Puppy biting is a part of the process of dog ownership, but it can also be frustrating and excruciatingly painful. Puppies are not born with an understanding of biting, and it’s up to you to teach them. If you have a pug puppy, you have most likely wondered how I get my Pug Puppy to stop biting?
After raising my black Pug for 16 years, I’ve learned how hard it can be to train a Pug puppy. This breed is known to be stubborn. However, you can stop the painful nipping problems with the proper training knowledge without using any painful training collar like choke, prong, and electric collars.
Instead, we’re going to use methods that will strengthen the bond between you and your new puppy!
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How to Train A Pug Puppy Not to Bite?
You want to address the symptom, not the cause. There are two main reasons puppies bite because they’re teething or trying to engage the world. Before the training begins, you must find out what’s causing the nipping and biting issues.
It will be challenging, as you haven’t quite established a strong bond with your puppy. This article will discuss the differences, what’s normal, and how to train your new puppy!
First, let’s take a look at why your puppy bites you.
Why Does My Pug Puppy Bite Me?
As mentioned above, puppies bite for several reasons, but the most common reasons are teething and interaction with the world. Other reasons your puppy keeps biting you could be:
Fear: If you happen upon a puppy that is startled, their first reaction may be to bite or nip at you. It’s no different than scaring a person, and they take a swing at you. They don’t mean to hurt you. It’s just a reflex reaction.
Exploration: Since puppies don’t have opposable thumbs, they use their mouths to explore their environment and grab things. During the exploration process, they learn how hard they can bite while interacting with humans and other dogs.
Playtime: Young puppies and older Pugs (if not appropriately trained) will nip as they play. It’s completely normal behavior, and it’s how they interact with their siblings and other dogs at dog parks. When you sit down to play with them, they don’t understand “not” to bite until you teach them.
Both puppies and dogs use their mouths to interact with people and dogs. Let’s take a look at the different ways they use their mouths.
Puppy Biting vs. Puppy Nipping vs. Mouthing (is there a difference)
Both are a natural part of raising a dog, and it’s vital to understand the differences before you begin training. The bite may break the skin and lead to infections that a medical doctor may need to treat.
Biting
Biting is when a puppy or full-grown dog bit down hard on someone or something.
Most Pugs are not aggressive and won’t bite people or dogs. However, it’s essential to train your puppy as early as possible to help your dog understand why they shouldn’t bite.
Nipping
Unlike biting, nipping doesn’t break the skin. Instead, it is a sharp pinch. It is still painful and can cause injury to people who have thinner skin than dogs do.
Nipping can also cause holes and tears in your expensive clothing. Small breed dogs are known to be ankle biters. It’s normal behavior for a small dog to nip at your ankle while you’re walking around the house.
While cute, it’s essential to put an end to this behavior. If ignored, your dog will do this behavior to the mailman, neighbors, and other people, which will cause significant problems for you.
Mouthing
Mouthing is when a dog or puppy gnaws or puts its mouth around your hand, arm, or another part of your body. You might feel your puppy’s or dog’s teeth, but they’re not biting down, and you don’t feel any pressure.
In a puppy, mouthing affection will be more painful than an adult Pug, as they haven’t learned how to use their teeth. This behavior is more of a sign of affection since a dog can’t tell you they love you.
Both puppies and dogs will use their mouths to pull at your shoe, clothing, etc. gently, to try to engage you to play with them, pet them, or want attention.
When Do Pugs Stop Teething? (will the problem go away)
Like humans, Pugs go through teething stages, and it can last until they are about 7-8 months of age. Every puppy is unique, and it’s essential to understand what to expect when your Pug puppy is teething.
We’ve written a complete guide to understand your Pug Puppy’s teething stages.
How Long Does Pug Puppy Nipping Last?
Puppy nipping and biting can last until your puppy is five months old or until they have their full set of grown-up teeth.
Do Pugs Bite? (what’s normal and what isn’t)
Unlike us, puppies can’t tell us what’s wrong. Instead, they use their teeth, barking, and body language to let us know their feelings.
At some point in their life, your Pug will show signs of aggression or fear by barking as a way to let you know to stay away.
If you disregard the warnings, your puppy’s bark will turn into a tooth showing growl. The final stage will be your dog snapping and possibly even biting you.
Most Pugs won’t bite down hard enough to break the skin, but their teeth can be painful, particularly towards young children.
Unlike other breeds, Pugs are a gentle breed that loves being around people, even children. Like humans, both puppies and dogs can bite or show signs of aggression if they’re not feeling well, playing, fearful, or haven’t been trained.
Is Pug Dog Bite Dangerous?
A Pug’s bite will not be as dangerous as a Pit Bull’s bite, which is a 235 psi (pounds per square inch) bite. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the Pug’s pressure bite because this is a gentle breed.
It doesn’t mean they won’t bite. Puppies are prone to biting, and while not life-threatening, it is still excruciating.
As long as your Pug is vaccinated, you most likely don’t have to worry. You may need a bandaid or ice to soothe the cut.
Can You Teach Your Pug Puppy Not to Bite?
With the proper training, time, and patience, you can train your Pug to stop sinking their teeth into you. We’ll take a look at the steps to implement and some training measures to avoid using.
It’s essential to make training fun for both you and your pup. Use this training phase to teach your puppy what’s right and wrong, as well as creating a strong bond.
How to train a Pug Puppy Not to Bite?
Here are several steps you can use to stop your Pug puppy from biting. They’ll even work if you’ve adopted an older neglected Pug with insufficient training.
Make Sure Your Puppy Has Access to Chew Toys
If your puppy is teething, make sure she has access to several types of chew toys with lots of different textures. Teething puppies will bite and chew on anything they can find, even your hands and fingers.
A great way to keep your puppy occupied is to give them a chew toy instead. It puts their attention on the toy and teaches them what they can chew on.
A good chew toy teaches your puppy that it’s OK to bite or chew, but they can only do it when they have their toy. I’d recommend giving your dog several chew toys because there’s a good chance they’ll prefer one over the other.
My Pug used to chew for hours on these, and the best part is they are safe for your puppy, so you don’t have to worry while she’s playing with them.
Keep your Pug Puppy from biting your flesh with this bacon-flavored chew toy that they'll spend hours chewing. Say goodbye to painful bites...
Desensitizing Your Dog to Being Touched by A Person
The more your dog is used to being touched by a person, the less likely they will bite. Get them used to you touching their face, paws, ears, tail, etc.
While Pugs love to be pet (especially belly rubs), not all dogs enjoy you touching certain parts of their body.
Some dogs are sensitive to people touching their paws and will nip when touched. It could be because their feet hurt or are ticklish when they are touched?
Other dogs don’t mind being touched but will bite if you touch them when they’re eating.
The more you get them used to let you touch them as a puppy, the easier it will be to cut their nails as they get older.
Exercise Your Pug Daily
If you have a hyper Pug, then it’s essential to exercise your pup daily. A tired puppy means less biting!
Just remember not to overdo it. Unlike other breeds, Pugs don’t do well with a lot of physical activity. Also, make sure not to exercise them in the heat of the day.
Learn Their Biting Behavior (so you can be a step ahead)
When you’re one step ahead of your dog, you can react more positively than negatively. For instance, if you know your pups about to bite, you can move your hand away and put a toy in its mouth.
If your puppy bites all the time when you bend down to greet them, have their favorite toy in your hand. Your excited puppy will bite the toy instead of your flesh, which is what you want. Just don’t play tug-of-war with them as they’ll see it as a challenge.
It diverts the pup’s attention from you to the toy. Over time, your dog will start realizing what they can bite and what they can’t.
Understand Why Your Pug Puppy Is Biting
Make an effort to understand why your puppy is behaving the way they are. Most people make the mistake of correcting unwanted behavior after they occur.
Imagine if you’re consistent with your training, and you teach your puppy to sit whenever they greeted you. After doing it hundreds of times, your Pug would sit before they greeted you, and the unwanted behavior would be gone.
Use Treats to Curb Puppy Biting
If your Pug understands the command sit, use a treat to get them to stop biting. Unfortunately, many puppy biters don’t know how to take a treat gently, so watch your fingers. If this is your puppy, give them the treat with an open palm.
When your puppy becomes overly excited, grab their favorite snack, and ask them to sit. Please don’t give them the treat until after they’ve followed the sit, lie down, or come command.
It teaches your puppy to want to interact with you and helps you raise a well-behaved dog at the same time.
Giving them the treat too early will only reinforce the biting and unwanted behavior.
The treat training method teaches your dog to respond to you rather than merely behaving impulsively. Plus, Pug’s love food and are more likely to listen to you when you feed them treats.
Yell Out to Let The Know It Hurts You
It’s normal when a puppy plays with their siblings and one yelp out in pain when the playing becomes too rough. The puppy backs away, even for a second before the fierce playing resumes.
As a Pug owner, you can mimic this behavior!
When your puppy bites too hard, make a high-pitched yelp or squeal sound. Throw in a firm command like “stop” or “no.”
The bite inhibition method is taught by dog trainers nationwide because it stops your puppy in its tracks. Dogs are smart and they know when you’re hurt.
Some puppies will show empathy by sniffing your hand, making sure you’re OK. The key to this type of training is to ignore your puppy for a while. It’s OK if you turn away from them.
The training sounds harsh but does work very well, especially for this breed. Pugs are companion dogs, and they want to please you.
Once they understand they hurt you, they’ll be less likely to keep doing the same action.
Some people make the mistake of biting the puppy back to show them how it feels. It doesn’t work and will teach your Pug to keep doing the same behavior.
If you’ve ever taken your puppy to a dog park, you know that’s how dogs play with each other. One jumps and bites on the other dog, and eventually, the other dog gives and starts biting them.
Before you know it, the two dogs are fighting, and the people have to break it up before it escalates and someone gets hurt.
Teach Them Not to Bite Over Food
Pugs love to eat, and one of the most common reasons a puppy will bite is when they feel you or other pets threaten their food.
It’s essential to train your puppy not to bite over food. Start by petting your puppy while they are eating. If your puppy shows any sign of food aggression, pick the bowl up and don’t put it back down until the aggression has stopped.
Hold the bowl in your hand in front of your Pug, and don’t let them have any food. If your pup doesn’t lunge at the bowl or try to bite you, reward them with a kibble.
If they growl or try to bite you, give them a firm “no” and continue holding the bowl.
Keep repeating the process every time at mealtime. You can even train your Pug to sit on their bed and not approach the food until you give the command “eat.”
Eventually, your dog will see you as alpha, and you won’t have to worry about getting bit during mealtime.
How To Know Your Pug Puppy Is Picking Up On The Training?
When you start noticing instances of your puppy licking instead of biting, you’ll know the training is working. Continue doing what you’re doing, as you know it’s working.
Quitting too early will cause your puppy to revert to its old habits of biting. Puppy biting can take anywhere from a couple of days, weeks, or even months with extreme biters.
So keep your expectations in line and don’t give up too soon.
What to Do If Your Puppy Falls off The Bandwagon?
Puppies are not perfect, and it’s normal for them to forget their training, mostly during playtime, or become overly excited.
Instead of losing your cool, take them for a walk to tire them up. You can even place them in a dull environment like a kennel (as long as it’s away from people and other animals). Puppies enjoy being around people and will quickly learn to behave correctly.
It’s OK to leave a chew toy in their kennel. After all, the goal is to get them chewing and biting on toys, not your flesh. Check out some of the best crates for Pugs that are perfect for sleeping and training.
When they calm down, you can let them out of the kennel.
What Not to Do (Avoid these Tactics)
Training a stubborn Pug can be frustrating, especially when they don’t want to listen. It’s easy to be tempted to slap, tap, or tap your puppy in the face for nipping, biting, or continuing to jump on you.
Several things can happen, depending on your puppy’s temperament, leading to other behavioral problems.
- She will become “hand-shy” and cringe whenever you lift your hand towards her.
- Your Pug will fear you and cringe or run away when you approach her. She won’t even come when you call her name. (check out our database of Pug names to help you name your pooch!)
- She may respond defensively and attempt to bite you because she sees you as someone who will hurt her.
- Your puppy may see your gentle tap or slap as an invitation to pay, which will set your training back. Training time will become playtime and will be more likely to bite or nip at you.
Never play tug-of-war or wrestling games with your puppy. These types of games encourage biting, jumping, grabbing, chewing, etc. All these behaviors are the ones you don’t want your pup to learn.
Also, avoid using choking, electric, and prong collars as they will be painful to your pup. These devices are designed to train with pain, which won’t help you and your puppy build a powerful bond.
Final Word?
Puppy biting is entirely normal but should be acknowledged immediately to teach your puppy what’s allowed and what isn’t. This guide will help you properly train your puppy, whether dealing with teething or nipping issues.
It takes time to train your Pug puppy not to bite. Implementing proper training can help strengthen your bond, which will help your dog become a well-behaved adult. Here’s a potty training Pugs guide when you’re ready to tackle that aspect of puppy ownership.
Unfortunately, many people get a puppy because they’re cute. However, when they realize how much work goes into training them, many are surrendered to shelters.
You now have the tools you need to teach your Pug puppy to stop biting. Good Luck!
References and Further Reading
Dog Bite Statistics: By Breed Demographics and Location
Vet Street – How Can I Keep My Puppy from Biting Me?