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Why won’t they switch off?
Because they don’t actually know how.
“Hey, you can’t reinforce an emotion.”
Correct.
But here’s the real kicker.
You don’t reinforce the feeling.
You reinforce the behaviours that make that feeling possible.
Stillness.
Disengaging.
Resting.
Switching off isn’t automatic.
Some dogs rehearse alertness and movement all day long.
Very few practice settling.
So we shape the environment and then calm has space to pop it’s head up (or actually down!)
What is reinforced is repeated and if it’s repeated often enough, settling and staying still stops being a rarity.
It becomes the “norm”.
Because they don’t actually know how.
“Hey, you can’t reinforce an emotion.”
Correct.
But here’s the real kicker.
You don’t reinforce the feeling.
You reinforce the behaviours that make that feeling possible.
Stillness.
Disengaging.
Resting.
Switching off isn’t automatic.
Some dogs rehearse alertness and movement all day long.
Very few practice settling.
So we shape the environment and then calm has space to pop it’s head up (or actually down!)
What is reinforced is repeated and if it’s repeated often enough, settling and staying still stops being a rarity.
It becomes the “norm”.
Puppy biting can really get to you.
Not just physically but emotionally too.
You can love your puppy and still feel exhausted, frustrated, and a bit defeated by it all.
They bite when they’re excited.
They bite when they’re frustrated.
They bite when they’re tired, overwhelmed, teething or not quite sure what to do with themselves.
The good news is this is communication.
It is information you can use to adjust how you play, how much interaction they are getting, when naps happen and how busy their day really is.
What often helps most is not doing more.
More entertaining.
More exercise.
More reacting.
Even more trying to stop it.
It is often about doing a little less.
Less constant hand play.
Less non stop interaction when they are awake.
Less pressure to always be "on".
Sometimes though more really is needed, just not the kind people usually think of.
More rest.
More sleep.
More quiet time.
And for some puppies who are under stimulated, it may be more short training games, more gentle engagement, or more chances to build confidence in small, manageable ways.
Puppy mouthing is normal.
It means your puppy is still learning how to exist in a human world.
We tend to expect self control very early and very quickly from puppies who simply are not there yet.
This stage passes.
Especially when puppies feel safe, supported and guided and not constantly in "trouble" for something they don't yet know how to do differently.
If this is where you are at right now, you're not alone.
You're not failing your puppy.
You are just in the middle of a really normal, really hard stage.
Not just physically but emotionally too.
You can love your puppy and still feel exhausted, frustrated, and a bit defeated by it all.
They bite when they’re excited.
They bite when they’re frustrated.
They bite when they’re tired, overwhelmed, teething or not quite sure what to do with themselves.
The good news is this is communication.
It is information you can use to adjust how you play, how much interaction they are getting, when naps happen and how busy their day really is.
What often helps most is not doing more.
More entertaining.
More exercise.
More reacting.
Even more trying to stop it.
It is often about doing a little less.
Less constant hand play.
Less non stop interaction when they are awake.
Less pressure to always be "on".
Sometimes though more really is needed, just not the kind people usually think of.
More rest.
More sleep.
More quiet time.
And for some puppies who are under stimulated, it may be more short training games, more gentle engagement, or more chances to build confidence in small, manageable ways.
Puppy mouthing is normal.
It means your puppy is still learning how to exist in a human world.
We tend to expect self control very early and very quickly from puppies who simply are not there yet.
This stage passes.
Especially when puppies feel safe, supported and guided and not constantly in "trouble" for something they don't yet know how to do differently.
If this is where you are at right now, you're not alone.
You're not failing your puppy.
You are just in the middle of a really normal, really hard stage.
