Quote:
Originally Posted by pstinard  The basic approach for teaching bite inhibition is to say "Ouch!" when he bites, and to remove your hand and pretend to ignore him for a couple of minutes. Also, you could remove your hand and replace it with something safe to chew on, like a rubber nylabone, a rope bone, or a favorite stuffed animal, and praise him for chewing on the appropriate toy. Yorkies will often bite while they are going through their teething stage since their mouths are sore, but so long as you provide a safe alternative for him to chew on and are consistent that it's not appropriate to bite hard on your hand, you should be able to get through this stage okay. He will always probably bite or gum your hand to some extent--that's the nature of Yorkies--but it should become much milder. |
I used "ouch!" and "no bite" and folded my hands across my chest, taking the biting targets away. This was usually when when we were playing on the floor. If Max continued to bite, I would get up and walk away, ending play time and ignoring him for a few minutes.
Max also liked to nibble my toes in the morning when we woke up. He slept in an xpen next to bed, so if he nibbled my toes, I calmly put him back in his pen telling him "no bite." He had to wait while I brushed my teeth and dressed. He quickly learned that if he wanted his freedom to run around, he couldn't nibble my toes.
Teddy didn't like when I detangled his hair and would often resort to biting. I gave him a chew while I worked on him and that did the trick. Wasn't long before we didn't need the chew anymore.