The Puppy Primer
By Brenda Scidmore and Patricia McConnell, PhD

Good dogs have to learn how to be polite about their mouths, just as children have to learn not to slap or hit with their hands. Puppies have tiny, but very sharp teeth, as you probably have already discovered. Although those tiny teeth can really hurt sometimes, pups jaws are weak and undeveloped compared to what they will be like as adults. Puppy bites rarely cause any kind of real damage, which is exactly why this is the perfect to time to teach your pup bite inhibition. 

Bite Inhibition is something all pups learn to some extent from their mother and siblings. As pups play with each other, one pup or another is bound to bite a littermate too hard. The recipient will let out a sudden, sharp “yelp” in response to the discomfort. The game suddenly ends; all play stops. With repetition puppies seem to eventually understand that a yelp meant they hurt the other party, and hurting the other party ends all the fun! Over time, through trial and error, puppies learn to play in a gentler fashion (not biting as hard) with one another so they don’t loose their playmates. They learn to inhibit the force of their bites. In other words, they learn “bite inhibition.”

Pups that mature without this feedback from other dogs are often unable to play politely and end up fighting instead. So bite inhibition is an essential skill that all pups need to learn as they grow up, in order to become polite members of canine society.

Since we also want our pups to be polite members of human society it is even more imperative that our pups learn finesse with their jaws near our fragile human skin. We don’t have thick tough skin and fur coats to protect us from the force of canine bites!
To teach our pups not to hurt us with their teeth, we can use the same method that puppies use with one another. We’ll outline a program here of systematic, progressive training that will teach your dog to use less and less force when they play bite, eventually not allowing them to mouth on people at all.

Why go through all this? It appears as though many of the most serious bites from adult dogs are from dogs who never practiced with their mouths as youngsters. They never learned how hard to bite in play or to give a warning. They always seemed to be “fine,” never biting even as a puppy.

Teaching bite inhibition is a wise safety precaution that should be taken with all puppies as a general matter of course (just like getting vaccinations from the vet). It isn’t much more work than just stopping all mouthing from the start, and it just might keep an innocent dog from getting itself into trouble someday. All dogs need to learn how to be polite family members regarding the way they use their mouths around us. Even the sweetest dog might bite if she’s injured or scared!

You are NOT a play toy!! Nor are your children, friends, relatives or houseguests. It’s important for your pup to learn that people are not play toys or litter mates (they really don’t come to us understanding this concept). Puppies need to learn that people have very fragile skin, and all human skin is to be respected, whether it’s on you, or a complete stranger. This includes not only your skin, but also your hair, clothing, shoes, shoelaces, etc. If he nips your shoe, you should react the same as you would if he bit your face. Keep this in mind as you practice the steps outlined below for teaching bite inhibition.

First teach your pup to reduce the pressure of their bite, so that they apply less pressure each time they bite until they are barely touching you with their teeth. Then teach them to reduce the frequency of their mouthing on you. The goal in the end is to not allow dog teeth on human skin, at all, ever! Your puppy will learn quickly if you make it a gradual progression from one level to the next.

Parents will need to “yelp” for young children, and perhaps even for older children. Children’s voices are often too high and too weak to impress the message on a puppy. Yelping is usually not effective for children, and may even excite the puppy to bite more. However, if often works quite well for a nearby adult to watch the child and dog (which should always be the case anyway) and yelp, “AWRP” just as the puppy’s mouth is closing around the child’s skin (or hair, or clothes, etc.). Then the adult or child should redirect the puppy onto an appropriate toy. Eventually, when the puppy is excited around child he will look for the nearest toy to mouth on, instead of the child. 


Steps to a Polite Pup 

1) The idea is to yelp like another puppy would. To achieve this try using the word “AWRP.” It must be sudden, abrupt, and loud. The sound should start and stop almost instantly (no carrying on in a long drawn out death scene from “Hamlet!”) from silence to full volume in a microsecond. The point is to startle your pup just as he bites down. (It’s a good idea to practice this when your pup is not around, so you’ll be good at it when you need it!) Begin by yelping only on the hardest bites, ignoring the softer bites. As you progress, yelp at gradually softer and softer pressure from your pup until he eventually mouths you with no pressure at all.

NOTE: Don’t entice your pup to bite you! Just be ready to practice this if he initiated biting in the course of regular handling or play.

2) Have a toy ready at all times! Each time you enter a room pick up a dog toy, and put in your pocket so that you are ready. After you yelp, “AWRP,” the instant that he startles, give him the toy; wiggle it right in his face. It’s crucial that the toy be presented immediately. The purpose of the toy is to redirect him onto an appropriate object. The yelp startles him and interrupts the pattern of biting on you, but redirecting him shows him what he should be doing with his mouth instead using it on you. It’s important to always be giving your puppy (or your adult dog, for that matter) information about what you do want him to do. Show him what is acceptable (chewing on a toy rather than a human). Be sure it’s a toy he really loves, perhaps a Kong stuffed with food?
3) Be prepared to do it again later. And again. Puppies will tend to forget themselves during the next play session and come back and bite again. Some will be very persistent about it; others will switch to a different mode more quickly. They are all individuals. Eventually though, they do get more control of themselves. It doesn’t mean your puppy is mean or vicious if it takes him more time and many repetitions to get good at controlling himself, it just means you’ll need to be persistent until he gets the idea.

If you try the yelping several times and find that it just gets him more excited and more mouthy, then switch gears. Try another method. Don’t keep doing the same thing over and over it it’s not working.

4) Another method to try, especially if he is being very persistent of if children are involved, is to dramatically jump up and leave the room in a big huff when he bites too hard. March out quickly without looking back and shut the door behind you. If your timing on this is good (it must happen quickly, the instant the bite occurs), your pup will be quite startled and dismayed that he just lost his playmate. Pups also do the equivalent of this with one another. It can be very effective with some pups. Give it a try. If the pup gets more excited, then don’t use this method. Get help from a trainer if your pup is still acting like a puppy chain saw.

By the time your pup is about 5 to 6 months old, he shouldn’t be biting or mouthing on humans at all.

BEWARE of games like wrestling and roughhousing with your pup. Don’t play with your pup in ways that encourage mouthing, biting and climbing on you. It can be hard to resist, but do it for your puppy’s sake. It will only confuse your pup about the appropriate use of his teeth. If you play with him in ways that involve wagging hands in his face, tempting him to bite, he’ll learn that human hands are for play biting. You might not mind that, but it will confuse him when he gets in trouble for biting grandma or the little toddler down the street. He won’t realize it’s not okay to do the same thing with them. So don’t confuse him and get him into trouble. Don’t roughhouse with your pup, and don’t let others do so either.” 


CLICKER TRAINING METHOD OF BITE INHIBITION 

Another method that is very successful, goes hand in hand with CLICKER TRAINING. To find out more about Clicker Training in general, go to www.clickertraining.com Karen Pryor’s training methods are highly regarded and very successful. 

Sit with your puppy between your legs and have a pile of treats nearby. Start by gently inserting your finger into your puppy’s mouth and rub his gums. He may resist this at first, but as soon as you make contact, say CLICK (if you’re already using clicker training) or say GOOD BOY out loud and give the puppy a treat. Repeat this several times until the puppy allows you to put your finger easily on his gums. The next step, once this is accomplished, is to insert your finger between his teeth. As soon as the pup starts to open his mouth, say CLICK or GOOD BOY, pull your finger out and give him a treat. Repeat until he is readily opening his mouth for you. Timing is essential when doing this training!! If you ever feel him starting to CLOSE HIS MOUTH at all….just the slightest pressure – yell AWRP!!!, and as soon as you feel the pressure lessen – say CLICK or GOOD BOY and give him a treat. The point is for him to associate opening his mouth as a good thing to be rewarded with a treat, and for him closing his mouth as a bad thing when you yell AWRP! Practice this several times daily until he is no longer putting his mouth on you.

REMEMBER: A puppy has a VERY SHORT attention span! Each training session should last no longer than 2 minutes! TWO MINUTES!! Practice during TV commercials…which also gives them a good break between sessions!! Alternate with this training with practicing your Puppy Pushups (sits, downs, stays) to make it more fun and interesting for the pup. 

And as I always remind folks….what’s fun in a 2- 3 months old Ridgeback pup is NOT when that pup matures to be a 100 lb adult male!!! Or even a 75 lb. Adult female!!

GOOD LUCK!!! And if you have any questions at all, or need more help with this PLEASE CALL ME!!!!