Who doesn’t like to play with puppies? They’re so cute and so much fun! But when your puppy doesn’t understand how sharp and dangerous his teeth are, it can be problematic. It is very important to teach your puppy not to bite or nip. Here are some basic rules to follow for puppy’s playtime.
Always use toys to play with your puppy. Never use your hands. If you use your hands to roughhouse with your puppy, he will learn that your hands are toys and therefore it’s okay to bite them. By the same token, don’t let puppy attack any part of you or things that are attached to you, including clothing and shoes. You may think it’s funny when puppy is small, but this behavior can be dangerous when puppy is full grown.
Fortunately, dog toys are available in a variety of sizes and materials, and they are sturdy and inexpensive. They are certainly less expensive than having to make a trip to an emergency room for stitches after a bout of rough-housing with your dog! Chew toys should be appropriate as well. Let’s face it, buying toys that resemble things you do not want your dog chewing on probably isn’t a good idea. Cats, shoes and other similar toys probably are not the best ones. Bones, fire hydrants, ropes and other similar toys are perfect for teaching your dog his play limits.
For items like furniture that you don’t want puppy to chew on, use a deterrent like Bitter Apple Spray or something similar. The unpleasant taste will soon teach puppy to keep his mouth off. When you’re playing with puppy, if he grabs at you with his mouth, shove a toy between you. This will show puppy what items are acceptable to mouth. Don’t yell “no” or any other words to make the puppy think the toy is wrong. Simply replace the unwanted behavior with the correct one. Another effective trick is to speak “puppy”. When puppies play with their littermates, they squeal in a very high pitch when the play gets too rough and they’re hurt. Puppies instinctively know to stop immediately when they hear it. It may feel ridiculous at first, but if you squeal then turn away every time he bites you, even if accidentally, he will learn to control himself.
If your dog is prone to chewing, pulling or otherwise attacking your shoes, hands or even your pant legs, you might think that it’s cute when he’s a tiny pup but chances are that encouraging this behavior while he’s a puppy will result in this behavior continuing when he’s full grown. What might be ‘cute’ when they are pups could be downright dangerous when your dog is full grown.
One thing to be careful of. If you react in an excitable or startled manner to your puppy biting you, they are likely to think you’re playing a game – this of course makes them think that this is a fun thing to do. Replacing the inappropriate behavior with an appropriate chew toy is far more effective and soon your puppy will understand that toys are for biting and mouthing and not your hand or clothing.
If you are having difficulty training your dog avoid hitting him, scolding loudly and shaking. Remain calm, pick your dog up and place him in a quiet area such as his crate. Allow both you and your puppy to calm down. Then let him out and continue to play. Don’t be tempted to use the crate for punishment or your puppy will soon associate crating with punishment and will not want to be in the crate for any period of time.
Remember, your puppy needs to play to be happy and healthy. Teaching your dog to fetch, play hide and go seek are all great games. If you stop playing any time your dog misbehaves then soon your dog is going to behave because he wants to continue playing. Consistency in training your puppy to have good behavior will mean a happy, well adjusted, well trained dog.
Having a puppy or new dog is very rewarding, but you must keep in mind that there are many dog training tools out there that will help you train your dog as well. Some of these tools come from the manufacturer Innotek such as the Innotek IUT300 dog training collar, the Innotek 1000 dog collar, or if you have two dogs that need to be trained you might want to try the Innotek 1000 dog training collar.