How To Train A Pitbull Puppy Not To Bite? 11 Steps
Last Updated/Info Checked on February 18, 2023 by Linda Michaels
Being regarded as a ‘nanny’ dog breed, Pitbulls are said to be one of the most family-oriented breeds, being carers for their family, especially the kids.
However, Pitbull owners sometimes do complain about their dog’s unregulated mouthiness.
This habit of biting can become a nuisance for many owners leading to apprehensions and reluctance while petting them.
So, to train a Pitbull puppy not to bite, show your dominance, use positive reinforcement, take it out for exercise and walks, provide chewing toys, desensitize it toward the stimuli, socialize it from an early age, supervise it all the time, ensure that it gets proper sleep, and lastly, refrain from punishing them.
Why do Pitbulls Bite So Much? Personality Traits
Before going into the details of that, you need to understand some basic traits of your dog’s breed that will help you modify its behavior.
1. Highly Energetic
Score: 4/5
Pitbulls are a highly energetic breed. Their tendency towards playfulness combined with an intense nature makes them a lot harder to restrain at times.
This means they have a higher need for exercise to channel this energy into positive activities such as sports or even outdoor walks.
Without this, they would be hyperactive at home and try to release their energy by biting people and objects.
2. Mouthy
Score: 5/5
They are naturally so mouthy that Dogtime rates their potential for mouthiness at 5 out of 5.
This means they are inherently driven to nibble and chew things, both living and nonliving. The natural tendency also makes it difficult to train away this habit as well.
3. Very Trainable
Score: 4/5
One good news in this regard is their highly intelligent yet malleable personality. Pitbulls can be trained easily about many things including behaviors that you don’t like.
They understand what you expect of them and try to reciprocate those expectations through well-mannered behaviors.
Having this background knowledge, Let us discuss the various ways you can train Pitbulls not to bite.
11 Ways To Train Pitbull Puppy Not To Bite
Here’s a breakdown of how to do that!
1. Show Them Who’s in charge
Pitbulls try to dominate their surroundings and often demonstrate their dominance through aggressive behaviors. They would often ignore the commands of an owner who fails to prove himself as the leader.
Through strong body language and charisma, you need to establish yourself as in charge right from the start.
Try to use hand gestures when giving a command and use a firm voice.
Additionally, you can ignore them when they are being inconsiderate of your safety and trying to bite or nibble.
Only assert yourself through verbal and non-verbal cues without getting physical with your pooch.
2. Positive Reinforcement
Whenever your Pitbull tries to bite you, discourage the behavior as mentioned above and when it does so, reward him.
This ingrain a positive reinforcement mechanism where your dog or pup will associate biting with disapproval and will associate a reward with gentle behavior.
With time, you may not even need to give him a reward and the habit of nibbling and biting will go away almost completely.
The reward can be anything that excites your pooch, it can be his favorite food or a toy, or any activity that the dog finds fun and interesting.
3. Exercise
As previously mentioned, Pitbulls are highly playful and energetic. You need to drain this energy via positive activities such as exercise to relax and be calmer at home. Fortunately, I have written a complete dog exercise guide for you.
One way you can do this is by taking them on long walks.
Also, you can have them play dog sports like fetch and frisbee, some dogs love obstacle courses while others find dog puzzles fun to do.
Whatever way you choose, make it a habit and do it consistently. They need to know that an activity is coming and so they need not waste their energy on biting, nibbling, and aggressive behaviors.
4. Chewing Toys
When old habits cannot be changed, you can always redirect them.
You can give your pooch chewing toys as alternatives to chewing you or your belongings. By being trained to chew on only such toys, they will always revert to them whenever they are in the mood to bite.
This will keep their potential intact, however, keeping you and your stuff safe.
5. Desensitize toward stimuli
A lot of the time, puppies are not used to stimuli from the external environment. Any loud noise, unfamiliar surroundings, or person can arouse anxiety and result in biting behavior.
What you need to do is expose them to these external stimuli in a gradual manner while being there by their side.
Over time, they will adjust to such situations and remain calm and confident without being overwhelmed.
6. Socialize Your Pup
Often a Pitbull will be hostile to other dogs and try to bite them. This happens when it has never been introduced to them before.
Socialize your dog with other pets regularly. Make them have fun together through sports and treats so that they start seeing each other as playmates rather than enemies.
This would prohibit Pitbull from biting their comrades and will result in a more tolerant pooch.
7. Supervise
When around other dogs and kids, supervise your Pitbull. Never let them be alone with a dog you haven’t trained properly.
Intervene when the need arises. With time, as your trust builds up, you can let your dog be alone in such companies without any worries.
8. Ensure Proper Sleep
It is often that a dog becomes cranky due to a lack of sleep. Hence, it becomes aggressive and may bite the owners.
Make sure your pooch gets enough sleep throughout the day and follows a proper sleeping schedule to be calmer and more relaxed when awake.
9. Train From The Start
All dog breeds are easy to train as pups than adults.
This is because a pup’s personality is more malleable when the neural connections are being developed during the earlier years of their lives.
Never wait for them to grow to train them, Start their teaching them right from the start, this is the most effective way.
10. Never Punish Your Pooch Physically
Punishing your pooch leaves a permanent mark on its personality resulting in anxiety, fear, and detachment from owners.
Always train your dog through positive reinforcement techniques and behavior training through non-physical methods.
11. Professional Aid
Even after all the tactics, your dog’s biting habit persists, and you can try consulting with a professional trainer.
Enrolling your pooch in dog behavior modification courses can help a lot. Some dogs are clever enough to adopt different behaviors in school and at home, this thing needs to be kept in mind by trainers throughout the course.
Moreover, you get yourself trained in using gadgets such as E-collars to train your dog into better behaviors.
Watch the following video in case the article doesn’t help.
FAQs
Answewring some frequently asked questions that you may like to know.
Can Pitbulls be trained not to bite?
Yes, Pitbulls are a highly trainable and intelligent breed. They grasp things pretty easily and can be trained into your choice of behaviors very well.
You only need to know the right tips and tricks to do so.
Why does my pitbull bite me?
Pitbulls are inherently driven into biting behaviors. They would try to bite and nibble anything they think is worth biting, and trust me the list is a pretty long one.
However, you can always modify their behavior through consistent training.
Are Pitbulls easy to train?
Pitbulls are intelligent and have a moderate prey drive. This makes them an easy-to-train dog breed.
How To Train A Pitbull Puppy Not To Bite? Final Words
Although one of the most loving and clingy breeds towards their owners, Pitbulls have a bad habit of biting. This makes newbies often reluctant to pet them.
This behavior is ingrained into their DNA and is often quite hard to get rid of without proper training.
But because they are a smart breed, they can be easily trained into leaving this bad habit of theirs.
You need to be patient and consistent in training them and when everything else fails, you can always take professional help.
