BITE INHIBITION

If you only teach your puppy one thing, it should be bite inhibition. You must teach your puppy that human skin is very, very fragile!

Teaching your puppy bite inhibition will help him to avoid making a dangerous mistake when he is older, with a full set of adult teeth and extremely powerful jaws.  Remember, it is entirely natural for a dog to bite, and it is your job to teach him that he must be GENTLE.

Teaching Bite Inhibition:
If a puppy bites a littermate too hard, the injured pup gives a high-pitched ‘yelp’ and freezes for a few seconds. You should do the same – play with your pup and when he bites too hard, yelp loudly and immediately go still. You should also avoid eye contact and don’t talk to your pup. After a few seconds, resume your game. This teaches your pup that if he plays too rough the game stops and that if he pays attention to you, play continues.

You must actively practice this exercise every day - at first you will be yelping for hard bites, and then medium bites and eventually even soft bites will elicit a yelp. Remember that your goal is NO tooth pressure at all, so keep teaching bite inhibition until you can no longer feel your pup’s teeth during play.

Growling at or smacking your puppy will probably make your puppy play even harder. If your pup’s play is too boisterous, his bites are too rough, or if he isn’t paying attention to your yelps, then you should leave the room for a brief time-out to calm things down.

When you do leave the room, ‘yelp’ loudly, act very hurt and walk out of the room immediately. Shut the door behind you and leave your pup on his own for a short period (about 15-30 seconds). Your puppy will quickly associate his biting with his playmate leaving, so persevere until he’s got it.

On re-entering the room make your pup sit, before you begin playing again, firstly to calm him down and also to make him work for the opportunity to play with you again!  Don’t forget to be enthusiastic and let him know he’s a good dog for playing nicely.

As your pup learns to have a soft mouth use the word ‘gentle’ each time he is gentle with you, and tell him ‘Good gentle’ so that he begins to associate this word with his behaviour. You can then use this word while hand feeding, when your pup is with children (ALWAYS supervised, of course!), or in any other situation that requires him to be gentle.

Hand feeding your puppy helps him to learn how to use his teeth when near human skin. Young children should never, ever do this exercise…and on that note, children should always be supervised when with a dog, adult or puppy.

Don’t forget that training with your dog is a lifelong task and not just for puppyhood!