Yes, your puppy needs to learn bite inhibition. I'm working on it with my 10 1/2 week old now.
Your puppy is teething and needs to socialize and play, so general mouthing cannot be helped right now. Encourage redirection with toys, etc. There are two thing you can try to teach the puppy what is acceptable mouthing and what is too rough. The method SWHouston suggested works very well. If the puppy continues to play too rough after trying that method, try it one more time. If it still doesn't work, leave the play area. The puppy will learn that if they are too rough, they don't get played with.
If you watch the behavior of multiple dogs in a household that have a hierarchy, or videos of wolves etc you can observe what research has established. It was previously believed that when alphas wanted to put a dog in their place, they would do so physically. This is still true in certain circumstances. But for the most part, alphas just ignore their subordinates and maintain a "you want attention, you submit to me and I'll think about it" attitude. As a result of the alpha "ignoring" the attention of his subordinates some of the time, the subordinates fawn over him and submit entirely--begging for his love and praise.
You want to establish yourself as alpha in your household. All people in your household should be viewed as alphas. This will curb and prevent much unwanted behavior. Just make sure that anything involving the puppy is directed by you. If the puppy begs for attention, ignore it. When the puppy is quiet give it attention. This rewards them for being quiet and shows them that you play when you want to because you are alpha. This method is not mean because you are still aware of the puppy's needs and wants and responding to them in a timely manner. You are just acting as though the response they want was your idea from the start, not theirs.
Once the puppy starts to view you as alpha, I think you will find that during play it is much gentler and rolls on its back more often. Also, give your dog plenty of exercise. A dog with too much pent up energy just gets into trouble and leads to behavior issues. A tired dog is a happy dog! |