What is bite inhibition?
Bite inhibition basically means training your dog to have a soft mouth.
When they are puppies, dogs automatically learn this lesson from their mother and their litter-mates. When a puppy bites down too hard on a litter-mate, he will get a yelp and play stops while the hurt party licks his wounds.
Through this process, puppies learn to control the force of their bites because they know that biting too hard will cause play to stop.
It is important to continue this lesson throughout a dog’s life. The mouthier a dog is, the more important to teach him bite inhibition.
My Shiba Inu is an extremely mouthy dog, and I am extremely thankful that I taught him bite inhibition from a young age.
Later on, he really started acting out and doing leash biting, humping my leg, and biting on my hands and arms. Throughout all this, he never broke skin.
Bite inhibition, made it possible for us to re-train him and re-train ourselves with very little wear and tear on both dog and humans.
Bite inhibition is important even for normally even-tempered, social dogs.
Dogs use their mouth to interact, not just to attack.
When excited, dogs may mouth on people, not to hurt them, but to interact with them. This may cause accidental bites if the dog does not have good bite inhibition training.
Dogs may also bite as a reflex when they are startled, for example, when you accidentally step on their tail or wake them up from a deep sleep. A dog with bite inhibition may scratch your arm, but an untrained dog will cause deep puncture wounds.
The best time to teach dogs bite inhibition is when they are young. Puppies may have sharp teeth, but they have not developed the jaw strength of an adult dog yet, so they cannot inflict the same type of damage that an adult dog can.
I have found that hand-feeding is a fun and good way for teaching bite inhibition to my dogs.
Hand-feed your dog at least some of his kibble every day. If he bites too hard when getting his food, do a sharp ouch or yelp and ignore him for a few seconds then start hand-feeding him again. When your dog takes food from you gently, praise him and keep feeding him.
First, make it easy for your dog to get at the food without biting you, then slowly make it more difficult by covering the food partially with your fingers. You can also combine hand-feeding with training and handling sessions.
Hand-feeding also helps to prevent food aggression and resource guarding issues, so it is good to continue this practice throughout your dog’s life.
I first learned about bite inhibition from Ian Dunbar’s book After You Get Your Puppy. He has more in his book on bite inhibition and puppy socialization.
Although it is easier and safer to teach dogs bite inhibition when they are young, it is never too late to teach them to have a soft mouth.
Bite inhibition will significantly enhance your relationship with your dog because a dog with a soft mouth is easier to trust, easier to handle, and a joy to spend time with.
Note – If your dog is already food aggressive or resource aggressive, it is best to consult a professional trainer. Do not perform bite inhibition exercises on such dogs as they may bite anybody or anything that comes near their food.
Dear shibashake
I have a big problem with my bullterrier biting my hands & arms as soon as I sit on any chair any place. What is happening as soon as she notices me in a sitting position and start biting me – it hurts because of her strong teeth – and she never really learnt sufficient bite inhibition. So then I get up from the chair and leave the room and ignore her for a while. However this is not the solution, because as soon as I go in a sitting position again, she starts biting all over again. Maybe by now she is making a game out of it, I don’t know. Someone suggested that I must give her a big juicy bone for example in the lounge, then I must go sit on the chair while she is chewing the bone. The after a while I must get up; take her bone away till the next time I want to sit on the chair again. This however did not work. While she was chewing she did not worry about me sitting on the chair. But the next time I offered her the bone, she ignored me. I’ve tried this a couple of times without success. Presently I give her the bone while I can at least relax for a while on the chair with her chewing on the bone on the ground. However, when she is done with the chewing she immediately search for my hands or arms to bite me. I would so much want her to stop this behavior – as presently it resulted in restraining her to the kitchen and backyard when I want to relax for a while in the lounge or work on the computer in the bedroom. She is such a lovable dog, I would so much love to give her the full run of the house when I am with her but *sitting* and not standing all the time when she is with me. Please can you perhaps give me ideas to try and get her over this behavior?
Sincerely
Poppie & Bianca
Some things that help with my dogs in terms of biting –
1. I continue with bite inhibition training even today. This helps them to maintain their soft mouth.
2. I follow the Nothing in Life is Free program. This allows me to maintain pack leadership by controlling their resources.
3. If my dog bites on me, I no-mark. Then, I give him an alternate command, e.g. Sit or redirect him onto a toy. If he sits or redirects, then I reward him well for doing the right thing. This teaches him that biting is undesirable, and also what he should do instead, e.g. Sit and bite on his toy.
If he does not listen and continues to bite, then I withdraw my attention by standing, folding my arms, and turning away. If he escalates his behavior, then I calmly say “Timeout” and remove him to a timeout area.
Here is a bit more of my experiences with puppy biting.
Here is more on how dogs learn.
helllo!
From what i was told my Bandit is a Mini Husky/Boston terrier mix. He is super loving and fun to play with at the park. There are some things that i do not like and have read most of what you post on here and apply it. He is coming up on 9 months and still bites even when told not to. He can sit, stay, lay. But it is very hard to get his concentratioin outside to do these. The nibbling of the hands has got to stop. He will stop for a good 4 seconds then start to again. please do you have any advice? i love this guy
What do you currently do when Bandit bites? What is his response?
This is what I did when training my Husky pups-
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-i-trained-my-husky-puppy#bite-training
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop-puppy-biting#timeout
My female lab is 2 now. Extremely hyper when anyone comes and when she just wants to play. Also very cuddly. I can talk her down when she is hyped, but it takes a while. She gets her exercisek, and I don’t want to put her on meds. I can handle her, but visitors can’t………..
This is what I do to stop biting and jumping with my dogs-
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop-puppy-biting#timeout
Here is more on my experiences with dog jumping and stopping bad behaviors.
I also follow the NILIF program which is helpful for getting my dogs to follow house rules.
Thank you. Every time I read one of your articles I learn so much. Thank you! I was confusing my dog’s bite inhibition with aggression. I had doubt in my mind about her “aggression” but this helps me understand so much more. When we brought her home our other dog was already a year old so when they played it wouldn’t hurt him. However, 1 year later she is a big powerful dog and never learned that her bites cause much harm than before. Even when I give her her daily vitamins she opens her whole mouth almost taking my entire hand with the vitamin. I know is not out of aggression she just doesn’t understand. Reading your articles have given me so much knowledge thank you.
Hello Vanessa,
I am glad that the article was helpful. Bite inhibition is something that I do with all of my dogs and I do that with them even today to make sure that they maintain their soft mouth. It really helped me a lot when Shiba Sephy and I were going through our difficult period.
While doing bite inhibition exercises, make sure to stay safe.
If a dog is already biting hard, one of my earlier trainers suggested using a spoon for feeding. According to her, it is uncomfortable for dogs to bite down hard on the spoon, so it helps as an intermediate step, and keeps our fingers safe. I never really tried this though, since bite inhibition was something that I started at puppyhood with all of my dogs, so I am not sure how well it works.
How are things going with your girl?
Just wanted to say that I LOVE this site. I’m thinking of getting a Shiba Unu but I really want to make sure I’m prepared. I met one a little while back that was a fabulous balance of gently and mischevious and I completely fell in love!
Hahaha, what a great description!
One doesn’t hear too much about the gentle side of Shiba but it is definitely there. Sephy is very gentle when playing with Shania, and is always willing to share toys with her, right from the beginning. I should write something about the gentle side of Shiba.
Definitely share some pictures with us when you get your pup! 😀
Hi! GReat page thank you for all your info!
Q for you..
We adopted a year old am staff from shelter. hes great, no food aggression or toy/bone etc..but he gets these bursts of energy and will start to bounce off the walls/couch etc (literary!) and bite really. he gets very excited and will start panting for an hour while being extremely bite-y..it all seems playful but is unacceptable and its extremely difficult making him stop as he simply gets ‘crazy’. he gets plenty of walks etc..but still seems to get super anxious and does this regardless. he can be really calm on the floor or next to us and chew his toys/bones but w/in minutes he drops whatever toy hes playing with and charges at us while we are sitting on the couch ane he does so with teeth biting jumping on your head face back and grab whatever he can with the teeth. ‘ouch’ ‘stop’ and any noise simply excites him MORE. hes very brave and nothing scares or startles him to make him stop etc. w/o putting him into a corner, his cage or separate room for 15minutes ethers no way of stopping him from this frenzy..why is he doing this? he bites really hard and im all bruised up, he also can grab arm and hes not mouthy he bites and holds..and how can i correct this? hes already 55lbs and looks like he will probably gain 10 more and we cant have him become this out of control..its like hes literary in a zone when he gets like this and if you dont defend yourself he will keep attacking and biting..help!! its completely unprovoked and he will just see you sitting on the couch/chair and he will run up biting! im at loss of what to do here with him
thanks for any input!
Hello Jess,
Time of day could be a reason. Dogs are crepuscular, so they are most active at dawn and dusk. My dogs usually have the most active play sessions during those times. However, my Sibe puppy, Lara (who is now over 1 year old), is pretty energetic throughout the day and tires everybody out. 😀
Lara is also very good at sensing the emotions of people around her and she is very attuned to motion. Sometimes, when I get excited, frustrated, and fearful, she picks up on that, and gets really hyper because that is the way that she deals with stress. I find that remaining calm is very important while dealing with Lara’s hyper bouts.
With Lara, I left a drag-lead on her during her early training period. When she starts any craziness, I no-mark the behavior calmly (Ack-ack) to let her know that it is undesirable. Then I redirect her onto a toy. If she redirects, then I praise her and play with her. This rewards her for doing the right thing.
If she continues, then I withdraw my attention by standing up, folding up my arms, and turning away from her. If she escalates her behavior by jumping and biting on clothing, then I calmly say “Timeout” and remove her to her timeout area.
Here are some of my additional hyper dog experiences.
Congratulations on your new family addition and 4 paws up for helping out a dog in need. 😀
Hi there!
Thank you for your fantastic page, it has been very helpful to me! i have just purchased a sibe off a local breeder and she will be coming home with me in 2weeks. i was hoping you could give me some advice on all aspects of basic training. is there any particular books you recommend? i am particularly wanting to ensure that she does not take ‘a liking’ to my cat and chase it or worse. I am also concerned about recall training as i have heard it is not one of their strong points? any help would be greatly appreciated! thanks, Jacqui
Hello Jacqui,
Congratulations on your new Sibe! Here are some of the things that helped with my puppies –
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-obedience-training
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-i-trained-my-husky-puppy
With recall training, I start it at home, where there are few distractions. Puppy will usually like following us, so we can use that to teach recall. Here is what I did in terms of recall with my Husky Shania –
http://shibashake.com/dog/hyperactive-dogs-how-to-calm-a-hyper-dog-or-hyper-puppy/comment-page-1#comment-20671
Make sure to take lots of puppy pictures and share them with us! 😀
I have 2 huskies. The female is 12 years old and is sweet and gentle. We have had her since she was 4 (our friends owned her before that.) She is never aggressive unless chasing squirrels. She doesn’t even bother our cats. about a year and a half ago, we got a male husky that had been in 2 homes before age one. The original owner bought the dog for their adult son and then he was left chained to a tree outside for 12-14 hours a day. They were told they had to get rid of him and they gave him to a neighbor. The neighbor didn’t like that he chewed things and could jump their fence. This is how we got him. We have an acre of land with a fence and an electric fence. He is a male dog. He is very aggressive and possessive of toys, food, and me. He guards the food at times and did not like if we took the food. Same with his toys. I have been hand feeding him. He tends to take it softer if I flat hand the food but if I am holding out a bone he sometimes takes it aggressively.
My main concern is that he is aggressive towards our other dog. I can give them both a biscuit and our female will eat it but the male will sit down with it in front of him. Even when the 2 dogs are separated he will do this. Then if he thinks the other dog wants it, a fight insues. He actually tore her lower eyelid this past time. When our female want to come near me, he will get up and block her way. How can I get him to realize he cannot behave this way? I don’t want to have to make him go to yet another home. We have had him for 1 1/2 years. He is a sweet dog and they don’t conflict all day just certain times. We used to leave fod out for them in 2 bowls but I have stopped that. I just don’t know when to feed them as they don’t eat on a regular schedule like other dogs.
Yeah, I got a new Siberian Husky puppy last year (puppy Lara). In the beginning, my Shiba Inu (Sephy) would also guard his food and toys from puppy. Dogs usually compete and fight over resources which may include food and toys, but it may also be attention from us, sleeping space, digging space, etc.
Some things that helped Sephy and Lara get along-
1. I supervise them very closely and make sure that there is no stealing. When I cannot supervise, I make sure that no stealing can occur.
2. When there are conflicts, I step in and resolve them. In this way, my dogs learn to let me handle things and not try to handle it themselves.
3. I do not allow them to use aggression with each other. If they show aggressive behavior I non-mark them (No or Ack-ack) to let them know that it is unacceptable. If they continue, they go to time-out.
4. I set them up for success. For example bully sticks is really high priority with my dogs, so when they are working on those, I separate them. In this way they can enjoy their bully stick without worrying about being disturbed.
5. All dogs have to follow the same rules and I try to be very consistent about rewards and consequences.
I also did a lot of group obedience training sessions with Sephy and Lara. This teaches them that when they work together they both get really good treats, attention, and even fun games. I try to manage things so that they get rewarded most when they cooperate. I also reward them for being calm around each other.
Here are more of my experiences with introducing a new dog into the family-
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog
Hi, I have a puppy named Zara that will turn 2 months old this Nov. 10. She’s cute and I like to hold her always but she’s really very energetic and just like yours, she bites anything including my hands and feet.
I can relate much to BOLDASLOVE’s comment. But, I will try your advice regarding hand-feeding and hopefully this will lessen or soften her biting habit.
Thank you so much for this article.
Good luck Nelma.
Here are a couple of articles on my experiences with dog biting –
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-tips-solutions
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop-puppy-biting
Well, I have a 4 year old neutered male Shiba (Raider) and right when I was about to give up on him ever being a normal dog, his behavior stabilized. He is over the biting up our things (including the whole underneath of an antique velvet chair) and having accidents inside. He has never shown aggression, leash biting or possessive behaviors for toys or food. What I’m trying to figure out is why he just bit my 4 year old nephew in the face. My nephew has several large breed dogs so he has no fear and was simply petting him on the head. I know Raider doesn’t have that much experience with children but he’s enjoying being petted by him and without a single growl or bark he just bit. Obviously I can’t have an animal that just bites people in the face without at least giving them a warning growl. I sure love that little shiba so any advice on what to do would be really appreciated!
Hello Deana,
One of the things that really helped with Sephy was getting some help from a professional trainer. There were several cases where we had a difficult time reading his body language, but the trainer was able to see it, teach us what to look out for, and what to do when it happens.
Also, Shiba Sephy is a lot more tolerant with people and dogs that he is familiar with. For example, he has no problems letting his play pals and the other family dogs sniff his butt, invade his space, and play rough with him. However, he does not like new dogs invading his space and he definitely does not allow butt sniffing. He also prefers being scratched in the chest rather than being petted from above, which can sometimes appear threatening. Usually, when he is uncomfortable, he has a very stiff posture, his mouth is closed, and sometimes he may vocalize.
Dog body language is often difficult to read and some of it happens very quickly. A professional trainer can really help with that. Another possibility is to record Raider and then play it back in slow motion.
Another thing that helped with Sephy are handling exercises. We slowly desensitized him to being touched in various places, so now he is more tolerant of people touching his tail, paws, head, etc.
http://shibashake.com/dog/hug-dog-teach-your-dog-to-enjoy-hugging
This article on dog greetings may also be of interest –
http://shibashake.com/dog/dogs-children-prevent-dog-attacks