It may seem like just a bad behavior, but leash biting is often a symptom of a dog being frustrated or not fully understanding leash walking. It's especially common amongst young, playful, and excitable dogs, but with training, it can be prevented or eliminated.
The Behavior Is Innate
There may also be some instinctive, non-fear-based, breed-specific elements at play here where chasing and attempting to bite the leaving visitors is internally reinforcing due to the deeply ingrained herding traits in these dogs (more on this at the end of the article).
This is a common problem, and it usually comes down to understimulation. Your dog probably wants to play! A bite at your ankles is most likely an attempt to get you to react and respond, which is a little more fun than her toys.
They mouth or nip during play, or out of excitement or impatience: Some dogs may mouth your hand or nip at your heels while playing with you, especially when they're excited or being chased. Herding breeds and those with a higher prey drive may also nip or bite as a natural instinct.
What should you do when your dog jumps on you? Remove all attention, turn away, or completely walk away. Depending on the intensity of the jumping, I might only need to step to the side when they jump. This gives the chance for them to either offer a good behavior or for me to ask for a behavior, such as sit.
Teach your dog that they receive no attention for jumping on you or anyone else. You can turn your back and only pet your dog when all four paws are on the floor. Teach your dog to do something that is incompatible with jumping up, such as sitting. They can't sit and jump up at the same time.
To truly stop the jumping behavior, you can't allow it at any time, in any situation, and with any person, including you! One thing you can do is to teach your dog the “up” or “ hug ” behavior. That way you can still get that love from your pup when you come home, but it must be asked for!
Puppies and dogs should not be allowed to bite your hands or chew on them, even if it is just to play.
If they start nibbling at your fingers or toes while you're playing, offer a toy instead. Again, if they continue to nip, stop the play session immediately. If you've been training your puppy to sit, you might also redirect them by asking them to sit and rewarding with a toy.
There are multiple reasons that a dog may exhibit aggression toward family members. The most common causes include conflict aggression, fear-based, defensive aggression, status related aggression, possessive aggression, food guarding aggression and redirected aggression.
If he starts to mouth you, you can immediately redirect him to the tug toy. Ideally, he'll start to anticipate and look for a toy when he feels like mouthing. If your puppy bites at your feet and ankles, carry his favorite tug toy in your pocket. Whenever he ambushes you, instantly stop moving your feet.
Nipping involves a small and sudden bite from a dog. Compared to mouthing, nipping usually causes a bit more pain, but the bite is not severe enough to break the skin. Although it is painful, nipping is not an aggressive behavior and is often a sign that the dog wants attention.
As puppies, biting was a way for them to try to instigate play and attention, explore the world, and burn off some teething frustration. Which of those three still serves a functional purpose in an older dog? Instigating play and attention.
In most situations, the dog's responses to stimuli (people/dogs) tend to be a combination of fear-based anxiety and learned responses. In some cases, the dog has poor social communication skills and does not read the social signals of people and/or dogs appropriately.
The instant you feel your dog's teeth touch you, give a high-pitched yelp. Then immediately walk away from him. Ignore him for 30 to 60 seconds. If your dog follows you or continues to bite and nip at you, leave the room for 30 to 60 seconds.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), dogs bite as a reaction to something. If the dog finds itself in a stressful situation, it may bite to defend itself or its territory. Dogs can bite because they're scared or have been startled, or because they feel threatened.
Puppies should naturally slow down and stop biting around 7 months of age, when all of their adult teeth are in, and they've learned to play with toys and appropriate chews.
Can a Dog That Bites Ever Be Trusted Again? With enough patience and care, many dogs can learn how to manage their stress levels more effectively. As you build better communication skills with your dog, you'll also start to rebuild your trust with them.
But although it may seem like your dog is biting you aggressively or showing other aggressive behaviors out of the blue, most dogs only exhibit aggressive behavior for one of five basic reasons: Your dog is ill, frightened, possessive, showing dominance, or frustrated.
You don't need to punish your puppy to teach them “no”
Don't hold your puppy's mouth closed when they nip at you. This method can send the wrong message to some developing pups. Don't use a puppy's crate as punishment. Their crate should be their happy place.
If your puppy starts biting you, give a quick “no” and replace yourself with the tug toy /chew toy. Once your pup engages the toy, say “yes” and give additional praise. Teaching your dog tug can be a great way to stop puppy biting.
Show your dog what you (don't) want it to do
As your dog tries to get it, say “no,” and close your fist around the treat. Let your dog sniff and lick at your hand, but don't give it the treat. Once the dog stops trying and turns away, offer plenty of praise and provide a treat from your other hand.
Dogs Are Reading Us
They sense our moods, follow our pointing gestures, and read us for information about what's going to happen next. That means they stare at us a lot to gain knowledge about their environment. Essentially, they are waiting for us to do something that will impact them.
A knee to the dog's chest is an old training method that is both ineffective and dangerous. Kneeing a jumping dog can cause injury to the dog's neck or chest regardless of the dog's size, even if you don't use much force. It also is seen as aggressive play by most dogs and will lead to more excitement.