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This is the Puppy Training Podcast , episode

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151 , how Do I Get my

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Puppy to Stop Biting ? This

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podcast is designed to help you on your

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journey of becoming best friends through love and

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learning , as you train your own dog from

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home , and I'm here to help you every

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step of the way . This is the Puppy Training

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Podcast and I'm your host , amy Jensen

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. Hello

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everybody , thank you for joining me on the

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podcast today . We are going

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back to basics For anybody

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getting a new dog or a puppy soon

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maybe you already have one or

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for anyone who has an older dog who

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is still malty I know there's some of you out

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there , that's okay . Today we are

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talking about biting . So biting

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and malting right . We all know puppies

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bring a lot of joy and companionship

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to our lives . They're so cute , but

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they also come with some challenges , and one of the

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most common being puppy

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biting . This behavior , while

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it's natural for dogs , can be frustrating

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and even painful for dog families . Here

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at Backstreet Urmbella , we do our fair share of coaching on

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this topic , so I thought why not talk

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about it on the podcast again ? Understanding

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why puppies bite and how to address

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it using positive reinforcement techniques

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is necessary , you guys , for creating

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a happy and well-adjusted dog in the

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home Today . Let's start with

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the question why do puppies

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bite ? Why , right , if I

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can understand the why , life is a lot

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more simple , I think , and

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I like this in all facets of life . Why

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, why , why ? So why do puppies bite ? Puppy

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biting is a normal part of their development

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. That's an important statement . Think

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about that . It is a normal part of their development

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. So we actually want

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to recognize they have a need to move

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their little mouths , and their little mouths have

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sharp teeth in them , which I know doesn't always

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go well with humans , but we'll

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talk about more of that today . So puppies explore

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the world primarily through their

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mouths , using their teeth to investigate

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objects and learn about their environment

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. We want them to do that . Now think of

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human toddlers . If you have any experience with human

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toddlers , how often have you heard parents

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say we don't put that in our mouth . Right

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, don't do that , don't put that in your mouth . Exploration

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happens using their mouths , and this

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is so true for puppies . Additionally

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, biting is a form of play for dogs and

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communication for puppies . They may

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bite during play to engage with their

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human or other puppy friends much

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like they would their litter mates . So I like

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to show a video in our classes here at Baxter

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and Bella , our puppy biting video specifically

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of a group of puppies playing and

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how they use their mouths . Just watching

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this little litter play , it looks

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aggressive , it looks maybe unfriendly

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, but watching their body language

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, they're having a good time . But they are using

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their mouths and teeth and occasionally , yes , one

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puppy gets another puppy a little bit too much and the puppy

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yelps and the other puppy learns oh

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, that was too rough , right ? So

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they play this way with their litter mates . This is how

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they grow up and that's important

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to recognize when we bring these puppies or dogs into

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our home , right ? So humans , we

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use our hands . If I want to do something , I'm

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using my hands . Primarily , puppies

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use their mouths , which also means you

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guessed it their teeth are involved and

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very sharp ones while they're young . So it's

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important to note that puppies don't bite with malicious

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intent . I would say that's a very rare

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instance if we have an actual

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aggressive puppy , okay . So we

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get a number of calls or email questions saying

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I think my dog is aggressive and I'm saying how old

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is your dog ? And they're saying it's an 11 week old puppy

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, right , as an example . But

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we learned through discussion with these people that really

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what they have is a puppy that's exciting

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or excitable and they're playing

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. And they're playing like a puppy

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plays with their mouth and their teeth , and

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as humans we don't like that . It hurts

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, those teeth are sharp , but that can

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lead families to think , hey , I have an

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aggressive puppy . So it sure can seem

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like that at times . Right , but

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their teeth are their primary means of interaction

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and they are yet to learn the boundaries

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or rules of acceptable behavior

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when living in a home with humans . So

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it is our responsibility to teach these dogs how

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to use their mouth appropriately when they are

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living with us . They do not come

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knowing that , so remember that , because , again , that

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takes away a lot of the frustration Is

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, if I just understand , puppies don't come

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knowing that they shouldn't put

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their teeth on me , right ? They're just trying to be friendly

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and play and engage with me and

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it can seem in my eyes maybe possibly

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aggressive because , hey , they bit me , but

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they're just trying to play . So

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understanding this , I think , helps us be more patient

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with them and allows for

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this learning process to take place on

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their end as well as ours . Now

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what can we do about puppy biting

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. So first things first

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, I like to teach bite inhibition

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. I think this is one of the most crucial

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aspects of puppy training is to teach the

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puppy how to control the

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force of their bite . Puppies

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learn that bite inhibition are . The puppies

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who learn bite inhibition are less likely

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to cause injury during play or

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when they become overly excited because

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they can control that force of their mouth . So

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to teach bite inhibition , allow your puppy

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to kind of mouth you . This is when they're very young . They first

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come home . They might put their mouth on you , right . If

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the biting becomes too hard , make a high-pitched

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yelping sound to mimic the reaction of a litter mate

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, like ouch , that hurt , right . You

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might even wanna just turn and walk away . This

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signals to the puppy that they have done something you

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know use their teeth , their mouth . They've bitten too

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hard and they should reduce the pressure . If

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they respond appropriately , reward

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them with praise and continue to play with them . So

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if they back off or walk away or

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they re-engage with you . But now they're much softer

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with their mouths , that's good , we want that

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. If they respond

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inappropriately , you might just need

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to simply get up , like I mentioned , and walk away

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anytime your puppy mows you and

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we'll talk about this in a little bit but setting them

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up for success using pens and gates and

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tethers and things like that so that you can get up and walk

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away without them following you , that creates

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this pattern that they quickly learn . Oh

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, if I want Amy to stick around and play with me

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, I can't put my mouth on her , okay

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. Next , we need to provide

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appropriate chew toys . We're talking

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that a puppy needs to chew , right ? They

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are growing , you guys , two sets of teeth

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within six months of life . Now think about

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that . So they're born without teeth . The teeth

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start to grow . They grow an entire puppy set

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of teeth , which I know are very sharp and they hurt

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, but they lose those teeth around

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five to six months of age and grow an entire

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adult set of teeth . That is a lot of change

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happening inside a dog's mouth in

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not very much time . So your puppy

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does need to chew , right . Their gums

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are probably often sore and hurting

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and they have this natural desire

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, urge to chew . So

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just remember that and recognize that . Let's

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give them appropriate chew toys that help satisfy

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their natural urge to chew but also prevents them

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from using our hands or belongings as chew toys

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. So we always want to make sure that we provide

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safe , durable and toys that are

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appealing to your puppy , right ? If you

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are with your puppy and you try to

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hand them this toy , that's maybe like a

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squeaky toy , right ? Or just like

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a tennis ball or something , and

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I let it go . That toy becomes boring

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and lifeless , right , it just lays on the floor . If

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you plan to stay next to your puppy and want to interact

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with them and they are wanting to mouth you , you might need

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to make that toy engaging , make

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it more exciting than you Wiggle it , squeak

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it , bounce it , throw it , toss it right

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. Keep offering them that toy

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, like you would a child with a pacifier

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who keeps spitting it out . You just keep putting

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the pacifier back in right , whenever you are , always

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, you can always walk away if

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they go for you and not the toy . So

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, again , set them up for success by

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playing with them in a pen . If they go for

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you , you simply step outside the pen . They can't follow

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you . Or play with them in a room where there's

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a baby gate , so you can walk over the gate

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, step over the gate and get out of that area and

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your puppy can't follow you . You could also have

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your puppy on a leash and tether them to

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, say , a door , and that way you can play

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with them right there with a toy and interact and teach

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them to . Really this is how you play with a human

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right is with a toy between us . And

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then if they go for your hand instead of the toy , you can

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simply walk away and they're tethered . They can't follow

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you . So it's important that you're able to teach

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them that pattern . Oh , you mouthed me , I walk

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away . Right , and as they get that

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over and over and over again , they start

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to see that pattern recognize . It doesn't

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happen in one time . They have to develop

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that pattern or learn that pattern that I

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bite , she walks away . I mouth her

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, she walks away . And the more consistent

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you are at that , the quicker your puppy

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learns . Oh , that doesn't work . I guess I should

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be more gentle with Amy , right ? I shouldn't put my mouth

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on Amy if I want her to stick around and play with me . So

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along those lines . Third is to be consistent

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. Consistency is key when addressing

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puppy biting . We need to make sure that everyone

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in our household is aware of the rules

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and follows those same rules and techniques

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. Mixed signals will definitely confuse

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our puppy and it just impedes our progress

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. Remember also to

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avoid harsh punishments . That's tempting , I

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know , if your puppy gets you to want to flick them back or maybe

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that's a natural reaction of yours . But try

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your best to avoid using punishment-based

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methods , especially when it comes

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to puppy biting . We encourage it for any behavior

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, but especially with puppy biting , physical

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punishment or harsh verbal reprimands can

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lead to fear or anxiety in

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your dog and they may even make

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this biting behavior worse . So

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be careful . Getting angry about it we

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simply just want to get up and walk away . So focus

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on the positive reinforcement Now

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. Positive reinforcement involves rewarding

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desired behaviors to encourage their

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repetition . Here are some positive

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reinforcement techniques that you can use when

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addressing puppy biting . First

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, you can use treats and verbal praise . So I

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like to reward my puppy with treats and enthusiastic

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praise when they exhibit good behavior . I

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promise if you watch for good behavior you can

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find some . As a parent , I

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know in raising my kids sometimes the only

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positive thing I could think might be I

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like the way you're breathing , right . Maybe

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some of you can relate with me that might be the only

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good you find in the moment . Right Now

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, my kids are awesome and usually we find lots

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more better things . Right , I

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can praise and reward with

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our dogs . It's the same way . You will find

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good behavior that you can reward if you watch

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for it . So look for the good behavior , pay

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them , reward them for that good behavior and

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that good behavior will increase . So

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watch for that Again . They repeat whatever

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works for them Now . Next , you could try clicker

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training or using a verbal marker yes , so

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clicker training is an effective , positive reinforcement

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technique . We pair a distinct click

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sound with a food reward . That helps

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the puppy associate the sound with

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good behavior . So use the clicker to

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mark moments when you find your puppy

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refraining from biting . Right , maybe

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they sit down and grab a toy , click treat

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. I like to use the word yes

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as my clicker because I always have it with

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me . Next , you can practice

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timeouts . If the biting becomes too

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intense during play , just implement a

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short timeout period . Essentially

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, that's what we're doing when we stand up and walk away . Right

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, it's not like I'm punishing my puppy

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or sending them to the corner , you

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know , I'm literally just walking away

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from them . They might be in their pen . In

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their pen they have toys , they have things they can

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do and entertain themselves with . I'm simply

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just removing myself from the situation . So

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it is okay to give your puppy these little

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timeouts . It's also okay if you

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notice your puppy's just really bitey mouthy

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to recognize ah , this puppy

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is tired , they need a nap . How

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much sleep have they had today ? It's very common that we

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find with new puppy families

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that they are just go , go , go all day long

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and these puppies are tired and they get to a point

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in the day where they're over threshold we

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call it zone four here at Baxter and Bella

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and they just can't think . They don't want to think

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, they just react because they're tired . So

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if your puppy might be in this situation , recognize

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, are they tired ? Have they slept lately ? Maybe

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they just need a good nap and that is 100%

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okay to put them in their crate or their pen and

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give them some downtime . So

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puppy biting , you guys , is a common behavior that

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can be addressed effectively with

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patience , consistency and definitely

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positive reinforcement techniques , like we talked about

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. But I just think understanding

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why the puppies bite and then employing

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these different appropriate training methods that we talked about

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today , you can guide your puppy towards

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becoming a well-mannered and enjoyable

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companion . That's our entire

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goal here at Baxter and Bella is to help you

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live life with your puppy , incorporate

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that dog into your home and family and

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live life with them . Now

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do remember that every puppy is unique , so

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be attuned to their individual needs and you

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might need to make adjustments along the way . At

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Baxter and Bella , we are happy to coach you through

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any puppy training problem

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that you are encountering , definitely including

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puppy biting . So reach out to us

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if needed . But with dedication , consistency

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, positive reinforcement , you

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can help your dog grow into a happy and well-behaved

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adult canine . I know

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you can do this . All right , you guys , have

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a wonderful week , happy training . Talk to you

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soon . If

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you have a question about anything you heard on this

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podcast or any other puppy training question

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, visit my site BaxterandBellacom

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to contact me .