Ankle Biting

The many holes in my pants attest to the skill of the 10+10 in grabbing at ankles/pants. Normal puppy behavior and not a sign of anything sinister.

In fact, nothing a puppy does is sinister — they are just babies, after all.

Moonshadow Porter Buck

But it is also okay not to want new piercings on your ankles or more rips in your pants.

So what to do?

Moonshadow Obi Hunter

Two words: Prevention and Diversion.

Start to notice when the puppy is especially likely to ankle bite — mornings are prime ankle biting time around here. Once you know when the behavior is likely to happen — or where it is likely to happen — you can work on prevention.

They grow out of ankle biting too quickly! Wildflower Buttercup at 10+ months.

When I get up — in order to prevent ankle biting — I immediately do some training games with Capella. I grab a handful of kibble and we practice spins, her name, chasing kibble pieces, sit, down, following, etc. These are short sessions but they prevent/divert her ankle biting tendencies.

Since I know she needs to chew, I make sure that her early morning activities include chewing — Capella gets a bone every morning but you could use a bully stick, a kong stuffed with peanut butter and kibble, or whatever creative thing gives the puppy a chance to use his/her mouth in positive ways.

Capella

So, I prevent the ankle biting through alternate activity when I suspect it could happen and then I give her a lot of chances to chew in the morning. What if she ankle bites at another time?

I have A LOT of experience with this as you would know if you saw my pants! The first thing is to stop — don’t run or even walk — just stop. If you move, a great game of tug ensues.

Ask the attached puppy for an alternate behavior — a hand touch or toss a piece of kibble or say their name or ?? Think about what behavior is incompatible with ankle biting and just make that happen. Train the behavior separate from ankle biting so it is easy and accessible to the puppy when you need it.

Finally, understand ankle biting for the endearing intention — the puppy wants to interact you! That is so awesome!! Yay! Relationship is developing!

Bright Star McCovey Sirius and one of his humans

If you think of it that way, you will know not to be annoyed, upset, or concerned but rather to feel good about where you are in the puppy’s world. And then you simply redirect the puppy to a more desired way to interact — easy peasy.

All that said, it is a good idea not to wear expensive pants around puppies because you will no doubt mess up and be inattentive and the puppy WILL grab your ankles or pants. No worries — you are only human, after all. Just keep practicing — you got this!

Getting To Yes

Training Tip: Word of the Day is REDIRECT.

Moonshadow Wally Neil

“No” or “Don’t do that” creates a focus on the undesired behavior and also opens up a void — what is the puppy or human supposed to do instead?

When you see or experience an undesired behavior, shift immediately to “Do this instead.”

Maple Moonshadow hard at work as a Therapy Puppy.

Capella likes to chew my desk chair. If I give her an error message like “NO!” how is she to understand what I am telling her? Am I saying NO! for her desire to be close to me? For quietly hanging out and chewing?

Capella and Karma

And seriously — how fair is it to tell a teething baby not to chew?!

My strategy — reach down and give her an alternative to my chair, and push her a few inches away with the new chew thing so the chair is not so easily in reach.

If she goes back to the chair, clearly my alternative was not a good one so I try something more chew-worthy.

No error message. No drama. Just redirection. Easy peasy.

Capella having some Mom Time.

“No” should be banned from our puppy vocabulary. Instead, get to “YES” by using smart redirection.

Bright Stars Atlas Sun and Dallas Nova Jr.

Have a positive day!

Now What Begins

Training Tip

Goal: I want my puppy to keep four-on-the-floor when greeting me.

How: Keep treats/kibble handy. When puppy comes towards me/greets me/comes to her name I quickly give her a treat at a level that keeps her four paws on the ground. Repeat. All day long.

Pozy and Capella

What to do if she jumps up?

1. Evaluate what I did wrong. Did I hold the treat too high? Was I too slow in my reward for desired behavior?

2. Ignore the jumping up completely — say and do nothing. Once puppy gives up and has four paws on the ground, take a step back and try again.

Daisy and Capella

Notes:

1. Pushing a puppy off initiates a really fun game from the puppy perspective so avoid that.

2. Remember — a puppy cannot jump up if she has four paws on the floor, and so make that the default behavior by reinforcing it constantly.

Harper B for Buds and Capella

What It Looks Like:

Capella benefits from her life with other dogs. The size and age differences, however, mean that all of her interactions happen in confined spaces and while supervised — no free play in a big yard or even a large room. This is to ensure Capella’s safety — I want her to interact but I also want her to be safe, and wild play with the big dogs — while fun — is not safe.

Her favorite Big Dog? Her mother, of course…

Claire and Capella

Please have a kind and patient day.