Why does my puppy keep biting me?

Many puppies nip and bite their owners when they are very young. This is normal, natural and an essential part of their development. They must learn what teeth do or they may not learn how to inhibit their bite when they are older. Depending on your breed or type of dog along with your dog’s individual personality type, the intensity of biting may vary.

How should I deal with the biting?

First look at the environment. Is the puppy getting appropriate and constructive mental stimulation? Is the puppy getting plenty of attention for biting the correct things (toys and chews)? Is the puppy getting enough physical exercise? Is the puppy getting enough sleep?

There are some factors that can increase the biting problem in the household and these are:

• Rough games with members of the household.
  
• Rough games with other dogs.
  
• Too much excitement and over stimulation.
  
• Lack of sleep and suitable confinement.
  
• People squealing and pulling their hands back.
  
• Any attention (positive or negative) for biting.
  
• Lack of exercise.
  
• Unsupervised access to children.
  
• Physical punishment. (or threats such as pointing)

Punishment usually does not work and can make the biting worse. Bright and reactive puppies may respond with increased levels of aggression; sensitive puppies may become fearful; stoic puppies may become withdrawn; insecure puppies may become bullies; demanding puppies will bite more to attention seek.

If your puppy bites, we recommend that you have a command that means ‘enough’. Whatever that command is, it is imperative that it is not used to nag the puppy. The simple rule is that the puppy is given the ‘enough’ command once, calmly but firmly. If biting doesn't’t stop then the puppy must learn a consequence. The consequence must be applied consistently and immediately and must be the same every time.

Some consequences we suggest are:

• Time out in an indoor kennel, another room or outside for no more than 2 minutes.
  
• Everyone walks out and leaves the puppy in the room for 1 – 2 minutes.
  
• Do something dramatic like shouting really loudly and slamming a door.
  
• Tethering to an object in the room (while supervised) for no more than two minutes.

These are just a few suggestions.

The important thing is that your puppy learns what happens every time he bites. Do not allow yourself to become emotional or angry when doing this as the puppy may become anxious and anticipate something dreadful. Just be calm and collected. Be aware that this is an uphill struggle. It may take hundreds of repetitions in all sorts of situations to resolve the problem. Just make sure that you do not allow visitors, relatives and friends to undermine your hard work by encouraging the puppy to play biting games.

There are a number of taste deterrents on the market. Some are much better than others. Your vet will probably be able to provide you with a good one. These can be sprayed regularly on shoes, clothing and even hands to deter biting.

What about chewing in the house?

Again, chewing is a normal and necessary puppy behaviour and again, breed/type and personality are related to problems associated with chewing. Simple rules to avoid chewing are:

• Always make sure that your puppy is confined to a safe area that he cannot chew when unsupervised.
  
• Always give your puppy tons of attention whenever he is chewing something appropriate.
  
• Never give your puppy attention or offer him an alternative chew item if he is chewing something inappropriate.
• Make sure that there are one or two good chew articles available to your puppy at all time. Change them regularly to maintain your puppy’s interest.

Interrupt any inappropriate chewing surreptitiously. When the puppy is distracted, get his attention and ask him to do something for you so that he is getting attention for appropriate behaviour. Then get him focused on something appropriate.

Some dogs do inherit or learn inappropriate aggressive behaviour. This can manifest at an early age. If your puppy does any of the following, please let us know so that you can get assistance at home:

• Snapping aggressively.
  
• Guarding food, chews or toys.
  
• Guarding areas of the house.
  
• Growling at family members or strangers.
  
• Showing any sort of behaviour that you would consider aggressive.

We do stress though that you need to know the genetic heritage of your breed or type of dog. This will have a great deal to do with the behaviour of your puppy. You should have seen and have been able to handle the mother of your puppy and you should have some idea of the way in which the puppy was kept by the breeder.

The best way to have a dog that is not aggressive is to make sure that he is well socialised. A socialisation fact sheet is attached to this. Your homework is to expose your puppy to as many of these situations as possible.