What is bite inhibition? Bite inhibition basically means training your dog to have a soft mouth. When they are puppies, dogs automatically learn this lesson from their mother and their littermates. When a puppy bites down too hard on a littermate, he will get a yelp and play stops while the hurt party licks his wounds. Through this process, puppies learn to control the force of their bites because they know that biting too hard will cause play to stop.
It is important to continue this lesson throughout a dog’s life. The mouthier a dog is, the more important to teach him bite inhibition. My Shiba Inu is an extremely mouthy dog, and I am extremely thankful that I taught him bite inhibition from a young age. Later on, he really started acting out and doing leash biting, humping my leg, and biting on my hands and arms. Throughout all this, he never broke skin. Bite inhibition, made it possible for us to re-train him and re-train ourselves with very little wear and tear.
Bite inhibition is important even for normally even-tempered, social dogs. It is important to remember that dogs use their mouth to interact, not just to attack. When excited, dogs may mouth on people, not to hurt them, but to interact with them. This may cause accidental bites if the dog does not have bite inhibition. Dogs may also bite as a reflex when they are startled, for example, when you accidentally step on their tail. A dog with bite inhibition may scratch your arm, but an untrained dog will cause deep puncture wounds.
The best time to teach dogs bite inhibition is when they are young. Puppies may have sharp teeth, but they have not developed the jaw strength of an adult dog yet, so they will not be able to inflict the same type of damage that an adult dog can.
I have found that hand-feeding is a great way to teach good bite inhibition. Hand-feed your dog at least some of his kibble every day. If he bites too hard when getting his food, do a sharp ouch or yelp and ignore him for a few seconds then start hand-feeding him again. If he is taking food from you gently then praise him and keep the food coming. You can also combine hand-feeding with training and handling sessions. Hand-feeding also helps get rid of resource guarding issues so it is a good thing to continue this practice throughout your dog’s life.
Although it is easier and safer to teach dogs bite inhibition when they are young, it is never too late to teach them to have a soft mouth. Bite inhibition will significantly enhance your relationship with your dog because a dog with a soft mouth is easier to trust, easier to handle, and a joy to spend time with.
