leopui
K9 Maniac
Mar 2, 2002, 6:55 AM
Post #26 of 33
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This is a reply from one highly recommended Dog Behaviourist ... Fred Alimusa otherwise known as "FredAL", hope it will help!!! When puppies interact with humans, their initial tendency is to bite because this is their only way to grab us – much like we grab with our hands, they only have their mouths to accomplish this. This is how they played with their dam and littermates and this is how they think they should also play with humans. It is up to us humans to teach the puppy that we don’t play that way and that his biting hurts us. To accomplish this, we have to teach the puppy “BITE INHIBITION”. Whenever he bites your hand during play, yell out “Ahh!”, give him a glaring stare, and then stop the play. Don’t pull your hand back but just leave it there when you yell Ahh. Once he stops, praise him and resume play. When he tries it again, repeat the exercise. The “Ahhh!” teaches him early on that it’s a cue to stop a behavior (this becomes the command for a ‘soft’ NO). You don’t pull back your hand because pulling back will just trigger his prey drive and he might just go after it again. If he doesn’t stop in three tries, instead of just leaving your hand there, push it back into his mouth to cause discomfort while doing the other exercises. This triggers his opposition reflex and he will want to spit out what’s being pushed in his mouth. You’ve also made him realize that biting is not pleasurable anymore but uncomfortable for him. If after a few times he still doesn’t learn, there’s still a third method. Stop all play and redirect his biting behavior to a chew toy, and ignore him. This will make him realize that whenever he starts the biting behavior, the fun of playing with you stops; and you teach him what objects he’s allowed to bite on (chew toys). LEO PUI Get REAL, Train REAL & Be REAL! Do RIGHT and FEAR No One!
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