Is Your Pup a Nipper? Try These Puppy Trainer Tips to Stop Biting
Ask any puppy trainer in Portland, and they’ll tell you that biting is one of the top issues pet parents have with young pups. Our fur babies can do serious damage with their needle teeth – and for nippers, no one is off limits.
If you want to teach your new four-legged family member not to bite people, a professional puppy trainer can help you accomplish that goal. A number of techniques may be effective – but keep in mind, certain methods can rile up excitable puppies, making them nip even more.
Below, the Blackwood Canine team covers the different ways to stop biting. See which one works for your little nipper – and if you struggle to find a solution, you can always turn to a Portland puppy trainer.
Nipping is Normal for Puppies
First of all, we’d like to explain why younger puppies bite. As professional puppy trainers, we know it’s not a sign of aggression, which is a common worry among new pet parents. Nor does nipping indicate that a pup wants to hurt someone – it just ends up hurting, thanks to their razor sharp teeth.
If your pup is a nipper, the behavior may be happening for one of these reasons:
Your fur baby is teething and feeling the pain
Boredom is leading your pup to bite for attention
Rough play or corrections have reinforced the behavior
In many cases, however, problem puppy biting is simply a misguided attempt at playing. Our young furry friends are used to mouthing and biting their fellow litter pups when they’re feeling playful, and the instinctive behavior doesn’t go away when they’re adopted.
As you can see, nipping is normal – but you’ll want to stop the behavior as soon as possible, long before your puppy grows to be a fully grown dog and becomes capable of inflicting serious harm. To do so, puppy trainers recommend trying the following techniques.
Redirect with a Chew Toy
Professional puppy trainers advise pet parents to have plenty of chew toys on hand when they bring a furry friend into their Portland home. If your pup starts to nip at your hands, feet or anywhere else they can reach, try to draw their attention to a chew toy. If they continue to come after you instead of the toy, give them a timeout in a crate or puppy pen. But do so in a calm manner, as the intent isn’t to punish your pet.
Use the “Ouch!” Method
Another method puppy trainers recommend pet parents try to stop a young pooch from biting is with a loud “ouch!” as soon as the behavior occurs. The sudden noise should tell your fur baby to cut it out, and if they do, offer praise and affection. Repeat these steps every time your pup bites, and motivation for positive attention may start to outweigh their instinct to keep on nipping.
Ignore the Nipping
For some younger puppies, the above technique actually encourages more nipping – which is exactly what you don’t want. If that seems to be an issue, puppy trainers say to try ignoring your little pooch when they bite. Move the body part they’re biting out of reach, of course, but don’t interact. By becoming as boring as you can be when your pup nips, you may be able to get the biting to stop.
Try the Treat Technique
Professional puppy trainers know that a direct approach can be effective in teaching some young fur babies not to bite. The treat tactic involves holding a small tasty bit of food in your fist, but not letting your pup have it if they start nipping or pawing at your hand. When they take their nose away, let them have the treat. This can help a young puppy learn that biting will never get a treat.
Give Your Pup a Break
Implementing the 3-strike rule in your Portland home may be a good way to stop problem puppy biting. The first time your furry friend nips at you is strike one, and that earns a firm “NO.” The next time, say nothing, but redirect their attention with a chew toy. If they aren’t interested and continue to bite, it’s time for them to go to their crate. Remain calm, however, as this is a timeout -- not a punishment.
Get Help from a Professional Puppy Trainer
This may seem like quite a lot of information to take in, and dealing with a puppy biting problem isn’t easy when you’re still getting the handle on being a pet parent. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or your efforts at teaching your beloved pooch are less than successful, it may make sense to enlist the help of a professional puppy trainer.
Private lessons with an experienced puppy trainer may be the right solution, as their guidance and demonstration of how to stop the biting could be enough to put you on the right track to better behavior. If you’re diligent in following their advice, your pup should come out of the nipping phase rather quickly.
If you’re looking for an experienced professional puppy trainer in Portland or elsewhere in northwestern Oregon, Blackwood Canine is here to meet your needs – and since we’ve been helping pet parents for more than 10 years, our team knows how to achieve results.
Our puppy trainers offer in-home private lessons for pet parents in the Portland area, or, if you prefer, you’re welcome to schedule private lessons at our state-of-the-art training facility in Scappoose. And you may want to consider our popular Puppy Jump-Start program, a three-month training course designed to help young pups develop basic life skills and a love of learning.
At Blackwood Canine, we work with dogs of all ages, breeds, and dispositions. In addition to our Puppy Jump Start program, our in-home private lessons, and our in-facility training, we offer several board-and-train programs – otherwise known as dog boot camps – to better accommodate Oregon pet parents.
For more information on how we train puppies – or to schedule an evaluation with the professional Portland puppy trainers at Blackwood Canine, contact us today.
