Gsd Puppies Bite Because They’re Overstimulated
As you’ve already seen, German Shepherd puppies are likened to sharks and dinosaurs.
But often, their nipping is a manifestation of overstimulation and losing control of their bite force.
Sometimes, German shepherd puppies will get nippier and nippier when they are cranky and need a nap.
And considering they are a puppy with very little training in impulse control , it’s up to you to teach bite inhibition in a kind and clear way.
What To Do With A 6 Month Old German Shepherd
While your puppy still lacks maturity and focus, you can increase training to help teach your dog obedience skills. Increase daily obedience and practice to help them learn better training basics and learn how to train a 6 month old German Shepherd the right way. Your beautiful German Shepherd puppy will grow very quickly!
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If You Have Children Do Train Them To Behave Properly Around Your Dog
Never allow your child to tease your German Shepherd puppy! Acts such as taking away a dogs snack, cornering the dog, pulling its tail, or simply hugging it too tightly can anger the dog and cause it to bite.
In fact, most dog bite cases in children occurred because of teasing!
Instead, teach your child to be gentle with your pet, as even unintentional rough play can result in unwanted events. Dogs get cranky too, especially when they get hurt or feel that their privacy is being invaded.
Never leave your child alone with your puppy unattended. Supervise their interactions at all times.
Studies show that parents trust their dog around their kids too much that they overlook the signs that the dog is in distress.
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Lack Of Bite Inhibition
When youre playing with your puppy and he bites you, hes not being aggressive, he just hasnt learned how to play nicely yet.
If youve ever watched two puppies play, youll notice that they bite each other like crazy, yet no one walks away bleeding.
Thats because they know just how hard to bite each other and still keep it fun. In other words, theyve learned bite inhibition.
For the most part, puppies learn this before they even come to your home, courtesy of their litter mates.
The problem? Even if you pup spent time with his siblings, their bite tolerance levels are likely a lot higher than yours.
So basically, your puppy thinks hes biting at an acceptable level when hes playing with you.
Youll need to either teach him your own bite tolerance levels OR teach him not to bite you at all.
While youd think the latter is the smarter way to go, the former actually works better in the long run. Well see why later on.
Capture The Calmness Code
We tend to focus on capturing and rewarding our dogs for doing something in dog training.
And rarely do we focus on rewarding our dogs for just doing nothing. But it’s such a powerful way to instill a code of calmness in our dogs.
So, I always advise my clients to make it a habit of capturing their pup’s calm behaviors.
This can be as simple as a verbal reinforcer like nice work in a quiet tone of voice every time you find your pup doing nothing but being calm.
Or it may look like you calming delivering treats to your puppy as you walk past the gated community and find them just chilling.
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How To Discipline A German Shepherd For Biting The Dos
Young German Shepherds need to learn that biting is not acceptable behavior. So, how do you discipline a German Shepherd for biting?
To discipline a German Shepherd for biting, redirect the biting and nipping by distracting your dog and give an exciting chew toy instead. Use positive reinforcement and reward the correct behavior with treats. Do not yell or physically punish your dog and never use the crate as a punishment.
Start by using lots of communication, including voice commands , hand signals, and body language, and let your dog know from the outset that biting hurts. Lets dive into the dos.
How To Stop German Shepherd Adult Dogs To Bite
With Adult German Shepherds, the problem can be Different because they are not puppies.
An adult German Shepherd You have may have had a problematic past.The previous owner has abused it.Maybe he is not socialized and trained correctly.
The first step to take is finding out the cause of the behavior. You can ask your Breeder or the rescue shelter from where you rescued the Dog.
Tell them about his biting problems or aggressive behavior and ask about the background of the German Shepherd Dog.
After you have Found the Cause of his biting behavior, you can go ahead for finding a Solution.
Never Think that you should not rescue a Dog. Dogs from shelters can be excellent companions. People who work in Shelters love animals, And they try their best to keep them happy and safe.
A Rescued German Shepherd Can Suffer From Separation Anxiety. If you have rescued a German Shepherd, he might not feel much comfortable in the new house. Some Of them Bite new people because they do not Know Them.
Some Rescued Dogs need time to adapt but Do not Worry He will. You can use some training methods like giving him safe toys to chew.
If you think you have Some Budget to Spend For Your Dog Then go ahead with a professional trainer.
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How Do You Discipline A German Shepherd For Biting And Nipping
Follow these steps to discipline your German Shepherd for biting or nipping you.
To discipline a German Shepherd for biting or nipping, make sure you correct them during their bad behavior by saying Ouch!, pulling your hand away slowly to not excite them more, and redirecting the biting and nipping to an interesting chew toy. If they still continue to bite and nip, calmly get up and walk away to let them calm down. You can also get your puppy to stop biting by working on their impulse control.
Never use physical punishment, yell at your dog, or cause them to fear you. Instead, use reward-based training to teach your GSD what behavior you want them to do instead.
There is also extra information you need to know about disciplining your German Shepherd for biting, such as:
- Why your puppy bites and nips you
- How to avoid biting and nipping in the first place
- And what not to do!
Lets quickly talk about disciplining your German Shepherd, since its such a controversial topic in dog training and many owners are concerned about using corrections.
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German Shepherd Puppy Biting 14 Ways To Take Charge With Kindness
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German Shepherd puppy biting is one of the key behaviors you should take charge of as soon as possible.
And teaching your puppy how to use their mouth appropriately is up there with potty training as a vital skill.
Ignoring or encouraging biting behavior can lead to it spinning out of control.
And once your puppy is older biting could mean big problems
Like puncture wounds, legal battles, confiscation, or worse euthanasia.
Keep in mind that your German Shepherd puppy will be a strong and muscular dog one day.
Adult males can weigh anywhere between 30 40 kg and females between 22 32 kg .
According to the National Geographic television show Dangerous Encounters, their powerful scissor-like bite exerts more than 1060 Newtons or 238 lbs of force.
So trying to control an adult Shepherds bite could end in disaster for you and your dog, and really is not an option.
While teaching bite inhibition from puppyhood is a much more reliable option.
And as a professional dog trainer, I’ll share all my best tips here for teaching inhibition using positive reinforcement methods to German Shepherds.
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Why This Method Is Important
If you smack your puppy they will probably stop biting you right away. But, they will then associate biting people as a bad thing. Do you want your puppy to be able to bite people some day?
I would rather have a dog who understands right from wrong and comprehends the power of their teeth than a dog who is afraid of people. Fear is a terrible problem to have in a German Shepherd. In fact, most dogs who grow up to bite or attack people do so out of fear.
How To Stop My Puppy Jumping Up And Nipping My Clothes
Clothes are a major source of puppy nipping, and a big cause of their bouncing to grab too.
When you dont have a puppy in the house then your clothes can be chosen for fashion, convenience, comfort, work, fun. Any number of reasons!
Once that puppy arrives home, for the next few weeks theyll need to be all about bite avoidance!
Loose, flappy clothes are a puppy favorite. As are those which have bows, or trailing ties.
And always wear something on your feet!
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German Shepherd Puppy Biting Ankles
If you notice your german shepherd puppy biting ankles, then unfortunately there at the stage in their development where theyre biting everything.
Its a fairly common problem a lot of puppies . However, your German shepherds formative months are the months you really want to establish what they should and shouldnt be doing.
So keep reading to find out why German shepherd puppies like to bite ankles, and what you can do to stop it!
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When Do German Shepherd Puppies Stop Biting
Biting persists especially when the owner ignores or encourages biting. German shepherd biting habits can be stopped when their owners train them properly as early as possible. Dont be too gentle or lenient towards your German shepherd puppies if you dont want unwanted behaviors to arise in the future. Correct and control your GSDs biting behavior by following the strategies above. If you dont address unwanted behaviors like biting immediately, it can get worse and your GSD might become aggressive which would be difficult to control.
German shepherd biting is a common problem but it can be stopped. Take time to learn the different ways to stop German shepherd puppy biting especially if you are inexperienced. If the redirection technique works for you and your GSD, then be firm and consistent. If its not effective, try other approaches. If youre not sure how to handle this problem, you can always ask for a professionals help.
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Train Your German Shepherd Puppy To Not Bite Over Food
One of the most common times a German Shepherd puppy will bite is when food is in the equation. Puppies tend to be very overprotective of food, which they learned when in the litter as they had to fight for nutrition.
Unfortunately, it will be behavior that can extend to occur over their food bowl.
If your German Shepherd is showing food aggression, then you need to train the puppy to learn you are in charge and can pick their bowl up and put it back down at any time with no aggression from the dog.
Handy Hint: Here are some ways you can teach your dog to not steal from the table or start begging you for food.
What you do is put a bowl in front of your German Shepherd then quickly remove it again. If your German Shepherd doesnt react with a bite attempt, praise them vocally and reward with a treat.
If you do get a growl and bite, give them a firm no command and keep hold of the bowl.
Repeat the process until you get the response that you want the end game is your German Shepherd viewing you as the dominant alpha who controls the food source and doesnt get bitten.
Belgian Malinois Vs German Shepherd How To Make An Informed Choice
Heres another one people question all of the time. What IS the difference between these two dogs? Are they the same breed? How can you tell one from the other? If you are interested in answers to these questions, read the following post:
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How To Discipline A German Shepherd For Biting Your Ankles And Feet
- Always have a pocket of tasty bits of treats if your dog is biting you. You can also get an inexpensive treat bag to wear to make sure youre never caught without a food lure.
- When your German Shepherd bites your ankles or feet, calmly take a treat out of your pocket and hold the treat near the side of your leg.
- Make sure you get your dogs attention with the tasty treat and dont move it around quickly or youll cause more excitement.
- As your dog walks alongside your leg to get the treat, give them a verbal marker, such as Yes or Good!
- Continue a few steps using the food lure near your leg. This disciplining technique also has the added benefit of teaching your dog the first steps of walking nicely on a leash with you.
To quickly grab your dogs sense of smell and get them to stop biting you, use soft treats that are highly scented to help your dog focus on you.
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.
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How To Discipline A German Shepherd For Biting And Nipping
German Shepherds must be taught that biting and nipping isnt acceptable behavior and need to learn what to do instead. Begin teaching them by using body language, hand signals, voice commands, and showing them the right behaviors you want from them. Let your dog know from the start that biting hurts you and doesnt get them what they want. If they continue aggressively biting you, place them in a short time out.
Always use positive training and avoid harsh punishment and corrections.
You can practice these techniques by following the steps below for disciplining your German Shepherd for biting.
Ask For A Conflicting Behavior
Most people ask for a sit. Your German Shepherd cant sit and jump up at the same time. Then reward him for sitting by giving him the attention he was looking for. This can be petting, a toy, a treat, even his food dish! Anything your Shepherd normally jumps up on you for, he now only gets if he is sitting. This takes some training and patience, but it will work because, as mentioned above, dogs repeat behaviors that get them what they want.
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Always Use Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is the key to leading your puppy toward good behaviors and away from unpleasant ones.
So, always gear yourself up with treats and a clicker. But why do you give a treat every time you click?
You will want to use a clicker because it creates an auditory cue that makes training a lot more fun for your canine thus, making it more efficient.
Consider Safe Dog Anti
If your German Shepherd is chewing valuables, consider using safe anti-chew dog deterrents. These use an aversive association mechanism by causing your dog to associate the object with the deterrent that has an awful smell or taste, therefore, labeling it not good for chewing.
Follow these steps to create the aversive association:
Note that coupling the deterrent with another form of training that redirects your German Shepherd to chew permitted objects such as toys will be more effective in making your dog cease chewing your valuables.
Some of the anti-chew deterrent tastes/odors you could consider include those with a bitter apple/lemon flavor, apple cider vinegar, or cayenne pepper. However, be careful with the latter as although the pepper is not harmful to your dog if swallowed, it may irritate his eyes if he gets it on his paws and then rubs his face.
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