You just want to have some fun with your four-legged friend, but you can’t because your dog won’t stop biting your nose! What is going on here? Why does your dog try to eat your nose? What do you do if your dog bites your nose? Will your dog grow out of trying to nibble your nose, or do you need to do something if you ever expect it to stop?

Well, wonder no longer, because today we’re going to answer all of these questions and most importantly, we’ll tell you how to stop your dog from biting your nose. Soon, you’ll be able to snuggle and get close with your little buddy without worrying about what might happen! So let’s not delay any longer and get to our article “How to Stop My Dog From Biting My Nose!”

Why Does My Dog Try to Eat My Nose?

Your dog tries to eat your nose because they’re showing affection. Dogs bite your nose and nibble at it, especially when they’re younger, because they love you and want your attention but haven’t learned the proper ways to show that.

There are also all kinds of interesting smells that could be coming from there (dogs can smell up to 100,000 times better than we can), and your dog wants to experience them more. Dogs use their mouths to explore and experience the world, so if they smell something new, it wouldn’t be unusual for them to nibble on your nose.

If your dog is still six months or younger, it’s also possible that they’re teething and don’t have something to chew on. If you’ve noticed them gnawing or biting on things a lot and they’re still in the puppy stage, ensure that they have a proper chew toy so that they’ll stop biting your nose.

The least likely possibility, though still one you should consider, is that your dog is trying to assert dominance. If you’ve noticed them doing other things in an aggressive manner, or just generally being stubborn and refusing your commands, this is a possibility that you should not rule out.

But regardless of why your dog is biting your nose, you can’t allow it to continue — even if they’re just being cute and playful. Letting your dog invade your boundaries like this gives them the idea that it’s not just okay, but also encouraged.

Before long, your dog will bite your face in other spots too, like your ears, or may even start chewing your hair. If you allow your dog to think it’s okay to nibble and chew on you, it could keep escalating until they’re biting you and making you bleed.

Clearly, you don’t want that, so it’s important that you begin working to stop this problem now by using behavioral training. You can skip to the last section now, where we’ll tell you how to do that.

What Do You Do if Your Dog Bites Your Nose?

If your dog bites your nose, you should:

1. Immediately let out a calm but firm “ouch” or “no.”
2. Put them into time-out in their crate or a closed-off room for 10 minutes.
3. Check yourself in the mirror to ensure that they didn’t break your skin.
4. Clean and bandage the wound if necessary.
5. Allow your dog out, but put them back into time-out if they again start biting your nose.
6. If they behave, reward them with pets, praise, and a small treat.
7. Ensure that your dog always has a proper outlet, like a chew toy, from now on.
8. Be patient and consistent. Your dog should soon see that biting your nose gets negative results, while not doing so gets them rewarded.
9. Make sure that anyone else who spends time with your dog is also following these steps.

Will My Dog Grow Out of Trying to Nibble My Nose?

Your dog will grow out of trying to nibble your nose only if they are still a puppy six months or younger. At this age, they are most likely just teething and the behavior should stop once they’ve moved past this stage. Ensure that they have a chew toy to bite on instead.

If your dog is older, then no, they are not going to grow out of nibbling your nose. In this case, you have a behavioral problem and not one that is age-related. But no matter whether your dog is biting your nose due to behavioral reasons or simply due to teething, it’s not something that you should ignore or just wait out.

You should work to teach your dog using behavioral training to stop biting your nose, otherwise, you risk giving the impression that nibbling, chewing, or biting on you or others is okay. Continue to the next section where we’ll tell you how to do that.

How Do I Get My Dog to Stop Biting My Nose?

To get your dog to stop biting your nose, the next time it happens you need to immediately yelp calmly but firmly “ouch” or “no.” Next, put them into time-out for 10 minutes in their crate or a closed-off room. Do this even if they’re a puppy that is still teething.

Once you’ve let your dog out, resume whatever you were doing with them, but repeat these steps if they again bite your nose. Be patient and consistent, and keep this up for as long as necessary. But when they behave, you should reward them by giving them pets, praise, and a small treat.

Your dog should quickly learn that not biting your nose gets them rewarded, while doing so gets them time-out. Ensure that anyone else who spends time with your dog is also following these steps so that they’re receiving consistent instruction at all times. It’s also important to make sure that they have a proper outlet, like a chew toy, especially if they’re a puppy.

Before long, your dog will stop biting you on the nose, but you’ll still need to do something about the fact that they ever felt like it was appropriate or acceptable to be chewing, nibbling, or biting on your nose or anywhere else. And also that they were willing to disobey your commands to quit.

To properly do that, we need to first quickly talk about what makes dogs function deep down. You’ve probably heard before that dogs are pack animals, and that in every pack there is a pack leader. Well, when your dog invades your space like this and doesn’t listen to your commands to stop, they are clearly telling you that they don’t respect you in this role.

They may see you in it, but they just don’t feel like you’re up to the job. If they’re being more aggressive with their biting, then your dog may even think that they deserve to be the leader rather than you.

Obviously, you can’t allow these beliefs to continue in your dog’s mind or you will have an unruly little furry monster on your hands.

But once you’ve shown your dog that you are not just their pack leader, but a capable and worthy one that they must respect, they’ll stop biting you on the nose. They’ll also stop biting you on other areas and you’ll be able to end other behavioral issues you’re likely having, or will be soon.

You’ll be happier for obvious reasons, but your dog will be too, because you’ve freed them from all of the stress and anxiety that pack leader confusion causes them.

So everyone wins. Pretty great, right?

“Well yeah, of course, but how am I supposed to do that?”

You should watch an excellent free video series which covers this exact subject — how to be your dog’s pack leader — by a renowned trainer named Dan. In his video series, he’ll show you everything you need to know in ways that are very easy to understand and teach to your own dog, and he gets right to the point so that you’ll start seeing these crucial changes in your dog before you know it.

Start watching Dan’s free training series now by clicking here. And no, you’re not going to have to yell or be mean to your beloved four-legged friend. That’s never the proper way to train, and Dan never uses those methods. Not just because it’s the right thing to do, but also because humane and loving teaching methods are the fastest way to achieve permanent results with your dog.

I’m sure you’re looking forward to being able to get up close and personal with your fuzzy little pal without worrying about what might happen, so I’ll let you get started now. Best wishes with everything, and thank you for reading “How to Stop My Dog From Biting My Nose.”