Did you recently own a pet dog or puppy? Cute isn’t he… You must love and adore him…But wait ouch!
Your cute little pet bites you with his 28 teeny-tiny needles like teeth. Tears rolled over. But this isn’t the tear of joy that you expected while bringing your puppy home. Are you wondering what went wrong? Then keep reading this and you will find your answer.
When your puppy first bite you, several questions might have popped into your mind. Like My dog is biting me! What did I do wrong? Is my puppy is being aggressive with me?
Questions covered in this article
- Reasons why Puppy is biting
- How to stop puppy biting?
- Which dog breed are less likely to bite
Puppies set to explore the whole world with their mouths. They bite, chew, and investigate the objects they are playing with.
This is a normal process. When puppies play with humans they often get excited and bite their owner’s hands or feet. Puppies biting and being mouthy is a common and expected behavior. So don’t worry your puppy is just growing up.
Puppy bites often aren’t meant to any harm to their owners, but they can be painful to us because we have tender skin.
My Puppy Won’t Stop Biting Me (stop puppy biting now!)
Reasons why Puppy is biting you
#1. Over-excitement
Young puppy often gets over-excited while playing. The more excited they are, the more chances it is for a puppy to bite you.
Let us see some reasons by which your puppy gets over-excited:
- Games that involves rough physical activity
- Rubbing the tummy of your puppy
- Playing chasing games with your puppy
- Rubbing your puppy
#2. Discomfort
The teething process of puppies is very uncomfortable that lasts for 7-8 months. Just like a human baby bites something to ease his uncomfortable feeling, puppies also chew and bite things.
#3. Instigating dogs
You may be unaware of it, but some of your actions are asking your dog to bite you. Let us see what those actions are:
- Sitting on the floor for a long period with your active and playing puppy. You are inviting them to climb up on you and play as they want.
- Making high pitched sound and bouncy movement can instigate your puppy to bite you.
- Rewarding them with your attention: Believe it your puppy loves your attention. So if you are giving them any kind of attention when a puppy bites you. You are making things worse.
#4. Over Petting
You may love your puppy too much, but don’t pour down all your love all at once. Your puppy tends to get bitey or mouthy if you pet them too much. So give them a break
#5. Tiredness
If your puppy has played all day long and you touch him, then there is a possibility that they might bite you. A young puppy needs 16-20 hours of sleep much like a young baby. So make sure your puppy is getting enough rest if you don’t want them to get fussy and cranky.
#6. Frustration
There is also a possibility that your puppy is getting frustrated for some reason or it just getting bratty.
#7. Poor bite inhibition
Young puppy plays with their mother and siblings. This play is often too much mouthy and involves biting each other. During this play, they learn how to bite so that it doesn’t hurt the other one.
So if your puppy biting is too painful for you then poor bite inhibition could be a reason for it.
So we have understood several reasons your puppy bites you. I am sure several questions have started to pop in your brain like,
How to play with a puppy? How to stop my puppy from biting me? How to stop puppy biting when excited?
Ok stop lets us answer these and clear your doubts.
How to stop puppy biting?
Redirection method
If you are willing to teach your puppy not to bite, then try this method. This method is effective.
For this, next time your puppy bites you, remove your hand from their mouth and provide them with chew toys to bite.
This method will also help your puppy ease discomfort from the teething process. And will save your hands, clothes, and furniture from doing the biting.
- Give them a break from you
As already mentioned, all your puppy wants is a break from you. So let them have their own time. During this time they might want to sleep, explore the house, or simply do potty.
If they become over-excited, drain them out
If your puppy is very active, help him to use his physical and mental energy. Either take them to a park or let them play with other puppies till they drain all of it.
- Training Inhibition
If your puppy is too small or is an orphan, then there could be a possibility for him to lack inhibition training.
So training him on bite inhibition can help. Bite inhibition means to teach a dog bite force. Consequently your puppy is less likely to break your skin or bites your hand hard.
So next time you play with your puppy and he bites you. All you need to say is ouch and yelp. And then pull your hands back. Then ignore him for 10-20 seconds. Then resume the play and repeat the process if your puppy bites you. Each time yell more loudly.
But remember not to repeat these more than 3 times.
- Avoid rewarding attention to your puppy
Don’t reward your puppy any kind of attention when he bites you. Any kind of contact, or other family members, talking, shouting, or making eye contact should be devoid.
- Train your puppy
Train your puppy to be away from your hand. While playing if your puppy comes towards your hand, yelp a little. Then slowly move backward and if your puppy doesn’t approach you then reward him with a treat.
- Identify the source of your puppy’s frustration
Always make sure your puppy is not getting irritated by your actions. Don’t slap him and pet them with your hands close to their mouth. Also, try finding out the reason if your puppy is suddenly being too mouthy or frustrated.
Which Do breeds are least likely to bite?
- Labrador Retriever
- Golden Retriever
- Collie
- Bulldog
- French Bulldog
- Pug
- Beagle
- Irish Setter
- Newfoundland
- Brussels Griffon
