Labrador Retriever Dogs Blog

Nipping and biting are a normal part of interaction among pack members in the world of the wild dog, coyote, or wolf. These are natural ways in which dominance is established and puppies are disciplined by their mothers. In the human world, however, these same behaviors are completely unacceptable.

Dogs who nip or bite can cause lawsuits, earn you legal fines, and even be taken from their homes and killed by Animal Control. Also of concern is the pain and suffering of the individual who is injured and possibly scarred for life . In the human world, the dog owner (a legal term) is responsible for the behavior of their dog. Therefore, it is to everyone's benefit, including the dog's, to make sure your dog knows what behaviors are acceptable and considered "good manners" by the human standard.

This is why taking your new dog, whether a puppy or an adopted adult, to basic obedience class can be an essential part of building a relationship between the two of you. Even if you think you know how to train a dog, training techniques continue to evolve. There are always new ways to handle situations, and some techniques that work well with one individual personality are a disaster with another. Even if you have taken your older dogs to school and now have a new puppy, there can be the added benefit of building a stronger bond between you and your puppy by going to class together. Each dog has a unique background and will interact with you as an individual.

Please understand that I am not a dog trainer and have nothing to personally gain by recommending dog school for you and your dog. I make this recommendation because undoing a problem is much harder than never allowing it to develop in the first place. That having been said, it is important to understand the many reasons why dogs bite. Aside from the fact that this is a natural way of communicating among dogs, there are other reasons why your dog might be exhibiting this behavior and why you may have a problem eliminating it.
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The absolutely best way to lay down the foundation for preventing your puppy from biting is to let them remain with their Mom in the litter for the first three months. Mom will be a far better teacher about bite inhibition than you would be during this time.

That being said, it is a completely normal behavior for puppies to 'mouth' and bite. Humans have arms to grab onto things, dogs only have their mouths. So don't mistake 'mouthing' for biting. Ongoing aggressive behavior and biting from a puppy is generally rare, but if your normal training methods are not working and aggressiveness continues, you might want to reconsider whether you would want to keep such a puppy, especially if you have children around. An aggressive puppy will most likely grow up to become an overly aggressive dog. And please don't think that just showing the puppy love and affection will correct their behavior, or that it is something that they will just outgrow. Professional help will certainly be needed, sooner rather than later. You may love your dog but it is up to you to be responsible and not just sentimental. Read the rest of this entry »

Dogs are naturally primitive creatures. Thankfully, they adapt easily and can be trained with little effort, making it possible to share our homes with our favorite four-legged friends and still maintain our standards of order and cleanliness. Teaching your puppy to behave properly is a huge responsibility and may seem much more daunting than it should be. With a little patience and a few simple, proven training methods, you can put an end to most of your puppy's bad habits by redirecting his natural instincts to something more appropriate.

Nipping

Nipping is quite common and normal among puppies, especially when you and your puppy are playing and gets overly excited. This ordinary puppy instinct is seemingly harmless, but will soon become more dangerous and painful as your puppy grows. Teach your puppy early to never touch your skin, or anyone else's, with his teeth, and he will be much less likely to bite later in life.

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