Puppies often spend a significant amount of their time investigating the world around them; this often includes mouthing and chewing on items. When puppies play with their pet parent, they may bite, chew or mouth on their pet parent’s hands. This puppy mouthing behavior is often seen as cute when the dog is a puppy; however, once they become older the pet parent no longer wants them to exhibit this behavior. Find out how to stop an adult dog from biting here!
Puppy Mouthing: What to Do?
If you do not wish your dog to mouth when he is older, it is absolutely crucial you stop the puppy mouthing while he is still young. There are several methods you can use to prevent this behavior. The pet parent should teach the puppy to understand their pet parent is sensitive and they must be gentle with their pet parent.
In addition to puppies having extremely sharp teeth, they also do not have control over their bite which means they do not understand they are being too rough with their pet parent. They must learn to be gentle over time. Puppies often learn to control the roughness of their bite with other puppies. Have you ever seen a litter of puppies playing? If you have, you may have noticed them biting one another. If one puppy bites the other and he yelps, the puppy that bit then understands he bit the puppy too harshly and needs to be gentle the next time. How to handle teething in puppies ?
You can let you puppy play with you and mouth on your hands; however, once he bites too hard, you can yelp similar to a puppy-mate. Following the yelp, allow your hand to go limp as if it were hurt. He will then learn that he mouthed too hard. If your puppy then begins to lick you, you should praise your puppy to allow him to understand he is now being gentle.
Some pet parents have difficulties with their puppies coming up and mouthing while the pet parent is watching television or doing a chore. If this is the case, you should search for a toy your puppy enjoys chewing on and once he begins mouthing on you, substitute your hand for the toy.
If you have any questions regarding puppy mouthing and biting, our in-house pet behaviorist is available to help you. Learn more here about how to stop a puppy from biting your hand ?
Amber Johnson, Animal Behaviorist
Miss Amber Johnson has many years of experience with pets and is a licensed cat and dog nutrition and behavior specialist. She currently collaborates with PetPremium where she counsels clients in pet behavior and nutrition. The statements made in this article are the personal opinions of Miss Amber Johnson and based on independent experiences and could be different from the opinions of PetPremium Pet health Insurance or any other pet health insurance provider.