Q: How can I teach my puppy not to nip and bite while playing with the children?
A: While nipping and biting is quite common in puppy play, it’s important to teach them from a young age that doggy teeth does not belong on human skin. The training goes both ways though – it should be aimed not only at your pup, but at your children as well! It is vital that children are taught from as early as possible how to appropriately interact with a dog. Always supervise interactions between dogs and children.
One way to intervene and prevent excessive nipping is to keep an eye on the play session – you might be able to notice your puppy’s excitement levels rising. When this happens, call the puppy to you and ask him in a gentle voice to calm down, keeping him nice and quiet for a few seconds. You can also do some training exercises – ask your dog to sit a few times in a row. This helps him to focus on something else and stops the excitement levels from becoming too high. After that he can go back to the game. When he does nip or bite, the game stops immediately. Timing is important – you want to show the pup that the fun stops the second he hurts his human. You will have to teach your child: the second the pup bites, get up and walk away. Do not punish the puppy in any way. Do this every single time pup nips, as with all things puppy, patience and practise is key.
Noleen Fourie, behaviourist
