The Lowdown on Puppy Biting

Puppy biting is one of the chief complaints of new puppy owners. Puppy jaws are still growing and haven’t yet developed full adult dog jaw strength, but puppy’s needle-like teeth can cause painful nicks and tears in human skin. What many don’t understand is that play-biting is an enormously important phase of puppy learning and development.

Biting and mouthing are normal puppy behavior. Puppies bite and mouth each other in play and often do the same when playing and roughhousing when humans. Puppies may also bite and mouth us when they get excited or to get our attention.

Learning precise jaw control, also known as “acquired bite inhibition,” is perhaps the most important developmental milestone in a young puppy’s life. There’s a narrow window of time in which a puppy can learn proper jaw control. That window closes at 18 weeks of age. After that, puppies begin to transition into adolescence, during which their jaws grow much stronger. (An adult dog’s jaws are extremely powerful – strong enough to crush bone!) It’s extremely difficult, time consuming and sometimes dangerous to teach an adult dog bite inhibition.

According to renowned veterinary behaviorist Dr. Ian Dunbar, pioneer in the field of early puppy socialization, a dog’s level of acquired bite inhibition determines the seriousness of injury inflicted should that dog fight or bite. Dogs with good learned jaw control rarely break skin if they should happen to bite or fight. Dogs with poor jaw control however, are much more likely to break skin and cause injury should they bite or fight.

When puppies play together, they give each other valuable feedback about the strength of bites. If Duke bites Cato gently, Cato won’t mind and will keep playing with Duke. If Duke bites Cato too hard, Cato will yelp and/or stop playing with Duke for a few moments. This feedback teaches Duke through immediate natural consequences that soft bites are OK, but hard bites aren’t. In this way, Duke learns how to control his jaw pressure while he’s still a puppy.

Learning jaw control is one reason it’s crucial that puppies have frequent opportunities to play with other puppies their age. And while it may seem counterintuitive, allowing puppies to bite and mouth humans is a good thing. We can and should give puppies consistent feedback about the strength of their bites in the same way puppies give one other feedback -- well before they’re strong enough to do real damage. Puppies who are never permitted to play bite can’t learn how to restrain the force of their jaws.

If Duke play bites his person Chelsea too hard, she should say Ouch, and immediately stop playing with Duke. Chelsea should completely ignore Duke for about 20 seconds. She should put him down if she’s been holding him, and turn away or walk away from him. During that 20 seconds, she should completely ignore Duke – no looking at, talking to, touching or interacting with him.

If Chelsea and everyone else who interacts with Duke is 100% consistent in how they respond to hard bites, Duke will learn how much pressure is OK and how much is too much.

Certainly there are instances in which puppy biting may indicate a deeper problem. Puppies who bite or mouth when being handled or restrained may be communicating discomfort and fear with how and where they’re being touched. Puppies who bite/try to bite humans who approach while puppies are eating or gnawing on a toy or chewie are also communicating discomfort, stress and fear. These behaviors won’t disappear without positive focused training. In fact, without positive training both types of behavior will most likely worsen over time.

If you’re concerned about whether your puppy’s biting is appropriate or is the sign of a behavioral problem, get help quickly. Feel free to contact me. If you’re outside my area, I’ll happily refer you to another positive trainer. 

Flickr Photo Credits: Holdrioo_ch, Michael Y Wang, Juicy Carolina's

Posted: March 17, 2009