Why do puppies bite?
Unlike us, puppies do not have opposable thumbs, so they manipulate stuff with their mouths, in the same way that we manipulate stuff with our hands. New puppies or young dogs will try to put everything into their mouths, because they are curious about objects and their surroundings.
Therefore, puppy biting is normal canine behavior.
Puppies also play with each other through play-biting. When a puppy bites too hard during play, his siblings may yelp and stop interacting for a short duration. Biting too hard on an adult dog (e.g. their mother), may also result in an undesirable consequence. In this way, puppies learn social rules and boundaries.
There is nothing wrong with dogs or puppies biting each other during play, but it is crucial to teach them to be careful with their mouths when interacting with people.
A puppy who is not taught this lesson, may become a danger to all the people around him, including his owners. Play-biting with humans, especially seniors and children, may cause accidental injuries and ultimately result in forced euthanasia.
If our puppy is biting us or others in an uncontrolled way, it is best for everyone not to engage in rough play with him. Also, do not play games that encourage biting such as Tug-of-War.
How to Deal with Puppy Biting
I deal with puppy biting by training my dog in three important areas –
1. Bite inhibition training
People have thinner and more sensitive skins than dogs do. Therefore, one of the first things that I teach my puppy is to control the force of his bites, especially when interacting with me and others.
2. Redirection and no-bite conditioning
When my dog bites on people, clothing, or unsanctioned objects (e.g. books, wires), I no-mark to let him know that it is an undesirable behavior. Then, I redirect his mouth onto something acceptable, and reward him for doing the right thing. In this way, he learns which objects are off-limits, as well as what he should do instead.
3. Excitement and self-control
An over-excited puppy, who lacks self-control, will tend to bite more often and with greater force. By managing my puppy’s excitement level and teaching him to control his impulses, I set him up for success, and reduce the number of instances where he engages in bad biting behavior.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
~~[Benjamin Franklin]
When dealing with puppy biting issues, I always try to stay calm but firm. I do my best to catch problems early on, and fix them before they escalate in degree and frequency.
If a dog is causing puncture wounds, or escalating his aggressive biting behavior, it is best to get professional help as soon as possible.
In this article, I discuss bite inhibition training and no-bite conditioning. For more on managing a puppy’s excitement level, please refer to Managing Puppy Excitement and Self-Control.
Bite Inhibition
Some dogs may have low bite thresholds. This means that they resort to biting or aggression even with fairly low, seemingly harmless stimuli.
One of my dogs, a Shiba Inu, can get mouthy when he is excited or frustrated, when I restrain him, when I stop him from doing something, and much more. Because of this, it is extremely important to train him to have good bite inhibition.
I start bite inhibition exercises as soon as I bring a puppy home. Even though puppy teeth are sharp, a puppy does not have the jaw strength of an adult, and is not capable of doing as much damage. Once my puppy has a soft mouth, I train him to stop biting on people.
Hand-feeding is a good way to teach our puppies to control the force of their bites. I hand-feed my puppy at least some of his kibble every day. If he bites too hard when getting his food, I do a sharp ouch or yelp, and ignore him for a few seconds. This teaches him that if he bites too hard, the food stops.
If my puppy is taking food from me gently, I praise him and keep the food coming. Often, I will combine hand-feeding with puppy obedience training and dog grooming sessions. Hand-feeding can also help prevent food aggression issues, so I continue this practice throughout my dog’s life.
We can also get Ian Dunbar’s book After You Get Your Puppy, for an overview of bite inhibition training.
Initially, Dunbar may come across as somewhat alarmist. We may feel that if we do not meet his somewhat unrealistic dog socialization and puppy training demands, things are going to go badly. I just try to ignore the alarmist talk, and focus on the bite inhibition and handling exercises, which are quite useful.
I am very thankful that my puppy (now adult dog) has a soft mouth. Because my Shiba Inu has good bite inhibition, we were able to solve many of his subsequent issues, which would have been difficult to deal with if he were biting at full strength.
When Our Puppy Bites …
When our puppy bites, it is important NOT to jerk our hand away. If we jerk away, we will likely get scratched. In addition, sudden and quick movements may make our puppy think that it is a fun game. This rewards the biting behavior, and encourages him to bite on us even more.
In the worst case, quick movements can activate a dog’s prey drive, and encourage aggressive behaviors. Therefore, it is important to control this reflex action, and stay still. In addition, I give a no-mark or yelp as a puppy might do to his litter-mates, when they are playing too rough.
I usually yelp when it is an accidental dog bite, for example when my dog gets his teeth on me while taking food out of my hand. Yelping is also appropriate for puppies that are still learning the rules. Otherwise, I use No for adult and adolescent dogs, who should know better.
After the no-mark, I always follow-up with a positive command, e.g. redirect him onto a toy.
1. Redirect Our Puppy onto a Toy
This technique is especially useful for an untrained puppy. It lets him know that it is ok to bite on a toy, but not ok to bite on people.
For example, my dog gets excited and starts biting when I scratch his tummy. Therefore, I used that as a training exercise to get him to bite on a toy, instead of on my hand. Since I can start the exercise anytime I want, I control the environment and make sure that I have multiple soft toys nearby for use. I make sure to reward my dog very well with food and affection when he redirects, so that I further reinforce the behavior.
A toy can also be useful for those cases where the puppy is losing control, and getting a bit too excited or frustrated. Giving him something to redirect his excitement or frustration at, may help to calm him down.
If I do not have a toy handy, I can also redirect by giving my puppy an alternate and simple command that he knows very well, e.g. Sit.
2. Withdraw Attention and Affection
Often, a puppy starts to bite at us because he wants to play or interact. Therefore, if my puppy does not respond to my redirect, then I withdraw my attention and affection. I do this by standing up, folding up my arms, and ignoring him. I make sure not to give any eye contact, not to talk, and not to engage him in any other way.
This is also called a timeout lite.
By doing this, my puppy learns that-
Out of control biting and jumping = No play, no attention, and no affection,
Gentle interaction = Play continues, food rewards, and extra attention.
Sometimes, my puppy may get too excited and escalate his behavior by biting on feet, or jumping and trying to bite on clothing. This is something that I absolutely do not allow because it can be very dangerous, especially with children and the elderly.
If my puppy escalates his behavior, I no-mark, say “Timeout”, and take him to a low stimulus timeout area immediately.
NOTE – In general, I try to set my dog up for success by managing his excitement level. In this way, I keep timeout-necessary episodes to a minimum.
3. Timeout
Most dogs value their freedom to roam around the house and backyard. Dogs are also pack animals, and like being with both human and canine members of the family. Since a timeout takes away both of these things, it is an extremely effective method of dog discipline.
When giving my dog a timeout –
- I make sure to put him in a really boring room, with no windows that he can reach. Currently, my dog’s timeout area is the laundry room.
- I check that the room is safe, and contains nothing that he can chew, play, or interact with in any way.
- Finally, I ensure that nobody gives puppy any attention during his timeout period.
It is better not to use a crate for timeouts. Crates are useful for transportation, management, and more. Therefore, I ensure that the crate is a happy place, where my dog feels comfortable going to for some peace and quiet, for sleep, and to chew on his favorite toy.
I find that a timeout is the most effective way to stop my dogs from biting. However, I only use it when my puppy is deliberately acting out, and not for accidental bites.
Initially, I start with a short 1 minute timeout. If my dog continues to bite right after he comes out, I return him to the laundry room for a much longer period of time (about 15 minutes). Be flexible with the timeout duration, and adjust it according to our dog’s age, temperament, and behavior. Some trainers do not believe in long timeouts, while others may ignore their dogs (timeout lite) for hours.
Do not use timeouts for training mistakes or lack of motivation.
How to Stop Puppy Biting
Some trainers suggest using aversive techniques to stop dog biting. For example, one suggested making my hand into a fist (so my fingers are safe), and then pushing my fist gently in when my puppy bites. This is uncomfortable for the puppy, and he will likely release our hand.
While it did get my puppy to release my hand, it did not reduce his biting behavior. In fact, my dog responds badly to any aversive methods. Doing this made him want to bite on me even more, because he got a reaction, and now has something (my fist) to fight with.
The same thing occurred with spraying water on his muzzle; he just started attacking the water bottle.
Ultimately, aversive techniques were not very effective with my dog, and caused even more behavioral issues. With aversive methods, it is difficult to trick a puppy into thinking that the bad stimulus is not coming from us. This can compromise a puppy’s trust and weaken our bond with him.
Instead, when my puppy bites,
- I first use a no-mark, for example, No or Ack-Ack to let him know that it is an undesirable behavior.
- Then, I redirect him onto a toy or give him an alternate command, for example Sit. If he stops biting and follows the command, then I praise him and reward him with attention and a fun game.
- If he continues to bite, I start with a timeout-lite by first withdrawing my attention. I do this by standing up, folding my arms, and turning away from him.
- If he escalates his behavior and starts to jump or bite on my clothing, then I quickly remove him to his full timeout area.
I always try to set my dog up for success by managing his excitement level. When he starts biting, I try to redirect and turn things into a positive learning experience. I only escalate my response when I absolutely have to, and I try my best to minimize those instances.
Hi!
We just got an adorable 4 month Great Pyrenees/Blue Heeler puppy, but she bites everything! She bites our feet more than our hands. I often feed her food from my hand and she doesn’t try biting, but she’ll always bite our feet. Even when we’re on the sofa, she’ll run for our feet instead. We want to take her for walks, but she bites the leash as well, and it’s hard to do that. So far, we’ve been trying to teach her fetch to burn off some energy. She’ll run, but then she’ll stay down and just keep biting the toy/ball.
She wasn’t like this at 3 months- she would actually run and lick us, but now at 4 months, she goes crazy with biting. She gets into a period where she’ll bite us regardless of who it is or whether there’s a toy. What should I do?
She’s bitten everyone so far, and we’ve put her in a crate to stop before, and now she struggles to go to sleep through the whole night, whereas she used to go to sleep the whole night without any whining. Sleep music has been helping her lately, but she’s been so problematic with the biting. We haven’t gotten all of her shots yet, which is why we haven’t socialized as much for her due to the holidays and vet closings.
Thank you!
Hi I have a 75% Great Pyrenees 25%golden retriever mix and he used to bite/try to eat everything under the sun. What we ended up doing is buyin apple bitter from the pet store and pretty much sprayed everything in the house including our hands at times. Also and some people frown on this but when you are going to have such a large dog when they go to bite take your thumb and press it into the bottom of their mouth not to hard to harm them but hard enough to know you’re in charge. My dog learned very quickly and I actually get praised very often on how gentle he is now when taking treats he’s full grown and weighs 145lbs
Hi my name is Austin and I’m only 12 but I recently got a puppy as my Christmas present. It’s Siberian husky and don’t worry this isn’t a case where i didn’t do any research before getting her. I understand she’s a puppy but she hasn’t quite been the best dog in the world. I just want to know from you if this is just a stage and if she’ll stop attacking biting and chewing on things she shouldn’t and have a better temperement once she gets older as we train her. Hope you respond thank you!
Congratulations on your new puppy!
Yeah, with consistent bite inhibition training, no-bite conditioning, structure, and routine, my pups got a lot better.
We also did puppy classes to help with socialization with people and other dogs.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-socialization-what-why-how
Happy Holidays!
I have a 1 y,/o beagle/jackrusseel mix. He has very bad separation anxiety. He knows when I’m going out. Iinitially he was cooperative. I talk to him put snacks in his crate and let him know I’ll always come back. Today he actually bit me and punctured my skin. I talk to him and am extremely patient. I never had a pet bite me ever. Otherwise he’ very sweet and very attached to me. I never hit him. I do set verbal limits. HELP PLEASE HELP ! T.y.
Hi, I have a amstaff puppy and an adult small breed mix dog. My amstaff puppy and him play well at times but my problem is the puppy constantly goes straight to biting his legs, face and has my adult dog on his back a lot. I’ve tried redirecting his attention, giving time outs, using treats, etc but it has not gotten much better. Can you provide any other suggestions. I basically pick him up when he does this as he is too focused I cannot get his attention. Is there an interrupter tool I can maybe use that might be effective to focus his attention on me? I’ve tried a squeaky toy, clapping my hands but that’s not working
I put a drag-lead on my in-training puppy. I only do this under close supervision and using a regular flat collar. Absolutely no aversive collars. In this way, when I call for a stop to play, I can quickly and effectively stop play using the lead, if need be.
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-tips-solutions#drag-lead
However, I generally throw in many play-breaks to manage my dog’s excitement level and focus. In this way, play does not get overly intense, and I get to reinforce positive behavior. I always try to set my dog up for success, prevent/redirect undesirable behavior, and minimize corrections.
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog#play-time
I also do a lot of recall training when there is nothing going in, to keep practicing and reinforcing that behavior.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/teaching-your-dog-come-when-called
Thanks for the reply! The play breaks seems to definitely help and I can redirect his attention sometimes, however it’s been almost 2 months since I’ve gotten my puppy and he still thinks my adult dog is a chew toy. Whenever they are in the same room together he constantly wants to go straight ahead and mouth my dogs face, legs, etc. The thing is my dog doesn’t seem to mind this for the most part. However the puppy already outweighs him by a lot so I worry about this kind of play. Also the puppy sometimes back off when he is mouthing, etc. on top of my older dog but my dog just lays there so puppy goes right back at it again.
Do you think after redirecting consistently my puppy will outgrow this behavior as he matures and learn to play less rough? I feel it hasn’t gotten much better unless I’m constantly intervening and redirecting with treats.
With my pup, play-breaks help to set them up for success and teach them impulse control. However, my puppy still has a lot of puppy play energy. Therefore, I need to provide good, structured outlets for this energy.
We did SIRIUS puppy class with our Shiba and Husky, and that was very helpful. It was a positive outlet for their play energy, they learned good play behaviors during class, and it also helped their socialization with other dogs and people. I made sure to find a good class, where they check for puppy immunization records, and focused on puppy socialization.
Another possibility for dog play is through a good dog daycare. Our local dog daycare place also organizes puppy socials during the weekends. I make sure it is a good daycare first, with positive based, experienced trainers, before bringing my dog.
With my Shiba, we did one-on-one supervised play sessions with our neighbor’s very friendly puppy.
I also do play sessions with my puppy, obedience training, grooming exercises, she works for all of her food, etc. After my puppy has had all of her shots, then we start doing daily walks. The more positive outlets my puppy has for her energy, the less energy is left over for unsanctioned activities. 🙂
As for play-style, all of my dogs like to wrestle and play-rough. My 8 and 9 year old still likes to wrestle and play like a puppy. They don’t have as much energy as a puppy, but they still like to play rough. Therefore, I put more restrictions on their play now because they are getting older, and can hurt themselves during over-exuberant sessions. When I cannot supervise, I separate them using gates or enclosures. They still continue to have their daily structured activities, but I adjust according to age and current energy level.
Thanks, I will keep working on on outlets to exercises the puppy so that when he does have play sessions with my dog he is not overly exited. Hopefully with this, continued training and maturity it will get easier. Thanks so much for your input, it really did help 🙂
My king Charles is 16 weeks old and deaf and he bites an d makes me bleed what can I do
I deal with puppy biting by doing 3 things-
1. Bite inhibition training.
2. No-bite conditioning.
3. Structure and puppy self-control.
I talk about (1) and (2) in the article above. I talk about structure and teaching my puppy self-control here. Of course some adjustments will need to be made in terms of communicating with a deaf dog.
Some articles on how to train a deaf dog-
http://www.deafdogs.org/training/
http://www.aussierescue.org/Portals/1/Forms/OldForms/BREAKING_THE_SOUND_BARRIERarticle.pdf
Hi Shiba! I have an 11 week old male Husky. He loves to play all day..however, he has some episodes where he simply starts biting and even seeks you out for it. e.g: while I sit on the couch he comes and tries to bite my fee. I have tried ignoring him when he becomes overexcited..but the biting doesnt really stop. I constantly direct him towards his toys as sign of “you can bite this and not me”. Is there anything you would recommend for my puppy?
*feet
This is what I do when my Husky puppy bites on me-
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-i-trained-my-husky-puppy#bite-training
In general, I focus on three things with my Husky puppy-
1. Bite inhibition training.
2. No-bite conditioning.
3. Structure and self-control.
I talk about the first two in the article above. I talk about how I teach my puppy self-control here.
hi I have a lab puppy 70 days old male puppy.. He is biting all of us in our home…even he doesn’t play with toys and his bone..I don knw wat is the reason for it? Can u please help me? Thank you..
Puppies are curious and usually bite a lot because that is how they interact with people, other dogs, and objects in their environment. I deal with puppy biting by doing 3 things-
1. Bite inhibition training.
2. Redirection and no bite conditioning.
3. Giving my puppy structure and teaching him self control.
I talk more about how I do each of these things in the article above.
Hi again Shiba,
Firstly i would like to thank you for the time you have spent in helping me, you are truly a great person. I have took your advice along with other studies and once again used it to help my puppy. I am happy to report that she is now happy and well behaved as ever. She is gradually improving with her aggression. We have sourced out the problem. The problem was within my family. We have 8 people in the family running around, 4 of them being kids and 4 adults that is cautious of the puppy. With so many people involved giving different sorts of attention such as the kids being playful ,the adults yelling no and me trying to control and train her made the puppy confused . I spent more time with one on one ,bonding with her and earning her trust, while at the same time being her leader. She then saw the same affection i give towards her to the kids which i think made her realized were all a family and made her comfortable in the environment. I also would like to add that my friend alpha husky dog also helped in being a role model and i believe is a excellent method to teach puppies to understand leadership as well as teaching the puppy manners. I will continue to train, love and care for this puppy and hope that she will become a great dog in the future.
Ps, Thanks for your time 🙂 Much appreciated
I am so glad to hear this. Big hugs to your puppy! 😀
Thanks again for the response. I do believe as you said that the alpha dominating role is not effective because it causes the dog to lose trust in you. I have tried the biting training as you recommended ,but what i want you to understand is that its not biting that is the problem is the aggression. Aggression that cannot be tolerated in a house hold dog. I am worried because i’s scared it is a personality trait not a behaviour issue , Of course i understand that behaviours can be fixed and treated with good training, but a dog personality is hard to change. I can see my puppy isn’t afraid of humans ,whither I’m yelling no or put her in time out , or simply just give a little tap like Caesar Milan . I get my training information from all sources, Caesar video, your website, professional dog trainers. A professional dog trainer said that it might be because of the breed. I’ve got a Labrador cross Shar Pei which means i have the energy level of a lab and the stubborn and aggression from a Shar Pei, which in trainers eyes are the worst combination possible. I love dogs and animal , please don’t get the idea of me being cruel to my dog, but I’m just simply afraid and can not trust this puppy around kids scaring she might snap. I believe she might be more suitable in a home where it all adults who can manage her dominate and aggressive personality. Thank you so much for your help and time . Much appreciated.
Hello Jayden, I don’t think anything like that at all. I ask questions to get more context on the situation and to better understand where you are coming from. I am sorry if it came across differently.
As for Cesar Milan, I agree with what he says about calm energy, being decisive, creating structure, and fulfilling a dog’s needs for exercise and more. However, the pain and dominance based techniques (finger jab/touch, alpha rolls, shock collars, etc.) are very controversial. There are studies which show the risks and dangers of such techniques. I also used some of them early on with my Shiba Inu and it did *not* bring good results. My Shiba’s behavior worsened in the longer term, he became more mouthy, he became more aggressive, and everyone got stressed and very unhappy. I have written several articles on my experiences with such techniques.
I also attributed many of my dog’s bad behaviors to dominance, and that was a big mistake. Aggressive behavior is complex and can be the result of many different things, including fear, lack of socialization, anxiety, and more. Often, a puppy just does not understand what we expect from him.
More on dominance and aggression.
More on dominance and bad dog behavior.
Things really changed for me when I talked to a local trainer who suggested several books to me by Patricia McConnell (Other End of the Leash), Suzanne Clothier (Bones Would Rain from the Sky), and Jean Donaldson (Culture Clash).
More on where I get my dog training and dog behavior information.
My Shiba Inu is also a very stubborn dog and I had a very difficult time with him during puppyhood. However, the key is *not* to teach him to be afraid of people, that would worsen his behavior and cause fear aggression. The key is to teach him positive behaviors by controlling his resources. In this way, he understands which behaviors get him the things that he wants most.
There is a lot of conflicting information in dog training, which caused me to make a lot of mistakes with Sephy. I write about our experiences together so that hopefully, others can avoid the mistakes that I made.
Thanks for the quick response. Shiba, Her routine has always been closely guarded which includes a bathroom break in the morning along with a quick walk then back for a small meal, we leave her unleashed around the home and when she falls asleep we put her in her bed, afterwards she has lunch outside and we do a quick teaching session with her and let her run around the yard. She usually fine, but does not respond to our call and basically just does what she wants, sometimes while were walking around she would come just play bite (teething), but after we say no and walk away she runs infront of us and starts barking and growling (pupil of the eye becomes dilated). She does not seem like she ever wants to play apart from biting then turning to aggressive mode. I am in search of a professional dog trainer, but wanted to correct this behaviour myself first. I’m just scared shes naturally aggressive and as she grows she will be aggressive. I don’t want to dominate her by holding her down because i feel as ifs the wrong thing to do. Thanks in advanced again shiba, Cheers
I teach my puppy to control his bites and ultimately to not bite on people by-
1. Doing bite inhibition exercises.
2. Doing no-bite training.
I start by redirecting my puppy and teaching him what to do instead. Then I withdraw my attention. I do not walk away, I stand still and just withdraw my attention. Walking away may encourage my puppy to chase after me, and some puppies may start biting at moving feet. If, at that point, my puppy escalates his behavior and jumps or bites at me, then I put him temporarily in a timeout area.
3. I set up a fixed structure for my puppy, consistent rules, consistent training, and I teach my puppy self-control.
I make sure to give my puppy many positive and structured outlets for his puppy energy. If I play with him, I have play rules so that he learns positive social behaviors. There is more detail on what I do in the article above. The Shiba Inu forum can also be a helpful place to get Shiba behavior information.
http://www.shibainuforum.org/forum/
However, as you say, I think that getting help from a good, positive-based trainer is best.
Alpha rolls (i.e. holding down and submitting a dog) is something that I absolutely would *not* recommend, especially not for a Shiba, and especially not for a puppy. Even when experienced trainers tried to apply this “method” on my Shiba, he did not respond well. It is the worst mistake I made on my Shiba. It eroded his trust in me, damaged our bond, made him even more sensitive to handling, and worsened his behavior.
http://shibashake.com/dog/3-dog-training-techniques#alpha-roll
Where are you getting your training information?