Step 3 – Rebite

Even if your dog has naturally full bites, you should teach him to rebite. It makes it very clear to the dog that it is so much more comfortable to bite fully from the very start. Even if your dog has a naturally deep bite, we still show him the difference. The key is to be very clear when the dog is allowed to rebite – only when all 4 feet are on the ground. This is the scenario that doe not happen in a trial. We do not want for the dog to rebite at a trial, only in the Rebite training session.

In this video, you saw a 6-month-old Malinois. Before you proceed, your dog should know the command “Bite.” To teach the dog to rebite, you would:

• Give him a poor bite.
• Pull on the leash to make the dog slightly uncomfortable.
• Release the leash pressure.
• Lower the dog, so all 4 feet touch the ground.
• Give the command “Bite.”
• Once he rebites, you can do two things:
  • Mark and release.
  • Tug on a loose leash to give the dog a good experience with the full bite.

We are communicating to the dog that full bites are fun and not full grips are uncomfortable.

Important note: We want to be clear when the dog is allowed to rebite. If the dog bites poorly in competition, you will lose points. If the dog rebites, you may lose even more points. We want to teach the dog to bite correctly from the beginning. We also want to teach him to rebite only when all of his feet are on the ground. We prefer that the dog does not rebite when he is attached to the sleeve with the Helper standing up and locking up.