The Right Approach To Stop Border Collie Puppy Biting

Puppy biting is a common problem experienced almost by anyone who has had a puppy. They are so cute and adorable, you just can’t stop playing with them, and when you play with your puppy he gets over-enthusiastic and hyper active and then starts biting you. Border Collie puppies are no exception in this case. You take them for a walk or to the park, the moment you start running he will start chasing and biting your ankles. That’s a common problem because herding comes naturally to Border Collies as it’s a part of their instinctive behavior.

Puppy biting is a normal behavior and generally goes away with time as they grow and understand it while living with their owners. As much as you might love adoring and play with your puppy, their biting and nipping can make it irritating and ruin your fun. Having said that, getting annoyed by his constant biting is not the only worrying thing, you may also end up with torn clothes filled with holes, because puppies love tearing and chewing clothes.

Biting behavior is temporary in most cases, and generally puppies overcome it by the time they enter into their adulthood. However, as an owner you have to be proactive and train your puppy to help him understand that biting is not the right behavior, otherwise your dog may keep this habit throughout their life, which can be a big problem because it won’t be easy to train an adult dog. Therefore, you better find a way to stop his biting habit and control it before it becomes a big mess to handle.

Reasons behind a Puppy’s Biting Instincts

In many ways we can compare puppies with kids, because there are a lot of similarities. They are full of energy, excited, curious about new things they see, and most of all they love playing all the time. Sounds a bit like our children, right? Well, fortunately our children have lots of other activities to do where they can engage their mind, but for Border Collie Puppies the only activity they know is biting, chasing their owner, growling and barking excessively. Reason why they do that is because since they were born, the only thing they had to do is chasing and fighting their siblings.

Therefore, when they have nothing to do, they get bored and want to play with their owner, and when they play they will obviously remember the games they used to play with their little sisters and brothers and that is fighting, scratching, digging and ultimately biting.

Generally a puppy learns that biting is bad when he bites another puppy too hard while playing, and the one that has bitten yells and stops playing with him. That makes him realize that he has done something wrong, and with time they understand it and their habit disappears. First few times puppy won’t realize that why other one has stopped playing but after few times when that happens again, puppy will understand that biting is bad because it will stop the game, so he will stop doing that.

However, in some cases when a puppy is taken away from other puppies way too early, that will not help him to learn this. That means more trouble for the new owner, because he will keep biting while playing with him. However, there are simple techniques and methods that you can use to train your Border Collie puppy to stop biting.

There are many effective training methods an owner can use to stop the biting habit of a Border Collie. Given below are few of them that have worked for my BC; however you can use them combined with your own ways for more effective and fast results.

1. As aforementioned stop playing with your puppy the moment he bites you, and act as if it hurts you by making whining or yelping like noise. Try to make him realize as if he has done something very bad that’s why you have stopped playing. If you’re using a toy to play with him, take it away from him. These steps will make your puppy understand that biting won’t help him to play more, because it will end the fun for him. With time you’ll see him gradually drop his biting instincts.

2. Yell loudly as if it is badly hurting you, whenever he bites you. Unknowingly puppies also use this method when they play with their siblings and for them it works wonderfully well. Obviously they don’t know what they are doing because it naturally happens, but owners can use that for their advantage. You may look a bit silly if you do that in a park where others don’t know what you’re doing, but it will help your Border Collie immensely to become a well-behaved dog.

3. Make sure you avoid playing aggressive games with your Collie such as fighting, because they love it and make them excited and hyper active. Try to play different games that he might enjoy, such as throw a ball and make him fetch that. Aggressive and exciting games like tug of war and fighting increase their herding instincts and encourage them to bite.

4. Consistency is the key when you’re training your BC puppy to stop biting. Stay focused and be consistent with methods and techniques you’re using, because if you switch to different methods too soon, it will confuse your puppy and he may not learn it. Therefore, stick to one method and make him learn what you’re doing.

5. If you have kids, other family members or friends, take their help to do the same whenever they play with your puppy. Your endeavors will be a lot more effective and it will also help him to learn faster that biting is not good and cannot be an acceptable behavior while playing.

6. Positive reinforcement is very important because it motivates Border Collies to learn in a positive environment, therefore always praise your puppy when he stops biting you. It will make him realize that stop biting is a good behavior and it will earn him praise from his owner.