How To Train A Puppy

Question: How to train a puppy not to bite and chew everything ? +bq?

(Posted by: Sarah - **Heaths Mommy** on 2010-03-06 19:48:08)

We have a 6 week old puppy who likes to nip and chew our house to bits. I know this is normal puppy behaviour but I wont to stop this behaviour as soon as possible (which i know can take some patience and time) Whats the most effective way to teach a puppy not to bit and chew? BQ - If you have any tips for house training a dog, please let me know as well :)

Posted by: lynnie on 2010-03-06, 20:26:31

Puppyhood usually lasts for about 2 years. Having a small puppy chew on you is one thing, but as the puppy and the teeth get bigger it's something totally different. Everytime your puppy puts his teeth on you, yelp as if he hurt you and turn away from him for a few minutes. This is how puppies let each other know that they are playing too rough. If he persists in chewing on you as time goes on, grab him by the snout and press and rub his lips against his teeth and say NO TEETH OR NO BITE loudly. Before everyone starts jumping up and down and saying that's cruel, I'm not talking about using a pair of vise grips, I'm just talking about pressing and rubbing his lips against his teeth to the point that he "feels " it (not shreiking in pain), saying no teeth or no bite and letting go. Dogs are smart and you will be surprised how quickly he will learn, or appear to learn, what you mean by no teeth. I have four doggies that I got as puppies and they all know what I mean when I say "no teeth " if they get to playing too rough with me or each other. They stop and all back away from each other. It's really funny to see. As for chewing on stuff in your house, they are teething and the desire to chew is overwhelming to help them cut their teeth. Bad tasting stuff might work for a while, but I would also have LOTS of chew toys around and if I saw them chewing on anything that they shouldn't be, I would say NO CHEW loudly and immediately give them a chew toy and tell them how good they are when they chew it instead of the leg of the chair, etc. My doggies LOVE puffed pigs ears and Nylabones. Don't give them raw hide chews as they are not digestible and pieces can get lodged in their intestines and cause serious problems. ALWAYS remove any chew toy when it gets too small as a dogs instinct will cause it to try and swallow it when it gets to a point where the whole thing fits in its mouth and you don't want the dog to choke. Good luck and enjoy your puppy. There's nothing like a puppy to brighten up your day.

Posted by: William A on 2010-03-06, 19:52:23

This is in a puppy's nature! You can't tell them to stop chewing!! You can't tell the Earth to never rain again! You can't stop human's from having emotions! It's inevitable.

Posted by: Joel on 2010-03-06, 19:53:55

Bitter apple spray. Worked wonders for me. I have rot/ boxer mix and he's a chewer. The fairly cheep bitter apple spray terrifies him though and he wont touch what ever I sprayed. On a side note my dog always has a chew toy around too so when he gets the urge to chew he has a go to. As for the 2nd part my dog was mouthy, he never bit hard just play full. We tried putting bitter apple on our hands but it only worked if we were ready for him. What worked the best for him was to ignore him completely for about 5 minutes after his teeth touched us.

Posted by: pj on 2010-03-06, 19:58:04

Make sure the puppy has lots of safe toys that he can chew on. If you catch him chewing on something he shouldn't be, try squirting him with water from a spray bottle. This won't hurt him if it gets in his eyes. Don't give him rawhide unless you are there to supervise......they can get pieces off of it and choke.

Posted by: dawg on 2010-03-06, 19:58:25

Lots of chew toys and bones, when you see him chew put a toy in his mouth

Posted by: nicey on 2010-03-06, 23:37:55

Hi, Puppy biting is a normal, natural, and necessary puppy behavior. Puppy play-biting is the means by which dogs develop bite inhibition and a soft mouth. The developing puppy should learn that his bites can hurt long before he develops jaws strong enough to inflict injury. Good bite inhibition is the most important quality of any companion dog. Moreover, a dog must develop bite inhibition during puppyhood, before he is four-and-a-half months old. Here's more info: lnk.nu/ dogtime.com/ s0b.html