Don’t Let Them Bite the Hand That Feeds Them

If you or your friends have a dog that still nips or bites inappropriately during play then you may have a “Bite School Drop Out” on your hands. Because most dogs are adopted into our homes as 8 week old puppies we take them from the “bite school” of their mother and siblings before they have learned important “bite inhibition” skills. So we have to pick up where mom left off and teach our puppies how to use their mouths appropriately.
Puppies explore the whole world with their mouths, they learn about sizes, shapes, textures and the pain they can inflict when they bite too hard. Puppy mouthing is cute when they have little pincers but when they reach 80 pounds and have big teeth even mouthing should not be acceptable. It will be hard to explain to friends that your 80 pound German Shepherd that puts its teeth on their daughter is ok because “our dog will not bite”. All dogs can bite and if pushed or threatened they will defend themselves by fleeing or biting. A dog that has learned appropriate bite inhibition however will cause little or no damage even if pushed to the extreme of biting.
But puppies need to bite and chew, especially when teething, so we must provide them with the correct things to bite and chew on. For example, it is not a good idea to give your puppy one of your old shoes to chew on. Your puppy does not understand the concept of ‘old.’ They do however know what a shoe is so shoes and other personal non-dog items of ours should be off limits.
Teaching a puppy not to mouth and not to bite are two different exercises. And we won’t try to completely stop them from doing both right off the bat because then they may not learn about bite pressure if we do. It is more important and critical to their development that they learn what mouth pressure is acceptable and what is unacceptable. One of the best ways for puppies to learn bite inhibition is to enroll them in a well run, safe puppy class where they can play and learn the fight and play rituals with their own kind. Dogs teach other dogs great lessons about bite inhibition so playing with other dogs is an important part of your puppy’s education.

Bite inhibition Training

Puppies have to learn at a very early age that they cannot put their teeth onto our skin, clothing or body in any way. They have to be taught a soft mouth. Puppies learn to develop this soft mouth from their mother and siblings through feeding, play and mock fighting. In addition, children or adults inappropriately playing with small cute puppies often encourage biting and only when larger teeth grow in and/or the puppy’s jaw strengthens does the biting suddenly become a problem if the dog has not learned bite inhibition.
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or call Rachel Williams cell 561-271-3033 for more information.