Tried And True Methods For Training Your Dog Not To Bite
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) revealed that more than 4.7 million people a year are bitten by dogs. These high incidents of dog bites result to various medical bills, law suits, and sometimes euthanasia for the dog. These cases might be avoidable if dog owners take safety precautions such as training their dogs not to bite.
Training a dog to refrain from biting can vary by the breed, age, and personality of your animal, just as with anything else you teach him. Here are some tips to help you teach your dog not to bite:
Puppies have the tendency to always mouth and nip and it’s best to nip this behavior in the bud when they are still young. Even though you might think it is cute when your little pup plays by nibbling at you, if you encourage this behavior, you will end up with a big problem when your pet is grown.
Puppies as young as five weeks old can begin to respond to simple commands. For biting behavior, a gentle, firm “No!” and a slight squeeze of the muzzle can be a good place to start.
It is important not to squeeze the muzzle too hard or too high up. Doing so can cause the puppy to bite its tongue or damage the delicate odor receptors that are high up in the snout. A dog’s ability to smell is one of its most important assets!
The squeezing isn’t really a form of punishment. It is to teach the dog that the verbal command goes along with discomfort. Dogs don’t like having their muzzle squeezed and learn to associate biting with the unpleasant feeling and may be reluctant to bite in the future.
Another dog training technique that might help eliminate biting is to socialize your dog since dogs that are not used to people or other dogs do tend to bite. You want to socialize your dog eat an early age to develop his calmness and confidence. Your dog will be more friendly to your guests, other animals and even strangers if socialized properly.
Socialize young dogs with other non-aggressive dogs. This will help them to adjust to differences in smell, looks, temperament, etc. and, ultimately, prevent fearful and territorial behavior.
Although dogs may take gentle nips at their litter mates, they rarely bite them seriously. This is an attribute you can develop, by encouraging your pet to consider welcome humans and animals as part of his “pack”.
When introducing your dog to other household pets, restrain both your dog and your other pets. They will learn to gradually approach each other naturally.
You must be aware that some usual indicators of oncoming dog aggression are body tension, snarling, and erect ears. You can prevent possible aggression by ordering your dog to sit, back stroking, and or reaching out your hand to the other animal. If you have conveyed the smell of your pet to the other animal, let them interact naturally.
Many dogs can be trained to curb thier urge to bite by the time they are four and a half months old, but it may take your dog longer than that. It varies by breed, and each individual dog within a breed is different. And you know that saying “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”? It’s not exactly true, but training an older dog to stop biting is much more difficult than it is to teach a puppy.
Some dogs are not fully trained to not to bite other people and animals. In this case, the owners need to take special care to insure the dog is never put in a situation where it can harm another person or animal.
If you apply these dog training techniques with patience and persistence, your dog should gradually let go of his tendency to bite. While it may take some patience on your part, it’s well worth it in the long run.
Filed under: Training