Coming home after having a long day when you see your puppy destroying things?. Why does my puppy bite? Is it normal for a puppy biting everything? How should we teach our puppy not to bite?
What you can learn from this article
- The reasons why puppies bite
- Respond to puppies biting
- Tips and tricks to train your puppy to stop biting
Why Do Puppies Bite?
Like human babies, puppies are curious little creatures eager to explore the world. The only difference is that babies use their hands and puppies use their mouth. It is a perfectly natural behaviour. Puppies learn a lot from biting objects with aspects of texture, shape and even taste. Through learning experiences, they understand the characteristics thereby register into their memory.
Puppies also like to chew, particularly when they are teething as it helps to reduce soreness in their gums. They go through this painful teething process for 2-3 months. During this period, you may see an increase in chewing objects or even bitting you unintentionally. However, this biting behaviour will gradually decrease as they grow up.
Here are the DO’s and DON’Ts
Although puppies’ teeth will be fully grown in around 6-7 months it is always a good idea to properly train your puppies throughout the process.
DON’T yell or punish
During the teething, puppies will bite everything they encounter. If you yell at the puppies as they bite you, puppies might get even more excited thus giving them a misconception that it is a playtime. This could further aggravate more biting.
On the other hand, punishing could potentially cause traumas to the little ones. Puppies are simply learning to deal with the growth of their new teeth and acquainting themselves with the world around them. By simply punishing them not to do so may send them a wrong signal that this is an incorrect behaviour. Treat them like a child. You would like your puppies to explore the world as much as they can and grow that curiosity in their heart.
DO prepare chew toys and lead them
Some chew toys will provide outlet for chewing behaviour. Chew toys not only can promote dental health but also relieve stress and anxiety. When they are under stress or being nervous, puppies tend to chew in effort to ease those feelings.
Biting can be frustrating, Fortunately, random biting doesn’t last forever. As long as you stay consistent with your puppy training, they will learn. Diverting puppies’ attention and focus on what you would like them to do instead of biting you. Through patience, teamwork, and acceptance, not only you will learn how to effectively communicate with your puppies, you will strengthen your bond with your love ones.