Wednesday, January 20, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Paw
Prints
Jodi Schneider McNamee
Columnist
What to do about
puppy mouthing
Your friend’s 5-month-
old puppy is adorable and
getting really big. But every
time you visit them you end
up with chew marks and spit-
tle on your hands, arms and
clothing. How do you tell
your friend that it’s just not
that cute anymore?
It’s normal behavior for
puppies to spend a great deal
of time playing, chewing and
investigating objects with
their mouths. And when pup-
pies play with people, they
often nip, chew and mouth
on people’s hands, limbs
and clothing. This kind of
behavior may seem cute
when your little furry friend
is eight weeks old, but it’s
not so endearing when baby
Rover’s four or five months
old — and getting bigger by
the day!
It’s important to help
your puppy learn to curb his
mouthy behavior. The ulti-
mate goal is to train your
little furry friend to stop
mouthing and biting people
altogether.
If you watch a group of
puppies playing, you’ll see
plenty of chasing, pounc-
ing and wrestling. Puppies
also bite each other all over.
Every now and then, a puppy
will bite his playmate too
hard. Then the victim of the
painful bite yelps and usually
stops playing. The offender
is often taken aback by the
yelp and also stops play-
ing for a moment. However,
pretty soon, both playmates
are back in the game.
With this kind of interac-
tion, puppies are learning to
control the intensity of their
bites so that no one gets hurt.
If puppies can learn how to
be gentle from each other,
they can also learn the same
lesson from people.
Although you can teach
your puppy to be gentle
when nipping and mouthing
you, you need to teach your
puppy that teeth don’t belong
on human skin, period.
First, make sure you’re
not encouraging baby Rover
to be mouthy by playing
roughly with him. This over-
excitement could cause him
to see your hands as some-
thing to chase and catch with
his teeth.
When your puppy chews
on your hands and arm say a
firm, “Ouch!” or even fake a
dog yelp, and then back away
and stop playing for a while.
This is how dogs in the wild
know when they’ve gone too
far.
When you start to play
with baby Rover again, redi-
rect his attention. Grab one
of his dog toys such as a hard
rubber ball or chew bone and
show it to him. When he goes
for his toy praise him while
he chews on it, your praise
tells him that what he is
chewing on now is the right
thing, and that human skin is
the wrong thing.
If he doesn’t go for the
toy, walk away for a while.
Since puppies have short
attention spans, they some-
times forget corrective
behavior, so you might find
yourself repeating the actions
you just taught him many
times. However, with con-
sistency and patience, he’ll
eventually understand.
Remember that consis-
tency is the key. Give baby
Rover crystal-clear feedback
all the time so he can learn
what you want him to do.
Being consistent in redirect-
ing your puppy from fingers
to dog toys will help him
learn that human skin is not
acceptable, but that his ball
or chew toy are OK.
Here are some tips to
photo by JoDi schneiDer mcnamee
Puppy can be redirected with a chew toy.
follow when training your
puppy not to mouth your
hands, arms, toes or clothing:
• Substitute a toy or chew
bone when baby Rover tries
to gnaw on fingers, arms or
toes.
• Puppies often mouth on
people’s hands when being
petted and scratched. If your
puppy gets all riled up when
you pet him, distract him by
feeding him small treats from
your other hand. This will
help your puppy get used
to being touched without
mouthing.
• Encourage non-contact
forms of play also, such as
fetch and tug-of-war, rather
than wrestling and rough
play with your hands.
• If baby Rover bites
at your feet and ankles,
carry his favorite tug toy in
your pocket. Whenever he
ambushes you, instantly stop
moving your feet. Take out
the tug toy and wave it in
front of him. When he grabs
the toy, start moving again. If
you don’t happen to have the
toy available, just freeze and
wait for your puppy to stop
nipping or mouthing you.
The second he stops, praise
him and get a toy to reward
him.
• Provide plenty of inter-
esting toys so that your little
furry friend will play with
them instead of gnawing on
you or your clothing. And
this includes gnawing on any
of your visitors too!
If you believe that your
puppy is too aggressive to
train, you may have to seek
advice from an experienced
dog trainer or behaviorist.
Prevent a Litter,
Fix Your Critter!
FURRY FRIEND S
FOUNDATION
501 ( c )( 3 )
www.furryfriendsfoundation.org
541-549-9941
501(c)(3) nonprofi t organization
19
Spay/Neuter Sponsorships - Easy as 1-2-3
1 Stop by The Nugget offi ce to fi ll out a short form
2 Call Bend Spay & Neuter for the appointment
3 Take your pet — Furry Friends pays. Done!