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Plain And Simple Ways To Train Your Dog Not To Bite

by: LeeDobbins
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With pet ownership comes responsibility. Unfortunately, many dog owners are still irresponsible with training their pets properly. In fact, an annual barrage of law suits, medical bills, and instances of dog euthanasia result from dog bites each year -- almost 5 million according to the Center for Disease Control. This often avoidable behavior can be taught to dogs from a young age, which is a good thing for both dogs and their owners.

There are many common techniques that can be used to assist a dog to decrease, and eventually eliminate, biting behavior. The effectiveness of these techniques will vary from breed to breed, but with patience and repetition, puppies and adult dogs can learn to not bite.

Like with any other training you should start training dogs not to bite while they are young. Puppies naturally nip and bite but this behavior should be discouraged by you from day 1. Owners that let their puppies bite because they think it is cute often end up with grown dogs who don't understand why this behavior is suddenly not allowed.

Once your dog is about four weeks old, you can start to teach him simple commands. If he tries to bite, tell him 'No!' in a calm but serious voice, and accompany it with a gentle squeeze of the muzzle.

It is important not to squeeze the muzzle too hard or too high up. Doing so can cause the puppy to bite its tongue or damage the delicate odor receptors that are high up in the snout. A dog's ability to smell is one of its most important assets!

Squeezing your dog's muzzle isn't intended to punish him, but to let him know that the behavior isn't acceptable. By squeezing, you associate the verbal command with something the dog can readily understand: discomfort. Regardless of their age, dogs find having their muzzle squeezed uncomfortable.

Another dog training technique that might help eliminate biting is to socialize your dog since dogs that are not used to people or other dogs do tend to bite. You want to socialize your dog eat an early age to develop his calmness and confidence. Your dog will be more friendly to your guests, other animals and even strangers if socialized properly.

While still young, socialize your dog with other dogs preferably those that are non-aggressive. Being exposed to other dog breeds will help him cope up with territorial behavior.

Although dogs have the tendency to mouth and nip, they naturally inhibit this behavior when they are playing with their mates. Train them to develop this behavior by expanding his playmates to include your family members, guests and other pets.

When introducing your pet to an animal from outside the home, be sure to keep both animals at a distance from each other. Allow the animals to approach one other at a slow pace while they take in their smells and act out other normal behavior.

Put your dog at ease by having the dog sit and stroke its back. Check your dog for signs of aggression like body tension, snarling, and erect ears. After stroking your dog touch the other animal to convey the smell of your pet to that animal. After checking to make sure there are no signs of aggression and the other dog got a scent of your dog then allow them to interact.

Many dogs can be trained to curb thier urge to bite by the time they are four and a half months old, but it may take your dog longer than that. It varies by breed, and each individual dog within a breed is different. And you know that saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks"? It's not exactly true, but training an older dog to stop biting is much more difficult than it is to teach a puppy.

While most dogs can be trained not to bite, there are some that still bite despite being trained. Pet owners should also be trained how to handle their dogs properly. If your dog still bites, make sure it cannot interact with other people or be expose to other animals.

Persistent long term use of these dog training techniques will likely result in a more stable and fun pet, not to mention that it could prevent an unwanted situation where your dog could get hurt or hurt someone else.

About the Author

Training your dog to be the perfect pet all boils down to using the right dog training techniques - find out what those are at http://www.positivedogtrainingtechniques.com/.

Plain And Simple Ways To Train Your Dog Not To Bite

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