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Puppy biting…
It’s one of the most common frustrations that new puppy owners have…
And it’s also one of the most misunderstood.
It hurts, they can ruin your clothes, and it’s tough to cuddle with your little furball when all they wanna do is bite your nose!
To help understand more about puppy biting and what new puppy owners can do about it, I asked professional dog trainer Ian Stone from Simpawtico Dog Training to give us the lowdown on it.
He’s going to help you understand:
- Why puppies bite (it’s a natural thing that all puppies do)
- How to stop puppy biting
- Common mistakes that new puppy owners make when it comes to puppy biting
You can watch the video interview with him below, or if reading is more of your thing, you can dive into the written version below that.
Enjoy!
Puppy Biting Explained & Handled [VIDEO]
In order to fully understand puppy biting, it’s important to start with why puppies bite.
Why Do Puppies Bite?
In the early ’70s and late ’80s, Stanford and some other universities did extensive studies on puppy behavior.
Do you know what they found?
Puppy biting is one of the most common things that all puppies do!
Therefore, it must be important, right?
So here’s the reason why…
Puppies bite to learn acquired bite inhibition, or ABI.
Acquired Bite Inhibition (ABI)
ABI is the automatic inhibiting of a dog’s bite force.
It’s like a governor on your car.
A governor doesn’t allow you to go over a certain speed because it’s bad for the car.
In the same way, ABI is an unconscious inhibition that stops dogs from biting with all their might.
Have you ever seen two dogs wrestle?
They always have their mouths on each other, but sometimes it’s a wonder that they don’t tear each to bits with their big, sharp canines and their strong jaws.
That’s because they have proper ABI.