Ouch! Training a Puppy to Stop Biting
Taking home a new puppy is going to be an exciting new quest that will also bring a lot of responsibility in rearing the puppy and providing it with proper training. The moment the dog comes home, training should start immediately although this is the time when the owner is still enjoying the cute little pup. The owner must just keep in mind that everything he does will create an impact on the behavior of the puppy and will carry this on even when he is already an adult.
The puppy training should be consistent throughout its life so that the behaviors that are allowed with the owner are also allowed with people that enter the home. If the behavior would be an embarrassment or could cause harm or annoyance to the person entering the home the owner must not allow it with himself, otherwise the dog will be confused as to what behavior is appropriate to do with people.
Biting
A usual issue that has to be prevented through training is biting. Puppies like to bite because they are still trying to explore their world and sadly, people at times get the burden of this attention.
When this happens, make sure that you do not hit or slap your dog when training it to stop biting as the puppy might think that the owner is actually playing with it, playing rough like dogs will make them do it with each other.
One way to train the puppy to stop biting is to refuse to play aggressive games with it such as tug of war, chase or wrestling. Although these activities are fun for dog and owner, they encourage aggressive behavior which is not acceptable for the dog to exhibit with all humans that come into the home.
One of the best ways to train a puppy not to bite is to let out a sharp “Ouch!” whenever the puppy tries to bite and then removing eye contact and turning the back to the puppy. This is the same method that dogs use with each other, letting the other dog know that it hurt and they are not going to play that way.
This is one method that uses negative reinforcement in training the puppy so that he would know that when he bites, it will not be given the attention that its asking for. When the puppy calms down and does not bite, this is the time that the owner should praise him and give him the attention so that the appropriate behavior is reinforced.
If the puppy bites down on the hand, the owner should place one finger inside the mouth under the puppy’s tongue and hold onto the bottom of the jaw with the thumb for about ten seconds. The pressure should only be firm enough that the puppy cannot get away for that amount of time. The puppy will not be able to bite down and it will provide the negative reinforcement that the behavior is not acceptable to use.
