Like humans, dogs are born completely without teeth. It takes about three to six weeks for the first milk teeth to break through the jaw. The 28 teeth are small and pointed and drive many a dog owner to despair. This is because the little dog likes to take every opportunity to test and use its pointed tools. This can sometimes not only be very painful, but also cause damage. So sometimes the new shoe or a piece of furniture must suffer from the attacks of the dwarf. Especially unpleasant, however, are the ongoing biting attacks on all family members. For the owner, this is one of the first challenges.
Correct wrong behavior
When a young dog comes into the house, all family members are excited and full of joy. The little one is insecure and fearful. He just had to leave his mother and siblings and does not know the new home yet. Usually it doesn’t take long and the dwarf has settled in and is already interacting with his new family full of joy. But as nice as the time with a little dog is, it is also difficult. It becomes a challenge when the puppy shows behavior that is not at all desired. And as difficult as it may be, this negative behavior must be corrected in time. Timely means as soon as you recognize it. If the new little housemate turns out to be a biter, action should be taken quickly. The more consistent you are, the faster the dog will learn to change its behavior.
The puppy must first learn the bite inhibition
The puppy usually comes to the new owner at the age of about three months. It is important that he does not get away from the mother too early, because she teaches the little one a lot. Among them is the so-called bite inhibition. Small dogs bite – and that is completely normal. The dog must first learn to use his teeth and the strength of the jaws properly. If you watch puppies playing with each other or with their mother, you can observe a few things. If one of the little ones suddenly cries out, the puppy that bit stops, startled. By crying out and stopping, he learns that he has bitten too hard. He will hold back in the future and be more careful. This so-called bite inhibition must learn the dog absolutely. If this does not happen, the animal snaps easily even as an adult dog. This is not only annoying and unpleasant, but can become very dangerous. Such behavior is not justifiable if the dog has to live with children.
If the puppy bites, the game is stopped
Now, however, we as humans are mostly the play partners of the dog and he catches us with his small pointed teeth. If the dwarf now bites, we cry out just as a dog play partner would do. In addition, the game is interrupted and the dog is ignored. He must not be looked at or spoken to. Unfortunately, there are some small dogs, but they do not care. Full of pleasure they continue to bite feet, hands or calves. In such a case there are two possibilities. Either the dog owner stops the game immediately and goes out of the dog’s field of vision for a few seconds. It is best to leave the room for a short time. The other option is to briefly put the little biter outside the door. If this is not possible, you can also leash the dog. Nevertheless, one should move away from its radius so far that it does not reach the object of desire with its little teeth. After a few seconds, the puppy should be given another chance. Dog owners must always remember: the dog must learn, he does not bite because he is vicious!
Patience is needed here
The dog bites mostly in situations where he is very excited. With a puppy this is mostly during a wild game. He then simply forgets that he can hurt. The dog has enormous fun and gets wilder and wilder and more and more excited. Such situations simply need to be practiced so that the dog learns bite inhibition and can assess what he is allowed to do and what not. This can take a lot of patience. Fifty, a hundred or even more repetitions are often necessary before the puppy changes its behavior. This means being really consistent. Playing along once and ignoring another time is not possible. In such a case, the dog does not know its way around and is insecure.
The bite inhibition should be learned until the 16th week, then the change of teeth begins. The permanent and strong dentition then gradually comes through. In addition, the jaw of the animal becomes stronger and stronger as the dog gets older.
The bite inhibition is important for every dog
A well-trained bite inhibition is of great importance for the whole dog’s life. Every dog can once get into a situation where he bites. This may be because he is afraid or needs to defend himself. If he has trained bite inhibition as a puppy, he will not leave serious injuries. He bites inhibited, so to speak. Bite inhibition is not only important in large dogs. Even small breeds can inflict serious bite wounds in case of emergency. Just think about how the dog bites bones or treats.
