Q: Hi,
We\’ve had a Yellow Labrador puppy for a week and he\’s starting to bite our hands and fingers every time we try to pet him or hold him. Sometimes he\’s mouthing other times he bites pretty hard. He\’s 7 weeks old now. What can we do to make him stop, besides giving him toys/bones to chew?

Thanks,
Dan

A:  Hello Dan,

Congrats on your puppy!  They can be a lot of fun and a lot of work!  It is good you are searching out how to resolve some issues early before more problems develop.  Puppy biting/mouthing is a normal part of growing up, because all dogs explore their environments with their mouths and because pups are teething. Just like human babies, pups have to gnaw and chew on objects to help cut the new teeth through the gums so make sure you have appropriate chew toys that your puppy can bite on. 

But, we need to teach your puppy what is called bite inhibition, where they begin to understand how to control their bite so it isn’t so hard.  This is a learned behavior.  If we don’t teach this bite inhibition they can grow up and injure someone or another dog with what they think is play causing major problems for them as an adult.  They should try to learn this bite inhibition by about 3 months of age.  It is a good idea to have your pup properly socialized too because they can learn about this while playing with other puppies too.

Here are some steps to follow to teach this bite inhibition:

1. When he bites too hard you quickly say “OUCH,” pull your hands away, look away and don’t move.  This is so the puppy understands that play will stop when he bites too hard. 
2. Next you can offer the puppy something he is allowed to chew on. When he takes the chew toy in his mouth you praise him and give him attention.  If he again tries to bite you hard you repeat step one and you may even leave the room if necessary.
3. Re-enter the room and try again.  If he again bites too hard you leave the room for several minutes.

It is important to re-enter and give him another chance and to stop the training on a good note-so, keep leaving and re-entering as many times as it takes him to get it.  If you practice this a lot right away and you are really consistent with it he’ll learn quickly. 

Over time your pup will begin to understand that hard biting isn’t allowed and that he is more rewarded with praise from you as well as a nice chew toy when he doesn’t bite you hard.

Another extremely important factor in having a well-behaved dog is exercise.  You’ll need to make sure he has been exercised really well at least twice a day, every day.  He needs to be so worn out that he lays down to rest after the walk.  If he is still following you around and ready to play when you return from your exercise walk then you’ll know it wasn’t enough.  Exercise is the secret key to fixing most problems because even if we have a perfectly trained obedience dog but do not drain that dog’s energy we’ll begin to have problems we can’t fix. 

Also very important

Begin a regular positive obedience program with him so that he learns how to control him behavior and also learns you are playing a leadership role in him life which will make him listen to you better.  This can be a great tool to use when he is in the overly excited state too.  Say for example you can sense he is becoming too excited; you stand up, put him leash on and begin some obedience practice.  That will change the mood to a working mode and he’ll learn how to focus him energy.  When you do the positive obedience with him he’ll receive the attention he seeks through rewards like praise and treats.  In this sense you both win; he gets the attentions he wants from you and you get a better trained dog!

**Important Tip: If you are NOT consistent and allow the mouthing behavior occasionally he will never really learn to stop.  But if you decide from this moment on he is not allowed to do it and you follow my steps above you should be successful very quickly.

I hope this information helps you. 

If you are interested in joining my online training program to get a good start with your puppy, that includes access to email me 7 days a week throughout your training I can offer you a buy one get one free coupon!  If you are interested, sign up at the join now page http://www.webdogtrainer.com/join.php   and I’ll send you the free membership coupon you can offer to a friend or family member as a gift!  Makes a great Holiday Gift! 

Julie