Dealing with Normal Puppy Behavior:
Nipping and Rough Play
Lets be real, puppies can play rough. It is normal for puppies to use their mouths while playing with their liter mates. This is also how puppies explore their world. Therefore, puppies usually want to bite or "mouth" hands or feet during play or when being pet. This behavior is rarely aggressive and, therefore, not intended to cause harm. Because this is a natural instinct for your puppy, it needs to be trained that it isn’t ok with humans. A proven method is to make a loud noise like a yelp. (I use a loud AHHHH noise). This teaches the puppy that she has bitten to hard and will typically immediately cease the bite. Timing of this is crucial. It must be done the moment the puppy puts its mouth on you in an inappropriate way. The next step is to immediately give your puppy something it CAN bite, like a Kong toy, bone or any other appropriate dog toy. The goals of working with this normal puppy behavior are to redirect your puppy's desire to put something in her mouth, such as an acceptable chew toy, and to teach her that putting her teeth on her skin is never acceptable.
Encourage Acceptable Behavior
Redirect your puppy's chewing toward acceptable objects by offering her a kong, small bone or other type of dog toy, If you are unsure of what is safe, I suggest speaking with your vet. This needs to be done every time she places her mouth on the skin. You can start by always offering a toy when wanting to pet your puppy. This technique can be especially effective when children want to play with or pet the puppy. As you or the child reach out to scratch her with one hand, offer the chew bone with the other. This will not only help your puppy learn that people and petting are wonderful, but will also keep her mouth busy while she's being petted. Alternate which hand does the petting and which one has the chew bone. At first, you may need to pet or scratch your puppy for short periods of time since the longer she's petted, the more likely she is to get excited and start to nip. Remember that puppies have short attention spans just like children.
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Discourage Unacceptable Behavior
You must also teach your puppy that putting her mouth on your skin is unacceptable for any reason. Nipping should result in unpleasant consequences for her, meaning she will not longer be getting the attention she is seaking. In order to teach your puppy that nipping "turns off" all attention and social interaction with you, you need to react to the nip immediately with the yelp type noise, remove hands from puppy and ignore the puppy completely for a few moments. If she continues to place her teeth on your skin, get up and walk away from the puppy. You may need to have her tethered by a leash while you play so when you leave, she can't follow. After 10-15 seconds, return to your puppy and try the chew toy and petting method again. It will take many repetitions for your puppy to learn and grasp what is expected.
NOTE: Never leave your puppy fully unattended while she is tethered as she may get tangled in her leash and injure herself. When you leave the room, stand a good distance away where puppy can not see you but you can see her. The leave the room method is designed to remove attention from the puppy momentarily, not for long periods of time.
Remember that these methods will probably be ineffective unless you are consistent with this training. Teaching a puppy desired behaviors is a lot of work.
Jumping Up
Training your puppy to not jump on you or others when they come over can be a difficult task. There are many different methods out there for this type of training. When your puppy jumps up on you, it wants attention. When you turn your back, push her away, knee her in the chest, or step on her hind toes (which is cruel), you are then giving your puppy what we call negative attention. This becomes a rewarding behavior because your puppy has gotten what it wants attention of any sort. Therefore, the puppy will continue to jump. From your puppy's point of view, negative attention is better than no attention at all.
When your puppy jumps up: Fold your arms in front of you, stand still, and ignore the jumping behavior. Continue to ignore her until all four of her paws are on the ground. The moment puppy paws touch the ground, praise and give a treat. At this point use the "sit" command. When your puppy sits, reward with your mark word (good, yes, etc) and another treat.
If she jumps up again when you begin to praise her, repeat the process. Its important to have every person she meets follow these same steps. Consistency is key with ALL puppy training.
When your puppy realizes that she gets the attention she craves only when she stops jumping on you and sits (if she knows the command), she'll stop jumping up. Remember to always reward the good behavior that you are seeking. Be careful not to ignore her when she comes and sits politely, waiting for your attention.
What Not To Do
Attempts to tap, slap, or hit your puppy in the face (or anywhere on its body) for nipping or jumping up are guaranteed to backfire. This can cause very negative reactions depending on your puppy's temperament. Your puppy can become "hand shy" and cringe or cower whenever a hand comes toward her face. This can also cause your puppy to become afraid of you. Once your puppy becomes afraid of you, they will start to refuse to come to you or approach you at all. Your puppy could also respond in a defensive manner and attempt to bite you. This would be in pure defense. Likewise, your puppy can also interpret a slight slap as an invitation to play. Which would in turn cause her to become more excited and be even more likely to nip or jump.
About Children and Puppies
It's very difficult for children, especially younger kids, to practice the types of behavior modifications we discussed. A child’s first reaction to being nipped, mouthed, or jumped up on by a puppy is to use their hands to move the puppy away. They will sometimes hit and other times push the puppy away. This can be interpreted by the puppy as play which in turn causes the puppy to nip, mouth, or jump even more. It can also cause your puppy to become fearful of your child. Always supervise your puppy and children together. Having a puppy also means teaching your children boundaries. It is never ok for your child to pull on a puppies ears, tail or legs. Remember that dogs use body language to let us know how they are feeling. Pay attention to how your dog feels with the interactions they are having as well. It is highly recommended to seek the help of a professional dog trainer to help with desired behaviors. It's also very important to remember to give your dog rules and expectations. We can not have a well behaved dog if we do not take the time to teach them what behaviors we expect of them.
Indoor leash training
We have already discussed the importance of your puppy learning rules for your home. A simple method to help with this is leash training. Years ago a trainer taught me this trick to help my puppy learn boundaries and rules for inside. Its pretty simple actually. Keep your puppy attached to a leash and attached to you at all times except when he is in the crate. (DO NOT leave the leash on your puppy inside a crate . This can be very dangerous.) This helps the puppy learn what is expected of him. He will observe you very closely and learn easily what you do and do not want. This helps you to be consistent because puppy is right there at all times. Remember corrections have to be doe in real time/immediately. Even waiting for 5 minutes will confuse your puppy. This method also helps your puppy with potty training. A puppy will not go in close range of where they are sitting or laying down. This also gives you the chance to observe your puppy’s body language. By learning this from your puppy, you will know when he needs to go outside, when he wants to play, cuddle, or take a nap. This also encourages a stronger bond with your puppy. Using this method also desensitizes your puppy to the leash. So when it is finally time to start walking your puppy (after all of its shots are complete) it will not have that fear.