Hutch and Fionna and Bite Inhibition

Puppy teeth are sharp and Fionna could definitely benefit from some bite inhibition training! She's earned the nickname puppy shark. Hutch was the same way as a puppy and we successfully used the information on Sheila's page on bite inhibition to train him out of the habit. Reilly was much easier to train because Hutch taught him bite inhibition as they played and rough housed together.

I would have never believed it but Hutch has become the leader and caregiver of our pack. He still watches over Reilly even though Reilly is an adult now. Reilly will often clean Starsky the cat's face and ears and Starsky allows it and even seems to enjoy it but if Reilly gets too persistent Hutch will step in and pull Reilly away by the tail. It serves two purposes. Pulling Reilly by the tail physically moves him back a few inches. It also distracts Reilly who then chases Hutch.

Well, caregiver Hutch is stepping in again. This time with Puppy Shark Fionna! Below are a series of pictures (hopefully pretty much in order) that I snapped of Hutch and Fionna playing together. Hutch instigated the session by moving close to Fionna and then rolling onto his side and then back. The play session alternated between sweet, soft interaction and sharp rebukes when Fionna would bite too sharply. It appears that Hutch is baring his teeth and biting her but in reality his bite is extremely soft and often doesn't truly land on her. We won't expect Hutch to do the job on his own because Fionna needs to know it's not ok to bite anyone but it's so endearing that he is taking on the task.