Teaching Your Puppy Bite Inhibition

Biting and mouthing are both normal behaviors for young dogs. Puppies commonly mouth each other in play, and they also use it to explore their environment. Playing with teeth is fine for puppies, as canine skin is protected by plentiful hair and it is designed to withstand sharp teeth grazing it. Human skin is designed differently, and young pups don’t know their own strength, or how sharp those baby teeth are. In order to train your puppy not to bite you, either intentionally or in play, it is necessary to teach ‘bite inhibition’. Dogs teach each other bite inhibition, and we can learn effective tactics by observing a dog’s natural behavior. When a bitch is interacting with her puppies she will allow them to mouth her, and to a certain extent, be quite rough. Remember though, her hair prevents this type of play from hurting excessively. However, if the puppy is too exuberant or uses excessive force and hurts the bitch she will let the puppy know in no uncertain terms, that this behavior is not acceptable. She will growl, and possibly grab the puppy and assert herself over it with gentle, firm but consistent pressure. When another adult dog is interacting with a puppy or young dog that has inappropriately mouthed or bitten, the behavior between the dogs is similar. The adult dog will vocalize (growl) and perhaps snap at the puppy in a warning gesture, or hold it down or lay on it until it submits and calms down. When puppies are playing with each other they often yelp loudly and sharply when hurt by the other pup’s teeth. This tactic works very well at stopping the offending puppy from continuing the assault. The hurt puppy will often stop playing with the offending pup, and this too is a good teaching aid. The offending puppy learns very quickly that he won’t have any friends if he bites too hard. All three methods are forms of natural bite inhibition. As humans, we can use these tactics to teach our own puppies not to bite - AT ALL. By giving a short sharp ‘yelp’ whenever the puppy touches you with his teeth you may be able to teach the pup that any tooth contact at all with human skin is not appropriate. You can even deliberately put your hand near the pup’s mouth, almost tempting him to touch you with his teeth, and then react as just described. Stopping playing with the puppy when there is any contact between his teeth and your skin will also be a method of teaching the pup about appropriate puppy to human interaction. With some very dominant puppies, it may be necessary to display assertive disapproval as shown by mature dogs when dealing with ‘naughty’ puppies. This would involve using stiff body posture and strong growls in order to deter the wilful puppy. All going well, you should be able to teach the puppy from an early age that doggy teeth and human skin should never meet.