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How to Stop a Puppy From Biting

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Puppy Biting

Puppy Biting
Learn how to manage puppy biting. Ow! lifeonwhite/Deposit Photos

Pet Parent Question:

I have a question on a new puppy. I’ve always had dogs, and currently have two Yorkies, a Rottie and a new pup. The new pup is a Beagle and Dotsy mix, extremely smart at 12 weeks, completely house and kennel trained — I’ve never had a dog that young be so quick to house train. Though she is a huge biter! By that I mean she brings blood, nothing is off limits — arms, legs, hands, face if she gets close enough. I’ve tried scolding her, stop showing attention, giving chew toys when she bites, and I’m lost. Nothing has worked. I’ve even used a fly swatter, which she will turn and attack. She is very, very active and has a doggie door she can go through and run around, which she definitely does for hours. Any advice that I haven’t tried?

Dog Trainer’s Answer:

Congrats on your new family member and huge congrats on potty/kennel training your new puppy! A high five to a fellow Rottie pet parent! Do know the secret to potty training is providing clear boundaries and rewarding good behavior often, which you did so pat yourself on the back. 🙂

Ah, puppy nipping, or as we say in the dog training world bite inhibition. It’s pretty important to teach your puppy that teeth on skin does not pay. Now, your puppy is probably beginning the teething process and it takes a few times to teach your puppy what he can chew on so hang in there. 🙂

A couple of things to try:

  • Teach boundaries. If you’re rude when playing, the game is over: The moment you feel teeth on your skin squeak loudly, freeze for a moment, then walk away from your puppy. If your puppy chases you or tries to pull on your pant leg, repeat the squeak and freeze. Then walk away.
  • Redirect to a toy. Wiggle a toy in front of your puppy and play a quick game of tug. This redirects your puppy from you and onto the toy — works like a charm.
  • Lastly, spray bitter apple on your arms. Careful though, as some dogs love the taste of bitter apple. When polling my students, over half the puppies love the stuff.

Puppy nipping will pass. This is a normal part of puppyhood. 🙂 Punishment usually makes it worse, as any fast movement is play behavior. Hence, chasing the fly swatter. Just as you did with potty training, set boundaries early and follow them. Soon your new puppy will learn to control those little shark teeth!

Check out my article on puppy nipping. There’s some really good tips on helping your puppy through the teething process to puppy biting.

Happy training!

Do you have a dog or puppy training question? Ask the dog trainer!

3 Behaviors All Dog Trainers Should Know

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Make Sure Your Clients Know These BehaviorsThree Behaviors All Dogs Should Know

Do you want to spice up your Basic Family Manners Class? Are you bored teaching the same foundation exercises over and over again? Don’t you ever feel like you’re forgetting something? Are your dogs still pulling on a leash and jumping up on people? Here ya go! Learn three new behaviors all dogs should know!

Body Handling

While this is mostly covered in Puppy Class, we forget to cover in Basic Family Manners Class geared for dogs six months and older. Body handling means a dog learns to allow a person to touch, handle and restrain his body. Trust me, it’s not fun having a dog bucking around the room when you’re trying to apply eye medicine or brushing mats out of his coat. 🙂 Plus, your vet and vet tech will thank you profusely!

Body handling teaches a dog to stand still while being examined at the vet’s office, brushed at the groomers, having nails trimmed, having teeth brushed, having medicine and ointments applied to the eyes or ears and so on. Many dogs can learn to remain still for blood withdrawals and injections. We just need to teach the dog what is expected during these procedures.

How to teach:

  • As you touch your dog’s shoulder, click and treat (repeat 5 times in a row).
  • Touch his nose, click and treat (repeat 5 times in a row).
  • Touch his front foot, click and treat (repeat 5 times in a row).
  • Touch his tail, click and treat (repeat 5 times in a row).

Move forward until:

  • Touch your dog’s nose, foot, tail or shoulder for 1 second, then click/treat.
  • Continue until you can touch longer or look in his ear or mouth for longer, then click/treat.

Park Your Dog

During the first week of Basic Family Manners, I teach “Park Your Dog.” We all know that Week One is usually the loudest and rowdiest class by far so teach pet parents how to teach their dogs to calm themselves. I explain how to teach it, demo with the rowdiest dog in class, and then ask pet owners to practice for 5 minutes while I walk around providing feedback. Then I ask owners to “Park Your Dog” during lecture time and when they first arrive at class.

How to teach:

  • Step on your leash about halfway up to your dog (your dog should have 3 feet of extra leash).
  • Click and treat your dog the instant the leash becomes loose (Tip: Instead of watching your dog, feel when the leash tightens and loosens under your feet. The moment you feel slack in the leash, click/treat!).
  • That’s it! Bingo, you are rewarding calm and quiet behavior!

Additional troubleshooting:

  • Dog still jumps up on you, shorten the leash.
  • Dog continues to pull on leash, your timing is probably off a bit. Click and treat every time the leash is loose.
  • My dog is still pulling, call his name and click/treat five times in a row. Now you have his attention, so keep it by rewarding frequently.

View demo video and additional training tips here.

Collar Pressure

I love teaching this behavior, especially for big dogs and little pet parents. 🙂 Having a large dog is tough as he seems to always pull you forward even when teaching him polite leash manners. Well, problem solved, this behavior teaches a dog to follow collar pressure instead of pulling away from it.

Step 1: Touching your dog’s collar is a good thing!

  • Touch your dog’s collar, next click and treat.
  • Try this 10 times in a row.

Step 2: Following the pressure on the dog collar.

  • Apply pressure to the dog’s collar the opposite way he is standing. Use light pressure, such as holding a door open. You are not pulling hard per se, but more like restraining.
  • Immediately click and treat when your dog follows the direction of pressure (as the dog moves towards the pressure, so that you are no longer applying pressure to your dog’s collar).
  • Try this 10 times in a row, remember to click and treat each time.

Step 3: Your dog now follows you on the leash.

  • Touch your dog’s collar, as if you are moving him away from something, such as an open door.
  • Immediately click and treat when your dog follows the direction of pressure (he moves towards your hand instead of pulling opposite of you).
  • Try this 10 times in a row, remember to click and treat each time.

View demo video and additional training tips here.

Dog trainers, bark back! What behaviors would you like to teach in class?

Calming A Hyper Dog With A Thundershirt

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Thundershirt for Hyper Dogs
I need a Thundershirt!

Thundershirt for Dogs

Does your dog have tons of energy? You know what I mean: he bounces off the walls and sometimes off you too! Well, we recommend a product that can calm your hyper dog. Meet the Thundershirt.

Thundershirts for Excited Dogs, Really?

Yes! While Thundershirts for dogs do a great job at calming dogs afraid of storms, they’re fabulous for easily excited or hyper dogs as well. When wrapped correctly, Thundershirts press on acupressure points, which promotes calmness and soothes excited dogs. Think of a swaddled baby when crying. If you swaddle him correctly, it’s very soothing and he usually stops crying and falls asleep.

Of course, Thundershirts for dogs shouldn’t replace daily walks, food puzzles and family interactions. They’re simply a tool that teaches your dog how to calm himself down. It’s fun when adrenaline is pushing through your body, so it’s pretty important to teach our dogs how to bring themselves down and self-soothe.

WATCH: Thundershirt for Dogs

Teaching Your Dog to Wear a Thundershirt

  • Give your dog yummy treats as he sniffs the Thundershirt.
  • As you’re putting on the shirt, give him a finger full of peanut butter, as you know it takes awhile for dogs to remove peanut butter from the roof of their mouths.
  • Give your dog a yummy food stuffed toy when he’s wearing his Thundershirt, so he learns Thundershirt equals yummy food toy.
  • Follow the fitting instructions correctly. You don’t want it too loose or too tight.

If You’re New to Thundershirts

There seems to be many opinions about the effectiveness of Thundershirts for dogs. As a professional dog trainer of 22 years, they work. As with anything, they must:

  • Be introduced to the dog positively, so he enjoys wearing them
  • Fit properly

Now, nothing works 100% for all dogs, but in my classes, we have an 80% success rate with Thundershirts. Once your dog understands the process, you can keep the Thundershirt around for stressful events, such as traveling, visiting the vet, guests visiting or moving to a new home.

Lastly, I wish they made Thundershirts for people. I’d buy one!

What are your thoughts on Thundershirts for dogs? Comment in the section below!

Top 5 Tips for Training Rescue Dogs

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Training a Rescue DogFive Things You Need to Know About Rescuing a Dog

These five professional dog trainer tips are important when you bring home a rescue dog as you’ll need to incorporate them into your daily routine quickly. This way your rescue dog learns polite behaviors immediately. Plus, spending time with your new dog will build a strong bond of trust so start training now.

Enroll in a Dog Training Class

    • Completing a dog training class within two weeks of adoption will build a bond between you and your rescue dog. Your new pooch will learn polite manners while earning luscious treats, which means they will love you even more!
    • Choose a dog trainer that uses positive reinforcement. This means no yelling, pushing, yanking or pulling your puppy around. During classes, choose treats your dog loves!

Reward Good Behavior

    • When your rescue dog behaves as expected reward him with treats. Positive rewards are a great way to reinforce the desired behavior of your dog. Rewards can include a game of tug or snuggle time. It’s a great idea to keep a bowl of treats nearby for quick rewards. You can reward your rescue dog for things, such as: going potty outside, laying quietly at your feet, not barking, sitting when putting on his leash and coming when called.

Crate Training

    • This is your rescue dog’s sanctuary. He is safe and can relax so make it fun and rewarding to be in his crate. Feed your dog meals in his crate and provide special food stuffed toys for him to enjoy while he relaxes in his crate.

Come When Called

    • Teach your rescue dog that it’s fun to come back to you! While a rescue dog may have learned this behavior, it’s vital he learns to come back to you specifically. He’s still adjusting to his new home.
    • Use the ER Recall: Stand still, squat down and say “Puppy Puppy Puppy” using a high-pitched sound. Dogs really respond to high-pitched rapid repeating sounds. Have a party when your dog returns to you. Give him 5 treats and do the Happy Dance (always make it a big deal). You need to be much more interesting than the squirrel outside.

Engage in Daily Mental Stimulation

This is just as important as physical exercise.

    • Walk your rescue dog on leash for 30 minutes per day. Allow him plenty of sniffing opportunities. This is equivalent to reading his Facebook page. By sniffing, he is reading “posts” and may answer “posts” back. The more often you take your dog for a walk, the less likely he is to have an accident in the house.
    • Feed your dog meals using interactive toys. Pour his kibble into a food dispensing toy so that he needs to push or paw the toy to dispense his food — it’s like solving puzzles. Meals times are 20 minutes long instead of 30 seconds, and your dog will be tired afterwards.

Bark back. I want to hear back from you! How have these tips helped your rescue dog acclimate to your household?

READ ALSO: Adopting a Rescue Dog

Come When Called Part 3: Adding Distractions

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Teaching Your Dog to Come When Called

Adding Distractions to “Come” Cue

If your dog ignores you and runs off, it might need some specific training. Here is the final installment of a four-part series on training your dog to come. You’ll  learn:

  • How to perform an emergency recall
  • To call your dog indoors from the backyard
  • To call your dog back to you around distractions (squirrels, etc.)
  • How to teach multiple dogs to come back to you
  • Fun games

Directions

  • View first video and practice homework for seven days.
  • View second video, practice homework for seven days.
  • View third video, practice homework for seven days.
  • View fourth, and final, video.

Each video contains tons of information so re-watch them several times. Bookmark for easy future reference.

What you will need:

Note: Always enroll your dog in a group dog training class. This video should not be used in place of dog training class attendance.

You’ve completed the “Come When Called” series. Revisit the videos as often as necessary for polite greeting behavior!

In case you missed it: Come When Called Part 1: Intro

Dog Training Nation is a dog training blog for pet owners and dog lovers. We cover a range of topics from puppy socialization tips to dog aggression to dog health. It is our hope you share our content to make the world a better place for dogs.

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