Bite inhibition is very important. Dogs, no matter how trained, will get excited when they're in play mode. From a very early age you need to make sure they know that under no circumstance are they allowed to bite you hard.
The great thing is that this is so easy to teach! Dogs usually learn bite inhibition from their litter mates or other dogs they play with- but don't assume they already have or will learn it from other dogs!
Here's what to do:
- Stick your finger in their mouth and let them chew on it
- With young puppies this will probably hurt because they won't know how softly to chew/bite
- Even if the puppy is not hurting you, whimper loudly- try to imitate a puppy "yipe" or yell "ow" loudly
- They should instinctively spit your finger out
- If not, take your finger out quickly like you've been hurt and turn away from the dog
- Do it again; this time the dog should at least be a little weary to take your finger in its mouth
- Repeat this until the dog can chew SOFTLY on your finger without hurting you
- This is important because if it only hurts a little and you allow it, the dog will think biting you that hard is ok
You'll need to practice this quite often to remind the puppy. I also liked to teach it after I had gotten Koopa really riled up so he could learn that he has to use bite inhibition even in high energy situations like that.
Here's a short (and slightly embarrassing) video of what a dog who has learned bite inhibition should do.
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