Does Your Dog Have a Biting Problem?

A dog that bites other dogs or humans is a hell of a problem for its master. We do hear stories about canines of all sizes, especially a Rottweiler or a Pitt Bull, mangling an unsuspecting passerby, or pouncing on kids who are playing around, or attacking other dogs. Though these reported instances may be rare happenings and not everyday occurrences, the fact remains that dogs do bite. That realization should be reason enough for every dog owner to nip the biting tendency of a dog in the bud itself, and preempt the possibility of it developing a biting habit.

There are preventative measures one can take to make their dog does not develop a biting problem. The best way to do this is to begin an anti-biting training program when your dog is still a puppy, by socializing them with other well behaved dogs. The other dogs will correct the pup on their own and help you to teach it not to bite. Training your dog early in life that biting, although instinctual, is not acceptable behavior is by far the best approach to having a dog that wont bite.

Since puppies remain with their biological family only for their first two months, the onus is upon the dog owner to play the mothers role in a dogs life. A pups main behavior training period is the four months from its birth, and that is why rescue dogs as well as dogs which are products of puppy mills are more likely to bite than those that are cared by breeders who are conscientious and reliable.

Puppy mills are dingy unhygienic places, commercial in nature, where all that the breeders are concerned about is the profit that they can make on a pooch. Puppies that are the products of these places have a wild temperament and have physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral problems. Since they have never seen good behavior, they have no idea what it is.

The good news is that if you have adopted a rescue dog with a biting problem, there is still hope for reform. It will be much easier, of course, if the dog is still a pup, but if you happen to rescue an adult with dog biting problems, it can still be taught to not bite.

Training a grown dog is not fundamentally different from instilling a habit in a young pup, except that one should go about it a bit gently. Surely, you cannot let loose amidst other dogs, a dog that has got a biting problem, with the expectation that the other dogs would train it; in the same way that a dog which bites children should not be let loose where children are playing. By doing so, you will only be inviting trouble for yourself.

Do the training in increments, walk the dog on the outskirts of the park until it gets used to the idea of other dogs being nearby, and gradually bring it closer and closer. Patience and dedication are the key ingredients to solving a dog biting problem.

Tagged with: animals • dog training • Dogs • pets • puppies • puppy training

Filed under: Dogs

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