Training Dogs Not To Bite

Statistics show that dogs bite as many as 4.7 million people each year. Biting is an unwanted behavior. And you can very well avoid it. By training your dog not to bite, you are going to avoid medical bills and lawsuits in the process.
The difficulty of teaching your dog not to bite lies with its breed and temperament. You have to use the right techniques so you'll successfully restrain your dog from biting animals and other people.

It is important to start the training early. It is common for puppies to nip. Some owners don't control this behavior, as they regard it to be cute and harmless. But it could really be a start of their bad biting habit. And so when you see your dog nipping at something, reprimand it at once.

One-month old puppies should be capable of learning simple commands. When puppies start to bite, you need to tell it to stop firmly but gently. Use the word 'No' so it can recognize the word and associate it to something he is not supposed to do. Squeezing the dog's muzzle it would help too.

The puppy may bite its tongue when you muzzle it, so be careful when you do this. Make sure you don't squeeze too hard. Squeezing too high could be a problem as well, as it could cause the dog's sensitive odor receptors to be damaged. As a result, your dog would have problems smelling.

Keep in mind that you are squeezing the dog to inform it of what's good and bad. You're not squeezing because you're punishing the dog for the thing it has done. Discomfort is something dogs can associate to a verbal command, especially at that early age. Dogs don't like it when their muzzles are squeezed, regardless of their age.

Socializing your pet with other dogs also helps in making him a calm and collected dog. They would also be more confident. Socializing would decrease your dog's fear. It makes them more used to strangers. As such, little are their chances of developing the biting behavior.
Make your dog meet non-aggressive dogs on a regular basis. This decreases their tendency to become wary because of the other dog's difference in looks and smell. If you do this at a rather young age, you are discouraging their territorial response.

Most of the time, dogs learn how to inhibit their biting behavior by themselves. When playing with littermates, they learn not to press too hard. Capitalize on these instances to teach them not to bite family members, people, and other pets.
Should you need to introduce other pets to your dog, restrain it. You must also restrain the other pet as well. Allow them to approach each other slowly so that they can sniff each other. Let them to carry out their natural behaviors, without intimidating each other.

Aggression has signs. Always be on the lookout for those. Body tension, erect ears, and snarling are good indications of aggression. Whenever you see these signs, ask your dog to sit. Then stroke its back. Do the same thing with the other animal using your other hand. With your mitigation, allow your pets to interact with one another.
Give your dog until its fourth month to learn how to inhibit biting. It won't happen quickly so don't get discouraged. Different breeds react differently to biting. And older dogs may learn how to properly inhibit biting longer than expected.

But the sad fact is that there are dogs that will never learn how to stop themselves from biting. So you've got to do your part. Always see to it that the dog won't get near people or other animals. Inform visitors and family members about the behavior of your dog so that they won't do anything to frighten it.

For older dogs that bite, try to use a garden spray. Fill the spray with water and use it to spew water to your dog's face right at the moment it would seem to attack. Sooner or later, the dog would learn that biting is something you don't tolerate.
Always use patience when training pets. Most dogs require gradual but persistent training. Don't get disheartened. All your efforts to training your dog will pay off in the long run.
source : pet-yard.com