Those needle teeth in those snappy little jaws on that adorable Weim puppy may drive you crazy and cause some hurt, but I love puppies that bite!
Photo courtesy of Vbird Photography
It’s natural for puppies to bite and put everything in their mouths to explore their surroundings. It’s not dominance, and it’s not aggression. In fact, in most cases, it’s quite the opposite, it’s play. If you observe a litter with their mom, you’ll frequently see pups biting each other and even biting mom. Any pup that bites too hard gets feedback – a screach from a litter mate or a correction from mom, and fun time is over. Lesson learned for next time!
And so what does this have to do with your puppy biting you? Well, your puppy isn’t born knowing that your human skin is sensitive, and your puppy’s playfulness and the way he’s hard-wired to explore with his mouth is your opportunity to teach him that his teeth can hurt! Your Weimaraner puppy doesn’t have strong jaws when he’s little, but he is actually capable of learning to control of his jaws in a pretty precise way.
I’ve had very bitey young puppies and some that weren’t as bitey, and by far, the bitier the puppy, the better they have learned to control their jaws as they get older. Bitey puppies just give you that many more opportunities to give them feedback, and teaching proper bite inhibition will also teach your Weim to be very careful about taking toys and treats from your hands.
Teaching this is easy! When your puppy bites, screach “OUCH!” and quit playing. The screach should not get more intense or louder the more frustrated you get; it should get more intense and loud depending on how hard he bites. Resume playing when he calms down and quits biting.
If he gets more wound up and an “OUCH!” is not enough, try turning your back on your puppy after you screach. And if that doesn’t work, up the ante with drama. “OUCH!” then stop playing, and then leave the room. Slam a door even. What better “punishment” than being ignored by their playmate! Leave them bewildered as to why their playmate left. With repetition and good timing is, he will quickly figure out what made his playmate go away.
Remember, the harder the bite, the bigger the punishment. Do not let your frustration determine the feedback you give!
The more you do this, the more bite inhibition will become a reflex. And the more this is ingrained in your Weim, the better the outcome when he accidentally hits skin when taking food or a toy from your hand, or in a panic situation when he might lash out due to pain or fear…. but mostly I love having a Weimaraner that is careful about the use of his mouth around people!
Do you teach bite inhibition or do you train to extinguish biting completely?
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Agree completely! I think the mouthier a puppy is the better! Dogs need to learn how to control their mouths around other dogs, but also around people and the only way they learn that is by practice. Great article!
None of mine have been bitey at all, until I bought a girl in from another line. She was so bad, I thought she was part shark! My adults who were not bitey pups have lovely soft mouths, but then the ex-shark seems to have, too. She is just a bit more OTT that the others!