Biting

by Lila Iyer
( Bangalore, India)

My 5-month old cocker spaniel seemed to have learned bite inhibition. He wouldn't break the skin, except when he got excited before bedtime, when he became really vicious.

He still does this, even now.

He's lost his puppy teeth and now has his new set of adult teeth. Unfortunately, he hasn't given up biting.

How do I stop this?

Thank you

Reply From Pauline (Web Owner)

Hello Lila,

This situation could turn into something very serious indeed and you're right to flag it up.

Puppies learn behaviour and right now your puppy is learning to bite. Each time he get's away with biting (no matter how serious) he will learn that he can control you and other humans by biting.

The chances are that he will build on this and it will get worse.

Depending upon how serious you believe his biting is, I would recommend that you re-inforce your puppy's bite inhibition. In case you've missed it, you can learn how to stop your puppy biting here.

You mention that your dog is becoming over-excited at bed time, and can be quite vicious. I recommend that you try to understand what is causing him to become over-excited, stop whatever it is, and do all you can to calm him down.

If your dog continues to be 'vicious', then I would strongly recommend that you speak to your vet or a dog behaviour therapist and ask for some professional advice.

I'd also recommend that you don't leave him unsupervised around children.

All puppies bite and nip, it's natural behaviour.

It's just that some puppies need a little more training than others, and the training should always be regularly reinforced until the biting stops completely.

Good luck!


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