How To Prevent Your Dog From Biting: Help For Older Dog Owners

How To Prevent Your Dog From Biting: Help For Older Dog Owners

Certainly the most serious of all negative behaviors a dog can exhibit, biting cannot be tolerated under any circumstances.

Understanding the root cause will help you identify the most appropriate training technique to correct and eliminate this negative behavior.

Why do adult dogs bite? Understand that aggressive behavior is actually the norm for dogs in your own room. Growling, showing teeth, growling, and biting are forms of communication. Aggression towards humans is a way for the dog to establish itself as an alpha dog. It can manifest itself when the owner does not take adequate measures to properly train and socialize the dog.

Bites can be activated in several ways:

– Your dog has learned in the past to fear a certain object (such as a brush, a muzzle or a rolled up newspaper).

– The dog seeks attention if neglected for periods of time – Perhaps a child hugs the dog too hard or too fast; This will not be perceived as a loving gesture on the part of the dog, but rather as a form of annoyance or even a threat.

– If a dog is confused about his position in the family hierarchy, he might resort to biting to test his dominance over humans in the house.

– Teasing or teasing the dog with a toy, food or treats could cause the dog to retaliate by biting

– When their territory is being invaded (common for terriers and shepherds and overly protective Dobermans) – If the dog is experiencing physical pain

– Poor eyesight (common in older dogs with cataracts) can cause confusion.

– The dog is a “shepherd” and instinctively nibbles on the heels of larger animals, including humans.

These are reasons, not justifications. You cannot afford to bite, regardless of the root cause.

Obviously, the method of correction will depend on the cause of the bite.

If it is an object the dog is afraid of, turn it into a soft play object until the fear is gone. But don’t use the item in a tug-of-war game. That only encourages more biting and grabbing. Try a simple game of hide and seek with the item, or drop it and retrieve it. If you cannot associate the bite with any object, the behavior may attract attention. Try saying “no” and leaving the room, to show the dog that his attention is lost instead of gaining from bites or bites.

Children need to understand the importance of approaching all dogs slowly. It will be much easier for you to teach children this lesson than to teach your dog to accept what he perceives as a threat.

Your job as an owner, from the beginning, is to establish yourself and all other family members as alpha “dogs” in the hierarchy. The sooner you do this, the less behavior problems you will see in your dog. The most effective way to accomplish this is to immediately begin obedience training as soon as your dog is brought into the home. This is actually a welcome setting for your dog. You just want to know where it belongs in the hierarchical order. He will welcome you as the alpha dog. In return, place it with love and kindness.

Teasing and taunting bites are easily removed by training humans to show common sense. This is behavior that should never be displayed by family members, home visitors, or even strangers when observed.

Correcting the bite due to territoriality can take trial and error. Especially if your dog hasn’t been spayed or neutered, take care of that now. You can dramatically minimize irritability in your dog. And it is known to reduce aggression from territoriality. But the changes will happen slowly after the operation. Like several months. If your dog is already groomed, reinforcement training could be effective. Positive reinforcement in the form of praise or treats or both when the dog shows good behavior. And, negative reinforcement in the form of a firm “no” or “bad dog” (be consistent) when aggression is demonstrated. It may also be necessary to remove the dog from the rest of the family for a short “wait time.” These should be 30 seconds for a lesson to be learned without creating fear or even more aggression.

If the bite is due to a dog’s pain, the cure is obvious. Take your dog to the vet immediately. If it is due to poor eyesight, it is up to you and the whole family to adjust your behavior and be cautious, gentle and slow to approach. And using a reassuring voice when approaching your dog. This is just a humane treatment for aging dogs.

If your dog has a herding breed lineage, it is a natural instinct to herd sheep, cows, or children if there is a shortage of livestock in your home. While this can be comical at times, it can lead to injury if the dog begins to pinch the heels. These dogs are high-energy and highly intelligent, but they often require constant training throughout their lives. Never allow this behavior, no matter how cute it is at the time. A firm “no”, “sit”, “stay” every time the dog “pack” can prove effective. An extreme measure may employ the shaker can technique. Pennies sealed in a soda can and shaken are known to work to correct dog behavior. Personally, such a tactic would scare me terribly so I can only assume it does the same to the unsuspecting dog. Scaring a dog can lead to a fearful dog. It is just my opinion.

Remember, dogs instinctively want to please their owners. Therefore, biting is an abnormal behavior for the well-adjusted and domesticated dog, which can most of the time be corrected. You owe it to your dog and your family to know proper dog training techniques.

I use an excellent resource to ensure that I am an informed dog owner: the DIY Dog Training Manual. Learn more by visiting my site referenced below.

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