Ouch! How to Deal With Bitey Puppies
These Hovawart puppies were not bitey! They were a ton of fun to train with!
Puppies use their mouths and teeth as one way to explore and learn about their world. But it can really hurt! I’ve come away with cuts, scratches, and torn clothing from working with puppies. What can you do to reduce biting? 1. Keep a toy on your body or within reach, such as on counters or desktops, so that when puppy goes after your pant legs or your hands, you can redirect them to the toy. This helps them also learn what is an appropriate item to bite.
2. Keep play sessions short! Puppies need to learn to regulate their arousal levels, and keeping sessions short (think 1 minute of play, then a little break for baby puppies!) helps them learn to use their Off Switch. Use massage or calm petting in between play sessions to help them learn to relax.
3. If your puppy gets ahold of you/your pant leg/sleeve, freeze! It’s most often the tension of pulling away that really winds them up and encourages them to bite or even to start shaking their heads. If you freeze, chances are they will let go, and you can then redirect them to a more appropriate outlet.
4. If Fido releases then goes right back in for a bite, or seems to be really over the top wild, remove yourself. Calmly step out of the room, or step behind a baby gate or on the other side of the Xpen. This will teach puppy that behaving like that makes play stop. When you see that he’s calmed down, you can try again. If he goes at you as soon as you step back into the area, it’s time to give him a chew toy or a food puzzle.
5. Puppies tend to get mouthier when they are teething, which starts around 4 months of age and continues until they are 7-8 months of age. Giving them access to a variety of toys made of different materials can help. There are some toys available that you can freeze, or you can take a wash cloth and soak it in low sodium broth, then freeze it (make sure you carefully watch your dog if you do this to make sure they don’t shred it and eat it!). Frozen carrots are nice to chew on too. To keep the toys interesting, rotate them so that every couple of days they get a “new” one that they haven’t had for awhile.
6. Sleep! This probably sounds weird, but make sure that your puppy is getting sufficient sleep and down time. Their ability to control their mouthing/biting is reduced when they are over tired. Often times my puppy clients report back to me that when their little bundle of fluffy love gets a bit wild child bitey they put them in their Xpen for some quiet time and puppy usually ends up conking out and having a nice nap.
7. Be mindful about HOW you play with your puppy. Use toys to play. No rough housing. No teasing with hands. Keep the intensity of the play on the lower end of the scale so as to not overwhelm Fifi.
