By Sarah Groves Dog Training - puppy training specialist Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot
Puppy biting - one of the TOP puppy training problems that new puppy owners come to me for!
For most owners, puppy biting is totally expected - but what's not expected is how much it feels like a constant batte where no matter what you do, your puppy just won't stop!
Not only that, that biting is accompanied with barking, grabbing, growiling and jumping!
Does this sound familiar to you?
You're not on your own!
I have seen plenty of battle wounds on puppy owners arms and legs from those razor sharp teeth sinking into the skin – it’s not a nice experience and totally unexpected for the majority.
There are a few reasons to why a pup might be going through this phase where it feels like ‘a little bit more than teething’.
There is no 'one single thing' that you can do to stop the biting, HOWEVER if you make sure that your pup gets plenty of sleep and avoids too many overstimulating situations, this will significantly reduce the severity of the biting.
Usually it all boils down to having an overstimulated puppy or an over tired puppy.
Here are some steps you can put in to place to help with managing and reducing the worst of the puppy biting....
1) Keep a diary
Keep a pup diary of all of your pup’s events for a few days and spot patterns to when the biting is more likely to occur.
Events you can include:
Feeding time
Exercise - whether in the garden or on a walk
Play - what play, for how long
Treats, chews and enrichment activities - what time and for how long
Sleep - when and where
When zoomies happen
When biting starts
What your response is to the biting
Any other significant events such as visitors to the house, a visit to the vets
Any socialisation exposures e.g. carrying pup around the street
By gathering all of these details, and any other detail that you feel is relevant, you will hopefully start to see some patterns in your puppy's day, possibly pinpointing if specific events through the day are becoming overwhelming or overstimulating for your pup, triggering the biting.
2) What's in your dog's food?
If you find that your pup is particularly wild with zoomies and biting after food, that might be a sign that it's time to change your pups food to something with less carbohydrates.
Many dog foods contain bulking agents, additives, preservatives and colours to make the food cheaper and more pleasing to you. Inturn, this causes great problems for our dogs causing health conditions as well as affecting behaviour.
Take a look at this website All About Dog Food where you can check out the nutritional rating of your pups food, the ingredients and the percentage of carbohydrates.
I generally like to see less than 25% carbs and a high percentage of meat.
3) Add some enrichment to your pups day
Instead of all of your pups meals coming from the bowl, use some of the food allowance to your advantage to allow your dog to learn, sniff and search, and work their brain through feeding toys.
This will help tire your pup out mentally, and keep their brain occupied.
Take a look at my guide to enrichment here
4) Your puppy may be overtired and need a nap
Young pups need A LOT of sleep – roughly 17 hours within a 24 hour period.
You might start to recognise when your pup is becoming overtired, so this is a great time to place them in their safe space such as crate or playpen and allow some down time with a a tasty edible chew that they can sink their teeth into.
5) Speaking of chewing....
Your pup will need a LOT of chew time to help with teething and giving the satisfaction of sinking those teeth into something that isn’t your home or arms.
Chewing is also a naturally relaxing activity for puppies.
There are loads of safe, natural, edible chews out there such as goats ears, braided lamb and yakkers.
The puppy biting phase is HARD WORK and it’s a pretty normal experience for many puppy owners that I come across – but don’t panic because this phase will become easier over time (I PROMISE!) and a biting pup doesn’t automatically mean that you will get an adult dog who bites!
ARE YOU A NEW PUPPY OWNER LIVING IN SWANSEA, NEATH OR PORT TALBOT AND NEED SOME TRAINING HELP, ADVICE AND SUPPORT?