Puppy Training Biting
The puppy that you have brought home is young and wild in many ways. You will have to train it to live in a social environment. Biting is a natural instinct that the puppy has learnt, It sometimes bites to assert its power also. While at play, the puppy can bite and if this is ignored and not nipped in the bud, it could be a problem and could cause harm also. You have to make sure that your puppy’s biting habits are addressed. Your puppy picks things with his mouth and you should mould this habit towards a positive attribute like fetching. You can train your puppy to fetch his toy or your paper.
It is very common for puppies to play the ‘tug’ game and you as the owner may find it very amusing. Avoid this kind of an activity unless your puppy has been trained well enough to understand the commands like ‘No’. There are many owners who love wrestling with their puppies for sheer pleasure and entertainment. Under no circumstances should you wrestle with your puppy as it may lunge at your face, hands, legs and feet. Do not try to move your hand in front of the puppy’s face to tease him. This could make him get aggressive and bite you. When petting him or playing with him be cautious and do not to allow him to take your hand in his mouth. This could encourage him to biting tendencies in a harmless playful gesture.
If your puppy is asking you to take him out for a walk by snapping or grabbing at you do not give in, stop all interactions with him and ostracize him completely. Instead use this habit of his to obey you and reward him for his obedience. You could ask him to fetch his toy and reward him with a little treat. You would be encouraging his biting tendencies by keeping his toys out of reach, thus making him make a grab it. Another good way of inhibiting your puppy from biting is by letting out a loud yell when he grabs at you like an ’Ouch’. He would associate this word with an unwanted behavior the next time he repeats his antics and refrain from displaying it henceforth.