reliable resources:
DogStarDaily website - i strongly recommend downloading the 2 *free* pdf-file books to be found there -
Free Downloads | Dog Star Daily
the titles are
Before U Get Ur Dog and
After... .
they cover socialization and bite-inhibition exceptionally well!
fun4fido posted a helpful blog-link, but it did not work -
Teaching Bite*Inhibition - blog - fun4fido | clicker training 4 dogs
hopefully this one will!
** this ** OTOH links to a frequent-spammer -
Stop Dog Biting – How To Stop Your Dog Biting
and the recommended advice -
hold the muzzle shut etc - are very bad suggestions, IMO.
how grateful will a future vet-tech or vet or groomer be when the pup or dog later DUCKS and growls
or simply evades and gets nervous, when anyone reaches for their collar or tries to examine or treat or clean
their ears, mouth, eyes, teeth, etc!
they will be less than happy, pursuing the dogs snaking head, and even more unhappy if the dog gets anxious-enuf
to snap defensively when they persist!
puppies are no different than infants + toddlers -
they explore the world with their mouths, testing textures, edibility, finding out what this is.
also dog-mouths are the analogy of human-hands - they use them to
manipulate the world and objects in it.
how else can they pick something up, play with a friend, nibble an itch, groom-out a burr, etc? thats what dog-mouths do!
pups who leave their dams + sibs before 56-days / 8-WO are especially prone to be hard-mouthed and have very poor
to non-existent dog to dog social-skills: signaling play, non-threat, appeasement, deference, greeting, etc.
RETURNING the pup to mom + sibs is the best option -
if U cannot or do not, find other pup-tolerant adult-dogs to teach the puppy Dog-Social-Skills, as we cannot teach that.
Open Paw’s Guide To The First Two Weeks With Your New Dog | Dog Star Daily
Puppy Biting | Dog Star Daily
YouTube - How to teach 'leave it'- without intimidation
anything by *kikopup* is safe and generally Excellent!, too
SINGLETONS are a special-case -
pups born solo or sole-survivors - are often even worse, as they never experience any frustration
as neonates and juveniles, but their dam (or foster, whether human or other) is entirely focused on that ONE -
they can become intensely-resentful of any interference in their goals and desires, and may BITE full-force and
full-mouth over such minor things as stopping them at the door to clip a leash on their collar!
if U are a pet-owner who has adopted or bought a pup who was a singleton, Get * Early * Professional * Help
from a CAAB, vet-behaviorist, or highly-experienced pos-R trainer who is familiar with Behavior-Modification.
APDT-uk or COAPE are safe resources -
if OTOH U find a supposedly-good trainer who starts spouting dominance, RUN do not walk, away!
singleton-pups meet the mildest of restraint or interruptions with serious threat, and will
escalate to violence
with little provocation!
rehearsing or practicing violence is not at all helpful - in fact, it is seriously detrimental.
if U are breeding and get a singleton,
find a foster-dam - k9, feline, a pig with a litter, who cares! - ASAP.
let the pup nurse the dam immediately for colostrum over the 1st 12-hours, but spend that time finding a foster-dam,
of any mammal-species - a shelter-dam with a litter, another breeder with a small-litter, etc.
OR alternatively
find a foster-litter for the pup-mother to rear with this solo-pup; either way works.
the foster-litter brought to the dam of the single-pup can be bunnies, kittens, it does not matter; any mammal
that is not a rabies-vector species is fine, mum will generally take them to her bosom immediately.
happy training,
--- terry