Training
Puppies Not
to Bite
By: Ed Frawley
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Leerburg Kennels
Foreword
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Leerburg® Kennel and Video is owned by Ed Frawley.
Ed has owned German Shepherds (GSD) for over 45 years.
Since 1978 he has bred over 350 litters of German working
bloodline GSDs. His dogs work in law enforcement, as
S&R dogs, as competition Schutzhund dogs, and as family
companions and protectors.
Since 1980 Ed has produced over 120 dog training videos
and DVDs. He was a police K-9 handler for 10 years,
competed in several dog sports, including AKC obedience
and Schutzhund. In addition he has built one of the top
dog training supply businesses in the world.
If you go to the web site Leerburg.com® you will see
that it has over 10,000 printed pages. The Leerburg® Web
Discussion board has over 10,000 registered members
and over 120,000 posts in the archives. Learn to use our site
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Training Puppies
Not to Bite
By Ed Frawley
When people bring a new cute little puppy
into their home they are often confronted with
problems they never expect to have, like the pup
from hell that bites the heck out of their arms and
ankles.
This article will attempt to explain why puppies
bite and what can be done about it.
To understand how to solve the problem of a
biting puppy you must first understand why
a pup is biting. The first part of this article will
explain this issue.
Why Puppies Bite
When puppies are about 4 weeks old they
begin to play with littermates. This play involves
physical activity games; they push each other
around and bite one another. They chase one
another in games that resemble chasing prey.
In the article I wrote titled THE THEORY OF
CORRECTIONS IN DOG TRAINING I explain that
this play biting establishes rank within the litter
or pack. The stronger members bite and fight
harder than lower ranking members.
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it takes a period of time, usually a week or so for
them to recognize their human family as their
new pack.
When that happens many pups will bite, chew-
on and chase family members just like they did
with their littermates. That’s why pups bite hands,
socks, ankles and kids. They are playing just like
they did with littermates.
When you stop and think about it there is no
reason for the pup to act differently. This was
how it has lived and played with littermates so
why would it live differently with humans that it
likes.
This misunderstanding is where trouble starts
with new pet owners. The pup is playing and the
humans think this the puppy is being aggressive.
The fact is the pup is simply displaying prey drive.
Prey drive is the genetic instinct to chase. Some
dogs have a higher level of prey than others.
These are the ones which seem obsessed with
chasing and chewing.
Your Puppy
8 Weeks to 8 Months
$35.00 +s&h
3 Hours 18 Minutes Long
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Prey Drive
I have talked extensively about prey drive in
my DVDs and my other writings. When puppies
chase balls or run after sticks or bite your
pant legs this is an example of prey drive not
aggression.
Now with this said puppy teeth are very sharp
little pointy things that HURT. In fact they can cut
a fingers and ankles.
It’s our job to teach our pup that biting us is not
acceptable behavior. There are a number of ways
to do this. Which method you use is a personal
decision.
Twenty years ago I used to tell pet owners to just
grab the little buggers and shake them until they
scream. This works but I have come to think there
are better ways. The problem with this is that is
often squishes the pups prey drive and I like to
use prey drive in my later training.
People that are involved in dog sports or people
who want to do more advanced obedience and
protection training need to preserve prey drive
while pet owners don’t have a big need for this.
The simplest way to approach this work is to act
like a littermate.
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What to do when Puppies Bite
When littermates get bitten too hard they
scream. This screaming is their way to
communicate that the play biting is too rough.
Often times a human screaming is enough to
teach the pup that what they are doing is wrong.
If the pup lets go then you can praise it with a
soft pat and “good boy”. Just don’t over do the
praise as this will often put the pup back into
prey drive and the biting will start all over again.
A better idea is to have a toy with you and
redirect the pup into this toy. Either toss it a
foot or two or wave it around in front of the pup
in a manner that builds interest. You learn this
through observation and experience with that
specific dog. This is called reading your dog.
When you can get a pup to redirect into a toy you
are on the road towards teaching that puppy that
there are other more interesting prey items out
there than your hands and legs.
Pet owners will often be told that “YOU SHOULD
NEVER PLAY TUG GAMES WITH YOUR PET”
If you are not going to train your dog this is
probably the correct advice. But if you plan on
working with your dog then releasing a prey item
when told is nothing more than a respect issue
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for the pack leader. In other words, teaching the
dog that the toys ARE YOUR TOYS and not HIS
TOYS. I cover this concept in my article titled THE
GROUNDWORK TO BECOMING A PACK LEADER.
There are always going to be some puppies they
we call driven. These are extremely high drive
pups that zip around like Comanches. They act as
if there is no tomorrow. These pups need to have
some pack leadership exercises.
This means that when the pup is being crazy I will
CALMLY grab the pup by the cheeks and lift his
feet of the ground, stair him right in the eye and
tell him in a low voice to knock it off. I will hold
him until he submits by relaxing and he looks
away.
Ground Work to Becoming
Your Puppies Pack Leader
eBook
There is no violent shaking or screaming at the
pup. It is all more of a clam dominant warning
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to the pup. When this is done correctly they
understand.
In Conclusion
Pet owners can and should read the article I
wrote titled THE THEORY OF CORRECTIONS IN
DOG TRAINING. This is especially important
for those owners who are considering giving
corrections to a puppy because its possible that
one serious mistake of over correcting a soft
puppy could have ramifications that last for
months if not the dogs entire life.
So what I am saying here is that you need to use
your head and be careful with puppies.
The fact is I should have written about biting
puppies 20 years ago because I get a so many
emails on this problem. I do have to say the topic
is covered in detail in both my DVD’s Your Puppy
8 Weeks to 8 Months and Dealing with Dominant
and Aggressive Dogs.
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Establishing Pack Structure
with the Family Pet
$40.00 +s&h
4 Hours Long
Hi Ed.
Let me start by telling you that I’m a 45 year old
(very patient) woman who has had GSD’s since
age 7. Last year I helped train and raise a mule
of a Goldie that my sister was ready to give to a
rescue club. He is now a wonderful companion
dog for her. I recently bought a West German line
GSD. He is 12 weeks old today. I’ve never had a
GSD like this one. Good and bad. I have scoured
your website, devouring every article I could
read. I purchased your “8 weeks to 8 months”
DVD and watched it twice. I downloaded every
bit of info you can imagine. I’ve talked with my
breeder. I have a gorgeous well trained male that
I am the pack leader of. (I incorporate some of
Ceasar Millan also). I have, however, never in my
life encountered such a demon when it comes to
nipping and biting. “Gunther” simply refuses to
listen in this area. A calm assertive “NO” does not
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work. Grabbing by the scruff till he yelps does not
work. He likes the taste of bitter apple, go figure.
Holding him down until he is submissive works
until you release and then all hell breaks loose
again. He even looks evil when he’s “comin atcha”....
lol. It’s funny, but it’s not. He’s great interacting
with dogs, kids...you name it, but is too confident
and I can’t break him of this nipping and biting.
And I don’t want to break his spirit. I don’t like to
use his crate and punishment because this is his
safe-haven den and I want to keep it that way. As
he gets taller, the biting is climbing further up the
body. It’s getting harder to even leash him to go
for a walk. He’ll sit on command to get ready for
the walk but go at the hands when being leashed.
As I said, his training is excellent. For 12 weeks he
knows heel, sit, down, come, stay, place and no
accidents in the house. I’ve had him 4 weeks now.
I couldn’t ask for a better dog in looks, intelligence
and obedience but I’m about ready to have his
baby teeth pulled out. I can’t think of anything
else I can do with him to stop biting on me. He
has plenty of toys to play with and I do diversion
but he’s right back on me. I am pack leader as I
said before but he does not respect that in this
one area. In every other area he does but not in
the house when he gets wound up. Anything else
you can think of? I hate to put a prong collar on
him in the home 24/7 just for nipping and biting
and I don’t want to resort to putting him away in
a separate room and possibly make him aloof or
aggressive. I want him to be a nursing home and
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10
children’s hospital companion dog so his prey
drives are not going to be developed. Any help
you can give will be greatly appreciated. Oh yes....
he does get plenty of exercise. So it’s not an issue
of pent up energy. I am home with him all day
and he has the recommended walk distance and
time for his age along with in house play time and
twice daily outdoor training. He also has started
the “humpty dance”, which I thought was a bit too
young when he first did this at 9 weeks. Is he just
too much “German”? lol j/k. Thanks Ed.
Sincerely,
Jennifer
Where To Go From Here
Basic Dog Obedience
$40.00 +s&h
4 Hours Long
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11
Dealing with the Dominant
and Aggressive Dog
$49.00 +s&h
3 Hours 30 Minutes Long
Ground Work to
Establish Pack Structure
with Adult Dogs
eBook
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12
The Theory of Corrections
in Dog Training
Article
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Not to Bite
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