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Bite Inhibition

I agree that children should not be encouraging biting, and with all your methods of eliminating barking through redirection, withdrawal of attention, and so on.

However, the goal that you describe is to STOP nipping, to work on preventing it from the start. There is another view, championed most popularly by Dr. Ian Dunbar, puppy trainer extrodinaire, which advocates conditioning bite inhibition and softness of mouth BEFORE eliminating biting.

The problem with simply not allowing a dog to bite a human, and working toward a quick resolution of the problem is that the pup does not get an adequate chance to learn and adjust its bite strength toward humans. As I am sure you know, when pups play fight with one another, this is Nature's way of teaching the pups many of the skills they will need to interact with other dogs--whether positively or aggressively if necessary. One of the most important skills that a pup develops during this play is bite inhibition. It learns how hard it can bite another pup without eliciting protestation or injury. The sequel of a fellow pup is valuable feedback which tells the nipping pup that it has just bitten too hard for that particular pup. The yelling of "Ouch!" and the withdrawal of attention you mention humans using is based on the behaviour of puppies and the way they learn to regulate their mouths through interaction.

As an example of the dog-to-dog part of this, I raised a Rott/Husky mix and a Basenji together. Both were about 8 weeks when they joined us. I also have three others, including a large Rottie and a Shepherd mix. The Rott/Husky, named Cherokee, is one of the most successful and amazing bite regulators I have ever witnessed. The two pups began at approximately the same weight, and now at 1 1/2 years, Pinto, the Basenji weighs 22 lbs. while Cherokee, who has turned out to have mostly Husky characteristics, weighs 72 lbs. and is at least 4-5 times the size of Pinto. (Cherokee's head is about the size of Pinto!) Yet, being in a large pack of different dogs, and grown up with Pinto, Cherokee can go at it hard with our large adult Rottie, and then turn on a dime and play fight with Pinto without leaving a mark. She adjusts her style of play and her bite strength to suit each of the dogs she plays with.

Back to the human oriented-bite training. The goal of having a dog NOT BITE is one that we all eventually want to meet, but bite inhibition training involves postponing that "absolutely no biting" work so that the pup CAN bite adult humans under controlled circumstances and receive feedback on these bites. Basically, we allow and even encourage the pup to bite, from a young age. We rate the strength of its bite, let's say on a scale from 1-10, ten being a dangerously hard bite and one being a bare touch. We establish an average and tolerable bite strength--maybe a 5. Then each time the pup nips, if it bites with a pressure higher than 5, we say Ouch!" and withdraw our attention. But if it bites with a pressure of 5 or less, we actually reward the pup, and continue to play.

Over several weeks, we raise the criteria by lowering the bite strength that we will tolerate. So soon we are Ouch'ing and ignoring for a 4 or above, then a 3 or above, until finally, the dog is consistently biting with a strength of 1, for which it is still rewarded.

Now, and only now, do we start a NO Biting rule. From this point on, the method I would use is consistent with your suggestions. BUt the big difference is that the pup trained first with this inhibition method has been conditioned to associate a soft mouth with humans. If it should ever by mistake or out of fear or pain bite a human, it will bite with hardly any pressure. On the other hand, your "All or None" dog will not bite at all, but if it should ever by mistake or out of fear or pain bite a human, it is likely to bite with strength.

Studies suggest that the early inhibition training actually affects the development of neural pathways in the pup's brain, and although it may react our of impulses generated by the Lymbic System, when we would usually not expect training to hold up, the dog will have an inhibited bite!

The most dangerous dog is one that has been taught not to bite at all and has not developed any idea of what type of pressure is acceptable for human skin.