Play Biting

The first thing to remember with Play Biting with puppies is it is normal behavior.  To their humans it may seem rude and/or painful to be on the receiving end, however it is normal puppy behavior.  Unfortunately, puppies prior to loosing their baby teeth have "very" sharp teeth (remember they were born predators after all).

Puppies use their mouths the way we use our hands.  They use them to play and to explore.  When puppies are with other puppies and their mom in a litter, they receive feedback if their mouths become too ruff or painful.  The receiver may react back using their mouth not so nicely or go away and not play with that puppy any longer.  If you think about watching young puppies play with other young puppies and mom, you see pouncing, growling, biting, and grabbing, but very little yipes in pain.

When puppies are mouthing you, for them it is like playing with their litter mates.  It is up to you to give them feedback in a constructive and positive manner.  I do not encourage you to say all play biting is bad in the beginning, because this is our one opportunity as puppies to teach them how to use their mouths and how to judge pressure of their bites so as adults they will know bite inhibition (what pressure is okay and what is not okay, example hard bites that can do serious damage, we of course prefer "soft" bites).  I do not suggest you use negative methods and punishment for play biting (examples of what I do not suggest you use: scruff shakes, hitting them in the face or nose, upper cut/chin slaps, sticking your fingers down their throat, rudely smashing their mouth closed, squirting with water or other liquids, or alpha roll overs!), the reason being these adverse actions may either cause your puppy to become fearful or mistrustful of you (ruining your quality bond and/or causing aggression issues to arise) or can illicit potential aggressive behaviors (like growling, snapping, coming at you seriously)!  Why go to the negative side of things if we have the option of never having to go there, for both the puppy's and our own sake and well being!?!

First thing to remember is there will be times when you may chose not to work on Play Biting.  Examples: after a bad day at work and you are short on temper (after puppy has pee'd/pooped, eaten, played, pee'd/pooped, give a stuffed Kong Toy, then go have a glass of wine and/or take a Calgon bath and relax! Remember tomorrow is another day.), puppy it tired and cranky,  perhaps is teething and cranky, or is under exercised and you need to go let it run and play and burn some puppy beans off first.  Give yourself some credit, this is only one moment in time, not a daily occurrence (your puppy is safe and sound and well taken care of, versus puppies out there that are ignored and unwanted instead).

Remember to monitor puppy and children at all times.  Take the time to work both with children and puppy to teach them how to play nicely together.  Redirect behavior you do not want (whether the child's or the puppy's behavior) into behavior you do want.  Use timeouts for either/or when needed.  Children tend to make great live squeaky toys naturally (they run and squeal from the puppies, which excites and ramps up the puppies excitability), unfortunately if left to occur it can teach the puppy that children make great live toys and can sadly teach children that puppies are scary and no fun because they predict pain and scary things.  Use your Management techniques here instead and promote positive interactions from both parties.

If you like to read, a great book, with lots of valuable information on Bite Inhibition is "Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson.  You can order it new or used at www.Amazon.com.  It gives you information on how to target bites, starting with the ones you do not want down to whatever you and your family decide are acceptable.

Remember to offset your puppy's time in the crate and pens with lots of access to run and play.  Puppies need adequate exercise to grow both physically and mentally.  Tired puppies are happy puppies, which in turn make for happy owners.  Tired puppies by you time to put them down for a nap in their crates so you may go do other things.

Puppies that are overtired and cranky, over stimulated, adrenaline rushed, and teething generally have harder mouths during those times.  Think ahead and be proactive (If overtired or over stimulated, put away for a nap in their crate for quiet time. If starting to get over excited/adrenaline rushed, think ahead and stop to redirect for a quieter activity before they go over the top. When teething, have frozen toys ready for them to chew on instead of you, exercise and let them take a nap).  Know all puppies generally have a "crazy" time once a day which unfortunately tends to occur in the evening when all you would like to do is sit down and relax, yet your puppy has decided to bounce off the walls instead!

Do not play hand games with your puppy, tease your puppy, or play the face slappy game.  Promote the behavior you want.  The softer bites, the ones that do not hurt, choose to ignore them or simply redirect them to play with a toy instead.

You want to work on targeting their pressure bites (the bites that hurt or almost hurt).  When you feel your puppy's teeth with this type of play bite, you will want to let out a High Pitched either "Owwwwww" or "Ouch"!!  If you find that the high pitch only excites your puppy to the next wild level, use a low deep growly tone instead next time.  You will then follow up by using a "Time Out", simply meaning you will take your eyes and face away (in case puppy does a lounge/snap), then slowly get up and walk off taking your body and attention away from the puppy for a minimum of 30 to 60 seconds (keep it short). If you have  a puppy who unfortunately sees this as an opportunity to lounge and bite at your body as you are walking away, keep a leash close by, and use instead for the time out by tying short and close by to a secure object, come back (remember you have not went far at all) and undo after 30 to 60 seconds (if not crying or barking, of course).  For your Time Outs, you may wish to chose a follow up Time Out word (after your Owwww or Ouch) like : Time Out, Bummer, or Enough in a low deep growly tone, accompanied by a evil mommy/daddy "the look", then walk off.

If you get more than 3 pressure bites in a relatively short time period, say 10 to 15 minutes, it is time to re-evaluate what is going on with the puppy (for example: does puppy need time to play and get more relaxed, go potty, take a nap, or eat?).  Remember to keep it fair, as our goal is to set the puppy up to succeed.

Have special toys hid about, incase you need to redirect the puppy to take a break and play with something else instead.  Use these special items for this time only.  (Can even be a really good stuffed Kong Toy to get his attention away from play biting/rough housing.)

It is okay to take a break and go back to practicing later.  Remember with puppies it takes lots and lots and lots of repetitions and patience of setting the puppy up to learn and win the game (versus setting puppy up to fail).  Stay consistent and make sure the entire family is on the same training program.

Your goal should be to start with the harder pressure bites, and keep working slowly towards softer and softer bites, until you and your family agree you are happy with the final results.

If at any point you see biting behavior that concerns you or makes you or family members afraid, seek the help of a professional right away ~ do not wait.  A Professional Trainer or Behaviorist can offer a Private Lesson to evaluate the behavior, determine if it is normal puppy behavior or not, and make a plan for you and your puppy to follow to help you through the issue.

Cindy C. Smith, The Right Steps, 916-966-6883,

www.therightsteps.com

© 2007 The Right Steps & Cindy C. Smith. All rights reserved.

We welcome you to attend one of our:

"Free Seminars" on Positive Solutions to Problem Puppy Behavior include: Play Biting, Jumping, Housetraining, Management, Leadership, Chewing, Exercise and Toy Ideas as well as what to expect as your puppy matures from a Puppy to Adolescent to Adulthood to Senior.