Understanding Puppy Biting and Chewing

Puppy biting and chewing is normal, and is a fact of puppy life.

Biting and chewing behavior happens almost from birth. If you watch a litter of puppies at play you will see a great deal of nipping and biting going on.

The bitch of the litter knows the limits of acceptable biting and will quickly discipline any of her puppies who cross the line. By the age of eight weeks most puppies are beginning to understand what is acceptable biting and what is not.

Puppies have an inherent need to chew. And most especially when they are teething. The biting and chewing process helps the new teeth to break through and also helps to alleviate the normal pain that is associated with teething.

In addition to teething, puppies will bite each other in attempt to establish their dominance among their peers in the pack. Many of the males will have the urge to be the "Alpha male" and will work hard to convince the other males that they are dominant.

When a puppy first starts biting, their mother uses a principle called "bite inhibition" to teach the concept of good biting and bad. She snarls, nips or swats the pup when the biting starts to hurt. As the puppy receives discipline he learns that good chewing is acceptable while bad chewing is not. You can extend this concept to the puppy when he moves into your home by simply issuing a sharp "no" whenever your puppy does any bad biting.

When you are through with the correction, immediatly give the puppy a chew toy or toss him a ball. This concept is called "redirection" and channels their natural puppy biting tendancy toward something more appropriate for this behavior. Remember, puppy biting is normal but you are in control of the acceptable boundaries.

Puppy biting will continue for some time. Don't expect your puppy to learn the difference between good and bad biting immediately. This is a learned response that began with his mother and is now up to you to carry on.

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