3month old puppy pulls my pant leg

[GailLevine]

3month old puppy pulls my pant leg & sometimes nips my ankle when I walk. I say off or stop, but that doesn't stop him . I'd like better ideas ?

[Adrienne]

Hello and welcome to the forums, 

Welcome to the puppy nipping stage. In a pup of this age, this is very normal. The behavior won't stop overnight, but you can ameliorate the situation by engaging your puppy in games that he'll find more rewarding to engage in rather than just nipping our ankles/pant legs. Here is a guide with several games:

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

In particular,  I like to encourage hand targeting to encourage positive interactions with hands.

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

Other tips for nipping that come to mind:

- You can 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 body/clothing. I like to carry some tennis balls in my pocket and a flirt pole around my waist so I can use these tools at moment's notice. 

-You can redirect to an interactive game with you. I like to keep kibble always in my treat bag/pocket ready for this. As soon as he approaches you, ask him for a sit and reward by tossing one piece of kibble/treat. He'll likely eat it and come for more if he perceives them as valuable enough. Repeat several times, catching him always before he even has the chance to think of biting. This makes your dog tired, provides an outlet for chasing instincts while you incorporate some fun obedience. Here is how to train sit, which is an incompatible behavior compared with biting (a dog in general cannot sit and bite ankles/pant legs at the same time).  Initially, as your dog is still in the process of learning to sit, you can just toss the treat without asking for a sit as soon as he approaches you. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/sit/

-Alternatively you can redirect to an empty water bottle with no lid filled up. Most pups cannot resist the crinkling sounds produced by chewing on these. They make an economical. temporary chew toy. Always monitor your dog when chewing if your dog tends to ingest things and consider that excess chewing can make some parts sharp. To make the bottle even more interesting, fill it up with a portion of your puppy's daily ratio of kibble so your puppy will keep busy trying to roll the kibble out. You can read more about this fun game here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/the-bottle-game/

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

-Don't forget to train your pup some bite inhibition. This is a very important skill. A good exercise to train this using treats is here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/train-dog-take-treats-gently/

The main goal in getting a dog to stop biting ankles/pant legs is to teach that it's boring playing with them because there are far better forms of play out there that don't involve  human body parts. So move less and make your toys move more. Wriggle them, toss them, provide toys that release food. With their strong urge to bite and play satiated with other forms of play, soon, puppies should outgrow the habit of chasing ankles/pantlegs just as they outgrow the habit of chasing their tails.

You may have to try several of the above options and see what works best. Redirection to a rewarding treat-dispensing toy or game that uses treats should be moderately easy at this age if these activities are made rewarding. Teaching an alternate behavior is also important because dogs cannot misbehave if they are busy targeting our hands 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 his energy and needs for mental stimulation and reinforcing appropriate behaviors, you should eventually start seeing a decrease in the biting behavior. Keep track of it so to measure whether things are getting better with time. 

For obstinate cases, it may help to temporarily avoid temptations by refraining wearing clothing that attracts puppies a lot, such as shoes with shoe strings, leather shoes, pants with wide pant legs, long skirts and dangling scarves. Some puppy owners who are around their pups for most of the day wear tall boots or tuck their pants in their socks.  

Finally, consider that puppies tend to get worse at nipping when they are cranky and in dire need for a nap. If you notice a time where your pup is super nippy, consider enclosing him behind a baby gate or crate with something valuable to chew. Chances are, if you provide a quiet area, he will chew and then happen to fall asleep for a well-needed nap. 

I hope this helps, let me know if you have any more other questions.

Best,

Adrienne