Subject: Ian Dunbar article on bite inhibition was: puppy biting
This is a keeper, an article from Dogs in Canada 1991
by Dr Ian Dunbar.
The Bite Stops Here Dogs in Canada Annual, 1991
Puppies should be encouraged to play-bite - so you can
teach them when to stop.
By Dr. Ian Dunbar
Puppies bite, and thank goodness they do. Puppy biting
is a normal and natural puppy behavior.In fact, it is
the pup that does not mouth and bite much as a
youngster that augers ill for the future. Puppy
play-biting is the means by which dogs learn to
develop bite inhibition, which is absolutely essential
later in life.
The combination of weak jaws with extremely sharp,
needle-like teeth and the puppy penchant for biting
results in numerous play-bites which, although
painful, seldom cause serious harm. Thus, the
developing pup receives ample necessary feedback
regarding the force of its bites before it develops
strong jaws - which could inflict considerable injury.
The greater the pup's opportunity to play-bite with
people, other dogs and other animals, the better the
dog's bite inhibition as an adult. For puppies that do
not grow up with the benefit of regular and frequent
interaction with other dogs and other animals, the
responsibility of teaching bite inhibition lies with
the owner.
Certainly, puppy biting behavior most eventually be
eliminated: we cannot have an adult dog playfully
mauling family, friends and strangers in the manner of
a young puppy. However, it is essential that puppy
biting behaviour is gradually and progressively
eliminated via a systematic four-step process. With
some dogs, it is easy to teach the four phases in
sequence. With others, the puppy biting may be so
severe that the owners will need to embark on all four
stages at once. However, it is essential that the pup
first learn to inhibit the force of its bites before
the biting behaviour is eliminated altogether.
Inhibiting the force of bites
No painful bites The first item on the agenda is to
stop the puppy bruising people. It is not necessary to
reprimand the pup and, certainly, physical punishments
are contra-indicated, since they tend to make some
pups more excited, and insidiously erode the puppy's
temperament and trust in the owner. But it is
essential to let the pup know when it hurts. A simple
"ouch!" is usually sufficient. The volume of the
"ouch" should vary according to the dog's mental
make-up; a fairly soft "ouch" will suffice for
sensitive critters, but a loud "OUCH!!!" may be
necessary for a wild and woolly creature. During
initial training, even shouting may make the pup more
excited, as does physical confinement. An extremely
effective technique with boisterous pups is to call
the puppy a "jerk!" and leave the room and shut the
door. Allow the pup time to reflect on the loss of its
favourite human chew toy immediately following the
hard nip, and then return to make up. It is important
to indicate that you still love the pup - it is the
painful bites which are objectionable. Instruct the
pup to come and sit, and then resume playing. Ideally,
the pup should have been taught not to hurt people
well before it is three months old.
It is much better for the owner to leave the pup than
to try to physically restrain and remove it to a
confinement area at a time when it is already out of
control. If one pup bites another too hard, the bitee
yelps and playing is postponed while the injured party
licks its wounds. The biter learns that hard bites
curtail an otherwise enjoyable play session. Hence,
the bite learns to bite more softly when the play
session resumes.
No jaw pressure at all The second stage of training is
to eliminate bite pressure entirely, even thought the
bites no longer hurt. When the puppy is munching away,
wait for a nibble that is harder than the rest and
respond as if it really hurt: "Ouch, you worm! Gently!
That hurt me you bully!" The dog begins to think "Good
Lord! These humans are so mamby pamby I'll have to be
really careful when mouthing their delicate skins."
And that's precisely what we want the dog to think -
so he'll be extremely careful when playing with
people. Ideally, the puppy should no longer be
exerting any pressure when mouthing by the time it is
four to five months old.
Inhibiting the incidence of mouthing
Always stop mouthing when requested. Once the puppy
has been taught to gently mouth rather than bite, it
is time to reduce the frequency of mouthing behaviour
and teach the pup that mouthing is okay until
requested to stop. Why? Because it is inconvenient to
try to drink a cup of tea, or to answer the telephone,
with 50 pounds of pup dangling from your wrist, that's
why.
It is better to first teach the "OFF!" command using a
food lure (as demonstrated in the Sirius video*). The
deal is this: "If you don't touch this food treat for
just two seconds after I softly say "Off", I will say
"Take it" and you can have the treat." Once the pup
has mastered this simple task, up the ante to three
seconds of non-contact, and then five, eight, 12, 20
and so on. Count out the seconds and praise the dog
with each second: "Good dog one, good dog two, good
dog three." and so forth. If the pup touches the treat
before being told to take it, shout "Off!" and start
the count from zero again. The pup quickly learns that
it can not have the treat until it has not touched it
for, say, eight seconds - the quickest way to get the
treat is not to touch it for the first eight seconds.
In addition, the regular handfeeding during this
exercise helps preserve the pup's soft mouth.
Once the pup understnads the "Off!" request, it may be
used effectively when the puppy is mouthing. Say
"Off!" and praise the pup and give it a treat when it
lets go. Remember, the essence of this exercise is to
practise stopping the dog from mouthing - each time
the pup obediently ceases and desists, resume playing
once more. Stop and start the session many times over.
Also, since the puppy wants to mouth, the best reward
for stopping mouthing is to allow it to mouth again.
hen you decide to stop the mouthing session
altogether, heel the pup to the kitchen and give it an
especially tasty treat.
If ever the pup refuses to release your hand when
requested, shout "Off!", rapidly extricate your hand
and storm out of the room mumbling, "Right. That's
done it, you jerk! You've ruined it! Finish! Over! No
more!" and shut the door in the dog's face. Give the
pup a couple of minutes on its own and then go back to
call the pup to come and sit and make up. But no more
mouthing for at least a couple of hours.
In addition to using "Off!" during bite inhibition
training, the request has many other useful
applications: not to touch the cat, the Sunday roast
on the table, the table, the baby's soiled diapers,
the baby, an aggressive dog, a fecal deposit of
unknown denomination. Not only does this exercise
teach the "Off!" request, but also to "Take it" on
request.
Never start mouthing unless requested. By the time the
pup is five months old, it must have a mouth as soft
as a 14-year-old working Lab; it should never exert
any pressure when mouthing, and the dog should
immediately stop mouthing when requested to do so by
any family member. Unsolicited mouthing is utterly
inappropriate from an older adolescent or an adult
dog. It would be absolutely unacceptable for a
six-month-old dog to approach a child and commence
mouthing her arm, no matter how gentle the mouthing or
how friendly and playful the dog's intentions. This is
the sort of situation which gives parents the
heebie-jeebies and frightens the living daylights out
of the mouthee. At five months of age, at the very
latest, the dog should be taught never to touch any
person's body - not even clothing - with its jaws
unless specifically requested.
Whether or not the dog will ever be requested to mouth
people depends on the individual owner. Owners that
have the mental largesse of a toothpick quickly let
play-mouthing get out of control, which is why many
dog training texts strongly recommend not indulging in
games such as play-fighting. However, it is essential
to continue bite inhibition exercises, otherwise the
dog's bite will begin to drift and become harder as
the dog grows older. For such people, I recommend that
they regularly hand-feed the dog and clean its teeth -
exercises that involve the human hand in the dog's
mouth. On the other hand, for owners who have a full
complement of common sense, there is no better way to
maintain the dog's soft mouth than by play-fighting
with the dog on a regular basis. However, to prevent
the dog from getting out of control and to fully
realize the many benefits of play-fighting, the owner
must play by the rules and teach the dog to play by
the rules. (Play-fighting rules are described in
detail in our Preventing Aggression behaviour
bookelt.*)
Play-fighting teaches the dog to mouth hands only
(hands are extremely sensitive to pressure) and never
clothing. Since shoelaces, trousers and hair have no
neurons and cannot feel, the owner cannot provide the
necessary feedback that the dog is once more beginning
to mouth too hard. The game also teaches the dog that
it must adhere to rules regarding its jaws, regardless
of how worked up it may be. Basically, play-fighting
teaches the owner to practice controlling the dog when
it is excited. It is important to refine such control
in a structured setting, before a real-life situation
occurs.
In addition, play-fighting quickly becomes
play-training. Starting the games with a training
period, i.e., with the dog under control in a
down-stay, produces utterly solid stays at a time when
the dog is excited in vibrant anticipation of the
game. Similarly, frequent stopping the game for short
periods and integrating multiple training interludes
(especially heel work and recalls) into the game
motivates the dog to provide eager and speedy
responses. Each time the owner stops the game, he or
she may use the resumption of play as a reward for
bona fide obedience. Everything's fun!
Potential problems
Inhibiting incidence before force A common mistake is
to punish the pup in an attempt to get it to stop
biting altogether. At the best, the puppy no longer
mouths those family members who can effectively punish
the dog but, instead, the pup directs its mouthing
sprees toward those family members who cannot control
it, e.g., a child. To worsen matters, parents are
often completely unaware of the child's plight because
the pup does not mouth adults. At worst, the puppy no
longer mouths people at all. Hence, its education
about the force of its bite stops right there. All is
fine until someone accidentally shuts the car door on
the dog's tail, whereupon the dog bites and punctures
the skin, because the dog had insufficient bite
inhibition.
Puppies that don't bite Shy dogs seldom socialize or
play with other dogs or strangers. Hence, they do not
play-bite and hence, they learn nothing about the
power of their jaws. The classic case history is of a
dog that never mouthed or bit as a pup and never bit
anyone as an adult - that is, until an unfamiliar
child tripped and fell on the dog. The first bite of
the dog's career left deep puncture wounds, because
the dog had developed no bite inhibition. With shy
puppies, socialization is of paramount importance, and
time is of the essence. The puppy must quickly be
socialized sufficiently, so that it commences playing
(and hence, biting) before it is four-and-a-half
months old.
If a puppy does not frequently mouth and bite and/or
does not occasionally bite hard, it is an emergency.
The puppy must learn its limits. And it can only learn
its limits by exceeding them during development and
receiving the appropriate feedbacks.
Ian Fraser Dunbar lives in California and has a
doctorate in animal behaviour. He is author of the
book Dog Behaviour and 15 Behaviour Booklets; he will
be holding seminars in Canada in 1991.
*The Preventing Aggression behaviour booklet and the
Sirius Puppy Training videotape by Dr. Dunbar are
available from James & Kenneth Publishers - Canada.
For more information, contact Judy Emmert, Flander's
Farm, R. R. 2, campbellville, Ontario. (416)659-3955.
Dogs in Canada -
http://www.dogs-in-canada.com

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