Biting Puppies - Causes and Solutions
Having a puppy can be sweaty and expensive, sometimes you feel more like a pincushion than a dog owner. Here's why your puppy is whining and what you can do about it.
Why do puppies chew and bite?
Before taking action, you want to find out why your puppy bites. Always understand the underlying reason before trying to change a behavior. Young puppies, just like babies, are very oral. They want to put everything in their mouth. This is how they explore the world, investigate and form opinions about things, people, and doggy friends. If the purpose is to examine, the items chewed on aren’t destroyed, and you shouldn’t be hurt. Your puppy intends to taste and feel the texture rather than ingest it.Another common reason for biting you is to play, pull you in for more cuddles or lead you to something your puppy wants to do or needs help with. A form of hand-holding. These bites are not intended to be hard, but those puppy teeth are sharp and can hurt. Another reason is teething (which happens around 4-6 months of age). During this period, gums itch, and chewing soothes. Biting helps to loosen the puppy teeth so new and permanent fangs can appear.
Avoid being heavy-handed, it makes things worse
Puppies will bite more or less hard. Again, nudging and nibbling is a way of examining, playing with, and touching us. But there is a difference between investigating and biting hard. If your puppy is wound up or if you have not practiced bite inhibition, biting may become too hard. The solution is bite inhibition. We’ll get back to that. Some puppies bite hard to hurt and injure. Defending is most often the intention. If you are harsh with your puppy, grabbing the scruff of the neck or pinching to punish… your puppy will do the same. Some won’t take it out on their dogparents but on someone else who can be pushed around, perhaps a smaller dog or a child. Aggression is socially inherited, so harsh handling should be avoided at all times.
Why do puppies bite things:
1) Puppies investigate by mouth
If your puppy puts most things in its mouth, supervision is essential. Put away valuables and dangerous items that might injure your puppy. Also, ensure to keep puppy-accessible areas free of things that can be chewed or that your puppy can swallow. Provide your puppy with safe things to investigate.
Puppy toys (non-stuffed ones if your puppy rips them apart), an old shoe (without laces and metal loops), a cardboard box, an old kitchen towel tied into a knot, a soccer ball, and so on. Replace the items from time to time. Your puppy's purpose is to discover and check out new things, so keep it interesting. Keep a selection of puppy-proof things to select from.
Give your puppy five things to interact with and change them every few days. The old ones will feel "new" again in a couple of days.
2) Tooth loss increases the need to chew
Between 4-6 months of age, teething begins. During this phase, your puppy needs to chew a lot. Preferably on soft things, like rubber toys or a towel, you tied into a knot. You can dip the towel in some tasty fluid (like unsalted broth) and freeze. This will cool down and soothe sore gums. Avoid giving your puppy blocks of ice or frozen marrow bones since they are too hard and can crack sensitive puppy teeth.
Instead, ensure your puppy has a good selection of chews, bones, and chew-friendly toys to gnaw on. If your puppy hasn’t got enough to chew on, he/she will start chewing on things you might disapprove of. So be proactive and provide lots of options to sink the teeth into. If the teeth do not drop on their own or remain hanging loose for a long time despite a new tooth pushing from behind, visit your vet for help. Don’t try to pull them out on your own or play tug of war to get them to drop. You may injure more than help. Also, keep an eye out for decreased appetite or bad breath and instead call your vets one time too many.
3) A reinforced behavior?
Puppies can be amused by nicking things. They rush off happily to succeed and hurry to chew or swallow when we rush up to get back the stolen goods. This is an example of a taught behavior. The stealing and gnawing, even consuming, has been reinforced as it has resulted in a fun game of chase. Break that vicious circle. Of course, you shouldn’t let your puppy chew on inappropriate things, so start by putting away items that may be stolen and harmful.
Then place a few things that aren’t dangerous if your puppy gets ahold of them, have some treats in your pocket, and wait for the little thief to get going. When your puppy grabs an object, toss a treat to your puppy. Do not approach. If so, the hunt begins. Your puppy will likely drop the loot for the treats (if they are good enough). Just as the jaws open, you say "Thank you" or "Drop it." Repeat the training. This routine will teach your puppy to grab and release. A great way to end thievery.
Advance by sitting next to your puppy, placing an object in front of you, looking at it, and letting your puppy grab it. Then hold your hand with a treat, say "Thank you," and wait for your puppy to drop the object. You can keep your puppy on a leash in the beginning if he/she has a tendency to grab and run laps, hoping the chase will begin.
Make this into a recurring approach when your puppy has taken something. It will reduce your puppy’s interest in stealing as grabbing and dropping are reinforced. If the retrieval gets out of hand, just lower the salary, replace some treats with praise and cuddles and move on to less tasty treats. This will balance things out.
Puppies biting people/you
1) Some want to hold on
If your puppy grabs you without biting hard, you may have a dog that enjoys hand holding as an attempt to lead you around or pull you close. That's okay because it is a friendly gesture with no intent to harm. It's about companionship and wanting to be close. Be a role model and use a soft touch when interacting with your puppy. This sets the standard for how hard to grab each other. If you have a retriever, get used to the hand holding. Retrievers are very oral by nature and must be allowed to use their mouth to pick up and hold on to. They are most often very soft in their touch, an inherited trait.
2) Teach your puppy to be soft in the mouth
If your puppy bites you, so it hurts, practice bite inhibitions! The dog mom and siblings have already started the training for you, so pick up where they left off. Let your puppy know that it hurts by squealing. A high-pitched whine will do. You don’t want to yell at your puppy. Just point out that it hurts. Lean back while doing so and look away. Your body language will strengthen the message.
When your puppy lets go, calmly take your hand away. Avoid pulling away quickly, as this may trigger your puppy to chase after and bite again. Then continue to cuddle or play. Use a toy to bridge between your hands and your puppy’s sharp teeth. This will show your furry friend that toys are to be bitten when playing with you, not your hands.
If your puppy continues to bite you, end play and walk away. If your puppy starts jumping after you, biting your trousers, or barking at you, your puppy is most likely overtired and needs help to unwind. What you see is stress and not disobedience or an unwillingness to cooperate. So sit down and massage the little one if possible. Long strokes over the back can help. If your puppy acts like a piranha, place your puppy in the puppy pen and offer a bone to chew on instead of you. Counteract stress with calmness, and try to contain your frustration. Yelling at your dog or getting physical will only add more stress and not teach your puppy anything other than force and conflict.
3) Soft handling gives soft puppy mouths
If you have handled your puppy roughly, your puppy may do the same to you. Stop any physical handling that is not positively emphasized. The social game has been set. So avoid all harsh handling and give your puppy reason to associate your hands with positivity, friendliness, and calmness. If your touch is soft, you increase the likelihood of your puppy’s bite softening. Also, work on bite inhibitions to help your puppy understand your threshold for pain. If you need help in finding new ways to handle your puppy's paws, seek guidance from an H-labeled dog instructor.
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-Thedifferent stages of puppymaturity - important information for anyone with a puppy
-Puppies'growing seasons and behavioral problems as follows
Written by: Caroline Alupo
Caroline Alupo is Petli's co-founder. She has a master's degree in ethology and is also a trained dog trainer and dog psychologist. She has 19 years of experience as a professional dog trainer. Read more about Caroline here.
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