Podcast – We’re Getting A New Puppy (or Dog)! – part 2

< Updated 10MAR18 >

< Click to Listen to Podcast >

<A companion piece to this podcast was published in the March 2017 edition of Downeast Dog NewsAdopting A Pet – We’re Getting A New Puppy (or Dog)!>

If you have a puppy or dog selected, or are thinking about getting a canine companion, this show will help you prepare for your new dog.

This episode of The Woof Meow Show from March 11th, 2017, and part 1 of this show, which aired on March 4th, are companion shows to our January 14th and 21st shows entitled Finding the Right Dog for You and Your Family. Kate and Don discuss what you need to be thinking about before you bring your new friend home.

In this episode we focus on the most critical puppy behaviors; housetraining, jumping up, play biting, and chewing. These four issues, plus socialization and habituation, which we covered in last weeks, show, are far more important than teaching your puppy to sit or shake. Start working on all of these issues with a qualified professional dog trainer from day one. <How to choose a dog trainer>.

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You can hear The Woof Meow Show on The Pulse AM620, WZON, and WKIT HD3 at 9 AM on Saturday. If you are not near a radio, listen on your computer at http://www.wzonthepulse.com or your smartphone or tablet with the free WZON 620 AM app. A podcast of the show is typically posted immediately after the show and can be downloaded at www.woofmeowshow.com and the Apple iTunes store.

< Click to Listen to Podcast >

 

Recommended Resources

Articles on Don’s Blog (http://www.words-woofs-meows.com)

 

We’re Getting A New Puppy (or Dog)!http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/03/04/adopting-a-pet-were-getting-a-new-puppy-or-dog/

Finding the right dog for you and your familyhttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/01/16/adopting-a-pet-finding-the-right-dog-for-you-and-your-family/

How to choose a dog trainerhttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/01/08/how-to-choose-a-dog-trainer/

Housetraininghttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2014/02/16/housetraining/

Chewinghttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2013/03/15/dog-training-chewing/

Biting and Bite Thresholdshttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2012/01/16/dog-training-biting-and-bite-thresholds/

 

Podcasts from The Woof Meow Show (http://www.woofmeowshow.com)

We’re Getting A New Puppy (or Dog)! – part 1http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/03/04/podcast-were-getting-a-new-puppy-or-dog-part-1/

Finding the Right Dog for You and Your Family – Part 1http://traffic.libsyn.com/woofmeowshow/WoofMeowShow-2017-01-14Finding_the_Right_Dog_for_You_and_Your_FamilyPart-1.mp3

Finding the Right Dog for You and Your Family – Part 2http://traffic.libsyn.com/woofmeowshow/WoofMeowShow-2017-01-21Finding_the_Right_Dog_for_You_and_Your_FamilyPart-2.mp3

How to choose a dog trainer – http://traffic.libsyn.com/woofmeowshow/WoofMeowShow-2017-01-07How_to_Choose_A_Dog_Trainer.mp3

The Importance of Training Your Dog and 2018 Classes at Green Acres – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/12/10/podcast-the-importance-of-training-your-dog-and-2018-classes-at-green-acres/

 

 

©10MAR18, Donald J. Hanson, All Rights Reserved
<Click for Copyright and Use Policy>

Especially for New Puppy Parents

< Updated 05JUL21 >

< http://bit.ly/EspcNewPuppyParents >

If you have a new puppy that is 8 to 16 weeks of age, this is the article you want. If you have a dog older than 12 weeks of age, you may also wish to check out this article – http://bit.ly/EspNewDogParents

A puppy does not come with a user’s manual; at least none that are complete and accurate. This article and series of links to other articles and podcasts are meant to get you started on learning what you need to know about caring for your puppy.  However, it does not take the place of enrolling yourself, and your puppy in a puppy headstart or kindergarten class that is under the direction of a professional dog trainer, accredited by an independent certification body and that is committed to pain-free, force-free, and pain-free training. If you prefer to absorb information by listening, rather than reading, you may want to listen to these three podcasts.

Podcast – Especially for New Puppy Parents – Part 1http://bit.ly/WfMw-Esp_Pups1

Podcast – Especially for New Puppy Parents – Part 2http://bit.ly/WfMw-Esp_Pups2

Podcast – Especially for New Puppy Parents – Part 3http://bit.ly/WfMw-Esp_Pups3


A new puppy can be a great addition to your family, but they will also require some work on your part. You will very likely have questions about; housetraining, socialization, play biting and nipping, chewing, training methods, wellness exams, nutrition, vaccinations, babies and dogs, kids and dogs and more. This post includes links to articles and podcasts that address the most common questions people ask me when they are thinking of getting a new puppy or that have just added one to their home. While we strongly encourage everyone to attend a Puppy Headstart class while the puppy is between 8 and 16 weeks of age, these materials will provide you with some additional information. You can read or listen to them in any order you choose; however, I believe you will get the most benefit if you go through them in the order that they are listed.

My first word of advice; “patience.” It is very easy to want the ideal puppy immediately, but just as “Rome was not built in a day,” Your puppy will not be the perfect companion in a week, nor in all likelihood in a month. Training is a process, and as such it takes time. Yes, there will times you may become frustrated, but when you look back in a year you will realize it was a precious time for you and your pup, one filled with learning and fun!

I encourage you to read the following shared blog post, all about patience, by dog trainer Nancy Tanner. Read it, print it, and then post it on your refrigerator, or somewhere in your home where it is close at hand anytime you are feeling frustrated with your puppy. –

Shared Blog Post – the misunderstanding of time by Nancy Tannerhttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2016/11/16/shared-blog-post-the-misunderstanding-of-time-by-nancy-tanner/ OR http://bit.ly/Patience-Dogs

Enrolling yourself and your puppy in a reward-based dog training class designed by a Certified Professional Dog Trainer is the best thing you can do for you and your dog. Not all trainers and dog training classes are equal. Because dog training is currently a non-regulated and non-licensed profession the quality of instruction and practices used can vary widely, sometimes into the inhumane. The following article will provide you with information on what to look for in a dog trainer and dog training facility.

FMI – How to Choose a Dog Trainer http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/01/08/how-to-choose-a-dog-trainer/ OR
http://bit.ly/HowToChooseADogTrainer

What You Need to Know BEFORE You Start Training –    https://bit.ly/BeforeYouTrainYourDog

Do not try to teach your puppy everything at once. In class, we will teach you certain behaviors, in a specific order, for a reason; to make training easier.

During the critical socialization period, between 8 and 16 weeks of age, it is far more important to work on planning and appropriately socializing and habituating your dog than it is to teach them to shake or any other behavior. This is a limited period, and you want to make the most of it. Inadequate or inappropriate socialization is a common reason dogs develop behavioral problems such as aggression and anxiety.

FMI – Puppy Socialization and Habituationhttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2015/06/27/dog-behavior-puppy-socialization-and-habituation/
 OR http://bit.ly/SocializationPuppy

If you are already having problems with your dog guarding food and other items, stealing things, or growling, make an appointment with us for a Help Now! session as soon as possible. Punishment in any form will likely make these behaviors worse and could result in someone being bitten.

FMI – What Should I Dog When My Dog Does Not Let Me Take Something They Have Stolen and Snaps or Tries to Bite Me?http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/08/20/what-should-i-do-when-my-dog-does-not-let-me-take-something-they-have-stolen-and-snaps-or-tries-to-bite-me/
OR http://bit.ly/StealGuardGrowlSnap

FMI – What Should I Do When My Dog Growls?http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2015/07/18/canine-behavior-what-should-i-do-when-my-dog-growls/ 
OR http://bit.ly/DogGrowls

Dogs and children both need training and supervision to learn how to appropriately and safely interact with one another. Dogs and children will not automatically get along. If you do not have children, your dog will still need to be socialized with children and learn how to interact with them. If you have children and a dog, you will need to spend time working with both. I highly recommend the book A Kids’ Comprehensive Guide to Speaking Dog! by Niki Tudge. You will discover some things that you probably did not know about dogs while learning how to teach your children about interacting with your dog and any other dog they may meet.

FMI – Book Review – A Kids’ Comprehensive Guide to Speaking Dog! by Niki Tudgehttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2018/01/10/book-review-a-kids-comprehensive-guide-to-speaking-dog-by-niki-tudge/
OR http://bit.ly/BkRvw-KidsGuide-Tudge

Think carefully about what you teach your puppy; intentionally or unintentionally. Un-training a behavior takes a whole lot more time and energy than training a behavior. A trick like “shake” is cute, but think long and hard if you want a dog that will always be trying to get every person they see to shake, even when they have muddy paws.

If there are multiple people that will be interacting with your dog, discuss what cues, visual and verbal, that you will use for specific behaviors so that you are all being consistent. Do not be in a hurry to add a visual (hand signal) or a verbal cue to a behavior. We do not start using a cue until we are confident that the dog understands the behavior in multiple contexts and environments. If you start using the cue to soon, you may need to change it. We will talk about that more in class.

If you have questions that just will not wait until class starts, contact us and make an appointment for a Help Now! session.

Blog Posts

Words-woofs-Meows-High Res with TM 755x800The blog posts listed below will all be very useful for anyone thinking about getting a new puppy or for those of you that just added a puppy to your family.

How to Choose a Dog Trainer – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/01/08/how-to-choose-a-dog-trainer/ OR http://bit.ly/HowToChooseADogTrainer

Themes in Puppy Training

Themes in Puppy Training – What You Need to Know BEFORE You Start Training – https://bit.ly/BeforeYouTrainYourDog

Puppy Socialization and Habituationhttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2015/06/27/dog-behavior-puppy-socialization-and-habituation/
OR http://bit.ly/SocializationPuppy

Things I Wish I Had Known Before I Started Training Dogs – Gus, the Dominance Myth, An Alpha Roll, and a Damaged Relationshiphttp://bit.ly/Things-Gus-Dominance

Things I Wish I Had Known Before I Selected My First Dog – Aversives are Unnecessary and Counter-Productive When Training A Dog – Part 1 – WWM-JAN2019 http://bit.ly/Things-Aversives-1

Things I Wish I Had Known Before I Selected My First Dog – Aversives are Unnecessary and Counter-Productive When Training A Dog – Part 2 – WWM-FEB2019 –  http://bit.ly/Things-Aversives-2

Dog Behavior – Dominance: Reality or Myth –  http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2015/06/20/dog-behavior-dominance-reality-or-myth/  OR http://bit.ly/Dominance-RealityorMyth

The Unintended Consequences of Shock Collarshttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2013/08/05/dogs-the-unintended-consequences-of-shock-collar/

Canine Communication & Stress

Introduction to Canine Communicationhttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2016/01/16/dog-behavior-introduction-to-canine-communication/

Understanding, Identifying and Coping with Canine Stresshttp://bit.ly/Canine-Stress

Essential Handouts On Body Language, and Canine and Human Behavior from Dr. Sophia Yinhttps://bit.ly/YinBodyLang

Jaws & Paws

Play Biting – Biting and Bite Thresholds –   http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2012/01/16/dog-training-biting-and-bite-thresholds/

Play Biting – Help! My Puppy’s A Land Shark!http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2015/03/01/canine-behavior-help-my-puppys-a-land-shark/

 

Puddles & Piles

Housetraining http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2014/02/16/housetraining/
OR http://bit.ly/HousetrainingYourDog

Alone Training – Preventing separation anxiety – Teaching your dog to cope with being alonehttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2016/03/14/dog-training-preventing-separation-anxiety-teaching-your-dog-to-cope-with-being-alone/

Grabs & Nabs

Chewinghttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2013/03/15/dog-training-chewing/

The Power of Food3

Teaching the ATTENTION or LOOK Behaviorhttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2016/04/04/dog-training-teaching-the-attention-or-look-behavior/

Health & Safety

Tobacco Smoke, Vaping, Nicotine, and The Risk They Pose to Our Petshttps://bit.ly/Pets-Nicotine-APR21

Summer Pet Care Tipshttp://bit.ly/Summer-Pet-Tips

Cold Weather and Holiday Tips for Petshttps://bit.ly/WfMw-Cold2021

Canine Nutrition

GAKS Philosophy on Pet Nutrition http://bit.ly/GAKS_Nut_Phil

Pet Foods We Offer At Green Acres Kennel Shop http://bit.ly/GAKS_PetFood_Brands

Pet Nutrition – Which Companies Are Behind Your Pet’s Food?  – http://bit.ly/PetFoodComp

What I Feed My Dog and Why I Feed What I Dohttps://bit.ly/WhatIFeedAndWhy

Podcast – What We Feed Our Pets and Why, with – Don Hanson, Kate Dutra, and Linda Casehttps://bit.ly/WfMw-WhatWeFeed-11JUL20

Which Are the Best Treats for Dogs?https://bit.ly/WhichTreats

Pet Nutrition Facts – Do You Want Optimal Nutrition, Low Cost, or Convenience? You CANNOT Have It All, a four-part series – http://bit.ly/PetNut-Opt-Cost-Con

Podcasts-Two Conversations with Animal Nutritionist Dr. Richard Pattonhttps://bit.ly/WfMw2wPattonAPR21

Pet Nutrition: Some Myths and Facts – Part 1 – My story with Gus – Maine Dog Magazine – Winter 2017http://bit.ly/Gus-Nutrition

Pet Nutrition – The Science and Dogma of Pet Nutrition with Dr. Richard Patton with link to 1-hour video http://bit.ly/Video-Dr-Richard-Patton

Podcast – Pet Fooled – A Look Inside A Questionable Industry with Kohl Harringtonhttp://bit.ly/WfMw-Pet-Fooled

Pet Fooled – A Look Inside A Questionable Industry – The Videohttps://www.petfooled.com/pet-fooled-part-1.html

Pet Nutrition – The Wisdom of Rotating Your Pets Diet – Part 1 http://bit.ly/DietRotation1-30JUL19

Pet Nutrition – The Wisdom of Rotating Your Pets Diet – Part 2 http://bit.ly/DietRotation2

Podcast – DCM, the FDA, and Dog Food-the Science and the Hype with Canine Nutritionist Linda Casehttp://bit.ly/Blog-DCM-FDA-8AUG19

Shared News Story – An Exposé on Prescription Diets from WJLA ABC7 Newshttp://bit.ly/Nut-RXDiets-WJLA-24MAY19

The Scientific Benefits of Feeding Raw, All in One Place-Dr. Karen Becker interviews Dr. Conor Brady, author of  Feeding Dogs: The Science Behind The Dry Versus Raw Debatehttps://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2021/05/23/dry-versus-raw-dog-food.aspx

Pet Food Myths & Facts – No. 1 – MYTH – Only a Board-Certified Veterinary Nutritionist is qualified to formulate pet foodhttp://bit.ly/PetFoodMyths-Facts-4MAR21

WSAVA Body Condition Score for Canineshttps://wsava.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Body-Condition-Score-Dog.pdf

WSAVA Body Condition Score for Felineshttps://wsava.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Body-Condition-Score-cat-updated-August-2020.pdf

An Intro to the Recall Behavior & Walking Politely

Teaching Your Puppy to Come When Called – Starting Points – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/07/10/dog-training-teaching-your-puppy-to-come-when-called-starting-points/

How Do I Get My Dog to Walk Politely Instead of Pulling on the Leash? – http://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2017/04/27/dog-training-how-do-i-get-my-dog-to-walk-politely-instead-of-pulling-on-the-leash/

Dogs and Children

Recommended Resources on Kids & Dogshttp://bit.ly/GAKS_Kids_DogsResources

Book Review – A Kids’ Comprehensive Guide to Speaking Dog! by Niki Tudgehttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2018/01/10/book-review-a-kids-comprehensive-guide-to-speaking-dog-by-niki-tudge/

Book Review – Living with Kids and Dogs…Without Losing Your Mind: A Parent’s Guide to Controlling the Chaos by Colleen Pelarhttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2018/01/10/book-review-living-with-kids-and-dogswithout-losing-your-mind-a-parents-guide-to-controlling-the-chaos-by-colleen-pelar/

©05JUL21, Donald J. Hanson, All Rights Reserved <Click for Copyright and Use Policy>

Canine Behavior – Help! My Puppy’s A Land Shark!

<A version of this article appeared in the March 2015 issue of Down East Dog News?>

A common call we receive goes like this: “We have a new puppy. She’s 11weeks old and has a lot of energy and is biting a lot as well as nipping at our ankles when we walk.  We have tried spanking her butt, tapping her nose, and holding her on her back while holding her mouth shut.  We continue to say “no biting”, but it doesn’t seem to help. She actually seems to be getting worse with my spouse and children and if anything it is causing her to be more aggressive.”

Don’t feel bad; you are not alone and I promise you, your puppy is not really a land shark in disguise.

Puppy Biting Finger
Puppy Biting Finger

Having a puppy biting and nipping at your heels can certainly be a very frustrating and painful experience and often takes some of the joy out of having a puppy in the first place; let’s face it, being bitten by those sharp little teeth hurts! That being said, the behavior, from the puppy’s perspective is a very normal one and right on target with their developmental period.  Responding to this behavior by way of physical force was frequently recommended by dog trainers in the past, and unfortunately is too often still recommended by some trainers that have not kept up with the advances in the field of canine behavior.

Since typically, a puppy’s nipping behavior is repeated on a regular basis, they must find that behavior to be a rewarding one on some level.  In an effort to eliminate the “problem biting,” people often inadvertently reward the behavior.  In addition to the unintentional rewarding by humans, puppy biting is often a behavior that can be self-reinforcing.

Unfortunately, since we cannot ask the puppy why it finds the behavior rewarding, there is no way of having 100% certainty what the payoff is for each particular dog. However, if we look at typical canine instinctual behaviors we can make an educated guess. Dogs, as predators, are attracted by movement and are hard-wired to pursue things that are moving away from them. A swaying pants leg, robe, or dress can appear to be a very stimulating toy, tauntingly inviting any puppy to “latch on.” Some breeds, such as the herding breeds, often have more of a genetic predisposition towards the biting of feet and ankles.

This instinctually triggered nipping behavior often starts as a form of play and quickly escalates. A puppy may learn that when they grab our ankle they can get us to yelp, just like a squeaky toy, which they find extremely fun. No matter what the initial cause of the behavior, paying attention to the puppy in any manner (looking, touching or speaking to them) may be construed as a reward and at least from their perspective, participating in the play.

Your puppy’s increased aggression when you physically reprimand the biting may also be perceived as “rough play” and tacit approval from you to magnify the response. If the puppy feels threatened an escalation in aggression may be motivated by fear or anger and frustration. Attempts at correcting a puppy that is causing it to respond in fear or anger may result in a dog with serious behavioral and fear issues in the future.

Remember the old adage, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  Examine the circumstances and the environment in which the nipping behavior occurs. Consider time of day, what you are doing, what the puppy is doing immediately before the behavior, the puppy’s activity level (tired, over-tired, hyper), and what else is occurring in the environment. Many puppies will “act up” when they are bored and not getting enough exercise or conversely, they are over-stimulated and not getting enough sleep.  Look for triggers associated with the behavior so that they can be prevented in the future by managing the puppy and its environment. For example, if your puppy starts nipping when you want to end a play session, look at alternative ways to end play. A quick trip outside to “do its business,” followed by some down time in a crate would be one way that you could manage this behavior.

While prevention is one tool, we also need to ensure that the undesirable behavior is not being rewarded; this is often the most difficult part because it is our natural instinct to react and reaction (looking at, talking to, or touching the puppy) is usually rewarding. Put on some old worn out jeans and setup a situation where your puppy is likely to become a “land shark.” Make sure you have some tasty treats in your pockets to reward the behavior you like. When the puppy grabs at your pants leg, pretend you are a tree and stop. Do not look at, talk to, or touch your puppy. The very second the puppy lets go of your pants legs, quietly say “yes” to mark the behavior, and as long as your puppy is not biting, reach down and give it a treat.

If your puppy is one that likes to chase and nip at you from behind, perform the above exercise on leash, with the leash tethered to something secure, like a large piece of furniture.  When you step out of range, your puppy will probably start barking in an attempt to gain attention. Continue to be a tree, ignoring the puppy until it stops barking and lunging on the leash. Quietly reach down and give the puppy a treat; alternatively you can play with the pup for a bit. If you choose to play be ready to completely ignore your puppy again when the play escalates to the point where it is too rough.

If your puppy has an extremely reliable sit behavior, “extremely reliable” meaning that you can say “sit” it once and only once and the dog will immediately respond on the first cue, then you could ask for a sit as a means of refocusing the dog. In this case by asking for a sit, you are using what is called a mutually exclusive behavior; a puppy cannot be sitting and “acting out” at the same time. This scenario illustrates how training for extremely reliable behaviors can be very useful.

Play biting and nipping is normal canine behavior for a puppy. It’s best to start working on this right at 8 weeks of age. If your puppy is 13 weeks of age or older and play biting is still a problem, contact a reward-based, force-free trainer for assistance.

______________________________________________________________________________
Don Hanson is the co-owner of the Green Acres Kennel Shop (greenacreskennel.com) in Bangor. He is a Bach Foundation Registered Animal Practitioner (BFRAP), Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC), Associate Certified Cat Behavior Consultant (ACCBC) and a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA). He produces and co- hosts a weekly radio show and podcast, The Woof Meow Show heard on The Pulse AM620 WZON and streamed at http://www.wzonradio.com/ every Saturday at 9 AM. A list of upcoming shows and podcasts of past shows can be found at www.woofmeowshow.com. Don also writes about pets at his blog: www.words-woofs-meows.com.

©2015, Donald J. Hanson, All Rights Reserved <Click for Copyright and Use Policy>

Dog Training – Biting and Bite Thresholds

< Updated 28JUN18 >

If you are having problems with your puppy or dog biting, we strongly encourage you to contact us ( 207-945-6841 ) so that you can make an appointment to see us for a Help Now! session. If you are not in our service area, we suggest you visit the Pet Professional Guild Trainer Search page ( https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/Zip-Code-Search ) to locate a force-free trainer near you.

OBJECTIVE: To teach your dog to have a gentle bite that does not hurt, if he ever makes mouth contact with you or any other person.

No matter how much training you do and how gentle your dog is, under certain circumstances any dog can be provoked to bite. Biting is an act of defense for a dog; it is often an instinctual response to specific situations. There are a variety of reasons that a dog may bite and contrary to popular belief, few bites are committed by “aggressive” dogs.

All dogs have what is referred to as a bite threshold. A bite threshold can be either low, high or anywhere in between and is individual for every dog and will be variable depending on what else is happening in the dog’s environment at that particular time. The best way to think of this threshold is to equate it to the “snapping point” in people. Some individuals are more tense and quicker to react in a situation than others. Virtually everything going on in the world around them will contribute to where a dog is at that given moment in time in relation to their bite threshold.

Hypothetically, a dog with a very high threshold (less reactive) who is well socialized, well fed, well rested and just kicking back around the house playing a bit and being petted will typically be unlikely to bite the mailman, unless the simple presence of the mailman puts this dog over threshold. The same dog, that is hungry, tired from all of the company that has been visiting, sore from the extra exercise and whose routine has been completely thrown out of whack would be more likely to bite that same mailman. All of these factors play into where the individual dog is at on the continuum. As humans, this should be pretty easy to understand; if we have had a bad day and have a headache, we tend to be grumpier than usual. With this in mind, we believe that it is important to first help a dog learn to inhibit their bites before we work on teaching them to not bite at all. The ultimate goal is that if your dog is ever put in a situation where he/she feels a need to defend itself, it will inflict only a minimal amount of damage.

Bite Inhibition

We strongly discourage the use of traditional methods to teach puppies to not bite. These include, but are not limited to scruff shakes, cuffing the puppy under the chin, pinching their lips against their teeth and even the infamous “alpha wolf rollover” where you hold the dog down on their back. Often people find that when using these methods the puppy bites harder, becomes fearful of hands around its mouth and head and damages the trust the puppy has in its guardian. Aggression on our part results in more aggression from the puppy.

The 2015 AAHA Canine and Feline Behavior Management Guidelines published by the American Animal Hospital Association states:

This Task Force opposes training methods that use aversive techniques. Aversive training has been associated with detrimental effects on the human–animal bond, problem solving ability, and the physical and behavioral health of the patient. It causes problem behaviors in normal animals and hastens progression of behavioral disorders in distressed animals. Aversive techniques are especially injurious to fearful and aggressive patients and often suppress signals of impending aggression, rendering any aggressive dog more dangerous.

Aversive techniques include prong (pinch) or choke collars, cattle prods, alpha rolls, dominance downs, electronic shock collars, lunge whips, starving or withholding food, entrapment, and beating. None of those tools and methods should be used to either teach or alter behavior.” [ emphasis added ]

The method we describe below works very differently. With this method you can minimize biting and any damage if your dog should ever be placed in a situation where it feels it has no choice but to bite.

Your puppy, even at its young age, has strong jaws and sharp teeth. As your puppy matures, its jaws will only become more powerful. An adult dog has jaws and teeth that are fully capable of ripping apart a carcass and cracking bones. Dogs developed such well-built apparatus because they needed them to survive in the wild.

Dogs are very social animals and because their jaws are such an incredible and potentially dangerous weapon, they have created a ritualized form of aggression to prevent serious injury to one another during altercations. Every puppy is born knowing how to bite; yet they do not automatically know how to bite softly. They can however learn to bite softly through their interactions with other puppies, dogs and us. However, learning how to control their bite with other dogs helps them with other dogs. If you want them to learn how to control their bite with people, you need to teach them.

When we see a litter of puppies playing, we see them exploring one another with their paws and their mouths. This play is fun for the puppies, but it is also an important part of learning. Much of their play involves biting one another. This play is part of how they acquire the skills necessary for ritualized aggression.

While puppies are playing with one another, they are also learning bite inhibition – how to control the strength of their bite. When two puppies are wrestling and one bites the other too hard, the puppy that has been bitten will yelp or snark and stop playing. The puppy that did the biting has just learned that if he bites too hard, his littermate stops playing with him. Eventually the one that was bitten too hard will return to play and the biting puppy will have learned to have a softer mouth. When we take a puppy away from its litter, we also are removing it from a school where it learns much about bite inhibition. If taken into a home without other dogs, and if its new people do not allow play biting, the puppy will no longer have opportunities to learn how to inhibit its bite. This is a huge issue for puppies that are taken from mom and the litter prior to reaching eight weeks of age.

Unfortunately, many outdated dog-training books actively discourage play biting. They infer that if the dog is allowed to play bite it will think of you as a littermate and will try to dominate you. In reality, play biting is an important part of your puppy’s development and something that should be worked with, not against, if you want your puppy to develop a soft mouth. Our goal is to teach the puppy to inhibit this natural canine behavior before they are adults and can cause serious injury.

It is also important to understand that “play biting” is a very different behavior than “chewing” While you dog uses their teeth as part of both behaviors one involves mouthing a living, breathing playmate that will react and interact while the other involves gnawing on an inanimate object that does not interact. This is why giving the dog a toy when they are play biting does not typically stop the play biting behavior.

Teaching Bite Inhibition

It is important to setup opportunities to teach your puppy bite inhibition instead of just trying to teach them when a bite happens. Pick times when the puppy is not all wound up but is more relaxed. If the puppy is in the midst of “the puppy zoomies*” when you try to teach this they are likely to bite harder and are less likely to learn.

*Puppy Zoomies – those times during the day, usually early morning and early evening, when your puppy runs around with great gusto and enthusiasm, almost as if they are possessed.

When teaching bite inhibition, you want to initially target the hard bites. Setup a play area for yourself and the puppy. Make sure that there is absolutely NOTHING in this area that the puppy can play with other than you. No other people, dogs, toys or anything they can mouth. Play with your puppy allowing him to mouth your hands while monitoring the pressure of his bites.

  1. When the puppy bites too hard, say “ouch” as if he really hurt you. This word will become the conditioned stimulus which the puppy learns to mean “playtime ends.” Note: you want to use the same word every time, as does everyone else in the family. Some puppies may be overly stimulated by a “yelp” so you may need to tone down the volume.
  2. Immediately stop play and get up and leave the area for 30 seconds. You must completely ignore the puppy. Do NOT look at, touch or speak to the puppy, just walk away. Make sure the puppy has no toys or other people they can interact with. We are teaching the puppy that when they bite too hard their friends leave and ALL of the fun in the universe comes to a screeching halt.
  3. After 30 seconds return and resume play. When the puppy eventually bites too hard again (and he most likely will), repeat steps 2 and 3.

The above cycle will need to be repeated several times for the puppy to learn. Every day or so you will reduce the amount of pressure you tolerate so that in time your puppy learns that you have very soft skin and he can only mouth you very gently. Think of this like the 1 to 10 pain scale used by doctors. On day one you yelp at 10, day two at 9, and so on. Be careful of moving to a soft pressure too quickly. If your criteria are too high, you are setting your puppy up to fail.

If you try teaching bite inhibition and it turns into the “puppy zoomies,” quietly and with much positive energy, pop your puppy in their crate for a brief timeout.

Some puppies will follow you and nip at your heels and clothes when you stop play. If this is the case, the bite inhibition exercises should be done with the puppy on a leash that is tethered to something like a table so the puppy cannot follow you.

The amount of time it takes your dog to learn how much pressure is okay will vary from dog to dog. The retrieving breeds generally pick this up quite quickly as they have been bred to have very soft mouths. Who wants to have their duck brought back all full of holesJ. On the flip side, it may take a bit more time to help your terrier become soft-mouthed.

Children should not participate in the bite inhibition training. While children and dogs often become the best of friends, young children frequently send dogs all the wrong signals. They scream, flail their limbs, run and fall down. All of these behaviors trigger your dogs hard-wired prey drive as they are essentially the same thing wounded prey would do. If the puppy gets too revved up, a timeout is necessary for both the puppy and the kids.

NOTE: If bite inhibition training was not started when your dog was a puppy (between 8 and 12 weeks), it may not work as well as you would like. If this is the case, please talk with one of the instructors for other ideas on handling biting issues.

Related Podcasts

Available as a podcast at: http://traffic.libsyn.com/woofmeowshow/WoofMeowShow-2013-01-12-TYDM_Playbiting_Chewing.mp3

 

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