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Training your puppy - eliminating biting behaviors
By Barry Gilbert
Bringing home a new puppy is always an exciting time.
Introducing the new puppy to the family should be fun for
both yourself and your puppy. One of the first
challenges, however, to the excitement of the new puppy,
is curbing inappropriate puppy behaviors.
Preventing biting and mouthing Biting and mouthing is a
common activity for many young puppies and dogs. Puppies
naturally bite and mouth each other when playing with
siblings, and they extend this behavior to their human
companions. While other puppies have thick skin,
however, humans do not, so it is important to teach your
puppy what is appropriate, and what is not, when it comes
to using those sharp teeth.
The first part of training the puppy is to inhibit the
biting reflex. Biting might be cute and harmless with a
5 pound puppy, but it is neither cute nor harmless when
that dog has grown to adulthood. Therefore, puppies
should be taught to control their bit before they reach
the age of four months. Puppies normally learn to
inhibit their bite from their mothers and their
littermates, but since they are taken away from their
mothers so young, many never learn this important lesson.
It is therefore up to the humans in the puppy's life to
teach this lesson.
One great way to inhibit the biting reflex is to allow
the puppy to play and socialize with other puppies and
socialized older dogs. Puppies love to tumble, roll and
play with each other, and when puppies play they bite
each other constantly. This is the best way for puppies
to learn to control themselves when they bite. If one
puppy becomes too rough when playing, the rest of the
group will punish him for that inappropriate behavior.
Through this type of socialization, the puppy will learn
to control his biting reflex.
Proper socialization has other benefits as well,
including teaching the dog to not be fearful of other
dogs, and to work off their excess energy. Puppies that
are allowed to play with other puppies learn important
socialization skills generally learn to become better
members of their human family. Puppies that get less
socialization can be more destructive, more hyperactive
and exhibit other problem behaviors.
In addition, lack of socialization in puppies often
causes fearful and aggressive behaviors to develop. Dogs
often react aggressively to new situations, especially if
they are not properly socialized. In order for a dog to
become a member of the community as well as the
household, it should be socialized to other people,
especially children. Dogs make a distinction between
their owners and other people, and between children and
adults. It is important, therefore, to introduce the
puppy to both children and adults.
The best time to socialize a puppy to young children is
when it is still very young, generally when it is four
months old or younger. One reason for this is that
mothers of young children may be understandably reluctant
to allow their children to approach large dogs or older
puppies. This is especially true with large breed dogs,
or with breeds of dogs that have a reputation for
aggressive behavior.
Using trust to prevent biting Teaching your puppy to
trust and respect you is a very effective way to prevent
biting. Gaining the trust and respect of your dog is the
basis for all dog training, and for correcting problem
behaviors.
It is important to never hit or slap the puppy, either
during training or any other time. Physical punishment
is the surest way to erode the trust and respect that
must form the basis of an effective training program.
Reprimanding a dog will not stop him from biting - it
will simply scare and confuse him.
Training a puppy not to bite is a vital part of any
puppy training program. Biting behaviors that are not
corrected will only get worse, and what seemed like
harmless behavior in a puppy can quickly escalate to
dangerous, destructive behavior in an adult dog.
About the Author
Barry Gilbert
Our Dog Obedience Training Secrets TRANSFORM Your
Dog's Behavior Problems! "And puts an End to the
Stress and Annoyance of Your Dog's Behavior!
http://www.auctionbusinesssite.com/dogs/
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