subject: Ending Dog Nipping [print this page] Dog biting is an annoying behavior and can become quite dangerous if left unrestrained. It may start very innocently. However, especially as your dog becomes bigger and stronger play biting can become a more dangerous affair.
Dog biting can be more serious than you think, especially when your puppy bites at strangers and other people not familiar with his behavior. To learn how to stop a puppy from biting read on.
Stop Biting Games
We first need to stop all games where biting is involved. That includes games such as tug of war with the dog or even games where you try to take something such as a ball from out of his mouth.
Your dog's mouth is used like our hands. So when he wants something he uses his teeth to get it. This may even include biting at your hand to try to get you to release the object out of your hands.
In biting games such as tug of war your dog will bite your hands in order to win the battle and to get the object from your hands. That is the way that he plays. So eliminating the biting games is the first thing to do to help stop dog biting.
Divert Attention
Diverting your dog's attention is another technique that you can use . Whenever he is trying to bite at something redirect his action to an appropriate dog toy that you can play with. This lets your dog know that it is okay to bite his chew toy, his ball or whatever other toy that you have given him.
This will make your puppy get used to the idea of playing with the toys instead of biting your hands.
Tap Puppy's Snout
Whenever your dog bites at your hand you need to let him know that this is not okay. Whenever he does this you can mildly tap his nose while firmly declaring "No".
This lets him know that you will not allow this behavior . A gentle tap will not harm your dog but will let him know that you are serious . You can even as stated above offer an alternative after doing this. A ball or chew toy should be sufficient for him .
Puppy biting can be a major problem with some dogs. However if you utilize these techniques you will be able to curb this behavior . Eventually your dog will realize that biting is not something that you will tolerate.
