How to Stop Dog Nipping
Dog biting is an annoying behavior and can become quite dangerous if left uncontrolled . It can start out as innocent playing . However, especially as your dog becomes bigger and stronger play biting can become a more dangerous affair .
Dog biting can be more serious than you think, especially when your puppy bites at strangers and other people not familiar with his behavior . To learn how to stop a puppy from biting read on.
Stop Biting Games
The first thing that we need to do to eradicate puppy biting is to get rid of all biting games . That includes games such as tug of war with the dog or even games where you try to take something such as a ball from out of his mouth .
Your dog uses its mouth the way that we use our hands. As a result when he wants something he bites at it to take it from you . This may even include biting at your hand to try to get you to release the object out of your hands.
In biting games such as tug of war your dog will bite your hands in order to win the battle and to get the object from your hands . That is the way that he plays. So eliminating the biting games is the first step in the right direction to help to stop your dog from biting .
Divert Attention
Diverting your dog’s attention is another technique that you can use . Whenever he is trying to bite at something redirect his action to an appropriate dog toy that you can play with . This lets your dog know that it is okay to bite his chew toy, his ball or whatever other toy that you have given him.
By doing this the dog will become more willing to play with the toys that you offer him and will desire less to bite off your hands.
Tap Puppy’s nose
Whenever your puppy bites at your hand you need to let him know that this is not okay. Whenever he does this you can lightly tap his snout while firmly saying “No”.
This lets him know that this behavior is not acceptable . A gentle tap will not harm your dog but will let him know that you are serious . You can even as stated above offer an alternative after doing this. A ball or chew toy should be sufficient for him .
Puppy biting can be a major problem with some dogs. However if you utilize these techniques you will be able to curb this behavior . Eventually your dog will realize that biting is not something that you will tolerate.
Dog biting is one of the behaviors covered in the Secrets to Dog Training course. Read our review of this dog training course if interested in correcting other dog behaviors .
