Ouch! Training a Puppy to Stop Biting
Bringing a new puppy home is an exciting new adventure which brings with it a lot of responsibility for bringing the puppy up with proper training. The training should start at day one, when the owner should enjoy the cute little puppy, but should keep in mind that everything that he does with the puppy is reinforcing behavior that will continue when the puppy turns into an adult.
The puppy training should be consistent throughout its life so that the behaviors that are allowed with the owner are also allowed with people that enter the home. If the behavior would be an embarrassment or could cause harm or annoyance to the person entering the home the owner must not allow it with himself, otherwise the dog will be confused as to what behavior is appropriate to do with people.
Biting
One common issue that has to be stopped through training is biting. Puppies are likely to bite as they are exploring their world, and unfortunately, people sometimes get the brunt of that attention.
When this happens, make sure that you do not hit or slap your dog when training it to stop biting as the puppy might think that the owner is actually playing with it, playing rough like dogs will make them do it with each other.
A mean of training a puppy to stop biting is by refusing to play hostile games with it. Some samples of these games are, chase, tug of war and wrestling. These types of activities are fun for both the dog and the owner; however, they will also promote behavior which may not be acceptable for the dog to show all guests that will come to the house.
One of the greatest ways of training a puppy not to bite is by letting out a sharp Ouch whenever the puppy tries to nibble or bite and then removing eye contact and turning away from the pup. This is the same technique that dogs use with each other " letting the other dog know and be aware that what it did hurt and will not continue to play that way.
This will make the puppy understand that he will be given a negative reinforcement whenever it bites and will not be given attention like he thinks it would. On the other hand, if your puppy calms down and does not try to bite, give him a treat of reward him with attention and praise so that the right behavior is reinforced.
If the puppy bites down on the hand, the owner should place one finger inside the mouth under the puppy's tongue and hold onto the bottom of the jaw with the thumb for about ten seconds. The pressure should only be firm enough that the puppy cannot get away for that amount of time. The puppy will not be able to bite down and it will provide the negative reinforcement that the behavior is not acceptable to use.
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