How To Stop Your Dog From Play Biting

Cute little puppies love to test out their brand new needle-like teeth. Whilst we may find this cute when they are little, we certainly don’t want a powerful adult dog to have any biting tendencies.

A little puppy play biting

Play biting starts as soon as the litter are old enough to play. When puppies play fight they quickly learn how hard they can bite before they upset one of their brothers or sisters, but as soon as your puppy is separated from his litter he will continue mouthing with you and your family. Your pain threshold is obviously a lot higher than a four week old puppy’s, which is why he will continue to test you by pulling your shoe laces with his tiny sharp teeth. This behaviour is completely natural, but it must not be ignored when he arrives in his new home.

Two young Husky puppies play biting

Prevention

Training your dog to sit and stay is the first thing to master. Once he can do this you must command him to sit and stay as soon as he tries to bite your or your clothes. For this prevention method to be effective you must be very persistent. It might take a while to teach your dog not to bite, but if you stick at it eventually you will benefit from his behaviour.

A young Stafordshire Bull Terrier sitting

You will enjoy your dog’s company a lot more, which will allow to your develop a closer bond with him in the long run. It is important that everyone in your family follows this prevention method, otherwise your pup will get confused and never learn.