Mouthing and Biting

how dogs and puppies play

As most dog owners notice quickly, dogs, especially puppies, bite, pounce and chew when they play. Since we dog chasing stick can't teach them to play a nice quite game of gin rummy, we need to give them a way to play with us that doesn't cause us physical pain. We need to teach puppy a way to play with us that uses her teeth — but protects our skin. To begin, get several soft, chewy, doggie toys. Have them in every room where puppy is (put them where puppy can reach them). At the moment puppy places her teeth on you, say "YUCK" or "OUCH" or "ARGH" or something that sounds unpleasant. Your sharp verbal retort, should cause puppy to back away for a second.

training puppy to play nice

Immediately, pick-up one of the puppy toys and offer it to her (you can say "TOY" if you like) and play tug. Encourage puppy to grab the toy and not your skin. Play with puppy with toy between your skin and her teeth. Play tug-o-war and retrieve. If puppy won't play with the offered toy try another toy. If ALL your efforts to get puppy to play with a toy instead of biting you fail, and puppy touches your skin with her teeth again, use your YUCK word, pick puppy up, and calmly, but immediately, put her in her crate. Shut the door and walk away. Leave puppy in crate long enough for her to calm down and then let her out. The amount of crate time will depend on puppy and her personality. When you let her out, it is as if nothing ever happen. The slate is clean and you begin again.

These are the associations that your are trying to make. You want puppy to think —

If I touch people with my teeth ALL PLAY immediately STOPS and I have to sit in my crate for time out.
If I bring people a toy THEY WILL PLAY that really fun tug or retrieve game with me.

A couple of things to watch out for. If during your tug game puppy "misses" and grabs your hand instead of the toy. "YUCK!" stop playing. Dogs are very good at knowing where their teeth are, and we want puppy to be very careful not to make "mistakes." If puppy picks up a toy, encourage her by playing with her, with the toy.

Biting and chasing humans can be very reinforcing for your puppy. It can quickly become puppy's very favorite game. If your puppy has learned to play that game and you want o change that behavior then, STOP PLAYING. in dog house.jpg (2545 bytes) The biting game won't be fun if the people will not react except to say "YUCK." Infact, puppy will not want to play that game at all if she learns that play stops and she looses the people company when she bites. That is not what puppy wants. But she needs a way to play with you so teach her to use the toys as a buffer.

It took Kelly (my German Shepherd) about two weeks of this training. She'd bite, I'd say YUCK and stop play, she'd bite, I'd say YUCK and stop play, … After two weeks I was sitting on the couch, she came up to me with "that look" that says "I'm gonna get ya!" Then she stopped, dead in her tracks, looked around, grabbed a toy, dropped it in my lap and NEVER bit me again.

Tug-o-War

Ten to fifteen years ago when I was young and ignorant, I would have told you "not to play tug-o-war with your dog because it makes them aggressive." I was wrong! In my experience since that time, I believe that all you need do is teach puppy two rules for tug.

If your teeth touch my skin - the game ends
When I say "drop" or "out" - you let go

To teach a puppy to "drop" all you need do is, "Set it Up for Success!" Plan training sessions so that you have within your reach many desirable items. Give one item to puppy. Play, when you are ready, have your hand on the toy that is in puppy's mouth. Say "out" - Stop pulling, stop playing, just hold toy and immediately offer something else. Put the new item right up to puppy's nose. Most likely, puppy will open his mouth to get new item. Praise (click if you have a helper), give puppy new item. Then you may offer the old toy back again if you like.

This teaches puppy that he can't loose. If he "drops" he gets the new stuff (maybe even a treat) and then he gets the toy that he dropped back too! It's a win-win for puppy. The other thing that is happening is puppy is not being reinforced for holding anymore because you stopped playing. As puppy understands the game, place the substitute item(s) farther and farther away, until puppy "drops" even though he can't see a substitute. (The praise/click still comes at the instant the mouth opens.) You don't want the signal for "drop" to become a hotdog in your hand.