Poor Elsa was like a pin cushion when Penny was a puppy. She worked very, very hard to inhibit her bite. Those jaws of Penny’s made for some really strong puppy nipping.
There are a lot of puppies out there right now. With the pandemic came the idea that we all had more time at home so it was a great time to get a puppy. So yes, many homes now have a new k9 family member And, with the addition of a new puppy comes piranha issues. If I had to guess how many people complain about piranha issues with new puppies; I’d have to say about 85% of new guardians.
Piranha - occasionally also attack humans and other large animals that enter the water.
You may not need to enter the water to feel the devastation of puppy teeth; but every time you try to interact with that ever so cute little angel, you come out with skin damage. You feel like you’ve tried everything, but nothing works. You’ve grabbed your puppy’s mouth and held it shut. You’ve told them “no bite” over and over; you may have even done the mouth pinch you read about in desperation. All of these methods make matters worse. Read on.
So how do you get through the mouthing stage with your fingers, arms, legs and skin intact? Stop interacting so physically. The main reason for puppy mouthing (piranha biting) is over handling. Of course, like I ALWAYS say EVERY DOG IS AN INDIVIDUAL so no two are going to be the same in the mouthing, nipping category either. But most puppies nip and we actually want them to nip. If they don’t nip, we can’t teach them bite inhibition.
Bite - to cut, wound, or tear with the teeth:
Inhibition - the blocking or holding back; a restraining, arresting, or checking of the action.
Bite inhibition is when a puppy inhibits the pressure of their bites. This is a wonderful thing when it happens but it can take some work to get there.
Work -
First we work on the hardest bites. When interacting with your puppy, pay close attention to when it really hurts, react to that. “Ouch” is a typical response, it is what another dog would do about a bite that was not inhibited. In fact it is very useful if you have a friendly adult dog who your puppy can play with. Adult dogs will often school youngsters on bite inhibition. Most puppies will respond to a yelp or “ouch” and inhibit their bite. Of course not all will and that is when you need to end the interaction. If you’ve got a really feisty pup then you might need to leave the room abruptly. “If you are going to bite hard, I’m outta here.”
Many “retriever” type dogs are the worst of the nippers; the mouthiness comes naturally and those sharp little teeth are relentless. Give your pup lots of outlets for biting, mouthing. You can never have enough chew toys for puppies; you should have a house full to entertain the little piranha.
If you have a puppy that loves to follow you around, latching onto whatever you happen to be wearing, then you need to teach them to walk beside you nicely. A handful of cheerios usually works great with little ones.
As you walk around you drop tiny treats onto the floor as a reward for not latching onto you. You very quickly extend the time between treats so that you don’t end up creating a behavior change that you don’t want.
Give your puppy an education. If you don’t teach your puppy manners and how to live in our human world; you leave it all up to them to do as they see fit.
Puppy nipping is normal, it is how they discover the world. But they can learn how to use their mouth appropriately. It just takes time and less man handling. The more you handle a puppy, the more over stimulated they get which results in mouthing.
Questions? I love Questions, so ask away.