Is it normal to bite your dog? Surprising Answer

How to Stop a Dog from Biting or Nipping

The following steps will help you teach your dog to stop nipping, biting or mouthing. Just make sure to stick with the training and be consistent so your dog doesn’t get mixed messages.

Step 4: Change Your Play Style

While you might enjoy roughhousing with your dog, your playtime together is one way your dog internalizes your love and affection. Rather than use your hands to roughhouse with your dog, start using durable chew toys. If you notice your dog getting close to nipping, engage them in fetch or a game of tug of war to redirect their energy.

Don’t we just need to show our dog that we are alpha or dominant for the aggression to stop?

Aggression toward family members is not likely to be related to dominanceor social status. This is a common misconception, which can lead to inappropriate treatment strategies and perhaps worsening of the aggressive behavior. Most often a dog’s aggression is motivated by fear, anxiety, conflict about what to expect and what to do and the anticipation of possible punishment (see Aggression – Diagnosis and Overview, (Dominance, Alpha, and Pack Leadership – What Does It Really Mean?, and Canine Communication – Interpreting Dog Language). It follows that if underlying anxiety and fear is causing aggressive responses then training programs designed to enforce the human family members as alpha or dominance using confrontation or intimidation-based interventions will increase rather than decrease anxiety and associated aggressive responses. Strategies designed to achieve pack leadership, alpha or dominance over your dog do not address the underlying problem; the fear or anxiety and lack of understanding of what to expect or how to react in the situation. While control and consistent interactions with the pet are desirable, they should be achieved in non confrontational ways that decrease anxiety and conflict not increase those underlying emotions.

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