Teaching your dog how to avoid biting has become the most important part of dog training today. A dog that is not able to stop its biting advances towards an adolescence stage before he learns how to physically defend himself. Moreover, an adolescent dog tends to be aggressive toward other dogs, which can turn out as dangerous situations for people around him. This is why, in dog training tips, you should consider teaching your dog how to avoid biting. Let’s look at some dog training tricks to help you in this regard.
To begin with, you should understand the reasons for your dog’s biting problems. Usually, the biting puppy tends to connect the action with the result. They all eventually go for: Oh, if only bite me harder, nobody will play with me anymore! When a puppy learns that a certain undesirable behavior becomes in the way of play, without hesitation, they will drop it for good. The old-fashioned method of “barking” had only attempted to include this aggressive behavior-check, without any attempt to modify it.
You can use the following tips to teach bite inhibition in your puppies or adult dog. Firstly, you have to remember that your puppy or adult dog will have limited mobility and the biting actions will have to happen at very close proximity. That being said, start the training by using your voice to tell your dog to ‘stay put’ rather than ‘come’. You can do this while holding the treat above your dog’s head with your thumb and forefinger, while saying the words ‘Stay put’. You should keep repeating this exercise for about ten repetitions, every day.
As the dog gets used to your voice and handling he will soon start to bark less when the word stay is used, and when you say it louder, his barking will stop. It will take time for him to adapt his behavior to the new commands, but with constant practice he will get it. For your puppies bite inhibition, do not use any force whatsoever. Never hit the puppy when he tries to bite you or your hands. The best way is just to stick to your commands and gently redirect his behavior until he stops. This method may take longer, but it will be worth the effort because he will never be able to hurt you in return.
It is essential for the dog training tips to take into account that biting is an instinctive behavior. Most dogs bite because they are defending their face from danger. Therefore, the first steps to success in training your dog not to bite are teaching him that he is not in danger. Start the process by not allowing him to go near other people and animals while you are training him how not to bite.
Every time your dog bites another dog or person, say the command “stay” and then walk away. If the dog still bites, say the command again and walk away. If the dog still bites, say the command once more and walk away. Eventually the dog will understand that he cannot get his owner’s permission every time he bites somebody and will stop his behavior.
If this is not successful, you can try to apply a few dog training methods. There are specially designed bite inhibition collars. You can attach one of these collars to your dog while he is young and then gradually attach bigger and larger ones as he becomes a biter. These dog bite deterrent collars make your dog aware that biting other people will have consequences such as being let go, being left alone, or even going to dog training classes. This fear is natural to dogs as they are naturally social animals. The moment he realizes that he could get in trouble every time he bites somebody, he will withdraw himself from social situations, and be less likely to bite again.
You can also try using the command “free-for-all” when you are out with your dog. Just stand near a person, point at them, and say the command “free-for-all”. When other people come over to him, he will realize that he is not getting in trouble for biting them, but rather is participating in a friendly outdoor game that he enjoys. This is a sure-fire way on how to teach bite inhibition to your dog, if you want it to work.
