Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Some Steps to Stop Puppy Nipping

By Sandy Rutherforde


Young puppies tend to be cuddly, cute, and adorable but when they start nipping at your toes, your face, or even on your furniture, it can get rather troubling. Puppy nipping is a very normal occurrence among puppies, especially for those who have began teething. Any time teething occurs puppies will feel pressure on their gums and for this reason they will really need to discover a method to deal with this pressure by chewing, gnawing, or nipping on anything that they see. This is actually a quite typical problem among dog owners but there are actually ways to enable you to resolve your puppy nipping concerns.

To begin with, you have to understand that it is never proper to strike your puppy when he begins nipping. As an alternative, you have to redirect his behavior onto a lot more appropriate biting behavior, like biting on chew toys. Additionally it is crucial to teach him to be gentler when a hand is around his mouth. Always surround your puppy with chew toys to ensure that there are actually lesser chances of him biting on your furniture or nipping on other people's toes.

Similar to kids, young puppies respond to novelty so it can be vital to give him new toys every so often. If your puppy isn't comfortable when he is being petted, you can change this simply by conditioning the dog to think that petting is a very good thing. When you pet him, provide him with a chew toy with your other hand. This can keep his mouth busy and stop him from nipping.

A different method to stop puppy nipping is by discouraging his negative behavior. When your puppy starts to nip at your face when you are playing with him, do not strike him. He will just feel you are playing with him and it will actually inspire him to do it more. Hitting or spanking may also promote violent behavior that he could carry over as he gets older. It may additionally cause your dog to end up afraid of you.

As an alternative, give him a time out. Whenever the nipping begins, say "bad dog" and turn your attention away from him. This way he will understand that he did something wrong. The more you do this, the more his nipping tendencies will get discouraged.

If the biting gets worse, you should say "no" in a shocked voice and immediately place your thumb in his mouth under his tongue, and your other finger under his chin. Hold it there for about ten seconds, but not too tightly, in order that your puppy will really feel uncomfortable. One critical thing to bear in mind is that you should be consistent with your behavior. Dogs flourish on routine, therefore the more they become familiar with your actions the much easier they learn or unlearn poor behavior.




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