It's cute when your puppy pounces on you with an open mouth and an ever-so-serious puppy growl as he is learning how to be a dog. However, forty pounds later, it is no longer cute. To keep your puppy from growing into a dog who bites, you need to make sure you do not encourage the puppy mouthing that he should naturally grow out of.
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Learning By Mouthing
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A puppy explores and learns about life and her environment with her mouth. Normally, through socialization with her mother and her litter mates, a puppy will learn when it is appropriate and when it is inappropriate to use her mouth. However, if a puppy is removed from her mother and her litter mates too soon, she may not have learned all she needs to know about appropriate biting. This can be remedied to some extent by taking your puppy to puppy socialization classes, on puppy play dates or to dog parks to play with other dogs.
Do Not Be A Chewtoy
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Do not allow your puppy to teeth on your body. It may seem harmless to let him chew on your hand, but it is sending him the message that this is acceptable behavior. If your puppy puts his mouth on you, you can "yelp" like another dog would or say "ouch" to startle the puppy into letting go. Then remove yourself from the puppy and redirect him to an appropriate chew toy.
Avoid Inappropriate Play
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As your puppy grows into adolescence, you may notice she is "mouthing". That is when she gets over-stimulated, she puts her open mouth on you, maybe with light pressure but maybe enough to leave bruises. Games like tug-of-war and wrestling are games that encourage inappropriate mouthing from your puppy---who then grows into an older and stronger dog with the same behavior. Avoid games like this, but if you do choose to do them, as soon as your puppy puts her mouth or teeth on you, stop the game and walk away from your puppy.
Herd dog breeds, especially, become over-stimulated by games of chase. If you are letting your dog chase you and she becomes over-stimulated enough to put her mouth on you, stop the game and walk away.
When you end a game that is becoming too rough, you could attach a word such as "enough" to help your dog identify the inappropriate biting.
Teach Your Dog The Basics
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A well-trained dog is easier to control then a dog who has always been allowed to do what he wants. Take your dog to training classes and practice having him work for what he desires. Have him "sit" to be petted. Have him "stay" and then release him to his food bowl. Have him "come" during playtime before you continue playing. Learning to listen to you will be beneficial in the long run and help him to respect you as leader of the pack. If you let your dog have run of the house, it may only be a matter of time before he decides you need a correction and bites you for your behavior.
If you have trouble controlling your dog and his behavior is such that he is controlling you, you need to seek the help of a professional dog trainer so that you can learn how to be top dog.
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