Several dog breeds get a strong and long-lasting appeal to the public. One of those perennial top picks is the powerful and aristocratic German Shepherd.
However, these puppies are also well-known for biting and chewing behaviors. These ways of acting are common, but it doesn’t mean you must accept them.
So, how to get German Shepherd puppy to stop biting? We’ve got you covered!
This article will show you the potential causes of this conduct and methods to cease it. Let’s get started!
Why Do A German Shepherd Puppy Bite?
Before discovering ways to make your German Shepherd puppy stop biting, it’s best to find out the root causes of this bad behavior.
Below are the most common reasons why this dog breed shows this conduct. Let’s take a closer look!
It Has A Powerful Prey Instinct.
Due to their powerful hunting instinct, most German shepherds get attracted by movement.
If you pay attention to your German Shepherd puppy in your backyard, you’ll see how quickly it picks up even the tiniest movements of a rodent in grasses.
Its large ears can twitch in response to even the slightest sounds, and its body is always ready to jump in a second.
Your puppy will notice and play with things like small critters, balls, or even your pant legs.
It has a powerful prey instinct.
It Is A Working Herding Breed.
German Shepherd is a working herding breed, so the puppies like chasing and gathering moving objects.
They frequently use their mouths to do this, which is a behavior called gripping in the herding terminology.
This breed’s herding method often includes flock confinement or border patrol.
These canines had to keep the sheep controlled by grabbing the neck, ribcage, or above their hocks.
It Is Exploring.
All puppies, including this breed, indeed encounter a world exploration stage with the mouth.
Therefore, biting is an inevitable puppy habit. It’s like the teething stage for newborns in humans.
If your pet is teething, it’s better to notice a change in its nipping behavior before it gets six months old.
This behavior, however, is more evident and aggressive in German Shepherd puppies than in other puppy breeds.
It Is Overstimulated.
Some owners even call their German Shepherd pets land sharks. That’s because of their nipping.
It is frequently the result of a dog being overly aroused or losing control of its bite force.
Whenever German shepherd puppies are tired and want to sleep, they might become increasingly aggressive.
Eventually, it is the owners’ responsibility to instill adequate bite control in their dogs through strict regulations.
I Grew Up In A Bad Neighborhood.
Excessive biting might indicate a pup reared in a poor environment in some circumstances.
It may not have had the opportunity to understand the fundamentals of bite control with its littermates.
Whereas its mother and breeders also did nothing to help it.
Singletons and pups abandoned too early are the worst examples of poor biting control.
It is kept in a bad environment.
How To Get A German Shepherd Puppy To Stop Biting?
Do you get irritated when your puppy bites? Are you trying to figure out how to get rid of this undesirable habit?
Take control of this behavior with these simple and effective ways to reduce German Shepherd nipping, as shown below.
Give It Special Toys
Toys are helpful when you want to play with your dog because they act as a shield between its teeth and your fingers.
Remember that you only use toys when playing with your pet. Put them away after the game is over, making them super unique.
You have ownership over these toys, and your puppy must return them to you. Biting special toys is more enjoyable for your dog than biting you.
Use Puppy-Friendly Partition Gates
If your dog bites you while you or your relatives go by, use puppy-friendly partition gates to keep them contained.
It’s best to use the high enough partition gates to deter and prevent your German Shepherd puppies from jumping over to continue biting you.
During busy periods in your house, utilize these things to make your puppy calm or out of places where they can become excited and bite you.
If your pet behaves well behind the puppy-friendly partition gates, you can reward it.
Allow them out if they behave peacefully, like sitting calmly or lying on the floor quietly.
If you let it go out while it’s excited or aggressive, it may think you encourage its behavior, and it will continue nipping.
Say “Ouch”! Firmly
When your puppy bites you, don’t keep silent. Instead, say “Ouch” out loud and firmly as much as possible.
It is one of the simplest but most effective techniques to draw your pet’s attention to train your dog not to bite if you perform it correctly.
Here are some valuable tricks when you apply this solution:
- Allow your dog to play with its toys, but offer a harsh “Ouch” yelp or a high-pitched scream whenever it chews or nips.
- If it continues to bite, shout “Ouch” once more, then stand up and go out of the room.
- You may allow it to play with toys again, but train it until it knows how to keep its teeth on the toys.
- Don’t smile or laugh while applying this technique even when your puppy shows you its cute face as your action means you encourage it to do this bad behavior.
- Be patient until your pet stops biting completely. It’s the key!
Use Redirections
Redirections are activities that teach your dog acceptable behavior to keep it from participating in undesired behavior.
If your pet bites you, give it some interesting teething toys instead.
If it chases you and pinches your ankles, look for its chew toy and urge it to bite on that instead.
The purpose is to let your puppy perform good behaviors more frequently by returning to the recommended toys you’ve provided for it.
Give It Some Frozen Kongs
When puppies’ teeth start to come in, they bite and gnaw. They use these frozen Kongs to make themselves relax and cope with the discomfort.
You can freeze a big Kong filled with your pet’s favorite goodies and food when your dog is acting up and nipping you.
This you, you can give it your German Shepherd puppy’s favorite Kongs to bite on and give its gums some chilly respite.
Besides, you can train your dog the word “Kong” when you give it that thing. After that, it can learn that word and may follow you instead of biting.
A German Shepherd will love nibbling on some frozen Kongs, even if it is not teething. Chewing is also helpful in helping dogs relax and quiet down.
Apply the “Quiet” Method
By responding to aggressive nipping and mouthing, you are rewarding the bad behavior of your bad. Instead, ignore it when it starts biting.
If you don’t want to say “no” to your cute puppy or if the “Ouch” approach didn’t work, you may go with this alternative.
Ignore them by walking away and going into another place, remaining quiet and avoiding eye contact.
It would be best to only interact again with your dog when it is completely calm and behaves well.
Apply Your Leadership Skills
Apart from the above ways, you can also apply regular interaction to train your pet about leadership.
For example, only feed your dog when you have finished eating and make sure they sit down before meals.
If you’re having trouble with aggressive nipping, don’t allow your dog to lie on the bed since it may tell it that it’s on the same level as you.
One more helpful tip is before taking them on a stroll or leaving a door, have your puppy sit.
Although these approaches will not prevent your pup from chewing, they will help you express your dominance to your pet.
Your dog will appreciate your rules more if it considers you an influential leader.
Give It Some Exercise
Ensure your dog gets enough exercise so it won’t have the excess energy to bite or indulge in destructive activity.
Boredom and excessive energy may lead to violent behavior in a dog with a muscle-grown but inadequately exercised.
However, you should select the exercises for your pup carefully as not all activities will fit it.
Low-impact exercises like jogging off-leash are ideal for German Shepherd dogs at this early age.
If you are looking for training exercise for this breed, you can watch this video:
Never Encourage Rough Play
Stop playing rough with your puppy before it becomes a source of irritation.
Instead of playing with your pup, use suitable, puppy-safe objects. This way, it will chew these toys rather than your fingers or pant legs.
Sometimes rough play may make your pup stressed as it needs to catch up with you. Hence, it may crunch you.
It would help if you avoided rough play or games related to mouthing behaviors from the start.
Instruct In Impulse Control
Most puppies prefer to play games, primarily when their owners act as instructors or leaders.
This activity is also beneficial since it prepares your pet for valuable life skills.
It would be best to let it play this game many times every day, around 2 to 3 minutes per session.
After the game, your dog develops impulse control, which translates to its ability to refrain from nipping you.
Wrapping Up
After reading this post, have you known how to get a German Shepherd puppy to stop biting? We hope your answer will be yes!
There are many reasons for this bad behavior in this breed. Your pet may be overstimulated or kept in a poor environment.
You can apply various ways to make your pup stop nipping, such as giving it some toys, using redirections, providing it frozen Kongs, or offering it exercise.
If you know other methods, feel free to comment below. Thanks for reading!
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