Creating Good Bite Inhibition

Dogs are masterful with their mouths. They are quite capable of being able to exert or remove pressure very accurately. That is why when people say, “he bit by accident,” in all likelihood, they are wrong. There’s truly only 2 reasons that a dog will put teeth on a human. They either meant to or they’ve never been taught not to.

Let’s explore both:

They Meant To

As I said, dogs are masterful with their mouths. A dog can pick up a raw egg and carry/hold it while they navigate an obstacle course. If a dog bites you, they meant to bite you. There is usually a warning of some sort and the warning will be variable based on the dog. Some dogs will offer seemingly little. You might see a lip lick, a bit of whale eye, ears pinned back, etc., while other dogs may growl extensively, snap and intentionally miss, snarl, etc. Either way, if they bite and make contact, it was likely an intentional act.

They Haven’t Been Taught to be Careful

The more likely situation with most dogs who do not have aggression issues is that they don’t understand that it’s their job to be careful with their mouths. Bite inhibition is ingrained in a dog at a young age; usually between 3–5 months of age. It’s not that it’s impossible to teach at a later age, but it’s definitely more difficult…