Monday, March 25, 2024
HomeNewsHow To Train My German Shepherd Not To Bite

How To Train My German Shepherd Not To Bite

If You Have Other Pets Do Encourage Your Gsd Pup To Play With Them

3 SIMPLE WAYS TO STOP PUPPY BITING! – Training German Shepherd not to Bite.

This will expend your dogs energy and make her less prone to biting. By doing this, you are also socializing your puppy with other animals an essential skill to learn for a well-rounded behavior.

That being said, do not completely write off playing with your puppy! Playtime is still an excellent opportunity to bond with your dog, but make sure to keep it safe and fun by establishing boundaries.

Keeping Your Pup From Nipping And Chewing

Puppies have sharp teeth, especially German Shepherd puppies!

Puppies are energetic and must learn their limits for playing too rough . When your dog nips you, say ouch immediately and do your normal noise when something hurts.

Dont immediately jerk your hand back or punish your puppy physically.

Puppies view you jerking your hand back quickly as part of a game and could also tear your skin. And physical punishment should never be given!

Let Out A High Pitched Yelp

When your German Shepherd bites with those razor teeth, immediately let out a high-pitched cry such as Ouch! or Ahh Ahh! to let your dog know its not acceptable. At the same time pull your hand away slowly and move away from your dog. Dont jerk your hand away as your pup will see this as a game, like a game of tug-of-war.

The idea here is that you are mimicking a littermate, as a pup would yelp if they were bitten too hard during play and then all the fun would stop. Its exactly the same thing, only YOU stop the play.

Don’t Miss: When Do German Shepherds Ears Stand Up

Problem #03 Chewing On Furniture Or Other Objects

Chewing furniture or other objects can become another frustrating issue with four month old german shepherds. This can occur when your pet becomes teething, which is a common problem for German shepherd pups before they reach five months of age .

Four month old german shepherds often chew on furniture or other objects to ease the pain from their developing teeth. Chewing also helps them remove excess baby teeth that may still be in their mouths. However, you should not let this become a habit as it can cause serious damage to your home and belongings over time.

Make sure you keep any furniture or other objects with teeth marks off-limits for your pets reach at all times . This will help discourage him from chewing on anything he is not supposed to. You can also give him toys that are designed for chewing, such as a rubber ball or bone-shaped chew toy.

What Can You Do To Avoid That Your Puppy Chews Some Expensive Or Dangerous Items

How to Get a German Shepherd to Stop Biting While Teething ...

The last thing you want is that your puppy chews your Expensive clothes or shoes. But he cant chew items on which he did not have any access.

Make sure your puppy does not have access to this kind of items.

  • If possible try to limit your puppies access to the place where your items are.
  • Never keep on the floor your expensive items like shoes etc.
  • If there are dangerous toys, make sure they are always far from the puppy.
  • You can use some baby gates in the home and limit his access.
  • Supervise your puppy, do not let him stay a long time alone when you cant see him
  • Recommended Reading: Are German Shepherds Supposed To Be Skinny

    Learning The Right Ways Of Training A German Shepherd Puppy

    Even the best of owners can sometimes do the wrong things.

    The worst advice is to punish your puppy, and if that doesnt work, keep punishing them more.

    Your best course of action is to prevent the bad behavior in the first place by watching your pup and not leaving them unsupervised.

    Learning how to train and discipline a German Shepherd puppy is difficult, but it can be done with consistency and patience.

    Games To Stop Your German Shepherd Puppy’s Biting

    This article is accurate and true to the best of the authors knowledge. It is not meant to substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, or formal and individualized advice from a veterinary medical professional. Animals exhibiting signs and symptoms of distress should be seen by a veterinarian immediately.

    Also Check: Potty Training German Shepherd Puppies

    Herding Instinct And Prey Drive Can Play A Role In A Pups Nipping

    People often excuse a pups biting as normal playfulness. However, a puppy playing may also be exhibiting prey drive. Such pups will bite too hard, and the action becomes a stimulus for further aggression.

    Have you corrected your puppy in the past for nipping only to have her bite you harder? When you think your pup is acting defiantly, she probably is simply becoming overstimulated. You must treat an excited puppy differently than one who is displaying normal playfulness.

    Herding breeds often have the instinct to nip more often than other classes of dogs. They are motivated by an enhanced prey drive as well as a desire to control other individuals.

    Redirect Bad German Shepherd Puppy Behavior

    How to train a German Shepherd puppy not to Bite? Easy yet Effective Method

    Does your puppy jump, nip, chew, bite, or dig and you want to know the right discipline?

    When your pup is taking part in bad behavior, get your puppys attention by making a distracting noise.

    Try clapping your hands, making a clicking sound with your tongue, or smacking your lips to get your pups attention to turn on something you DO want them to try like a squeaky toy.

    The noise and disapproving tone distract your dog from bad behavior .

    Now, redirect their attention to a more desirable behavior you want, for example:

    • Coming to you and leaving what theyre doing by offering them a tasty treat and praise.
    • Showing them a favorite toy.
    • Offering them another option you would like that is more constructive.

    Dont scold them when they come to you or youll make your dog scared of you later on.

    Pay attention to your dogs behaviors when they are near known distractions so you can prevent the bad, unwanted action before it even happens.

    You want to remember to watch out for:

    • If your dog chews inappropriately on a pair of expensive shoes, get their attention by making noises or calling them to you and immediately offer the correct approved chew item.
    • If you know your dog tends to bite you during play, have a toy nearby you can show them that you want them to bite instead of your arms.
    • If you know they get wild and crazy in the evenings, have a list of these German Shepherd games to distract them and funnel their energy.

    Don’t Miss: How Long Does It Take To Train A German Shepherd

    German Shepherd Puppy Biting Is In The Genes

    If you’re already the lucky parent of a German Shepherd puppy, you’ve probably noticed that your GSD puppy is particularly nippy.

    And you’d be right

    Some owners loving refer to their German Shepherds as land sharks. And it’s true, to begin with.

    Of course, that’s until they have learned that biting human limbs is off-limits.

    German Shepherds have extremely high prey drives, so they love anything that moves fast!

    Anything from balls, garden critters, to other puppies, and unfortunately your hands, feet, or even your pants can become a target.

    And the faster you try to move your hand, foot, or something else away, the faster your puppy will move to catch it.

    To top it off, your German Shepherd puppy is from strong herding stock so chasing and gathering’ moving objects is pre-programmed into their genes.

    Being a herding breed their job is to ensure the flock is contained at all times, and to deal with the wayward sheep by gripping them at the back of the neck, above the hocks, or the ribs.

    Keeping in mind what your puppy was originally bred for will be really useful as you work on bite inhibition.

    Before we look at how to take charge of your German Shepherd puppy biting we should first understand a few key things about biting

    Why Does My German Shepherd Bite My Feet And Ankles

    If your German Shepherd has been biting your feet and ankles, youre probably wondering why and what you can do about it.

    This post will show you 6 reasons why your German Shepherd might be doing it and what you can do about it.

    So, why does my German Shepherd bite my feet? Possible causes can include wanting attention, teething, rewarding the behavior, a lack of training, excitement or that it is exploring using its mouth.

    There are a number of things that you can consider when trying to understand what might be causing your German Shepherd to be doing it. There are also a number of things that you can do to stop it depending on the cause.

    Don’t Miss: When Do Female German Shepherds Go Into Heat

    German Shepherds Have A High Prey Drive

    One of the primary and distinct characteristics thatmake a German Shepherd a popular choice for police and military work is their high prey drive, coupled with their intelligence and high trainability.

    Why Are German Shepherds Good Police Dogs?Originally bred as herding dogs , GSDs work closely with the flock and deal with unruly sheep by gripping them on the back of their necks .

    Take a look at the video below showing what GSDs were originally bred for. At the 6:47 mark, the handler even explains that some biting is necessary, but that its part of the training so that the dog does not go overboard.

    GSDs also have a natural inclination to chase almost everything that moves in their surroundings. Your GSD is very sensitive to even the tiniest movements that occur in her environment whether its a squirrel, a rat, a ball, or your hand!

    All too often, people get a German Shepherd without prior knowledge of its inherent characteristics a high prey drive included leading to a frustrated owner who does not know how to handle his dogs improper behavior that could have been corrected.

    Why Your German Shepherd Wont Listen To You

    MY GERMAN SHEPHERD PUPPY IS GETTING ANGRY

    If your German Shepherd wont listen to you then youre probably wondering why and what you can do about it. This post will give you a number of reasons why your German Shepherd might not listen to you and what you can do about it.

    So, why doesnt your German Shepherd listen to you? Its often because you havent spent enough time training it so it doesnt know what your commands mean. Other possible reasons include a lack of exercise, not giving it enough attention throughout the day, ruptured eardrums, depression, distractions, being in a new location, punishing it for the wrong things and possible having inadvertently rewarded it for ignoring you.

    And, how to get your German Shepherd to pay attention to you? The most effective option is to train it to listen to you, gradually, while being distracted. You can do it by teaching it to sit and stay and then building up to using distractions. You can also give your German Shepherd lots of exercise, use positive reinforcement training, reduce punishing it for bad behavior and train it in a variety of locations.

    It actually helps a lot to take the time to figure out why your German Shepherd might not be listening to you since it will help you in getting it to stop doing so.

    You May Like: Www.vohc.org/accepted Products.htm

    They Have A Strong Prey Drive

    For starters, many German shepherds have a very strong prey drive, so they are very attracted to movement. If you watch your puppy in the yard, you may notice how readily he captures the slightest movement of some critter in the grass.

    His big ears will twitch to capture the faintest sounds, and his body will be ready to pounce into action in a split second.

    Balls, small critters, and unfortunately, your arms, legs, ankles and pant-legs will soon become targets of his prey drive and turn into objects for a fun game.

    And to make things worse, any movement you make to move your hand away when your pup comes to nip will further increase this drive and risks damaging your skin. That explains all those “teeth scratches” you have on your arms and legs!

    Here Is A Friendly And Hassle

    1 German Shepherd dogs are very territorial dogs. You need to bring both dogs to a neutral place. In this way, there will be no danger of aggression to protect their territory.

    2 Exercise both dogs before they meet. An exercised dog will have less energy, and it will not get over-excited when he meets the next dog.

    3 Make sure both of them are on a leash and do not let them meet head-on the first time.

    4 -Take them for a walk together so they can get used to each other. . You can ask the other person to start walking with the dog and then you start following him with your German shepherd.

    5 Let the dogs sniff each other back. Dogs can know each other better by smelling the end. They can get a lot of information about each other. If one of them poo or pee, let the other dog sniff it. It is a non-verbal way of knowing each other in dogs.

    6 Watch at the dogs reactions when they crosswalk each other. If one of the dog is getting very excited and want to approach the other one, then it may mean that it is not thoroughly exercised.

    7 Watch for any sign of excitement, and if anyone starts to show it, then it means they want to play.

    8 after several days, they have been walking together and sniffing each other, you should start to let them get close and interact.

    9 Keep them on a leash and be careful of any aggressive behavior. If they get together in a friendly way, then you are making progress.

    Read Also: Who Would Win In A Fight German Shepherd Or Pitbull

    Putting Your Thumb Under Your Puppy’s Tongue

    Yeah, I know where is the logic in that? I mean you’re basically setting your thumb up to be bitten and at the same time encouraging biting.

    But you won’t believe how many folks have emailed me desperate to stop biting and detailing this method as something they have done frequently.

    I’m not even sure what the idea behind this silly method is, so suffice to say please don’t do this!

    How To Stop Puppy Biting The Right Way

    STOP puppy biting!!! with German Shepherd Man and Jae

    This article may contain affiliate / compensated links. For full. Information, please see our disclaimer here.

    There are TONS of articles and videos about how to stop puppy biting and for good reason! Not only is puppy biting a nuisance and painful, but also can last for several months. There will likely be a point when you ask yourself When is this going to end? Am I doing something wrong? Im guessing if you are reading this article, you have reached that point.

    I too searched the wide web for my German Shepherd puppy biting answers and I was disappointed to find not one answer, but several answers conflicting each other. I tried out a few methods with Sophia to see what worked best. This article contains the type of training I find the most effective positive reinforcement.

    Before I share the methods, we first need to understand WHY puppies bite.

    Read Also: Belgian German Shepherd Mix

    Teach Your German Shepherd To Accept Your Hands Near Their Mouth

    This leads onto having to teach your German Shepherd puppy that its ok to have your hands near their mouth without biting at them. Its something they need to accept, and will also help with the points later in this guide.

    Puppies will often eat things they should not do, so you will need to hook stuff out of their mouth. You will also need to check the health of their teeth and gums.

    You wont be able to do this if your German Shepherd wont stop biting your hands anytime you attempt a check or intervention.

    One of the best ways you can train a German Shepherd puppy to not bite your fingers in their mouth is to use a treat or snack. Let them see it, and then use your fingers to pop it into their mouth and out again.

    Over time, they should get comfortable letting you put fingers in their mouth without biting back.

    Catch Your Dog Being Good And Reward Them Out Of The Blue

    See your puppy acting the way you want? Reward them out of the blue!

    Its easy to get caught up in scolding when your pup when they are getting into trouble, but rewarding him out of the blue for being good shows them theyre doing the right behaviors .

    Keep small bits of treats in jars around the house out of reach of your pup and use any opportunity your catch your pup doing good to reward them.

    Here are some ideas for opportunities to reward your dog:

    • If theyre lying calming on their mat, give them a piece of a treat. But dont make a big deal of the situation or youll wind them back up.
    • When theyre playing with the toys you want them to chew, drop a tiny bit of treat out of nowhere.
    • If they sit and wait at the door, instead of dashing out ahead of you, reward them!

    Discipling your German Shepherd isnt always about catching bad behaviors, but also about rewarding good things your dog does. Dogs like to do things that you reinforce, even if you dont think they worked for the reward its still part of training.

    If you only worry about punishment and corrections, then youre missing out on the opportunities to reinforce positive behavior.

    Aim for one of these healthy treats that are the best for German Shepherds and pick carefully to ensure your dog stays athletic and fit.

    Also Check: Can A Pitbull Beat A German Shepherd

    RELATED ARTICLES

    Most Popular