Teaching Your Puppy Bite Inhibition

November 3, 2008 by Richard Cross

Even if your puppy doesn’t seem to be biting hard now it is vital to teach it bite inhibition so that in the future it knows what the limits are. Bite inhibition is one of the most important aspects of training a god and is one that should be taken seriously by the owner.

Normally puppies learn bite inhibition by playing with their siblings. If the puppy bites too hard while playing then the other puppies will let it know with a high pitched yelp or cry. This helps the dog o understand when it is biting too hard.

This is why puppies naturally mouth or gently bite when they are young as it is a natural thing for them to do. Because of this it’s very important to never punish your puppy for mouthing. Instead use it as a tool to teach puppy bite inhibition.

How To Train Your Puppy In Bite Inhibition

The best way to train your puppy in bite inhibition is to act like its siblings would. So if he bites you, make a high pitched “oww” sound and then walk away. This teaches the puppy that it has bitten too hard, and also that biting won’t get attention. Make sure the sound you make is short and sharp and that you walk away from the puppy immediately so it knows why you are ignoring it.

Keep repeating this until your puppy learns that biting isn’t the right thing to do.

You should perform bite inhibition training even when the puppy doesn’t bite hard enough to hurt. A well trained dog will never bite, even playfully, so it’s best to try to train the dog that it is wrong for its teeth to make contact with human skin – even in a playful way.

Bite Inhibition Tips

Playing with your puppy is a great way to train bite inhibition. When the puppy goes to bite you will walk away, letting it know that play time has stopped. Before long the puppy will associate the end of play time with biting and won’t bite anymore.
Punishing your dog or losing patience will only hinder your training efforts. Remember that puppies naturally learn through biting and mouthing, you just need to train them to be able to control it.

If your dog isn’t a puppy but has still not learned bite inhibition it is possible to train it, but it will take more time and patience.