Dog Training, Tips, Tricks, and Plenty of Good Advice

Teaching Your Puppy Not To Bite

What it means:

Do not bite me (her, him, it).

  • Verbal Command: “NO BITE!” 
  • Tone of voiceSharp, firm, demanding, stern
  • Hand Signal: None

Body Language:

Self confident commanding

Enforcing the command:

Grab the puppy firmly around the muzzle, holding his mouth shut, give direct eye contact, hold the puppy firmly in place until all resistance stops and the puppy looks away. As you do this, say “No Bite” in a sharp, firm tone.

If this is ineffective (and it will be for some puppies), pinch the skin of the muzzle into the puppy’s canines (eye teeth). This should be done firmly enough to make the puppy whine. Again, repeating the “No Bite” command.

As soon as the puppy stops resisting the correction – praise the puppy, and stroke the muzzle and face. Do this in the same way that a mother dog might lick her puppy’s face. If the biting recurs, repeat the correction. If the biting stops, and especially if it is replaced by licking, praise the puppy some more and reward with a tummy rub or toy.

Alternative Enforcement Methods:

For aggressive puppies that enjoy a contest of wills, try using a squirt bottle with a 50% lemon juice or Tabasco, and squirt it directly into the puppy’s mouth as he is biting. Be very careful to avoid the puppies eyes. Putting the puppy immediately into a long down stay is also quite effective.

What Your Puppy Learns:

Self control, and to inhibit biting behavior. Pinching the skin of the muzzle into the eye teeth sounds rather severe, but actually, it stimulates the same correction a mother dog uses to stop puppies from biting instead of sucking when they get their teeth in. The only difference is that she will actually bite the puppy on the nose. Not hard enough to injure the puppy, but certainly hard enough to cause the puppy to cry out. She will then very earnestly lick his little face, soothe his worried soul, and once again all will be well in his world.

Other info:

Puppies taken from their mother and siblings too early will often engage in a lot of biting behavior, presumably because the mother dog was not available to teach the puppy that biting too much, or too hard is not OK.

Written by: Shirley Gibson

Note:

You are welcome to share this post but ONLY IF you give credit and a link back to Teach Your Dog To Behave or shirleytwofeathers.com.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Worth Exploring
Adorable Cuteness
Be Merry


I think it's time to go shopping... maybe even buy some really cool stuff at my online shops!!

Counting Visitors