TEACHING A DOG TO STOP BITING AND MOUTHING

Mouthing (which includes nipping and biting) is a behavior that a majority of puppies exhibit. It comes from a dog's need to chew and not entirely knowing how to control their bite inhibition.

The thing is, puppies are not born to know the difference between a chew toy and your hand.

Therefore, you have to teach them what is appropriate to chew on and what is not. So although you may think it’s cute when your tiny puppy is mouthing on your hand, don’t EVER let your pup chew or mouth on you!!

From the second you bring your puppy home, make sure he knows that you and your clothes are not to be chewed.

If your puppy is trying to mouth or chew on you or your clothing:

1. Tell your puppy “No”.

2. Redirect him to an appropriate chewing item (chew toy or bone).

As you can see, there are only two steps—correcting this behavior is quite simple. However, the problem that I see with most puppy owners is a lack of consistency and persistence!!

If you let your pup mouth on your hand one day and the next day you reprimand him for it, he will be confused and won’t understand why you are telling him not to do something that you allowed him to do previously. Consistently tell him “no” from the start and you will see results!

In some extreme cases, however, you may find that redirection is not enough and your pup is still mouthing after redirecting him to a chewing item.

In this case:

1. Redirect him to 'sit' and focus on you before resuming play.

2. If your pup is still trying to mouth or nip you after doing this, put him in the crate to take a mental break and calm down

3. Repeat these steps until the mouthing subsides.

This is why I stress the importance of proper crate training so much!! When you create a control area for your pup (the crate) using positive reinforcement techniques, it can be utilized as a training tool as a positive area where your pup can relax and calm down when naughty behaviors arise.

Tag someone who could use this advice in the comments below!
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Kaelin Munkelwitz is the dog trainer of the new age.
Emmy award winning actors, Forbes list business moguls and local families all trust her for the same reason, Kaelin knows dogs.
Kaelin’s individualized approach helps you tailor time tested positive reinforcement training techniques to your dog’s unique experiences, behaviors, and makeup to achieve long-term results.
Kaelin has compiled her thousands of hours of dog training experience into these videos to teach you EVERYTHING you need to know about how to raise and train a happier, healthier, and more behaved dog!
The content distributed here through this channel is Kaelin’s way of giving back and sharing her extensive knowledge and understanding of canine behavior with passionate dog owners like you. Enjoy :)
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[aixx]

Thanks for working with an "older" dog. My puppy is almost 6 months old and I was starting to get discouraged since some trainers say you can't teach an older dog (+ 6 months) to stop biting. I'll keep trying

[buddyblue]

We really needed this video!! Our puppy is so good but when it comes to mouthing she gets crazy! Really appreciate the tips!!

[Foreverbabironi]

I recently adopted an adult dog, who when excited, gets insanely mouthy, this has been very educational and helpful

[yuliyaviktoria]

I’m so happy I found this video, I have the same problem with my 8 months old dog

[dimun]

My dog starts to bite me everytime I’m playing with him

[MarealL.]

My dog keeps on snapping or attempt to bite me everytime i pat him on his head.

[hububdub]

this video was perfect learning-wise. im excited to see how this works on my dog!

[lg]

Thanks for the video! I work with dogs every day and this is great educational content. One thing I noticed is often times owners encourage their dogs biting/ mouthing (whether they realize it or not) by not doing anything about it when it is happening. These bad habits that are allowed and not prevented or taught as wrong in puppyhood don’t just disappear without the owner actively changing how they interact with the dog. Boundary setting is key!

[loverrlee]

Thank you! This video has been so helpful! I have an adult dog (2 years) who never learned to play with toys so he has started to mouth when he gets excited, especially after playing tug toy. We are going to focus more on games like fetch and independent play. We will work on these tips you shared. Thank you.

[daviddiaz]

i like how you’re looking everywhere besides the camera, thanks for the tips i’m gonna implement these from now on!

[laurabarton]

My puppy likes to bite everything like clothes ankles hands toes what can I do to help that problem

[jacobabbottknows]

Great information in this video. I just got a blue nose so these videos are a great help! Thanks.

[zninz]

Thank you for the video, having troubles with a 1 year old rottie. She’s biting me all the time, and today she has attempted to attack me. Simple video for me to use for guidelines.
Thanks

[sofiasalas]

I have an extremely energetic dog. She was a stray until we saved her. We’ve had her for 8 months but she is still constantly biting. When I try to get her attention and give her treats she tries to take the treat like it’s her number one priority. I will try to do what you say in this video 😊❤️

[CamilleGG]

Hi Kaelin and thanks for the lovely job you are doing with dogs! Dog-trainer-in-training here and reading all the fantastic material recommended by the APDT and beyond, etc. However, little thing I haven't found an answer to yet: when you redirect a puppy or dog onto the chew toy, how do you do so so that they do not think they are being rewarded for having just mouthed you? Do you say, give that to them after the crucial 3-second window following a behavior so that they don't connect it as a reward? Perhaps 10 seconds later instead? (And I realize that of course, ideally you give them a chew toy/have them do a sit, BEFORE they mouth you when you anticipate their excitement is starting to build). Appreciate any reply, thanks!

[karazehner]

Thank you for this video! Our dog (9 months) has started defensive snapping. Tell him no and he begins to big boy bark and snap. Not hard, but it's still scary and dominant. But I will try this and see if it works!

[vickieschroeder]

Training my dog seems easier than training others outside of my home (people in stores rushing up, those that initiate bad behavior (wanting him to jump up on them) and say that it's okay to my dog while I'm trying to put him back in a down position, and even those that have their own dogs and want me to know that they know how to train and want to have lengthy discussions with me on how I need to train while they continue to initiate bad behaviors). You can't see me sitting here shaking my head! Any advice on how best to handle is appreciated! Thank you for your video - loved it!

[Katleral]

How to correct this type of behavior towards guests or strangers?

[COrichard]

My dog is like 7 months and as soon as we take her out the cage in about like 20 minutes she starts playing rough and bitting really hard

[jade]

My dog is so hyper, everytime i play with her it’s always end up with her mouthing and biting my hands 😩 and when i said stop, she will stop and then jump right to my face😩 and of course i will get a scratch😩 btw my dog is aspin and I’m from Philippines