Puppy Nipping & Chewing

Bite Inhibition (Puppy Nipping) 

It is very important to remember that all puppies need to be able to bite and chew so they learn about the strength and power of their jaws and teeth and, most importantly, learn how to control them.  It is very important  that they have safe and appropriate outlets, such as chew toys, for the very normal mouthing and chewing behaviours.  Chewing and performing natural doggy behaviours is enriching and enjoyable for them. 

Lesson #1 in Puppyhood: No Painful Bites

If you’re playing with puppy and he hurts you, say “ouch!” or make a little yelp sound and stop playing for a moment, keeping your body still and removing your attention from puppy (but keeping him in the corner of your eye so you can observe his reaction).  Most puppies will stop what they're doing and look at you, and if he does this, praise him and resume playing with an appropriate toy.  Sometimes yelping excites the puppy, in which case it will be more effective to just stop playing briefly, and then redirect to a toy, without using any verbal indicators.

If during play puppy gets carried away, leave the room for a moment: just 3-5 seconds at first, and then increase to 5-10 seconds if the nipping behaviours continue when you return.  Puppy will learn that if he bites the fun play time stops, and he will start to learn to better control his mouth.  

The best set up for this is to play near a door, baby gate, or X-Pen so you can stand up and leave puppy on the other side of the baby gate for a brief moment.  The quicker you can leave, the more the puppy will be able to make the connection between nipping and the "time out" (pause in play).   Remember that puppies have short attention spans and even shorter memories.  

Remember:  ALL puppies nip, this is very normal in puppy development, and a necessary part of their social and physical development.  They will grow out of this phase with patience and consistent redirection.  Puppies also start to lose those very sharp teeth around 3 months of age, so the mouthing behaviours will be less painful, provided the puppy is learning bite inhibition through socialization and play before then.  

True story.

If puppy gets over-stimulated and follows biting at your feet, or otherwise continues nipping, leave the room out of his sight for 10-12 seconds.  Return and resume playing, but get up and leave briefly again if he resumes biting.  Very short mini "time-outs" and an opportunity to try again help the puppy learn that the person leaving is a direct result of his behaviour. 

It's also totally okay for the human(s) to need and take a "time out" from puppy as well.  Provide a safe space, such as an X-Pen, for puppy to hang out in while the humans are not supervising.  When you need a break from puppy, this can help puppy learn to entertain himself and gives puppy some needed downtime too.  Don't forget, puppies need a lot of sleep and rest, they are growing little pooches!  

Lesson #2 in Puppyhood:  Appropriate Items

If puppy is using your arm or leg as a chew toy, getting up and leaving is still an option.  Another option is to (after you've removed puppy from your appendage!) offer an appropriate item for chewing.  This can be a rope toy, squeaky toy, Kong, etc.  We have a blog post all about stuffing and preparing Kongs for puppies and dogs of all ages to enjoy :)  We also have another blog post called "Boredom Busters" for further ideas for keeping your pets entertained at home.  

Puppies need options for doing the right thing so that they know what they can and cannot chew on.  When puppy makes the right choice, celebrate!  Praise him, play with him, show him that chewing on the toy will allow fun and play to happen.

Important: Do Not "Bite" Back

Although it can be tempting to punish puppy for this behaviour (those sharp puppy teeth hurt!), this can cause one of two problems: either puppy becomes afraid of you or puppy thinks you're playing roughly and comes back biting even harder.  

Puppies need opportunities to learn that their nipping hurts and that people won't play with them if they bite.  Puppies need opportunities to play using their mouths so they can learn to use them softly without hurting.  

Puppies also need to develop a trust and bond with their people and if they become fearful they may develop aggression issues as they mature as a result of feeling the need to defend themselves.  Puppies are not trying to hurt us intentionally, they have poor impulse control and a poor sense of the strength of their mouths, so it's up to us to teach them what is acceptable. 

Aggression begets aggression: if we are rough with our puppies, they are more likely to be rough with us.  While it certainly can be very enjoyable to wrestle and play tug with our puppies, it's important to set up boundaries for these activities and be consistent in maintaining those rules during play time, and to give puppies breaks to settle when they get overly excited.

Whether or not you have any behavioural concerns, we highly recommend ALL puppies attend a positive, well-run puppy socialization class.  Puppies have a short window (called a critical period) for socialization and a good puppy class will help your puppy create positive associations with as many things in their world as possible.  Please feel free to email us at Jillian@PawsitiveCare.ca for a recommendation.

Dog Stair Daily also has FREE books on raising puppies available for download:

 http://www.dogstardaily.com/free-downloads





If you have children in the home, always supervise their interactions with puppies.  Even small puppies can cause injury to children completely by accident, particularly because children often get down to puppy's level and are frequently nose-to-nose, creating a greater risk for a facial injury.  Likewise, children can cause fear or harm to puppies completely innocently as they do not always understand how their behaviour impacts the puppy.  It's important to have a "safe" zone where puppy goes for a rest and for a break when he can't be supervised by an adult.  

Finally, if your puppy is driving you crazy (we're human, it happens!), try some of our boredom buster ideas: http://pawsitivepooch.blogspot.ca/2015/10/boredom-busters-for-dogs.html

And if you need some tips for housetraining, visit our potty training blog post: http://pawsitivepooch.blogspot.ca/2015/07/puppy-potty-training-house-breaking.html 

Jillian Enright, CPDT-KA

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Visit our website: PawsitiveCare.ca

Puppy Potty-Training ("Housetraining")

Teaching Puppy to Potty Outside

We recently adopted a puppy from a shelter, she was about 4 1/2 to 5 months when she came home with us, and was not potty trained.

Phoenix, our Pointer-mix

We hadn't potty-trained a puppy in a long time (Maddy is 9 years old this summer), so it was a good refresher on the basics.  One of the most frustrating problems for dog-owners is when they have difficulty house-training their dog or puppy, so here are some tips for making the process go more smoothly:

1.  Confine puppy when you cannot supervise. 

Kennel train your puppy so that she is happy to lay on a blanket or dog bed and chew on a stuffed Kong while you are busy doing other things.  Puppies are much less likely to soil in their sleeping space (provided they are not confined for longer than they can hold it), so this sets you up to be able to take her right outside as soon as you open the kennel door and she will likely do her business outdoors.

You can also use an X-pen, or baby-gate puppy into a bathroom (make sure towels, razors, toilet paper, etc. are out of reach) to make for easy cleaning if she does have an accident.  A moment of distraction is all it takes for a puppy to sneak away and make use of the carpet, so it's always best to confine before you get focused on something else.  You can also tie a leash to your belt and keep puppy within your eyesight at all times, just be sure you are aware of your movements and how they are affecting puppy.

Keep your eyes peeled for signals that your puppy needs to go.  Some behaviours are:

• Sniffing for a spot 
• Circling
• Puppy seems unsettled and is pacing

2.  Go outside with your puppy.  

Yes, even if it's -50 and snowing, put on your boots and parka and mittens and take your treats with you.  This way you know puppy has done her "business" and you can reward her on the spot for it.  If you wait at the door or watch her through the window and give her a treat when she returns, congratulations, you are teaching your dog to come in from the yard when called - which is great - but you are not reinforcing her for going potty outside.  Puppies have very short attention spans and you need to get a delicious morsel into her mouth as soon as she has completed the act.

If you're lucky and you're potty training when the weather is nice, wander around the back yard and ignore your puppy.  Let her sniff and explore and play, but don't interact with her and just keep an eye on her.  Eventually she will need to go, then you can walk over telling her what a good dog she is, and give her something delicious.  Once she has done her business, then you can further reinforce her by playing and interacting with her.  If you are taking puppy out on leash - which is a good idea to do even if you have a fenced yard, because you want puppy to learn to go when on leash - don't end the walk as soon as puppy has finished all her business.  This will teach puppy that the fun (walking, sniffing, exploring) ends when she goes potty, so she will try to hold out longer to ensure the walk lasts.  Stay in the yard while puppy is on leash and wait for her to do her business, then use the walk as part of the reward for going potty outside.

3.  Make frequent trips outside

Young puppies have small bodies and cannot hold it for long.  When confined, puppies generally can hold it for 3-4 hours (depending on their age, breed, size, health, and individual differences).  However, when puppies are active they can go as frequently as every 30-45 minutes!

Puppies most commonly need to go:

• After being physically active (after playing or anything exciting has happened)
• Shortly after eating (I mean shortly - as in minutes or even seconds!)
• Immediately after waking from sleep and after having been confined 
• Shortly after drinking a large amount of water

4.  Prevent mistakes, don't punish them

It will not help your dog learn to rub her nose in it, to hit or scold your puppy, or to punish her for soiling in the house.  This is especially true if you did not catch her in the act.  Puppies have short memories and will not know why they are being punished, they will think they are being punished for whatever they were doing in that moment, which could be happily greeting you at the door.   Punishing puppy if you do catch her in the act may cause her to be afraid to potty in front of you (even when outside), causing further difficulty with housetraining.

If you missed it entirely, just clean it up using an enzymatic cleaner and review your supervision plan, ensuring you have puppy in your sight at all times.  If you catch her in the act, scoop her up and get her outside as quickly as possible.  If she finishes potty outside, giver her a very tasty treat and tell her what a good girl she is, showing her that she gets rewarded for going outside and not in the house.

It's best to get puppy in the habit of going outside and to avoid mistakes as much as possible.  Once puppy starts going potty in the house it is much harder to break her of the habit (though still possible!).  The above protocol works with dogs of any age, but keep in mind that puppies and adult dogs learn differently and both their bodies and brains are very different developmentally.  Also a previously housetrained dog who regresses can benefit from going back to fundamentals until she is back on track.

*If a previously housetrained dog suddenly starts having accidents and you can't think of a reason for this, please make a trip to your veterinarian for a check-up as this could be a medical issue.

If you are struggling with a difficult housetraining situation, or are new puppy-owners and would like assistance potty-training your new pup, please contact our Certified Professional Trainer, Jillian to set up a consult.

Details on our rates and service area can be found on our website, and details about Jillian's qualifications and training philosophy can be found at Pawsitivecare.ca/about-the-owner

Enjoy your adorable new puppy, or new furry friend, and happy training!

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