The little puppies are a great companion for comfort and reducing stress. Their adorable actions can make you pleased easily. But raising a little puppy is not really easy and as an owner you require patience.
You need to learn their expressions, behavioral changes age by age and also know how to train them.
8 month old puppy biting:
Typically there is no clear reason why an eight-month-old puppy bites but a variety of variables can cause them to bite. Firstly, the teething process is highly responsible for biting but it can also be a response to any negative situation. By giving behavioral training, their biting can be stopped.
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A puppy that is 8 months old will inevitably bite. They are still growing, and one of the main reasons they bite is the process of their teeth erupting in their mouth. Additionally, they acquire this habit genetically from their offspring.
Giving an 8-month-old dog an alternate task to do or something to chew on that will distract them while they’re agitated will help lessen the amount of biting they do, as will ceasing any actions that make them want to bite.
However, it can be their aggressive behavior too. But it’s too early to see their aggressiveness. If they are afraid of something or feel unsafe, or anything that threatens their comfort zone they may want to secure themselves from the threat and show aggressiveness.
But most of the time, they bite because of human inappropriate conduct. Treating puppies in an abusive manner, not understanding their body language or making them feel disturb can lead the puppies to bite.
Reasons of 8 month old puppy biting:
An 8-month-old puppy typically bites for natural reasons because they are carnivorous animals and get this trait from their ancestors. There is no one specific reason why puppies bite, but there are some obvious factors that can be the cause.
For example, when a puppy is 8 months old and their teeth are starting to erupt, they may feel pain and irritation, which may cause them to bite everything that is in their path.
Additionally, if someone unintentionally acts aggressively toward them, they may become enraged and wish to bite.
Genetically:
The primary contributing factor to an 8-month-old puppy’s biting is inheritance, as they acquire this propensity for biting from their mother genetically at that age.
At the age of 8 months, the young puppy tries to imitate its mother, so they naturally acquire this character.
Growing teeth:
At that age, puppies begin to erupt with teeth in their small jaws. To accommodate the expanding jaw, it is natural for them to bite in order to reposition the jaw.
For the new owners of the puppies, this is a definite sign that their puppy is developing healthily.
For protection:
When they are playing with their fellow dogs, they may use a defensive tactic similar to that of other aggressive dogs when they fight the enemy, or they may pick up this habit by observing.
Animals act on what they perceive, which is why they can bite, as this critical period of time, between 5 and 8 months, is so significant for all species.
In response to any negative situation:
They bite out of fear and worry when they see someone or something as a threat.
If children force the 8-month-old dog to participate in mischief with them or make them do things against their will, the dog may bite out of annoyance.
Excitement to anything:
They are the little puppies that can hardly control their emotions. Biting is the natural way of expressing their emotions. They can get excited about any little thing at any time and to share their joy they may start biting.
As an owner, it’s better to learn their body language and behavior to learn what things can make them excited.
Is it normal for 8 month old puppies to bite?
Puppy biting at the age of 8 months is normal. Since that time, they have developed a genetic disposition that urges them to bite and growl.
When a puppy is 8 months old, biting could be a natural instinct, a reaction to external stimuli, or a response to someone else prodding the puppy.
The development of their teeth in the mouth or the release of too many aberrant hormones could be the physiological process that causes them to become aggressive when biting.
Biting and Growling:
Growling and biting are both natural behaviors for them. It’s possible that they picked up the habit of biting from their mother, and they naturally growl because they are unable to express their emotions like people can.
They do this in order to communicate with one another. They have a history of biting and snarling, so it should be accepted as usual for an 8-month-old puppy to do so.
Bitting when excited:
This is a natural process since numerous hormones are secreted during excitement, which might have an impact on their behavior. As a result, they naturally bite when excited.
Biting me:
An 8-month-old puppy biting me is also normal. Sometimes they bite out of fear, anxiety, or any other irritant, so in that circumstance they may even bite me.
Why has my 8 month old puppy started biting again?
Typically, the puppies have a history of biting because of their ancestors and are naturally eager to lick anything.
Furthermore, they typically develop this tendency to bite when given toys to play with; they bite and lick the toys, and when there are no nearby toys, they naturally bite if someone is nearby.
However, there can be many reasons as well. Out of fear, excitement and frustration, they may also bite.
In fact, human inappropriate conduct is one of the main reasons that makes them aggressive, makes them feel unsafe or disturbed. Therefore, puppies bite to defend themselves against people or children who act aggressively toward them by biting.
But normally it’s their natural habit in this age. The teething process starts from the age of 2 weeks which lasts up to 8-9 months old and because of this process, it causes them to adopt tooth eruption development out of irritability.
The uncomfortable feeling and irritation leads them to bite.
4 Tips to stop 8 month old puppy biting:
Understanding an 8-month-old puppy’s body language is important. Sometimes, we may mistakenly interpret their natural tendency to bite as abnormal and punish them; however, we should view this behavior as normal and respond appropriately.
Since they are animals and typically behave in animal-like ways, it is our responsibility to be aware that biting an 8-month-old puppy is a normal occurrence.
Because of their genetic make-up, or out of fear or anxiety or even for excitement they become aggressive towards humans and bite them. However, by biting they can defend themselves from any disturbing situation.
As an owner of this little puppy understanding how they act, their behavior, body language as well as what makes them angry or anxious, is really essential. Also there are some easy tips and following them you can teach your puppy to stop biting. The tips are given below:
Don’t let them think it’s a play:
Puppies are fond of playing games and passing joyful times with their owner. They try to carefully notice how their owner reacts while they are playing.
So if you react while biting or show any excitement, it’ll make yourself more enticing. So, they may think it’s a play which will cause them to continue chasing.
Involve them in training or exercise:
At this age they become sensible enough to get training and moderate themselves but teaching them to become polite will not be so easy. However, you can easily train them while playing or walking with them.
Structured games or competition level games with other puppies potentially can develop their behavior. You can also consult with a vent before setting their exercise.
Teach them ‘game over’:
The moment they start biting, you can make them feel that they just lost everything by biting. They no longer will play as he bite you. This can make them fearful or feeling guilty about biting.
Try this method regularly whenever he bites you, it’ll effectively work very early.
Distract their focus:
Whenever they bite, try to distract them by other things. Make them feel, it’s not interesting at all rather do something else. You can start playing other games or give them new things so that their mind of biting changes.
Command the puppy to bring anything or go somewhere or take them for exercise. Though this process takes time, it can work pretty well not to continue biting.
Final thoughts
As puppies are carnivorous animals and get this trait genetically from their ancestors, biting is their natural habitat. Their early teething process is another reason for their biting. But by understanding their body language and giving some sort of training, their biting behavior can be changed.