Yelping at biting playful puppies has been championed as the best way on how to discipline a puppy for biting.
And, if you have been looking at how to put a stop to this puppy bitting and nippy behavior, you probably have a growing demon puppy who, in the process of delivering joy, has been biting hard.
It makes sense why yelping may help stop puppies from biting you hard. When you watch your dogs play, they nip into each other playfully.
Nothing wrong with dogs mouthing each other; however, if the mouthing and nippy bites increases in severity, you notice the dog on the receiving end will yelp in a heightened pitch to signal the aggressor to stop.
Playful puppies of all dog breed types are a great source of joy and provide bonding time between the family and their pet dog.
How ever, in many cases, puppies often get overboard from gentle, playful nips into full-blown puppy biting behavior, which can be painful, especially when you are on the receiving end of that puppy bite.
So, how do you discipline a puppy for biting?
According to many clicker dog training professionals recommend yelping. Now, if you are new to yelping, this is when humans or dogs make a sudden, short, high sound, usually, when your puppy is biting you.
The yelping signals to the dog that you are in pain, therefore she must let go.
The key here is to observe whether the puppy lets go or not. And when she does, you must praise and reward the dog for being a gentle player in the game.
Admittedly, the mouth is the only tool dogs have! They use their mouth for exploring and sometimes even to defend themselves from aggressors.
Wouldn’t it be sensible to understand why your puppy is nippy? Believe it or not, every painful bite from a puppy has a different meaning; your job as a puppy mum is to know when nipping is turning into aggression or part of exploration all puppies have to do.
If you cry wolf and use yelping literally at every bite, your dog will assume you enjoy her biting behavior; therefore, she will intensify and get worse at biting.
In fact, Melisa Alexander recommends yelping for pet owners. In her research and experience training dogs over the years has led to conclude that up to 90% of nippy puppies will stop mouthing in mid-bite immediately you yelp by giving a high-pitched squeal.
Don’t stop there! She adds that you go ahead and praise the dog as doing so, it will reinforce, especially when you choose to continue to play.
While some puppies who are tired or over-stimulated tend to escalate their behavior instead of stopping, nipping in most pets is an unexpected progressive behavior over time, which can be put to a stop by yelping and re-inforcing the good behavior with praise and training treats.
Most competent dog trainers will tell you that bite inhibition training does not require any added aversive—yelling, “popping” the dog on the nose or under the chin, shoving your hand down his throat, or spraying him with water. – Melissa Alexander, the Clicker Training specialist.
So, if your puppy isn’t just giving out nips anymore, investigate and find out why she is progressively moving on into the full-on attack mode.
To an overstimulated dog, who may also just be learning to explore with the only tool at her disposal, yelping may as well be a signal to go ahead and give a strong full forceful bite. So, do not just hope that yelping at your nippy puppy is going to be a magic pill.
Most puppies who bite during playful games not only will continue to bite, but they will escalate into added sorts of aggression like leaping, lunging, growling, and tugging into the mix if they are not reprimanded and conditioned to only use mouthing.
Yelping may not exactly be your idea of an excellent method to stop puppies from biting. However, there is nearly 90% who at least yelping and praising their little demon pup to be an effective way to enjoy playful mouthing from your dog, without the nipping and biting pain.
Popular beliefs also get thrown into the mix about the ideal age when a puppy stops biting.
In retrospect, there is no excuse or somewhat exceptions where puppy biting should be tolerated with the hope that it will stop by the time your puppy has his full set of grown-up teeth (which in this case may be in and around the 7 months mark).
Some have alluded to the idea that puppies bite because they are teething, but that is not entirely true as puppy dogs with teething issues will mostly chew furniture or shoes if you do not provide the best toys for teething puppies like these here on Amazon.
Mouthing for dogs that occur when puppies are being playful sometimes escalates into a painful bites period! And mouthing also is practiced by adult dogs especially lapdogs like the Chihuahua breed types which is known for being nippy and the Poochon which is one of the Poodle mixed breeds.
So, if your puppy is nipping then biting, the likelihood of underlying Issues requiring that you look at both the state of their energy levels and if the breed also has historical tendencies of being nippy.
The good news is that even the worst demon pups who bite, growl, snarl, and lunge at you can stop biting long before they have cut all of their adult teeth.
The Teething Puppy Biting Myth
Like human babies, puppy dogs also undergo the teething period, usually, Puppies start teething when they are 3 to 4 months old.
While there’s evidence to show that excitement or teething in puppies may trigger nipping and biting, lack of training is the main reason why puppies fail to moderate or tell the difference between playful bites and defensive (aggressive) bites in growing puppies.
When Your Puppy Is Biting Your Children
Puppy bites in small children accounts for nearly 80% of all little cute pups who end up in the pet shelter, looking for new homes to adopt them. While it is not clearly indicative that puppies who bite young children, awareness in how to handle puppy dogs is the root cause for kids who get bitten by their puppy.
What To Do To Stop Puppies Biting Your Kids?
Yelping at your puppy by your kids often does not help to alert the puppy who may as well be freightened by mixed signals from inexperienced young family members.
So, to avoid your children getting bites instead of cuddles from your adorable puppy dog, train your kids how to handle puppies long before you introduce the pup to the family.
The pain of puppy bites and the velocity in which some household dog breeds like the Labrador retriever inflicts bites on your children will come as a shock to many new pet owners.
However, Labrador retriever dog breed is synonymous with puppies being very very bitey when they are pups.
Is It Aggression When Puppies Bite Alot?
No! Puppies who bite when they are being playful may do so not as an aggressive overture rather as part of their exploratory adventure.
Therefore, bitting puppies does not act as an indicative signal of aggressive behavior when that puppy is fully grown.
What If Your Puppy Is Growling At You?
Puppies who are nippy often growl and sometimes lunge at their owners even when the owner Yelps.
To the puppies, growling at you when you yelp is part of the training practice of standing your ground when they want to play fierce.
This is a common behavior in guard dog puppies who my tryout on you to see if you will backdown.
So, if you have a ferocious growler or snarling puppy, do not jump into conclusions that their biting when they play, is somewhat connected as the nipping and biting sometimes means the dog is alerting you of something, or they may as well be trying to entice their owners into yet another game.
And for kids, growling and snarling puppy’s look may even be freightening beyond the cuddly cute pup they know. This is because a snarl and growl will not only just sound fierce to the kids, your pup’s look will be fierce and uninviting.
The cute and innocent face you knew will be all scrunched up, his lips drawn back, to expose his sharp new set of teeth to display her arsenal for all kids to see.
Soon after such experience with a puppy, no child ever see their family pet the same!
No wonder your kids will come running to you that the new puppy dog is biting and they will surely go right off him!
All in all, puppy bites often occur due to excitement, lack of biting training inhibition or they are seeking for your attention.
To stop your puppies from biting, stop rewarding them with your attention when they bit you on the legs as it refonces the biting behavior.
Do not even look at her or offer her any acknowledgement when they nip on your feet.
