Doberman puppies have endless energy and may playfully bite you at times. If you are wondering “how to stop my Doberman puppy from biting?”, you have come to the right place
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Do you have a new Doberman pup in the house? They will start growing and become quite playful. However, Doberman puppies hardly have any idea about their strength and may even bite you a little.
Even if they do it unintentionally, their sharp teeth can hurt. So if you are wondering how to stop my Doberman puppy from biting, read on to learn more about the steps you can take. Please remember to be gentle but firm with your puppy.
Why Does My Doberman Puppy Keep Biting Me?
Dobermans are large dogs. Even at the puppy stage, they have a lot of energy, and the only way they can burn off that power is by playing. However, they are pretty strong and sometimes might hurt you.
Your Pup Doesn’t Understand The Difference Between You And Its Littermates.
Biting is a common form of play for a growing Doberman. When they are playing with their littermates, they may bite each other. Even if they get hurt, they’re able to communicate with each other.
However, when a puppy is playing with you, they can’t understand how even a tiny nip might hurt. If your puppy bites you while playing, you need to realize that it is not intentional.
The Pup May Find It Exciting To Bite
A Doberman puppy has very little control while playing. It would help if you taught them to control themselves and be gentle with you. When your puppy is biting you while playing, it’s usually because they find it fun. They might also be excited.
However, if you allow the behavior to continue, they might find it difficult to stop once older. A full-grown Doberman that still bites you is pretty concerning. Your Doberman may be wrongly called aggressive by those who don’t understand them.
If the biting continues even after the puppy stage, it will become quite dangerous as well. While puppy teeth are sharp, the teeth of a full-grown Doberman are even sharper. So even if your puppy is biting just while playing, don’t let it become a habit.
Pups Use Their Mouths To Explore Things
Doberman puppies love exploring their surroundings and often use their mouths to investigate. So it is natural for them to nibble at whatever comes near their mouth. They are still trying to figure out how to use their mouths and teeth very young.
It is also during this stage that they might think it is alright to bite you. As they are still in the learning stage, you can teach your puppy not to bite. They are trying to figure things out, and if you show your Doberman puppy that it is not right to bite, they will eventually stop.
Your Puppy Might Be Teething
There is also another reason why your Doberman puppy is biting, and that is teething. The teething stage is challenging for all puppies. It causes them extreme discomfort. During this stage, they want to bite and nip at everything that comes within reach.
At 3 Weeks
Doberman puppies begin teething when they are around three weeks old. As their baby teeth develop, your Doberman puppy will want to use them on anything they find. They will want to explore and chew with their new teeth.
However, the puppy is with the breeder at three weeks old, and the trouble usually begins a little later. When your Doberman puppy is six weeks old, most of the deciduous teeth will be out. Your puppy will explore a bit and try to find out how much they can chew.
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At 12 Weeks
More deciduous teeth start coming out at twelve weeks old. The first baby teeth that develop are the incisors. With new incisors, your puppy’s chewing becomes uncontrollable. The reason for this is that their gums will swell and become sore. To deal with that discomfort, they might often chew and bite you.
At 6 Months
At six months old, your puppy will start getting adult molars. It will cause a lot of irritation and therefore increase the biting and chewing tendencies. Once your puppy reaches eight months, it will have the complete set of adult teeth. However, the biting may still not stop. So it would be best if you introduced some ways of controlling your puppy’s behavior.
Your Doberman Pup Might Be Irritated
While teething is a reason for Doberman puppies chewing and biting, the tendencies often become a part of their daily play. Your puppy may also bite when irritated. Therefore, it is essential to understand the psychology of your Doberman and teach your puppy to deal with irritation or discomfort in different ways.
How Do I Get My Doberman Puppy To Stop Biting?
Verbal Reprimands Don’t Work.
Doberman puppies tend to get rough and a little aggressive as they grow. They start biting and nipping at your clothes. You will often notice that verbal reprimands are not working. Moreover, every time you scold or even pull him away from whatever they are biting, they increase their efforts! Such behavior needs to be checked right at the beginning.
Your Doberman puppy needs training and should start to recognize what they can and cannot chew on. But how do you do that?
One of the basic steps in the training process is to define what they can bite and what they should stay away from. When a tiny puppy nips at your skin, it might not hurt. But once your Doberman grows older and continues the behavior, it no longer remains playful.
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Puppies, especially at the teething stage, will bite anything they find. Since they use their mouths to explore and investigate, it is natural for them to bite. So it would help if you introduced “bite inhibition” when you clarify what your puppy isn’t allowed to chew.
If you do this when your puppy is young, an instinct will develop, and you won’t need to worry about this behavior continues into adulthood.
Before you start training and try different methods, you need to understand your puppy’s psychology. You also need to know when to intervene. Don’t let your puppy get too worked up, as it will be difficult to calm them down. Use treats, let your puppy play with toys or play a game of tug as a reward when your puppy obeys and stops biting.
What Are the Different Methods You Can Try?
There are various ways of teaching your Doberman puppy not to bite. Chalk out a plan and stick to it so that the training is consistent. Once your puppy starts responding to commands, you should remember to give rewards. It will encourage good behavior. Here are some ways to improve your puppy’s social behavior and stop them from biting.
Calm Play
Every puppy loves playing, and it contributes to their overall growth. During playtime, puppies learn social skills. But they might get over-excited and bite. It usually happens when they confuse your hand, feet, or clothes for a toy.
To stop your puppy from doing this, you need to calm them down. It will increase their self-control and help prevent them from nipping at you too often.
To try the “calm play” methods, use your puppy’s favorite toy. Play for 15 seconds and stop immediately. Engage your puppy with the toy but make sure not to over-excite them. Stop for 15 seconds and allow your puppy to calm down before resuming play. Compliment your puppy and say “Good!” in a happy voice when they’ve calmed down.
You can slowly increase the period as your puppy gets used to the commands. By introducing “calm play,” you will find it easier to control your Doberman puppy when it gets too rowdy.
Bite Inhibition
Usually, when the whole litter is together, puppies learn not to bite by understanding the responses of others. If one Doberman puppy bites another and that puppy squeals loudly, it is because the bite was too sharp.
But there is no such feedback when you have one puppy, especially when they’re biting inanimate objects. If they bite you, your response may not always be easy to understand. So it would be best if you were very clear. The best way to introduce “bite inhibition” is by imitating the response of your puppy’s littermate.
Squeal and Scream
Now, you can’t use words while mimicking a littermate. So be prepared to squeal or scream a little when your puppy tries to bite. It will alert your puppy, and then they’ll become more gentle.
Puppies want to resume play and will stop their rough behavior immediately. However, if you scream, it may cause others in the room to worry. So give them some warning before you bring your puppy into the room.
Act Like A Littermate
It would be best if you acted like a littermate at every opportunity. Puppies learn better when they are calm. So while cuddling, put your hand near their teeth and pretend to be hurt or whimper a little.
Your puppy will get the message that you are delicate, and they need to be gentle. If your puppy continues to bite your hand playfully, let it stay limp. Don’t jerk your hand or pull it away. Your puppy will not find it fun to play with a slack hand and will stop biting.
Get Up And Leave
If your puppy is not getting the message or understanding your reaction, you can get up and leave the room. Make sure that your puppy isn’t following you. Your Doberman puppy will realize that if they’re too rough, you’re not going to play at all.
Dos and Don’ts
There are certain dos and don’ts that you must keep in mind while training your puppy not to bite.
Say “No!” firmly and loudly when they start to bite. It will let them know that what they’re doing is wrong. Once your puppy stops biting, say “Yes!” enthusiastically. Your puppy will understand that they’ve done a good thing.
Don’t Punish
However, don’t smack your puppy if they try to bite you. It might come across as aggressive behavior on your part. The puppy might even think the smacking motion is an invitation! Your Doberman pup will then get excited and will want to pounce on your hand again.
Play With Them
Puppies have a lot of energy, and you need to attend to them. So play with your Doberman puppy and introduce training sessions. These will serve as outlets for all the energy. You can start when your puppy is only eight weeks old.
Doberman’s Train More Easily
Doberman puppies that learn basic commands like “Sit!” from a very young age will respond better to other forms of training, no matter how much they want to play.
Take Professional Help
Do ask for expert advice if it’s getting too much for you to handle your Doberman puppy. Animal behaviorists can rightly identify what is going on with your pup.
They will help you train your puppy. But you should call in an expert before the puppy stage wears off. If you don’t, then it might be too late for your puppy to be able to unlearn old behaviors.
Don’t Leave Them Unattended
If your puppy is too excited, don’t leave them unattended with children. Kids might play and get the puppy worked up, and this might cause them to nip.
Puppy teeth are pretty sharp, and they might accidentally hurt children. Puppies often get scolded or labeled “aggressive” when this happens. It is unfair to the pup, and they can become hesitant about playtime, which can adversely affect their development.
At What Age Do Puppies Stop Biting?
Much like other breeds, Doberman puppies stop biting around the age of three to five months . However, this might only happen if you can train your puppy correctly. If your Doberman pup thinks they can bite or nip whenever they want, it might take a long time for this habit to go away. Some puppies continue to bite even at eight months of age.
Teething Troubles
If your puppy is biting due to teething, then you will have to wait till the entire set of adult teeth are out. It can take up to eight months and sometimes, even after that. Therefore, you need to identify what is causing your puppy to bite.
If your puppy is biting due to discomfort after the adult teeth have grown, consult the vet. There might be various reasons why your Doberman puppy is still biting, and they require a thorough check-up.
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Playful Pups
When your puppy continues to bite as a form of play, you might have to be stricter. You can leave your puppy in a room and walk away or introduce the “bite inhibition” method if you haven’t already done that before.
In households where Doberman puppies don’t have too many people to play with, the biting stops by five months of age. They grow out of that stage and find different ways to entertain themselves. However, if your puppy feels neglected, the biting might continue.
Biting and nipping are common ways to get attention. Even if you scold your puppy, they might think that to be some form of communication. Therefore, you should always keep some time aside to play with your Doberman puppy. But also remember to train them not to bite.
No Bite Training
If you want your Doberman puppy to stop biting before five months, you can begin the “no bite” training. You can start any form of obedience training when your puppy is around three weeks old. If you do this, then your puppy will learn very quickly to control their biting tendencies.
Dobermans, being big dogs, naturally have too much energy and can continue playing for a long time. While their energy won’t lessen, they will learn to be more gentle and may altogether stop biting by the time they are three or four months old.
How Do You Discipline a Doberman Puppy?
To discipline your puppy, you should start when they are very young. It is much easier to teach baby Dobermans than get the bigger ones under control. Don’t punish them unnecessarily. Physical punishments often work as triggers for stress and aggressive behavior.
Instead, you can withhold a toy or a treat or walk away. While disciplining your Doberman puppy, remember that puppies are going to bite and chew by nature. So rather than scolding and punishing them for it, redirect their attention.
If your puppy is biting your fingers, divert them to a chew toy. An essential part of disciplining puppies also involves exposing them to the outside world. Take them for walks and let them interact with people. Once they are used to strangers, they will not react or get agitated.
What Should You Avoid While Disciplining Your Puppy?
Often if owners are seeking some time off, they will use a crate for the puppy. This crate is where you keep the puppy so that they can calm down. It is a usual way of disciplining rambunctious puppies.
But there are some errors that most Doberman puppy owners make, especially if they have a crate. Here is a list of these errors. If you have a Doberman puppy, avoid these actions so that they have enough room to grow.
Keeping the Doberman Puppy in a Crate as Punishment
The crate should not be a place where the puppy goes when you punish them. If your puppy learns to identify the crate as a negative thing, they might become more agitated when you try to put them in. They will try to bite you even more.
So the crate should always remain as just a place where the play stops for a short while. You can only use a crate for “calm play” when you have a small house and cannot leave your Doberman puppy alone in a room.
Using a Crate that is Too Small for Your Doberman Puppy
Dobermans are big dogs, and they grow up quickly. So a Doberman puppy may be larger than several other breeds. They need room to move about even if you want them to stop playing. You can’t confine them in a small space when you want them to stop biting. For a Doberman puppy to calm down, you should offer enough room to play on its own. If you put your Doberman pup in a tiny crate, they might accidentally hurt themselves.
When a puppy is excited and is playfully biting you, they need adequate room away from you to use that energy but not bite. A small crate does not offer that and can become a source of discomfort.
Using the Crate as a Prison Cell for Your Puppy
The crate should never be your puppy’s prison cell. Don’t let your Doberman puppy stay inside a box, and eat and poop in the same spot. It can adversely affect the puppy’s behavior.
They might get scared or angry and lash out by barking or biting you. Sometimes, puppies might even fall sick when you imprison them in a crate.
The crate can be a place where your Doberman puppy calms down a little before play resumes. But it cannot be a place where you hold them for hours.
Keeping the Doberman Puppy in the Crate for More Than a Day
Twenty-four hours is still too long for a Doberman puppy to remain within a crate. You can keep your puppy in the box for short periods but never for more than a day. It will cause a lot of trauma that your puppy might not be able to recover from.
Puppies are playful and not aggressive. They won’t bite unless provoked. So if you keep them in a crate for more than twenty-four hours, they might lose their playful nature. It will also hurt the puppy’s growth.
Puppy owners should carefully monitor their puppy’s behavior when using a crate. Ideally, there should be no crate at all. Puppies tend to like being in the open and not locked in a small space. If you notice that your puppy is feeling stressed when you keep them in the crate, stop doing so immediately. They need to be comfortable at all times to grow into strong adult dogs.
Wrapping Up
If you have a little Doberman pup, make sure to give him the best of comfort while training! I hope this article has given you enough information to help you train the biting tendencies out of him.
You can also share this information with other proud Doberman owners! Now that you’ve come to the end of the article leave a comment about your puppy, and do share your experience in training your Doberman pups.
Happy Training!
