Puppy Teething and Biting

There are a number of reasons puppies nip, bite, and chew. This behavior starts before puppies even leave the litter.

Your goal to start with is to teach your puppy how to control the force of his/her biting. Your puppy's littermates will initiate this process and then it is up to you to continue on with it when your new puppy arrives home. This will ensure (not guarantee) that if your dog does bite someone in the future the damage will be minimized. When you have given your puppy sufficient feedback regarding the strength of his bite only then can you begin to reduce the prevalence of the biting behavior.


If you catch the biting problem early on it may be easy to rectify. Just try to redirect the biting from your flesh to a toy or chew bone. For very young puppies this method is often all you'll need do. As soon as your pup starts to bite your hands just let out a firm "No!" and replace your fingers with the chew toy (or ice cube if your puppy is teething).

The video above is probably the most popular method and my personal favorite. Make your puppy think he is hurting you each time he has a nip at you. This method replicates the way dogs sort out this biting amongst themselves. When puppies are biting and nipping each other it only stops when one puppy lets out a yelp. We can use this natural way dogs learn by letting out an Ouch! or an Arrr! every time one of our puppy's bite. The trick is to startle your dog with your voice, and then pull away and stop playing with your puppy for a while. Your pup will soon learn that when he starts to bite, his playmate (you) goes away.


Teach your puppy the obedience training command "Leave It!". This method works great but is more suitable for older puppies.


In bad biting cases as soon as your puppy latches onto your hand say "No!" and quickly put your thumb inside his mouth under his tongue, and your other finger under his chin. Hold it there for about 10 seconds (not too tightly). This will feel uncomfortable to your puppy plus he won't be able to bite you.


"Always Praise And Reward A Gentle Mouth And Ignore Or Withdraw From Inappropriate Nipping"


Again if your puppy has a severe biting problem you can try this training technique. Put on a pair of gloves and apply a foul tasting substance to them (something your dog doesn't like). Your dog will soon learn that if he bites you, it won't be tasty! This method produces a strong negative association to your dog every time he decides to bite you. Some dogs are smart enough to realize that when you take your foul tasting gloves off, it is fine to sink their fangs into you again!


For older puppies (around 6 months) this is a sure fire technique to stop puppy mouthing. Put a pinch or choke collar on your puppy and each time he bites you give the lead a short sharp tug. This correction will form an unpleasant association to your dog every time he bites you. It won't take him long to stop. Some trainers believe this method to be fairly extreme, and I agree that you would only need to call on it in very rare circumstances - I have never needed to go to this level. I believe it's far more effective to educate your puppy rather than inflicting punishment or trying to extinquish a behavior altogether.


How to stop a puppy from biting - these methods have been recommended to me, but I have never tried them myself:


Spray your puppy with water every time he starts nipping.


Fill up an empty can with rocks or coins. Each time your puppy starts biting say No! and give the can a shake. Apparently puppies hate this rattling noise.


If you're worried that you may have an overly aggressive puppy on your hands, please seek the advice of an experienced animal behaviorist or dog trainer.


Like I mentioned earlier, the most important piece of advice regardless of which training method you choose is to be consistent and provide the clear feedback your puppy needs to learn.