Paw Pals Pet Dog Training

Puppy Mouthing and Biting
Elizabeth Brooks

Puppies’ teeth are extremely sharp; this is believed to be a compensatory adaptation since they do not have jaws strong enough to deliver a defensive bite. Therefore, puppy mouthing/biting are annoying and even painful behaviors for us to deal with. However, it is also necessary for us to help our puppies to learn how to control their mouths now, in order to develop bite inhibition. Bite inhibition refers to a dog’s ability to control the amount of pressure they exert when using their mouth. While they are born with this ability, they must develop it in order to become skilled at it. This is the difference between a dog giving a warning bite that applies little or no pressure, and a dog that applies full pressure in all situations resulting in significant damage.
There are several ways to handle mouthing/biting behavior; any can be successful when properly and consistently applied. It is important when dealing with mouthing/biting as in other behaviors that we consistently and correctly apply a method before moving onto another. We are setting the pattern for dealing with future behaviors, so if from puppyhood onward the dog learns that efforts by us to extinguish a behavior do not last, they typically develop a resistance to our efforts. So give a method at least a week of consistent effort before trying another. You should see some improvement in the behavior over that period; if not, try another.
1) The “YIP” – When the puppy puts its mouth on you so that you feel teeth, you immediately react by emitting a high, piercing “YIP.” This is merely an interrupter and is only likely to startle the puppy for a second or two; it is important that as soon as the teeth come off that you redirect the puppy. This can be accomplished by clicking/treating (or verbal reinforcement: “good puppy”) and then immediately after: giving them something else to chew; putting them in their crate/outside/another room while providing them with an appropriate toy to play with. This is an effort to teach the puppy that it is not appropriate to use pressure on humans, but it is alright to do so on “appropriate” items.
2) Removal of Reinforcement – When the puppy puts its mouth on you so that you feel teeth, you “YIP” and then immediately react by getting up and going into another room and shutting the door behind you. Count to 10, open the door and return to your puppy. Each time that you feel the puppy’s teeth you repeat the procedure. By informing the puppy that it is being too rough with you (the “YIP”) and then removing yourself immediately, you are sending the message that the behavior is inappropriate and has consequences – you go away, removing the high-value reinforcement of your attention.
In addition to these responses necessary to teach inhibition, you should begin hand-feeding your puppy. Commit to hand-feeding your puppy its full meal, twice a day, for two weeks. This usually only takes around 5 minutes: 1 piece of kibble at a time, you are going to feed your puppy. They only get the piece if they take it gently (i.e. licking or gently lip nibbling). When doing this do not pull the kibble away from the puppy if it is being too rough – this will likely result in the puppy becoming grabbier as they increase their efforts to get to the food. Instead, move your hand toward the puppy that it can’t extend its mouth toward you and open its mouth wide enough to grab at the kibble. You are not trying to scare the puppy or knock it over or anything like that; you are just causing it to “yield” space to you as you move your hand forward. Hand feeding for two weeks usually results in a dramatic decrease in the level of mouthing/biting. Ensure that you do not reinforce mouthing/biting by giving the puppy anything when you feel the sharpness of teeth.
Kong ‘em. Kongs provide an appropriate outlet for puppy chewing/mouthing/biting behavior. When first introducing a Kong it is best to do so when the puppy is hungry; this increases the desire for what is inside the Kong. It is also necessary to introduce the Kong so that the puppy can easily empty it and then very gradually (over several weeks) increase the level of difficulty required to empty the Kong. This develops a work ethic in the puppy – reinforcing their ever-increasing efforts by reinforcing them over time. So introduce the Kong when the puppy is hungry by putting some high-value treats into the Kong and rolling it around the floor, showing the puppy that the treats are coming out of the Kong. Reinforce any interaction the puppy has with the Kong through verbal encouragement, helping them roll the Kong around, etc. Add some more treats and continue. Keep this initial session short so that the puppy doesn’t lose interest – you will only do this for 1-2 minutes. Practice this same way 3-5 times the first day. You want to entice your puppy with these sessions in order to increase their desire to work to get at the treats in the Kong. From day 2 forward, start placing a few pieces of kibble in with the treats, and while still encouraging your puppy to interact with the Kong, you will spend less time helping the puppy empty it. Refer to your Kong-stuffing sheet and gradually (over weeks): increase the level of difficulty required to empty the Kong; increase the amount of kibble in the Kong and reduce the amount of “incentives.” I don’t recommend that you use the “recipes” on the Kong sheet, but it does give a good visual of how to “stuff” one. Keep it simple; kibble, carrots, apples, peanut butter (to hold things in), yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.; the idea is not to fill your puppy with junk. The goal is that eventually the puppy will work on a stuffed, frozen Kong to empty it. This encourages the puppy to chew an appropriate item, provides relief for teething issues by allowing them to chew on a rubber object that has some “give” to it, provides release for any anxiety or stress the puppy has, and provides an interactive activity providing mental and physical stimulation, allowing you a break.
A Kong is what you make of it – if you don’t teach the puppy how to work to empty it and just have it lying around, don’t expect the puppy to show much interest in it. It can become a fun and valuable tool with a little bit of effort on your part. Even small breeds can benefit from these – they are what you make of them. Feeding your puppy from a Kong from an early age will provide them with something to do as opposed to emptying their food bowl in 60 seconds and then having to fill the rest of their time, or they show no interest in their food bowl because they never get hungry and aren’t interested in working for it. An added benefit to a puppy learning that good stuff comes from Kongs is that they are much more likely to show interest in that Kong even when they are just looking for something to chew.
It goes without saying that rough play with humans is likely to increase mouthing/biting behavior toward humans, and it should therefore be avoided. This includes wrestling, tug, and keep away.
Also keep in mind that the way the puppy’s mouth is designed, it is much easier for them to take something gently if it is held at their nose level or lower. Once they are successfully taking items gently at that level, gradually over time (weeks) hold the treat just a little bit higher to help your puppy learn how to gently take from someone’s hand.

Hello everyone! I wanted to do a quick check-in to let you all know that yes, I am alive and well, and on the way to recovery. I managed to mangle my foot pretty badly a couple of weeks ago in a lawnmower incident, but am on the road to recovery. Unfortunately, in the meantime most of my work with you all is on hold, as the Dr keeps telling me to take it easy (hmmm, what exactly does that entail?). Anyway, I do apologize again to each of you about the disruption in our training sessions, and assure you that we will be back at it as quickly as possible.

I also wanted to say a special thank you to all of you that have expressed your concern and put yourselves out in multiple ways in order to help me out. I can’t thank you enough, and I want you to know that I will always carry you in my heart.

I’ll check in more frequently as I learn more about the status of my recovery; as of now, I am due to have the pins removed 10 September, so if I remember correctly from the last Dr appointment, I will be getting a hard cast then and can start weight bearing and rehab. After that, there will be no stopping me.

I hope that you will find the posts I add helpful in your training process.

Sincerely,

Beth.