How to Stop a Puppy From Biting

As my first puppy training class begins, I notice fresh scratch marks along pet parents’ hands and arms. Their puppies are nipping, mouthing, biting or whatever you want to call it. So we cover puppy nipping during first class. We want to save your skin. 🙂

Puppies teethe. It’s normal and all puppies go through it. Think of a puppy’s teeth as his fingers. He is “touching” everything now and learning how much pressure to use when “touching.” This is called bite inhibition. Also, he is losing his puppy teeth, which hurts!

The goal is to teach your puppy something else to do with his  mouth by giving him treats and rewards when needed.

Five Puppy Biting Tips

1. Teach your puppy to target his nose to your hand. Your puppy learning to bring his nose to your hand instead of his teeth is rewarded.
2. When a puppy puts too much pressure with his teeth, let him know by standing still and squealing. Once he stops mouthing, give him a toy he can mouth on instead of you.
3. If your puppy continues to bite, walk away. If your puppy chases you and begins pulling on your pants, stand still and wait until your puppy lets go and reward him with a treat or toy.
4. If your puppy is mouthing on your naked ankles, ask him to target your hand and reward. Then, give him a toy that your puppy can chew on. You can teach your puppy to target your ankle or foot for treats too!
5. Teach the on/off game. Using a tug toy, wiggle it around so your puppy can pull and bite on a tug toy. Then hold the toy and your body still until the puppy releases the toy. Once he releases the toy, begin another game of tug. The tug game will not teach your puppy to be aggressive. It’s a self-control game of which the goal is for a puppy to learn when to play and when to give the toy back.

Always provide your puppy with plenty of chew toys so he can bite them instead of you.

RELATED: How to Stop a Puppy From Biting

Puppy Treats that Help Prevent Biting

I recommend bully sticks, food stuffed toys, tug toys and Jolly Balls. Never leave your puppy unattended when he is chewing on any toys unless it’s a food stuffed Kong.

When your puppy is teething, freeze his food stuffed toy to soothe his  inflamed gums, as teething hurts. I’ve gone as far as dipping a large towel in low sodium broth, freezing it and giving it to my puppy to chew on. Never leave him alone with the frozen towel. This is simply a tool to relieve the inflammation of his gums.

Puppy chewing deterrents can be useful. However, I’ve noticed a large population of dogs that enjoy the taste of bite deterrents. When polling my students, over half of their dogs will happily lick sprayed chewing deterrents—yuck.

If your puppy wants to chew something badly enough, he will endure the taste. 🙂