Paw Nation

By Mikkel Becker, via Vetstreet

Q: My puppy bites me all the time. The bites aren't hard, but I really want to break her of this habit. Any suggestions?

A: Your puppy uses her mouth to explore her environment, since she doesn't have opposable thumbs to grab items. As part of this exploration, the puppy learns how hard she can bite when interacting with people and other dogs. If a puppy uses her mouth too hard while nursing, it's likely her mother will stand up and walk away, thus delaying a meal. Or if she bites too hard while playing with another puppy, the hurt puppy will likely stop playing.

SEE ALSO: How to Care For Your New Puppy

Learning to use bite strength properly in puppyhood is called bite inhibition and is crucial to developing a well-socialized dog. Though practicing with their teeth serves a purpose, puppies need to be taught how to politely use their mouths with humans.

Playtime Is Learning Time
Allowing your puppy to socialize with other vaccinated, well-mannered puppies and tolerant adult dogs will help her use her mouth more carefully. Although humans can help a puppy to learn bite inhibition, it is best taught by other canines. A well-run puppy class can be an excellent resource for puppy play. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior recommends that a puppy can start classes as soon as seven to eight weeks of age, as long as she has had her first set of vaccinations seven days prior to the start of class and has been given her first deworming.

SEE ALSO: Top 10 Puppy Names of 2011

[ http://www.youtube.com/embed/Da3WEEIeSUQ ]

I've never been a guy who likes to hit the clubs or go out dancing. It's not because I don't like pop music, and it's not because I don't like dancing per se. It's just that they won't let me bring a goat with me to the club. Sorry, I just don't like jumping around and having a good time unless I can dance around with a goat.

While we could spend all day watching an endless stream of videos depicting puppies and kittens being dumb or adorable or adorably dumb, we do occasionally like to learn a thing or two. And sometimes the best way to learn something new is to unlearn something you believe to be true that's actually false. With that in mind, please enjoy this videos that explains why certain animal "facts" a lot of us have believed all our lives are actually completely untrue. Then, the next time one of your friends parrots back one of these persistent lies, you can be the smug jerk who corrects him or her in front of everyone.

Yo dawg, we heard you like dogs, so we put a dog in your dog so you can walk your dog while you walk your dog, dawg.

[via Reddit]

[ http://www.youtube.com/embed/MhFjWuUE-xA ]

This guy has 11 puppies in his house and he's running away from them? You're doing it wrong, dummy! The proper response to a puppy swarm is to lie down, stay still, and try to drown in them. How have you spent this much time on Earth and not learned that, guy?