Puppy Bite Inhibition

[steve]

Hi Adrienne,

 

I have a large munsterlander puppy 9 weeks old and have found that the "Ouch!" method of bite inhibition training to be very helpful. I can already see, after 5 days, that it is slowly starting to work with me. I have two questions:

 

1. Does the method work such that the better his bite inhibition becomes with me it will automatically apply to other people that he meets?

 

2. Should the same technique be used for biting and pulling at clothes as well, or is there another approach which would be better?

 

Thanks,

Steve

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello, and welcome to the forums,

These are all excellent questions! The answer is not very easy though because there are several factors and variables to keep into consideration.

 

Question 1:

 

The "ouch" method tends to generally mostly work for mild cases of nipping and must be applied with perfect timing, and by providing clarity and consistency and clear consequences; so kudos to you for being patient and very clear in your communication with your pup!

 

 

If the 'ouch" method is working for you, however doesn't necessarily mean it will work when applied to other people. There may be several factors at play. For instance, it may work if your pup generalizes well the behavior of stopping nipping being contingent upon hearing the verbal marker"ouch" followed by withdrawal from play/social interaction. If your pup is capable of generalizing this to other people it may very well work as well, however, it takes "two to tango' meaning that to help your pup generalize the behavior, the people must apply the same timing, a similar tone of voice in delivering the "ouch" and the same consequences (withdrawal from play/ interaction). Also, your pup must be capable of responding to the level of distraction involved with seeing new people/ having guests over. Many pups are over threshold when seeing people, and may lose a bit of their inhibition when those arousal levels are too high, however, it is also true though that some pups are more tentative in approaching people, so this may work a bit in your favor, depending on your pup's temperament.

 

It may take some coaching the people beforehand providing them with clear instructions on what to do if your pup happens to nip. So the ouch approach may or may not work, based on some of these variables. It can be worth a try, but if it doesn't seem to work well for a number of times, then, it may be a good idea to move onto some different methods.

 

For puppy nipping, differential reinforcement of alternate behaviors can be applied. In this case, we are rewarding behaviors that are alternate to the nipping behavior. For instance, training your pup to sit for a treat or target the hands of people can be examples of behaviors that are alternatives to nipping. This latter works particularly well because it's fairly easy to teach and it teaches the pup a different, more productive way to interact with people's hands. Here is where to find how to train targeting:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/

 

Question 2:

 

It makes sense to apply the "ouch' technique for nipping directed at clothing such as shoes and/or the pulling and tugging at pant legs and clothes, but it is not 100 percent clear if pups understand that under such clothing there is human skin (at least when they are very young pups who lack impulse control and are very determined to play and super aroused).

 

To pups, they may just perceive feet and legs covered with clothing as fun tug toys that move (the more they move, the better!), they may therefore not focus much on what hides underneath. There may also be variables and compounding factors such as the clothing material that may be thick one day, thinner the next, or there may be folds in clothing, which may impact how the pup perceives how much pressure he is exerting and impacts his ability to gauge the force of his jaws.

 

The "ouch" mostly teaches pups that human skin is super sensitive leading to withdrawal from play/social interaction which should send the message that less pressure should be applied. With this in mind, the ouch may or may not work, depending on some variables as well. It may be worthy of a try if your pup has learned that "ouch" means that withdrawal from play/social interaction soon follows, and he has a clear understanding of when his teeth touch skin under the clothing. This level of sensitivity tends to come with age.

 

So once again, if the pup seems to be capable of generalizing well the "ouch" as a response to biting hard on bare skin, to the feeling of his teeth touching skin under clothing, then by all means, it can be used effectively. However, if the pup seems to struggle with understanding this, then it may be more productive trying alternative methods, and once again, this often entails rewarding alternate behaviors and providing redirection.

 

Here are some general tips for pups who nip clothing:

 

-Try redirection using high-value toys. Trying to redirect using a regular toy that likely your puppy has always access to can be rather boring compared to your clothes she can play tug with. Instead, try walking in the room when you expect him to come towards you to nip, and as soon as she is close to you,freeze (become motionless)and offer him a stuffed Kong (Kong toy stuffed with smelly goodies like peanut butter and dog cookies), rather than just a regular toy. This should occupy him for long enough for you to walk away. A Kong Wobbler/ Buster Cube filled with a portion of his daily allowance of kibble can also come handy once he learns how to get the kibble out.

 

- You can also try to engage him with toys that add movement into the game such as a tennis ball tossed in the opposite direction (make it extra fun!) or a flirt pole (stick with a stuffed animal attached one end). The goal is to find a way to make these toys much more interesting, rewarding and fun to interact with than your bodies or clothes.

 

-You can also encourage some fun games that are also rewarding. Here are some fun ones: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/

 

-Training a replacement behavior can also come handy. You can once again try with Targeting, which is explained in the Brain Games sections of the course. Since he's still young, you can teach him to target a target stick or long wooden spoon you can carry when you walk so that you can keep his focus off your clothes but on the wooden spoon instead.

 

- You can teach him to do some attention heeling inside the home (no leash needed), if he can stay so focused on your clothes, he can eventually be taught to stay focused on your eyes if you make the activity rewarding. Every time he makes eye contact with you, toss a treat across the room so that he gets a workout too. Now, with the short attention span of puppies, don't expect to get long attention, but just a quick glance works for now. After several reps, he should approach you to make eye contact in exchange for a tossed treat, rather than focus on your clothes.

 

- Ask him to sit when you see her approaching you and reward by tossing a treat away. Do this as often as needed. You should see an increase in the sitting behavior and a decrease in the clothing nipping behavior overtime.

 

-Remember that learning (of good and bad behaviors) always takes place in all your interactions with your puppy. You may find it helpful to carry a treat bag filled with some kibble on you at all times so to provide opportunities to make good choices. This for the most part initially until you puppy learns to seek alternate forms of entertainment.

 

-Make sure you provide outlets for pent-up energy. Games, training, exercise and opportunities for socialization should wear him out and provide outlets for his basic needs. With brain games that allow him to chase things and get rewards out of them (like kibble out of a bottle or a Kong Wobbler) he should seek them more and more which can turn your clothes pretty boring after a while because he gets more out of these activities when he's bored.

 

-Also remember that puppies need to sleep too. Sometimes, when they are super nippy, they just may be cranky and in need of a nap. Give a pleasant time-out in a crate with chew toy. Chewing should relax him and make him likely to sleep.

 

You may have to try several of these and see what works best. Redirection to a rewarding treat-dispensing toy or game that uses treats should be quite easy at this age. Teaching an alternate behavior is too important because dogs cannot misbehave if they are busy making eye contact or sitting! It may take a bit of time though to teach these alternate behaviors fluently but it is sure worth the time and effort. By providing outlets for her energy and needs for mental stimulation and reinforcing appropriate behaviors, you should eventually start seeing a decrease in the nipping behavior. Keep track of it so to measure whether things are getting better with time. I hope this helps,

Good luck!

Adrienne

Edited July 11, 2019 by Adrienne Farricelli

[JMFS]

Hi Steve,

 

Here are a couple posts to get you started:

 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?41-Some-questions&highlight=clothing

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?42-Biting-clothes&highlight=clothing

 

The more you work on deterring the biting the less likely he is to do it, but the higher the excitement level, the more apt he is to nip. New people are Very exciting to dogs so be prepared for some hijinx. If you've worked it out of him before he meets other people then I think he'll be less likely to nip them because he'll have learned that's not what gets him the good stuff (pets, scratches, treats, praise).

 

I had to look up the breed as I've never heard of it. To me they look like a slightly shorter-haired black and white golden retriever. :D Given the description, it sounds like a breed I could get on board with! It says they're excellent hunting dogs so a flirt pole might be a good toy for him to distract from biting and pulling at clothes.

 

Well, nevermind, Adrienne's on top of it. :)

Edited July 8, 2019 by JenniferM.

[cammidge]

My trainer saved my life (and Sables!) by teaching me the 'take it' method. You put a kibble / treat in your closed fist, then offer it to the pup, fingers up. They may just look at you like, what are you trying to pull? but eventually they may sit, move away, touch your hand, look at you, at which time you quickly open your hand, and give the treat. Say 'take it' and mark with 'yesss'. Eventually, you can start to move into 'leave it' for other things. Here's a video on it;

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Yes, this is a good way to teach pups to be gentle with their mouths and being reinforced for that. I like to call it "gentleness pays." It is also covered here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/train-dog-take-treats-gently/

 

and here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/

 

and here is 'take' and 'leave it

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/

[steve]

Thanks everyone. A lot to take onboard and try here, I'll post an update in a few weeks and let you know how I get on.