Training Your Puppy to Stop Biting & Nipping
Are you sick of puppy nipping and don’t know how to stop a puppy from biting? This guide will help you get rid of this unusual puppy’s behaviour. Biting and nipping are normal for a puppy as they chew on all they see. Dogs have sharp teeth that can hurt and cut your skin. You can change this habit of the puppy by training and redirecting it to chew on a toy instead of your hands or anything unacceptable.
Besides training the puppy on his nipping behaviour, creating a safe environment to keep your puppy out of danger is essential, especially with electrical wires.
How to Train your puppy to stop biting and Nipping?
Young Puppies learn a lot from biting objects. They receive internal information on how hard they should bite at a specific thing, perhaps what the object tastes like, or whether they can repeat the behaviour. It will depend on the object’s taste, whether it is soft or complex, and how it smells, and may continue to bite it.
When puppies explore their new environment, you may catch them chewing on furniture, an area rug, a throw pillow, clothing, smelly shoes, remote controls, window frames, door jams, crates, beds, food bowls, etc.
Puppy is chewing Your Things.
Giving the puppy many toys to nibble on will help stop chewing on household items that are within reach. When you see the puppy nipping on objects around the house, make a whistling noise to get its attention.
Now, give it a toy to chew and supervise so it may not ingest the small pieces while playing—schedule play sessions outdoors to exercise your puppy and keep them occupied.
My Puppy is Teething; It is in the biting and nipping phase.
A dog’s Adult teeth come in between twelve and sixteen weeks; during this age, you may see your puppy’s chewing has increased. Dogs may get sore gums when they lose puppy teeth while adult teeth push through the gums. Chewable Toys can help your puppies ease sore gums and are made of soft plastic, helping a baby or incoming adult tooth.
Reasons why your puppy may be Biting
Puppies want to play: Your puppy may bite your hands and feet to grab your attention. It does so when it needs someone to play. So, instead of focusing on how to stop a puppy from biting your hand and feet, redirect its focus to dog toys like the Kong Brands, as they are durable and don’t fall apart.
Puppy is exhausted: There may be lots of excitement around your puppy within a family event. It can make him tired. You may see your puppy biting the ankles and pants of other people. Thus, placing it in a room with many different toys to help occupy it is best.
Your puppy is bored: Maybe your puppy is very active and gets bored when left unchecked. Many Puppies love exploring their world with their mouth—exciting activities with new chews and toys to keep their minds occupied.
They want your attention: Puppy nips to get attention from humans. So, never encourage a puppy to nip by teasing them to play with your hands or feet. It may let puppy biting kids, which is harmful. Once your puppy learns that nipping works to get your attention, whether in a good way or wrong, they will likely try it all the time.
But if the puppy continues to bite, it will soon learn not to bite. Teach your puppy that a different behaviour, such as sitting, works better to get focus. Also, seek professional help from your vet in this regard.
Your puppy might be hungry: Many puppies get nippy before mealtime, incredibly so when hungry. You may see your puppy biting the leash. It can be due to hunger. To ensure your puppy has eaten and is feeling full or not.
Why do puppies bite a lot?
They may be teething, and gums hurt from teething pain. So, they tend to bite everything they see to relieve the pain. Try giving your puppy a soft chew toy made especially for teething.
It’s not the only reason for puppy biting; they also bite when fearful. So, supervise your puppy’s behaviour to know if something is threatening.
Successful Tips on How to Stop a Puppy from Biting.
Here are some professional tips that may guide you on how to stop your puppy from biting
Never use inappropriate language or physically hit a puppy.
When you get Verbal or physical with your puppy to correct its behaviour, it’s unhealthy and unacceptable. It teaches your puppy to suppress negative behaviour, but it will lead to fear and anxiety in your pup.
Offer Your Puppy Age-Appropriate Toys for Teething.
- Begin with toys safe for puppies, such as soft rubber toys, small rubber balls, rope toys, and toys with squeakers.
- Help to encourage the puppy to interact with toys while rolling or moving them around to distract them from the negative habits.
- If your puppy grabs onto the toy, offer praise.
- Do not immediately pull back if your puppy grabs your hand or clothing. Make a Yelp and move away.
When do puppies stop nipping?
Suppose your puppy follows you and continues biting your feet, ankles, or legs.
- Leave the room and close the door every time your puppy bites. It will eventually notice that you have stopped interacting.
- Waiting 10-20 seconds, then come back.
- If your puppy comes running to you, immediately engage it with a toy. It will help him learn that biting the toys is more fun than you.
Redirect the puppy to focus on training.
You can redirect your puppy to perform better behaviours when teaching your puppy some basic training commands.
- When you see your puppy biting clothes, make a noise using a whistle to distract the puppy from biting.
- Immediately redirect them to exhibit non-biting behaviours, using commands such as sit, stay, come, and no biting.
- When the puppy stops biting, offer praise while using treats to reinforce good behaviours.
Attempt to engage Puppy in Socialization Classes.
In puppy socialization classes, your puppy will interact with many puppies of different sizes, breeds, and sexes. Such courses provide a controlled environment where they interact with other puppies and learn appropriate play behaviours. They are essential to teach your pup some healthy manners.
Nipping and Biting in Mature Dogs and How to Stop.
If you do not teach your puppy to stop biting and provide appropriate toys to chew on, they will mature into an adolescent dog that may be very difficult to control.
Stay Calm and Focused when training a puppy.
Training a puppy requires patience and dedication as your puppy may not understand the concept you are teaching them, so it’s best to stay calm and focused.
Shouting at your puppy will cause it to become frightened and cause more stress, which can lead to an excess of the same behaviour you’re trying to eliminate.
If your puppy struggles to understand, hiring a professional trainer is vital. Dogs that continuously bite are a danger. You must ensure your puppy is safe to be around people.
Patience and consistency are essential to training that will help your puppy to stop biting and nipping.
Wrapping Up
If dogs are loyal pets to keep, some behaviours like puppy biting are unbearable, too. As there is always a solution to every problem, this guide will help you train your pup and make you love it more and more. We would love your suggestion if you know another trick to stop a puppy from nipping.
What do puppies learn from biting?
Biting helps in developing the sensory abilities of dogs. When a dog bites an object or person, it knows about its hardness, taste, and sense of whether it’s good to bite further or not.
Is it normal for a dog to bite all its teeth?
Although it is painful, dog trainers call it “play biting.” It is standard practice for the development of dogs’ teeth. When your dog develops its teeth fully, you can make it unlearn this behaviour through simple training.
