How to Teach a Gentle Bite

A dog can have exquisite control of its bite. A dog can exert just the correct amount of pressure with its teeth and with its jaw. Much of this is taught in its first eight weeks with its mother and with its litter mates. However, it is possible to continue the lessons started in puppy hood. Lessons in having a gentle bite are important, especially if you are using treats as a training tool.

The rule for puppies and for grown dogs still applies: teeth on human skin is absolutely forbidden. This is a lesson that all puppies should learn. It is a lesson that adult dogs must remember. Sometimes, in the dog’s enthusiasm for a treat, the dog needs to be reminded. And this reminder can be put on verbal cue. That is, you can have a word to remind the dog to be gentle with its bite.

Dogs really like these lessons. All that is required is for them to eat a treat gently. This is one way in which the lesson can be done: have pieces of wiener about half an inch (one and a quarter centimetres) long. Two or three pieces for one lesson are enough. Hold a piece of wiener in the crook between the first finger and the middle finger; and then make the hand into a fist. Therefore, what you are presenting to the dog is a flat fist surface with a small piece of wiener protruding.

Offer the tasty treat to your dog. There does not need to be a command for the dog to earn this treat. The dog will be pleasantly surprised. - Now, before the dog takes its first nibble, say your cue word. (I say “gently” to the dog. However, select a word which is natural for you and which you can remember and say easily.) Allow the dog to nibble at the offered treat. If the dog’s teeth make direct contact with your skin, say “Ouch!”. Over react. Tell the dog that that hurts. And the session ends - no more treats.

The next time you try this, it is the same routine. You should notice, over sessions of doing this, that the dog is more careful as it nibbles the treat and comes closer and closer to your hand/skin. Praise when you see this caution. Praise when you see the dog gently approaching your skin. You are seeing the dog exercising control over its bite and that should be praised lavishly.

After the dog understands your verbal prompt and understands that it must be cautious near your delicate skin, you might want to enlist various people to do the same thing with your dog. This is a way that the dog learns to generalize. Not only do you have sensitive skin, all these humans are such delicate creatures. And that is a very good perception for the dog to have.

Catherine Forsythe

Dog Training: The Art of Giving Praise

It is safe to say that most good dog trainers praise well. The praise must be well timed and this is where most people err. When teaching a behaviour, most people wait too long to praise and that leaves the dog guessing if it is doing the correct thing. It is a good rule of thumb to keep in mind, when teaching a behaviour, to praise early.

Perhaps this concept can be illustrated with the ‘come’ command. Most people will call their dog and wait (and wait) until the dog arrives and then praise. This is fine for a dog whose ‘come’ response is well established. However, in the initial stages of training, it pays to praise early. When you call your dog and the dog turns and takes the first step, praise. Do not wait. With the praise, you are saying to the dog, ‘You are doing the right thing.’. This will increase the speed of the behaviour, in this case, the recall. Further, it will decrease the dog’s anxiety and the dog will be able to learn the behaviour in a quicker, easier fashion.

Of course, you should praise when the dog also arrives. The arrival, though, is predicated on that very first step that the dog makes. That first step is crucial. If you are waiting to praise when the dog arrives, you are just hoping and placing all the responsibility upon the dog to figure out what the correct response is. Help the dog. Praise that first little bit of behaviour that results in a good end result. Look at it as a chain of behaviours, which, in the case of this recall example, begins with that first step.

Now you may ask what happens if the dog veers away in the recall. Well, it is no matter because you need that first step. That first step needs to be praised. When the dog goes off course, you can say “ack!” to let the dog know that it is doing something wrong. Let the dog know what pleases you and what doesn’t please you.

Remember, that the dog is processing information and trying to do its very best to please you. The praise is a guide and a tool for communication. It also adds to the dog’s self confidence and that will show in the way the dog responds. - Good; very good! I just knew you would understand!

Catherine Forsythe
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