Category: Puppy Stuff ¤
Author: Shirley Chong ¤
Title: Bite Inhibition ¤
Well, the people have spoken!
Following is the article about bite inhibition I wrote for a
magazine article. It will also be incorporated into my (almost done)
seminar workbook.
M. Shirley Chong
The Well Mannered Dog
I was the kid who always tried to color inside the lines and obey
all the rules, so of course I wasn't about to allow my brand new
puppy, Fergie (another German Shepherd) bite. But when I watched her
with Sheba, most of their play was mouth play. They played tug of war,
they wrestled, and most fun of all, they laid face to face and jaw
wrestled while making a singsong wrestling growl. I wanted in on it,
too. I didn't get a puppy just so Sheba could have all the fun!
I noticed that Fergie had bitten Sheba a little too hard a few times
and Sheba had somehow taught her to keep her bite soft. I thought
that I could probably figure out how to do it as well.
The books said that if I let Fergie bite me or play tug of war, she
would think of me as a littermate and try to dominate me. However, I
could see that Sheba had no trouble at all maintaining her position
as Fergie's superior. In fact, sometimes Sheba had to encourage
Fergie to play by rolling over on her back and waving her front feet
at Fergie. Sheba didn't make a big show out of being superior; as far
as I could see, she simply assumed she was and Fergie went along with
that. So did every other dog that Sheba met, even when Sheba was a
dignified old lady of fifteen. Well, I could do that, too.
For years it was my secret: I played with my dogs by letting them
mouth wrestle with my hands. They never tried to dominate me and they
only did it in play. I continued reading and found something
startling: there were actual experts who talked about bite inhibition.
When I read the description of bite inhibition it was exactly what I
called "biting nice" to myself.
So now I'm out of the closet. Not only do I play mouth games with
all my dogs, I actually teach them to play mouth games and tug of
war! This is all about how I do it and why I do it.
From watching puppies and from talking to experienced breeders, I
learned that its normal for puppies between about six and sixteen
weeks old to be obsessed with playfighting. When two puppies of this
age meet, they want to wrestle. At this age, Mother Nature has given
them needle sharp puppy teeth, so they can really sting each other
but they can't cause serious damage. I believe that the lesson that
puppies learn at this age is the most important one a puppy can
learn: how much bite is enough and how much bite is too much.
Any dog, no matter how stable of temperament, can be pushed into a
position where they feel they must bite to defend themselves. The
difference between the dog that administers a good hard pinch to the
tormenting six year old human and the dog that rips the six year
old's face off is bite inhibition.
The traditional methods of teaching puppies never to bite include
things like scruff shakes, cuffing the puppy under the chin or the
infamous "alpha wolf rollover." A very common complaint by people who
use these methods is that the puppy turns around and bites harder.
Two puppies playing together egg each other on by jumping on each
other, poking at each other with their feet, and wrestling! No wonder
many puppies come back and bite harder--their human is giving them
every indication they should.
How do puppies learn bite inhibition? By biting! Trying to teach a
puppy bite inhibition without allowing them to bite is like trying to
teach a child to ride a bike without ever letting them get on the
bike. It just can't be done.
How do puppies learn when they've bitten too hard? They give each
other feedback. Just enough bite is rewarded with more play. Too much
bite and the other puppy yelps and stops playing. It works for humans
too: let the puppy bite and give a very high pitched yelp if there's
too much pressure. A normal puppy will back off for an instant. If
the human is a good actor, the puppy will do some self calming by
shaking or sitting down to scratch or else apologize by giving a lick.
It's often best to rehearse your high pitched IPE! or OUCH! in
private before trying it out on your puppy.
If the puppy comes right back and bites harder, give another high
pitched yelp and walk away. Go somewhere the puppy can't reach you.
The message: puppies that can't play nice play alone.
Some people roll the puppy's lip over their teeth either to prevent
biting or to promote bite inhibition. This is not as effective
because the puppy has to learn to moderate their bite without the
feedback of pain from their own nervous system.
Very quickly, the puppy learns how much bite is enough to make the
game fun and how much bite stops the game altogether. They bite and
mouth but they do it in such a way that it doesn't hurt at all.
Figure out how to initiate mouthplay with your puppy. It's usually
pretty obvious--certain body postures, hand gestures, etc, will get
the puppy to playing.
There are times, though, when you'd really rather not be covered
with puppy slime (hard to imagine but true). What you need is a
signal to let your puppy know when not to bite. I teach this in a
very methodical way, so that it becomes absolutely clear to the puppy.
Get a nice, smelly, really high on the delicious scale treat, let
the puppy know you have it and then close your hand over it. Let the
puppy lick, snuffle, poke, nudge, delicately nibble and try to get
that treat out of your hand. Eventually the puppy will give up and
back away or turn their head away--CLICK and open your hand so they
can get the treat.
This is what I call Doggie Zen: to get the treat, you must give up
the treat. It's the basis for most training--the foundation of "do
what I want and then we'll do what you want." Learning Doggie Zen is
the beginning of learning emotional control.
If your puppy bites harder than is acceptable, yelp and pull your
hand up out of their reach for a minute.
The first few times you do this, it may take quite a while for the
puppy to give up. Just be patient, smile and say NOTHING. The puppy
will eventually give up. Practice this exercise several times a day
and in as many different places (at home, in the yard, at the park,
in other people's houses, etc) as you can find.
Very quickly, the puppy will start to back away when they see you
hold out your closed hand. Voila! You have a signal! However, you
might prefer a verbal command. When the puppy is predictably backing
up when you present your closed hand, it's time to insert the verbal
command. Say "Leave It!" sweetly, hold out your closed hand, click
(when the puppy backs away) and open your hand. Anticipation (which
dogs excel at) will take over and the puppy will realize that the
words "Leave It!" mean you're about to hold out your closed hand.
When the puppy backs up well on the words "Leave It!" it's time to
incorporate this command into new situations. When you go into a new
situation, though, you have to go all the way back to kindergarten.
The easiest way to do it is to sit down and SILENTLY place the treat
on a chair next to you (assuming your puppy is large enough to reach
the seat of that chair). Let the puppy try to pry the treat out from
under your hand until the puppy gives up. When the puppy backs up or
turns their head away, click and move your hand so the puppy can get
the treat.
The puppy will learn to back off a bit quicker than they did the
first time. When the puppy is backing off when your hand goes over
the treat, it's time to add in the verbal "Leave It!" to this
situation.
Then start a new situation by dropping the treat on the floor and
covering it with your foot. Again, you'll have to go back to
kindergarten and re-teach it. This time, it should all go just a bit
quicker.
Keep figuring out new situations. Keep going back to kindergarten to
re-teach the "Leave It!" It will go just a little faster each time.
By the time your puppy reliably backs away from you when you say
"Leave It!" no matter what the circumstances are or where you are,
your puppy will be about four months old. Now it's time to start
incorporating "Leave It!" when your puppy wants to mouthplay. Start
off gradually, using "Leave It!" to stop mouthplay once every ten
times the puppy initiates mouthplay. Click and treat when the puppy
backs off. If the puppy doesn't back off, walk away and give the
puppy a time out. Over time, use "Leave It!" when your puppy
initiates mouthplay more and more often.
When your puppy is about six to seven months old, use "Leave It!"
whenever your puppy initiates mouthplay. Don't give up mouthplay
altogether, though! You worked hard to develop that soft mouth and
it's like any skill that depends in part on muscle memory--it needs
to be practiced to keep it fresh.
Copyright 1997 Meesoon Shirley Chong
