A dog trainer has shared how to stop your puppy from biting you with a simple tip.
The trainer revealed the tip on a Youtube channel called Will Atherton Canine Training which teaches pet owners simple tricks to follow with their dogs.
He said biting is one common issue dog owners face with dogs under six months of age.
The expert warned that it’s not a behaviour dogs will grow out of if they aren’t taught in the early stages of life.
It can become worse and worse if you don’t teach your pet quickly that biting is not an appropriate behaviour.
He spoke about the importance of taking a long-term approach and said the best way to change the dog’s biting habit is to first redirect them into a new pattern of behaviour.
Will said that by creating a long-term approach, even though it is not an instant fix, it can help to ensure the issue will not return in the future.
Step one is to interrupt the behaviour when the dog is biting.
To interrupt the behaviour, one method is to take a passive approach which is when you hold onto the dog’s collar until it stops biting.
This prevents the dog from reaching anything it can bite.
If you choose to follow this method you must make sure your actions are assertive and you can do this through your body language.
But this method might not work for every dog – some might need what Will calls an active interruption.
In this case, you can give the dog a little tap which would mimic what the dog’s mother would do if the puppy had been biting or chewing a bit too hard while feeding.
You must make sure to use the minimum amount of force required to achieve the maximum outcome, says Will.
By using a combination of these approaches, you should be able to stop your dog from biting.
