How to stop dog nipping when excited. A helpful guide.
Things to remember when you have a dog that nips.
1. Don’t play with bare hands
2. Don’t leave a dog alone with kids
3. Teach your dog to sit
4. Train your dog how to greet
5. Provide lots of toys
Like every other dog behavior, stopping and preventing a dog from nipping when excited is possible. However, there are misconceptions surrounding this topic. For instance, some trainers insist on squealing whenever your dog is nipping at you. This is primarily during playtime, hoping your dog will stop biting at you since squealing will indicate pain.
Unfortunately, this does not always work and might encourage your dog to do it even more often on the contrary. This is because your dog considers squealing as a response to his actions, which might excite him. Therefore, we cannot say that squealing will help you stop your go from nipping when excited.
Holding your dog’s mouth is another myth to stop a dog from nipping. As much as you want your dog to stop the habit, bringing your hands so close to his face will only encourage mouthing. It can be very motivating to nip and mouth your hands.
So how exactly do you stop your dog from nipping when excited?
Stop the play
More often than not, you are going to realize that your dog will engage in nipping at you during playtime. As mentioned earlier, rough play can be exciting for you and your dog. You may not find any issues with this play with your puppy since it does not hurt. However, your dog will get bigger and stronger, which makes nipping quite painful. At this point, you will realize how important it is to make him stop nipping.
The first step you should take is to stop the rough play immediately. During playtime, concentrate on a gentle, stimulating space for your dog, both mentally and physically. However, whenever your dog starts mouthing your hands or ankles, you should stop the play and ignore him. This way, you will be boring, and nothing motivates your dog to nip or mouth.
If your dog is nipping on your ankles during play or walk, halting is the best way to train your pup out of the habit. Smaller dogs are more prone to this behavior than larger ones. This is because your ankles and feet will be at his eye level, and the movement can be very enticing to chase. Stopping the play should be the first thing you do to stop the nipping habit.
Provide toys for your pup
To manage the biting and nipping in dogs, you will have to invest in dog toys. Toys will enable you to train your pup out of this habit in that you will be able to divert his attention. Once your puppy nips at your hands, stop moving or pulling away. Instead, provide a toy, and he will let go of your hands/ankles. If he does not, ignore him and look away from him, denying him your attention.
Not only does helping toys divert your dog’s attention, but it also gives him the opportunity to mouth. Mouthing is a natural behavior for dogs. Even a young puppy will nip at your hands when practicing to use his mouth as well as strengthen their jaws. Therefore, you may not be able to curb nipping and mouthing in dogs, but you can certainly be able to offer an alternative.
Puppies may tend to enjoy mouthing when they are teething. During this time, his gums might be itchy, prompting your dog to mouth and chew on your fingers. You should, therefore, get him chewing toys to help him during this period. Get the most appropriate safe toys for your dog to chew on.
Increase playtime for your dog
Exercising your dog should always be part of the routine. However, if you have noticed that your dog is getting too excited too fast and starts to mouth, consider increasing more exercise than play. For instance, you can increase the distance you walk your dog every morning and evening. Increase the practices to burn up the extra energy your dog generates.
Exercise is also a great way to prevent boredom while away from home. Not only will he be tired from all the exercising but also mentally stimulated. When we walk our dogs outside, we expose them to the outside world. They see new things every other day, and sometimes they play with other dogs, which is good for their socialization.
Playing with your dog also helps you associate with and establish a special bond. Understand that this bond guarantees safety for your dog even when you are away from home. Well. Exercising and playing will not prevent mouthing directly, but you will be able to reinforce training quickly.
Ignore your dog
In most cases, your dog will nip at you during play or even feeding. It is a result of the excitement that comes with either of the activities. In other scenarios, your dog will jump and wag his tail upon your arrival from work. It results from the joy of seeing you after being separated for so long. In addition, feeding time is always a joyful time for your dog. Some dogs cannot control the excitement and may nip at your hands while trying to feed them.
As much as we understand this behavior, we should not accommodate it as it can be a little scarier later in the future. You may use ignorance to stop your dog from nipping at you when excited. Unlike squealing, you should stop doing whatever and be still and dull. Do not look, command, or yell at your dog. Once he does not get a reaction from you, he will let go.
This method works because our dogs mostly look for a reaction from us. Once there is no reaction, your dog will stop using this behavior to seek your attention.
Train your dog how to greet
Once again, when you come home from work, and your pup is waiting for you, he will jump in excitement, waiting to touch you. This will give him the satisfaction of being around you, his keeper, and his best friend. However, this habit may appear aggressive and scary to your guests and even people at the park. It can get out of hand when your puppy greets you by jumping, licking, and mouthing people jumping, licking, and mouthing people; it can get out of hand.
Therefore, there is a need for you to train your dog how to greet visitors. Teach him how to greet people without excessive touch and mouthing. However, this is not always an easy thing to do as it can be hard to control the excitement in dogs. Here are a few tips that you may use to train your dog out of the nipping habit;
Divert his attention – You can do this using a toy. Make sure you always have a toy when approaching the house. This way, whenever your dog is running toward you for greeting (and possibly nipping), you can use the toy to divert his attention. For instance, you may get a thrown ball and use it to prevent him from nipping at your hands or ankles. You may throw the ball when he approaches you for greetings, prompting him to fetch it.
Use rewards and praises – if you want to reinforce dog training, using treats and bouquets is the best solution. Your dog needs to understand which behavior is acceptable and which is not. To make him understand, reward him with a treat or praise whenever she greets him without nipping. However, do not offer him anything if he nips at you. This works because dogs, as the saying goes, are loyal creatures.
Teach your dog to sit
Dog mouthing and nipping is not exactly a friendly gesture. Most people will not understand the behavior and will end up pulling back. This will only entice your dog to keep chasing and nipping harder, which might be even more painful.
If you have not managed to teach your dog how to greet guests, you might as well teach him to sit down. This means that he should always sit whenever a guest is at the door or upon seeing you come home from work.
You can do this by training him on the command ‘sit.’ Once he starts to mouth your or another person’s hands, order your dog to stop the habit immediately and offer him a treat for his good behavior. If your dog does not obey your command, deny him the pleasure. During the first stages of training, you might want to keep your dog on a leash when expecting guests at your home.
Walk away from him
Sometimes you may try all the above methods without success, not even ignoring him completely. However, do not despair, as there is still something you can do. As mentioned earlier, your pup will likely nip at your hands during play or feeding. Your reaction will determine whether your dog feels encouraged or discouraged by the behavior.
Sometimes you have to ignore what he has done and walk away from him. This way, he will learn that you do not like it when he mouths you or your kid. Most dogs do so to seek your attention and reaction.
If you were feeding him and he starts to gnaw and nip your hands, even playfully, get out of the room and stay away for a few minutes before you return. Repeat until he understands that you do not encourage this behavior at all.
Do not leave your dog alone with kids.
Some dogs target kids when it comes to nipping. You may find it cute when your puppy is playing with your toddler, but you should also be careful. It is easy for your dog to get all excited during play between your puppy and your kid. They can become uncontrollable, and your puppy mocks the child’s fingers and ankles. This can be pretty scary for your kid, especially when dealing with a mature dog.
It is advisable to never leave your dog unsupervised with your kid. This way, your kid will not encourage the behavior, and your dog will not have a chance to nip at them. To stop a dog from nipping when excited, you must remove all the potential stimuli for mouthing.
Do not play with bare hands.
Sometimes, your dog will nip at your hands when excited by play. You should, however, offer him an alternative kind of play. Instead of playing with your hands, encourage other games like tug-of-war. You can pull from one side when he pulls from the other. This will not only allow him to mouth and strengthen his jaws, but he cannot nip at your hands when his mouth is busy elsewhere.
Encourage a non-touch kind of play to stop your dog from nipping when excited by play. Suppose your pup has developed the habit of nipping at your hands when walking or even strangers; you can get him a bone-shaped toy. Whenever he initiates rough play or the slightest mouthing, throw the toy for him to fetch. This will help divert his attention from the behavior.
Do not give your dog any chance to mouth you or other people during walks.
Dog nipping is expected behavior. However, this does not mean we should encourage the behavior. Not only does nipping cause pain, but it can also be pretty scary. Picture a large dog coming at you and nipping your hands or legs.
You may not be able to tell whether your dog is being friendly or he is attacking you. In this article, we are going to explore the reasons why dogs nip. In addition, we will look at how to stop dog nipping when exited.
Why do dogs nip?
As mentioned above, nipping is an expected behavior among our canine friends. We can go ahead and say that it is a part of your dog’s genetic norm to want to use his teeth. For instance, dogs hunt and kill prey to feed in the wild. These animalistic instincts are likely to emerge now and then, even when domesticated. In most cases, we turn out to be the ones encouraging nipping in dogs!
Your dog may also be nipping because he is exploring new surroundings. I mean, how else can he learn how the world works? Just like human babies who will use their hands to touch everything, puppies will use their mouths. Thus, it is natural for a puppy to want to nip at you at some point in life. However, this does not mean that you should leave him to continue. Teach him that mouthing of any kind, especially on people’s hands and ankles.
Puppies like to explore
Whenever we are playing with our puppies, it gets too exciting. Sometimes it can get out of hand, and your puppy will use his teeth during play. This might not be as scary or a subject to worry about since your puppy is young and his jaw is still not strong enough to inflict pain. Nipping in puppies might be playful and painless. However, as he grows older, he gets stronger, which can become painful and worrying.
Exciting play is one of the common reasons for dog nipping. It is tempting to engage in rough and stimulating play with your dog. However, your dog will get excited and even use his teeth to play. If it is painless, you may not be concerned at all and thus continue with play. Your dog does not understand that nipping and mouthing are not allowed. And it will be your job to train him that you do not accept the behavior.
Older dogs may also experience some episodes of aggression, which mainly comes with dementia. They tend to isolate themselves and want you to stay away from them. Aggression in older dogs is one of the leading signs of dementia.
Conclusion
The best thing about dogs is getting rid of any undesirable behavior. You must understand that it is a natural behavior you need to control. As discussed above, you can use several methods to reinforce good behavior in dogs.
It is essential to ensure that you have trained your dog, so you do not encourage the behavior. Walk away from him when he initiates rough play involving mouthing your hands or ankles. Repeat this as many times as possible until your dog stops nipping. Luckily, our dogs desire to please us, making it easy for us to train them about good and bad behavior.
In addition, you must provide plenty of exercises to burn your dog’s extra calories. This will leave him exhausted and without too much energy, which may lead to over-excitement. This not only means a physical kind of stimulation but also mental stimulation for your dog.
