty easy to teach. Here’s how. You need a time out crate or area, and two toys that puppy likes. Here are the rules:

1. The puppy has to bite you to learn not to bite you. Encourage the puppy to  bite you.

2. All the toys are yours. Start with only two toys.

3. We do not play with biting puppies.

4. Time out. A small crate or penned area just for this purpose, no toys, no room to do anything but wait. Puppy cannot see you if you walk away.

5. Person always initiates play, puppy never does. Person always stops play time, puppy never does.

6. Puppy must not be tired or hungry. Person must not be tired, hungry, or rushed.

7. Stop play when no biting. Give a treat or a chew. You may not get to play long sometimes but you want your puppy to have success.

8. Praise puppy quietly for not putting pressure on teeth. “Good dog, good dog.” Pet puppy.

So here we go. There are no strict training steps to follow except those rules above. These are guidelines, adjust to your puppy. This works for me.

Start play with puppy and toys. Let puppy bite your hand. (Ears and noses are for later. I don’t like the nose part, that really hurts). Say, “Ouch!” If puppy stops biting resume play. If puppy bites again in excitement, you yelled too loud, be a little quieter next time. If puppy bites again after second “Ouch!”, stop playing. Pick up your toys and cross your arms, do not look at puppy. Count to three.

Call puppy to you, forgive instantly and resume play. If puppy bites again, pick up toys, and stomp out of the room. Puppy may follow. Do not look at puppy. Count to three. Call puppy to you. Forgive instantly. Love puppy.

Play with puppy and toys. Let puppy bite you. “Ouch!” If puppy stops biting, praise the puppy in a soft, gentle tone. One or two gentle petting strokes down puppy’s back. “Good puppy, you’re a good puppy.” Resume play.

Play with puppy and toys. Let puppy bite you. “Ouch!” Puppy comes back to bite again. Put puppy gently but quickly into his time out crate. You say loudly, “You little jerk, you awful, awful, terrible stinking land shark! Stop biting me!!” Count to ten. Go back, open door, call puppy to you, forgive instantly, love puppy. Resume play.

I like to trade up letting the puppy bite me and bite his toys. I often put the toy in the way so he gets the toy and not my hand. He learns quickly that the toy doesn’t care how hard he bites, I do. The goal is to get less and less pressure of teeth.

When the puppy has stopped being a land shark (biting hard and fast), put your hand into the puppy’s mouth. Gently. I like to sit puppy between my legs facing away from me. Hold puppy gently and put my hand into his mouth. If he doesn’t bite down hard, praise quietly. Just for a couple of seconds, though, puppies don’t like to sit still for long when it’s play time. You don’t want a puppy struggling to get away.

As you start to get to no pressure, no teeth, just gums, you can show excitement again. Be loud, be crazy, play fast. Offer a toy with your hand in the way. Puppy will learn how to control teeth and will not bite your human flesh. Really, your puppy will learn where his teeth are and where your hands are even in the roughest play.

After biting of the hands gets less and less, then put your ears and your nose in the way. That’s where it gets very exciting. Puppy will learn not to bite your face. Little children are great teachers of “don’t bite my ears and nose.” Use children who understand and will play by the rules. If the child will not play by the rules, they do not get to play with the puppy.

A side note: If your puppy doesn’t like toys, that’s okay, you can still teach bite inhibition. Play with your hands in a sort of tickle wrestle and lots of petting every inch of the body. No tug of war or play fighting until puppy does not put pressure on his teeth any more.

This is an very important part of bonding and training, in my opinion. I feed my puppies and my dogs by hand until the day they die. This will do several things to help make life easier for you. Insure a faster bond. Insure a soft mouth. And it makes you the keeper of the food, that gives you a super high level of respect in your house. Puppies and dogs do not get food with a hard mouth or sharp teeth.

Always end play on a quiet praise with a happy puppy. Go outside to pee.

At first it will seem like you are getting nowhere but remember, you want the puppy to keep biting, keep putting his mouth on you. Have patience, in several days your puppy will not be putting any pressure on his teeth or your skin. By four months, your puppy will not be biting at all.

ONE LAST THING. A drastic measure. DO NOT do this unless you have to. If your pup continues to bite hard and will not stop even after days of the above training, take the pup by the sides of it’s little face and hold. Immediately after a hard bite, put as much skin at the sides of his little face into your hands as you can and do not let go. Don’t hurt, don’t shake, don’t pinch, don’t abuse. You are simply holding the dog so he has to look at your eyes and he cannot get away. Stare hard and try to look kinda mean (no, not like the guy in the movie The Shining, you don’t want your pup afraid of you). Stare hard into the pups eyes until he looks away and relaxes. This is NOT something I encourage you to use. Positive is better. But if you have a puppy who will not stop the biting, you may have to use different measures. It’s not always easy to win with a puppy who has a strong will. IMPORTANT: This is the time to evaluate if you want to take the puppy back. There are some dogs whose breeding will make them biters. My aunt had a Chihuahua who could not stop biting, she was born a land shark and did a lot of damage to several people. She was only a pup and made such deep marks that they left scars. There are pups out there like this one, I don’t think it’s the norm and it’s certainly not normal puppy behavior.