Dog Biting Behavior – What causes and what do I do to stop it?
Play biting in puppies or a new dog introduced to your household is a very common occurrence. Even, the best dog handlers and trainers deal with this issue during the dog training regiment and take the proper steps to eliminate this behavior early on. First, understand that dog biting from your puppy or adult dog is almost always in the sense of playing; however, this does not make the behavior acceptable. So let’s start off with assessing the dog biting behavior in puppies and adult dogs.
Understanding dog biting?
In the case of new puppy, he or she has most likely been removed from the litter at an early age. Typically, most dog breeders will try to remove puppies from the litter as early as 8 weeks to be purchased and acquired by their new owner. Dog biting in puppies is associated with their early development and learning to socialize with the mother and other puppies. While your puppy was still in the litter, he or she learned to constructively play, bounce around, gnaw, chew and bite on other puppies. This may sound a little strange; however, this is how puppies begin to learn how to interact with other dogs and become to understand what is acceptable and what is not. As mentioned earlier, most puppies are removed from their litter early on so the continuation of play dog biting continues as he or she is trying to learn what is acceptable in their new environment. This is where the new home owner comes in as you will have to complete their education as their mother or litter mate would do. Typically, the same principal applies to adult dogs as no one has really worked with the dog in order to show them what is acceptable or not. It is also important to remember, that much like a human, your puppy goes through what can be construed as a teething period. During this time, your puppy may chew and gnaw in order to relieve pain. The dog biting behavior in the context of chewing helps to move along the loss of the “baby” teeth and make room for the adult canine teeth.
How stop dog biting?
Before we get too far in this subject, remember that the majority of dog biting seen in the puppies or adult dogs is in the sense play and not in defense. The best and easiest way to reduce play biting in your new puppy or adult dog is to socialize them with other dogs. In a socializing environment, as in a dog park, your puppy or dog can learn directly from their peers as they would have as if they were still in the litter. Of course you will still be involved as an overseer to make sure nothing gets out of control, but you still need to let your pet learn some of the crucial fundamentals of what is acceptable. The more frequently you take your new puppy or dog out to be socialized you should see a significant decrease in the play biting within the home as he or she expends a majority of this behavior among other dogs and is corrected on the spot if something is not acceptable. For a new puppy, proper socialization is important within the first five months of age as your pet can ascertain other unwanted behavior that can lead to destruction of property. A new puppy is much like a 5 year old that has had to much candy and is all wound up like a yo-yo. The only difference is that your puppy did not have any sugar and this is his or her natural state unless you find a proper training method that can reduce his energy levels in a constructive and positive way. Socializing is great way to reduce high energy or hyper active dogs from getting into things they should not be by having a positive interactive atmosphere and getting proper exercise. In addition, proper dog socialization is great way to reduce the fear and anxiety associated in meeting new people and other dogs that can be problematic later on down the road. Often, when trying to stop your puppy or dog from biting or chewing on inappropriate items, a DentaBone or Rawhide will satisfy the urges they have.
What should I not do when training against dog biting?
When it comes to socialization you are there to make sure nothing gets out of control but it is important to give the animals enough latitude to understand what is acceptable or not. When training your dog in the home, never put yourself in a position to loose the upper hand by reprimanding your new puppy or dog in a hitting incident. If you find yourself in this type of position you can quickly loose any trust your new pet has in you and can significantly damage any training that has been done to date and in the future.
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