How To Stop A Dog From Biting

Puppies are by nature playful and if you notice how they play with other puppies, you could see that their ‘play’ involves a lot of biting and nipping. So it is most natural for puppies to use this same method while playing with humans. Therefore it is important to teach them that biting is wrong before they reach adulthood when their bites could really hurt. It is always best to start training your dog from young if you want to prevent or stop him from biting. Once a puppy is trained consistently from young to stop biting, he will not form such habits as he grows up.

First of you must realize that a puppy biting you in a playful manner might be cute, but it is not okay. And it definitely will not be cute when he is grown and when his bites cause damage. Games like tug-of-war with your fingers or your feet might encourage the puppy into thinking that is okay to bite. So it would be better if you avoid such games so that puppies would clearly be able to differentiate what is right and what is wrong.

When you start to train your puppy, it would be a good idea to involve everyone in the family so that instructions given and the method of training is consistent. This would help the puppy to quickly adapt to discipline and thus the whole process would be smoother. If you have young children always keep an eye on them as they spend time with the puppy as you do not want either one of the to be hurt.

One very important thing you should remember is NEVER punish your puppy physically. It might serve to make your puppy aggressive which is not something you want. Keep in mind that they too are beings with feelings and a little bit of love goes a long way.

One way to train your puppy is to verbally command him to stop biting. When your puppy bites you, scream “OUCH!” as loudly as you can. Ignore him for a while and refuse to play with him. Do this several times and with luck after a few attempts he would realize that biting is a definite no. Encourage him instead to play with his toy.

If this doesn’t work you might want to roll up some newspaper hit the floor with it. When your puppy starts to bite, give a verbal command like “NO BITE!” and hit the floor with your rolled up newspaper (make sure you do not accidentally hit your puppy). This will help emphasize you verbal command. Again encourage him instead to play with his toy. This usually works as the puppy soon realizes you mean business.

Be sure to reward your puppy for every time he obeys you whether it is meal time or it is time to play. If your dog continues to be rough and aggressive, you might want to consider professional help like obedience school.