Bite inhibition

[inappropriatelyemployed]

I've been looking at stuff on biting and it seems to suggest that you let the dog bite but teach it to moderate its bite following a set method.

I have to say I find this scary. He is a big pup and has bloody big teeth already. I don't want him to bite me so that I yelp to show him he shouldn't bite me and I certainly don't want to train that with the kids.

We have been offering an alternative chew toy.

Do you seriously have to go through getting bitten?

No I didn't let him bite me. I offered an alternative toy and as he got older I found time outs worked the best when he was particularly bitey (effectively play stopped)

There are lots of 'methods' on training puppies for just about everything. Just find the ones that fit you and your puppy the best.

I was very zero tolerance with any mouthing with all 3 of mine. A very stern no along with walking away and giving no attention every single time.

Mine are very large and none of them have ever mouthed anyone in the house after the initial few days.

God no, you don't let him bite you.

If he does start mouthing you can yelp but, as pp have said, stop playing and turn away for a short while.

If he's chewing something inappropriate eg furniture or shoes offer him one of his own toys and praise and treat when he takes it.

Respected modern behaviouralists (that I've come across) all say do not allow them to bite at all and that the so called "positive bite work" is not a good thing to do.

I certainly had/have zero tolerance on teeth touching human skin.

I've never heard of 'positive bite work' before so had a quick google. I get the impression - it was a very quick google - that it's more something that would apply to training a dog in protection situations eg police dogs, and actually training dog to bite on command. Although, I imagine there are plenty of other people who do it.

However, I not sure this is something most sensible people would want for their pet dog.

Most puppies, hopefully, will have been taught the start of bite inhibition from their mums, although, I realise, not all puppies come from ideal breeding situations. But I definitely wouldn't be letting my dog bite me. Puppy teeth are like needles. No teeth on human flesh in this house.

Slightly disagree with some of the above.

We got a lab puppy in November and initially followed the advice of teaching him to never bite. Did the yelping/stopping play/offering alternative thing and yes, he did stop biting intentionally, but we then found that when he bit accidentally (i.e. going for a toy and missing, or just bouncing around with his mouth open and accidentally catching a bit of you), he did so far too hard and caused real damage. It became obvious that wasn't a safe situation, especially for any children he was likely to encounter, and given that an adult lab can easily crunch through bones, we sought advice for how to manage differently.

We essentially went back a stage in training and taught him to inhibit (which definitely is still taught by modern behaviouralists) with the command 'gentle' attached, and he is now 100% safer than before. He takes treats more gently, he is far more cautious when going for a toy that we're holding, and he is very very gentle when he mouths our hands/feet - something he also understands he is only allowed to do with our permission and never allowed to do to children.

It's given me much more peace of mind that when he is around little ones, which he often is, he definitely won't hurt them even if they stick their hands fully in his mouth (as toddlers often seem to do!).

Obviously mouthing should be generally discouraged, but I strongly believe that training stage has to come AFTER solid work on teaching them to inhibit.