How to Stop My Silky From Biting

Dogs bite for many reasons. Puppies nip out of excitement during play. Poorly socialized dogs will bite in fear when presented with new people or unusual situations. Some dogs bite because they have a medical condition, such as arthritis, and they feel pain when touched. Understanding why your dog bites is essential to fixing the behavior. Regardless of the reason behind the biting, the most important key to training success is consistency. If you don't want your dog to bite, never let it do so, even while playing.

Things You'll Need

  • Stuffed dog toy
  • Dog treats
  • Dog chew toy
  • Muzzle
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Instructions

  1. Stop Puppies from Biting

    • 1

      Play with your puppy using one of its favorite stuffed dog toys. Your puppy will get excited during play and start to nip or bite at your hand.

    • 2

      Admonish your puppy loudly as soon as it bites, shouting "ouch" or "no." Don't physically punish your puppy. He'll develop a fear of you that will make him less likely to obey you.

    • 3

      Leave the room for a few minutes and close the door behind you, keeping the puppy inside for a timeout.

    • 4

      Repeat the reprimand-timeout process several times until your puppy understands that biting will result in isolation.

    • 5

      Praise your puppy with attention, dog treats and a soothing voice when he sits quietly and refrains from biting.

    • 6

      Curb biting in your puppy further by providing chew toys, such as rubber bones, to distract him and teach him when and where biting is appropriate. Avoid play that could encourage your dog to bite, including wrestling, tug of war or other games that require you to take a toy out of your dog's mouth. Not only might your dog accidentally bite you, it will think you're allowing it to challenge your leadership and authority.

    Stopping Adult Dogs from Biting

    • 7

      Teach your older dog a simple command, such as "off" or "stop," that will bring it under your control when it begins to bite. Hold a dog treat firmly between your fingers and thumb so it can't take the biscuit from you. When it licks or bites at the food, firmly say "off" or "stop" immediately and wait for it to step back or sit. You may need to repeat this process several times for your dog to learn the command.

    • 8

      Give your dog a treat after it sits quietly without attempting to bite or lick for several minutes.

    • 9

      Transfer the command-reward process to new situations and environments. Take your dog to a park or an outdoor restaurant. Feed it a treat and give it verbal encouragement each time it remains calm and sits still as people walk by.

    • 10

      Strap a muzzle onto your older dog if you're visiting a busy place where you're concerned it might bite out of fear or aggression. Until you're certain you've trained your dog not to bite, a muzzle may be your best bet for preventing the behavior in stressful situations.