Dogs use their mouths to pick up objects, reasonably using them for play as well. Sometimes, however, their play can get a bit rough; dogs have been known to injure humans without intending to. That crying child screaming ‘the dog bit me’ might just have misunderstood play for aggression.
- Has your pet ever tried to ‘paw’ you? Dogs aren’t very coordinated in this manner. They exert much more control and dexterity over their mouths!
Bite Inhibition: ‘Soft Mouth’
Everyone has seen dogs at play one time or another. What sometimes looks violent and dangerous to use is just a ‘day at the park’ to them; dogs can tolerate much more force than humans without bruising or breaking skin.
A puppy (or any dog) who hasn’t learned the delicacies of human skin could inadvertently injure a person during play. Is it the fault of the dog, in this case? Absolutely not! Sorry to say, this is the fault of the owner for not bothering to teach the concept; the animal is acting naturally.
- Bite Inhibition refers to a dog’s ability to control the force behind his mouthing/biting.
- Dogs, naturally, can tolerate much more force than humans and shrug it off; puppies need to be taught this while they aren’t capable of producing enough pressure to injure!
Young Development
Puppies normally learn Bite Inhibition (to an extent) when playing with their siblings. Of course, many breeders like to separate animals far too young, before they have had a chance to learn much of anything from interaction.
Puppies need this early interaction to properly develop mentally; they learn far more than this simple concept. Separate them too early, and your pooch could grow up with personality faults (over- timidness, extreme anxiety, and unnecessary aggression).
- It isn’t recommended to separate puppies from their siblings and mother before eight weeks of age, absolutely not prior to four.
The Poor, Sheltered Puppy
It isn’t a far stretch to blame shelters for not bothering to train their animals, which almost none do. Why waste time training a dog that is going to be someone else’s responsibility eventually? The true enthusiast who cares deeply for the welfare of their animals would take initiative; the avg. worker wouldn’t go the extra mile unless they were being paid to do so, an expense animal shelters can rarely afford.
- Don’t have the time? Between the cigarette breaks and lunches, this takes no more than two minutes a day, perhaps less.
Even then, many handlers, ironically, haven’t bothered to do much research into dog behavior at all; they simply wouldn’t know how to begin. As far as ‘Puppy Mill’ breeders; most simply don’t care what happens to the animals outside of the money they will earn.
- If taken in from the street, care should be taken attempting to train this concept; it is impossible to know the history behind these adult strays. This is, perhaps, one of the few exceptions.
Training Process
Training the ‘soft mouth’ concept is extremely simple! Whenever your pup ‘bites’ (mouths; regardless of the pressure they apply) when engaging in play, yank your hand away, yelling ‘ouch’ and acting injured. Immediately stop the play, and make a dramatic point of over-reacting.
Even if it didn’t hurt in the least, if you aren’t injured at all, your puppy will think you are. Realize- they are just trying to enjoy play, like you were another dog; they don’t mean to hurt you. By stopping the play, you take away their fun; they will associate your ‘injury’ to playtime ceasing.
Of course your pooch doesn’t want the play to stop, so they are going to begin to take extra special care not to ‘hurt’ you!
When you play with your puppy, let him ‘mouth’ your hands! If he chomps too hard, take the above mentioned steps. Remember- if you never allow your pup to ‘bite’ you in this way, he’ll never learn. Trust me, you want him to learn now- before he grows up and is capable of causing injury.
- Don’t yell or respond aggressively toward your pet. This could cause them to become fearful of the game; they simply might not want to play with you anymore.
- The punishment here is ceasing the game; no other measures are needed. Trust me; they will catch on!
Take a Clue From Nature
Many training techniques today reflect natural circumstances; a truly educated trainer will try to develop many theories based off of natural dog behavior.
How does this relate to the subject at hand? Puppies will sometimes bite each other too hard during play. The recipient will then make a little ‘puppy yelp’, and usually stop playing. The training technique I am referring to is the exact same, only we are dealing with puppies and humans.
- Most knowledgeable dog behaviorists easily have the ability to become great trainers because they know how dogs think, what drives them. On the flip side, very few trainers have the ability to become great behaviorists; many are simply doing something because someone else told them it works.
