Hey puppy pawents…
Is your PUPPY NIPPING you like a land shark? Are you finding yourself saying OUCH a lot more than you anticipated? Are you asking yourself – Is it normal? Do all puppies nip?
READ ON TO FIND OUT….
So.. You are the proud guardians of your new bundle of joy, it’s taken time to get here, a lot of waiting, a lot of deciding, a lot of discussions between all of you and now your puppy is HOME. YIPPEE!!
Then….drum roll please… your beautiful ball of fluff starts to shred you like a T-shirt being sent through a confidential waste machine!
DO NOT FEAR! It will get better but first let’s look at why your puppy nips and some strategies to help you…
Why does my puppy Nip?
🐕 Your pup explores through their mouths. A bit like human babies, things go in their mouth for texture, taste, curiosity and sometimes by accident!
🐕 You taste different! Your pup is trying to get to know you.
🐕 Your pup can become tired very quickly. Did you know that your puppy requires 20 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period?!
🐕 If your pup has been having lots of fun, they may not be able to process much more and are unable to cope with anything extra at that moment in time. When you puppy isn’t able to cope with daily life anymore this is called being ‘over threshold’. When your puppy is over threshold then the likelihood of them nipping is far greater.
🐕 Pure excitement at seeing you! Particularly in the mornings your puppy may not have seen you for quite a few hours whilst you were both asleep. Excitement will increase nipping in your puppy.
🐕 Your pup is using nipping as a way of talking to you… Sound crazy? Think about it… We have voices and language to communicate our needs, but your puppy has limited ways of communicating to you… Puppies will use their mouths to say to you that they would like to play, that they need something maybe water, food, a wee.
🐕 To show how they are feeling – as humans we can use our hands to hug, clap etc. Puppies do this through their mouths.
🐕 Teething- an obvious one but one that sometimes can be forgotten. Teething is terribly painful and the pressure from chewing relieves pain in your puppies’ mouth.
SO – WHAT TO DO — WHAT TO DO?
🐾 Try not to get you puppy over excited. I teach massage and other techniques which will increase your puppies resilience to overstimulation and encourage them to relax
🦴 Provide heaps of different chew toys, different textures, sizes, shapes. These will all provide a positive outlet for your puppies natural nipping behaviour
🧸 If your puppy is nipping, give them an alternative such as a plush toy or tug toy to redirect them away from you. This is called a ‘positive interrupter’.
🧩 Give your puppy some food puzzle toys to keep them stimulated and out of mischief
😋 You can give your puppy some frozen treats such as carrot to cool their gums and help with the teething process.
〰️ Use long toys… Why? Because the further away your hand is from the toy the further away those needle like teeth are from your hand.. BONUS!
REMEMBER – It will get better but be prepared that your puppy could be cutting teeth till about 7 months of age. You will see a steady improvement if you encourage polite play and can keep your pup under threshold.
For further tips please keep following me on: –
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By Chrissy Moore, Wagright Dog Training. 19.08.21 ©️