How To Stop A Great Pyrenees Dog Biting
Your Great Pyrenees puppy or dog might be the most lovable gent, or lady, when it comes to your family members but is so protective that it insists on keeping all strangers and an occasional targeted family member away from whomever it decides is its charge. It can cause some damage because of its size and courage. If this describes your situation, you have to teach your loving pet that sometimes, biting is not polite or appreciated behavior and that there is a difference between squeals of excitement and screams for help.
Before you do anything, you have to let the dog know who the master of the house really is. Of course, it’s you and all family members, but your dog may have different ideas. These dogs tend to be very independent and will run the house if you allow them to do so. You have to remain firm with the dog and be consistent when you set rules. They’re similar to a serious minded teen that simply doesn’t believe any authority knows better than they do on what to do in life.
Of course, it’s easier to prevent a puppy from learning to bite than it is to break an older dog of biting so if you have a puppy, begin immediately. If you’ve inherited an older dog that has a penchant to take an occasional bite out of guests or family members, you have a big problem. This requires more careful and continuous training. It takes the entire family to work on training your Pyrenees not to bite.
For puppies, avoid games that include potential nipping, even in fun or by accident. Tug of war can cause a dog to bite accidently and it’s difficult to censure the biting behavior in that context. Wrestling with the pup is simply asking for your dog to bite.
If your puppy accidentally bites you, yelp. Puppies play with one another and when injured, they yelp. A high pitched immediate, “ouch,” sends the appropriate message to the dog. Dogs understand stern but firm words. They don’t normally react as well to physical punishment. Beating a dog to submission is no way to develop a well-adjusted Pyrenees adult. If you remain firm, look them in the eye and give a command such as “No” or “Bad dog” they get the message far quicker.
You can isolate your puppy if he bites. Since the Pyrenees loves his family, he won’t be a bit happy about this. They want your attention and withdrawing makes them more compliant the next time. You do have to make certain that they understand why they’re isolated, so it should immediately follow a reprimand for nipping or biting.
For the family that has an older Pyrenees who bites, you need to get immediate help from a dog obedience trainer or immediately establish the order of the pack in your home. You have to let the dog know you’re the boss but do so in a loving manner so he wants to be on your team. Once you develop the trust and bond with your new dog, often the defensive behavior of nipping and biting will disappear. Use many of the same tactics as you would with a puppy.