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 I really like your blog, I have a Deaf australian cattle dog (blue) crossed with what we think i german shepherd. I find that the only thing that works is redirecting with a toy, he actually likes the spray bottle so it turned into a reward rather than correction, he is terrified of timeouts (maybe cause of deafness) and the fist soemtimes works but sometimes it just gets him more excited… its gonna take a while before i can fully correct this behaviour he doenst have a soft mouth and i adopted him when he was 1, so by then he had already learned to play bite and hard… not to meniton at the time i was living with 3 other boys .. well grown ups but they had no problem playing roughhousing with him…
Thank you Maria.
In terms of soft mouth training, I mainly do hand-feeding exercises with my dogs. It helps to teach them to control the force of their bites, especially when interacting with people. Here is a bit more on what I do-
http://shibashake.com/dog/bite-inhibition
I keep up with the exercises even today, so that they remember to always be more careful around people.
Big hugs to your boy!
PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO on youtube,it shows how they react with eachother http://youtu.be/9IurDvWkuJs
From the video, it looks like the Beagle puppy is getting somewhat overwhelmed.
When bringing in a new dog, there is a lot of uncertainty. The new dog does not know what is expected of him and what to expect from my other dogs. Similarly, my existing dogs do not know what to expect from the new dog. Rules and structure are especially important because they help to reduce uncertainty and stress.
With my dogs, I set up a consistent routine and a consistent set of interaction rules. I also set my dogs up for success and create as many positive experiences as I can. In this way, my existing dogs see the new puppy as an enhancement to their lifestyle – not as someone they need to compete with, or need to keep away.
I do not allow any kind of bullying, stealing, or humping. I teach each of my dogs what the rules are, and what is good playing behavior and what is not acceptable. I supervise them very closely during play, I have many play breaks, I manage their level of excitement, and I make sure that their interactions are positive. When in doubt, I always err on the safe side and throw in positive play-break. I also do group obedience training, and reward them well for focusing on me, and being calm in each other’s company. If my older dogs want to rest, I make sure they have a safe and peaceful spot that is puppy free.
Here is more on what I do to introduce a new puppy to my existing dogs.
This article from the RSPCA talks about how to find a good trainer or behaviorist.
Here is the Association of Pet Dog Trainers site for the UK-
http://www.apdt.co.uk/dog-owners/choosing-a-trainer
Here is the Association of Pet Dog Trainers site for the US-
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Hi, I got my Siberian husky puppy about a month ago, maybe a little more, (he was 12 weeks old) we’ve been working on the biting habit since we got him, he started getting better,but now he’s reached the teething phase and is doing it more than he was before, I will go to play with him, and he will immediately start to jump up and bite anything, he doesn’t stop, I will stand up and turn around not looking at or talking to him, but he won’t stop, he hasn’t broken flesh unless I’ve jerked back, but its starting to hurt really bad….
Do you have any advice?
Ps. I’ve tried the fist, the water, and I did exactly what the breeder said where you hold their mouth closed as a mother would do, with a strict no, but he still persists becoming more excited… Please help
Ps I also did the redirection, but he doesn’t respond to it’ll work sometimes but once he gets bored he gets right back to it.
This is what I do when my Husky bites on me-
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-i-trained-my-husky-puppy#bite-training
I also do bite inhibition training with my dogs to teach them to control the force of their bites, especially when interacting with people.
Hello, my name is Jonah and I am only 11 years old.
I had a dog who is a crossbreed dog.He is black with white paws I don’t really know what he’s breed is because he was just given by the patient of my mom. I tried EVERYTHING just to stop his puppy biting. Even if i gave him a toy he will just drop it and chew our slippers and now he is biting my younger cousins. When i tie him with a collar with a leash, he will bite the leash and yelp. I don’t know what to do. He is my first puppy and i love him so much.. What will I do? What have I done wrong? Please help me :'(
I don’t want him to be taken away from me, just because he has an attitude like that 🙁
With my dogs, I find that it is best when everybody in the household helps with the training and agrees on a consistent set of rules and a consistent set of techniques. Otherwise, the dog will get confused and stressed, because the rules are always changing.
In terms of biting, dogs do not know what they are allowed to chew on and what they are not allowed to. My dog also likes chewing on slippers because slippers absorb scent, and smells a lot like us. This makes it a lot more interesting than a regular toy which does not smell like people or animals. A new dog is also under a lot of stress because everything has just changed – chewing can help a dog to relax and relieve stress.
When I get a new dog, I set up a consistent set of rules and a consistent routine. In this way, he knows exactly what to expect from me, and also exactly what I expect from him. I observe him to see what he likes and dislikes, and use those things to motivate him. Here is more on how I trained my puppy. However, I don’t do it alone – everyone pitches in and we train our dogs together.
When in doubt, I get help from a professional trainer-
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
What a remarkable young man you are, Jonah. I am very impressed with your heartfelt concern and that you took the initiative to write and ask for help. I hope that your family supported you in your efforts to resolve the situation and that everything has worked out for you and your dog.
My puppys’ name is Bella she is a sweet, lovable puppy, a malti poo mix with shih tzu. The thing is my dad is rarely home but I can tell that for Bella my dad is the “Pack Leader” and I am having some trouble with her, my dad has try to instruct me on how to become the “Pack Leader” because Im the one handling Bella the whole time but she bites me as if attacking me sometimes when I want to pet, groom her or when I take her to the backyard to potty she will start running like crazy, smell everything, eat everything and then she goes straight to biting my pants or leg and starts jumping and pulling me. She doesnt recall when I want to get her inside the house she loves to be outside eventhough I take her 5-6 times a day for 10-15min. I have try to make her follow me but everything else looks more interesting to her than walking with me. I try to give her time to sniff around but now it takes most of the time I know I must have done something terribly wrong to have her act like that on me. But the weird thing is eventhough she “attacks” me she will follow me every where and will want to be with me but only inside the house. I am trying to be calm and assertive but my dad says I have too much heart with Bella, to be honest I cried for 2 days because I love her so much and it hurts me to see her being like that to me, makes me feel like I did something bad to her, like she is scared of me and at the same time on constant guard. Bella has been with me for about 3weeks so I know there is still time but I really dont want to reinforce her biting for her to be more agressive I tried not pulling away and she grabs me even more I tried giving her toys but then drops it and goes back to me even when I give her a time out but still she bites and now she is starting to bite others except my dad. PLEASE HELP Me. What can I do? What did I do wrong? She is the first pet I have and I love her so much.
Hello Johanna,
With my dogs, I achieve pack leadership by controlling their resources. I do this by following the Nothing in Life is Free program. I also set up a fixed routine and a consistent set of rules.
In terms of biting, a puppy does not know what is ok to chew on or play with, and what is not. Also, a puppy does not know that we have thin skins and that she has to be careful while interacting with us. It is up to us to teach our puppy these things, so that she can live safely and comfortably with us.
When my puppy bites, this is what I do –
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-i-trained-my-husky-puppy#bite-training
I also do bite inhibition training to teach my puppy to control the force of her bites when interacting with people.
Here is a bit more on puppy biting.
Here is a useful article from the ASPCA on how to train our dog to come when called.
http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-articles/teaching-your-dog-to-come-when-called
Here is a bit more on dominance and dog behavior.
Note – In my articles and comments I only talk about my experiences with my own dogs. However dog training is very context dependent and also dependent on a dog’s temperament, environment, routine, and more. I make sure to always listen to my dogs and adapt methods to suit their needs. When in doubt, I get help from a professional trainer.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
I have a 5 month old huskey/lab collie retriever. We’ve had him since he was 7 weeks old, and was really easy to house train ( he stoppped having accidents in the house only 1 week later) and listns to simple commandfs like sit, stay, come, shake a paw and stay. But I am sensing a problem. When my partner is around Sparky listens very well, doesnt’t bite or jump on ewither of us. As soon as my boyfriend leaves though, and i mean within a minute, Sparky comes to me whgile I am sittin on the ouch and crows me. Jumps all over me and bites me. He also humps myu lefg alll the time. He bites my legs and ankles everytime i take him out by myself. But doesnt do any of that to my boyfriend. Please help how do I fix this before he gets agressive??
I went through a similar thing with my Shiba Inu, Sephy.
http://shibashake.com/dog/afraid-of-your-dog
Sephy misbehaved most with me because of 2 key reasons-
1. I did not have good energy. Often, I would get upset, frustrated and stressed. Sephy would pick up on my energy, get more stressed himself, and his behavior would worsen. Once I was able to control my own energy, stay calm and in control, Sephy’s behavior also got a lot better.
2. I was inadvertently reinforcing his bad behavior. If he starts to jump and bite at me, I would shout at him, move around a lot, and try to push him away. This only got him more excited, and it became a fun wrestling game. Therefore, he was being rewarded for jumping and biting, which made him repeat the behavior even more.
Here are a few things that helped me turn things around with Sephy-
http://shibashake.com/dog/pack-leader-to-an-aggressive-dog
http://shibashake.com/dog/nothing-in-life-is-free-dog-training
This is what I do when Sephy jumps and bites on me-
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop-puppy-biting#timeout
More puppy biting tips.
A bit more on how I trained my Husky puppy.
I just got a cross (westy and jack Russel) Most of the time what you said works, but how can i prevent from eating the carpet and the little tassels attached to it?
Also, he is only 2 weeks old, the No thing works, and when he stops and walks away i reward him, is that good or should i do something else?
2 weeks is really young. Do you mean 2 months?
What I usually do, is that I no-mark, and then I redirect my puppy onto a toy or give her an alternative simple pre-trained command, e.g. Sit. If my puppy redirects, then I mark the behavior (Yes) and I reward her very well with a game and a lot of attention. This makes the toy a lot more interesting and rewarding than a carpet.
If she does not redirect and continues to chew on the carpet, then I usually body block her away from the area and get her to do something else.
If she keeps repeatedly going back, then I briefly restrict her freedom by keeping her with me. For example, if I am in the kitchen, she comes in there with me and I close the kitchen door. I give her toys to play with and chew while she is in the kitchen with me.
In this way, she learns that
chewing on toys = fun game and lots of attention,
chewing on carpet = get body blocked away and possibly lose her freedom to roam.
But I only do this with an older puppy that is at least over 8 weeks old. It is usually best to leave puppies that are younger than that with their litter mates and mother.
Here is a bit more on how I trained my puppy.
I recently got a German shepherd puppy (she is currently 9 weeks old), and as cute as she is, she’s biting VERY aggressively. When she bites, it’s hard to stay still because when giving her a strict (or what I hope sounds strict) NO, she continues to bite, and bite, and bite! Ankles, calves, hands, arms, feet; scratches and bruises galore! We try to give her a toy to bite on when she does bite us, but she loses interest in it immediately and returns to biting, sometimes even more aggressively.
Soon enough, the frustration gets to me and I end up trying to push her away, which results in her growling, barking, and biting some more. It’s probably not good to do that, but it’s excruciating and the impulse is grandiose. We try to put her in her cage (because we are only keeping her in a small part of the house for now) but because we are away most of the day (8:00 – 12:00 pm and 1:00 – 3:00, sometimes later), I feel wrong putting her in there. I know she just wants to be loved but how can we shower her with affection if it’s not in a justifiable situation?
Yeah, in the beginning, our puppy will not understand what “no” means. To give the word “no” meaning, we will need to associate it with an appropriate consequence. Here is a bit more on the no-mark.
When my puppy bites,
1. I no-mark to indicate that it is an undesirable behavior, then I give her an alternate pre-trained command, e.g. Sit, or redirect her onto a toy.
2. If she does the Sit and calms down, then I reward her well with food, attention, and a fun structured game.
3. If she does not listen and continues to bite, then I fully withdraw my attention by standing up, folding my arms, and turning away from her. I make sure *not* to touch her, talk to her, or give her any eye contact.
4. When my puppy bites at me, she is usually looking for attention and play. Therefore I want to teach her that –
Unrestrained biting = no attention,
Sitting and being calm = attention, food, and games.
5. If my puppy escalates her behavior and jumps on me or bites at my clothing, then I calmly say timeout and remove her to a timeout area. I *do not* use her crate for timeouts and I start with very very short timeouts. A bit more on how I do timeouts with my dogs.
I also do bite inhibition training to teach them to control the force of their bites. This is a very good skill because it allows them to meet and greet people in a safe way.
Getting help from a professional trainer can also be helpful.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
I got a new shih tzu puppy and he is 10 weeks old. He keeps biting my fingers and my clothes. Why? Sometimes he ignores the chew toys I give him and keeps biting me. Then when I dont give him much attention he starts whining. What do I do? I also lay down newspapers for him to poop and pee on but he just rippes it up and goes somewhere else and I even spray training spray on the newspapers. How do I get him to stop ripping it and use it as a washroom? Please Help!
Congratulations on your new puppy.
This is what I did with my puppy Lara when she bites on me –
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-i-trained-my-husky-puppy#bite-training
I also do bite inhibition training with all of my dogs, which teaches them to control the force of their bites.
This is what I did to potty train my dogs.
Big hugs to puppy!
hello there 🙂
I have stumbled onto your site in my desperate attempts to train my 9 week old siberian husky. Things are slowly coming along and I am going to try your suggestions. The one thing I have not found is how to deal with him when we eat. I have done the whole he eats after we do and I do not free feed him. But he still begs and tries to jump on the table and I don’t want to have isolate him every time we eat I want to teach him not to do it. Any tips ?
Hello Chelsea,
Congratulations on your new Sibe puppy! They are adorable, furry balls of energy. 😀
What I do with my dogs during dinner time is that they have a bed/mat/place that I tell them to go to near our eating area. When dinner is served, I get them all to “go to your mat”. Then, during dinner, I reward them from time to time for staying calm and staying in their spot.
If they come over and jump on people, then I no-mark and get them to go back to their mat. I don’t reward them right away – but only after they have been on their mat for a time. I make sure they never get any food for jumping or other undesirable behaviors (even by accident). The only time they get rewards during people dinner time is when they are calm and resting on their mat.
With a new puppy, a fair number of repetitions may be necessary. This may make it difficult to actually get any dinner at all. Therefore, when Lara was a puppy, I also set up an enclosure area close to the eating space. I set it up so that she can still see us and be part of the family. She goes into the enclosure at the start of dinner. I ignore any whining, etc. Usually she will calm down and rest. If she is calm for a while, then I let her out, and she gets a frozen Kong to work on for the rest of dinner. I try to finish dinner more quickly so that I can help her with her Kong once I am done.
In this way, she learns that being calm = get to come out and get a frozen Kong. In addition, the Kong gives her something to do while we are eating dinner. Then, I make sure to finish dinner while she is still engaged with her Kong, so that I set her up for success, and we end on a really positive note.
Once Lara got better, I skipped putting her in the enclosure and she gets the Kong at the start of dinner on her mat.
I also follow the Nothing in Life is Free program with all of my dogs. Controlling resources is a really good way to motivate my dogs to learn and follow house rules.
Big hugs to puppy!