It's important for puppies to learn bite inhibition. They start to learn it from mom and other siblings, but when they come home that's when it's time for you to take over(Yay... not really.)! If pup play bites mom or sibs too rough, they yelp and won't play for a few minutes. It's very very important for puppies to test their mouths on human skin. An average adult dogs mouth can exert 170 lbs per square inch(My Panzer has 360 lbs per square inch.), and human skin tears with only a few lbs. With out practice a dog will never learn how to inhibit and control the amount of force when they use with their mouths. They don't know they can hurt you. Play with your puppies mouth, stick your fingers in there, touch all their teeth, let them nibble on you, then when you feel the
hardest bites, yelp, stand up and ignore them for a few minutes. Don't even make eye contact, and don't say a word. If your puppy is excited by the yelp and charges you jumping and biting, use a leash and loop him on a door knob. Then get out of his reach. Wait a minute or 2, no longer or they will forget why you walked away, then go back over and initiate play. Only yelp for the hardest bites(like drawing blood... yuck), and eventually you will notice the bites all get lighter and lighter over the next few days/weeks. Eventually you can teach your pup to never put his mouth on you, but he won't learn how to be gentle unless you teach him. A dog that doesn't know how to do that, is a walking time bomb. Even the little ones can do some damage, especially to a child, or your face. Use a few toys and chews to switch it up when you don't feel like being gnawed on. It may seem like a lot of work, but it will be well worth the time! Congrats on the new pup!
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