The most important thing to remember is that for the vast majority of puppies, mouthing or play biting is a phase that they will typically grow out of once they reach between three and five months of age.
Is It Playtime or Time to Separate? It's normal for puppies and dogs to growl and romp over one another in a mock battle. Most dogs display behaviors that can seem a little aggressive to us, but as long as they are within the boundaries of good fun, it is usually okay (and can help them with socialization skills).
Between 2 and 6 months of age, puppy games still center around play fighting. If your puppy has other dogs to play with, that's fine, but you also want him to play with you. When playing with people, you need to redirect his play fighting games to something more appropriate, such as fetch.
They should be friendly with strangers and other dogs, and they should not show any “grown up” aggressive behavior like snarling, lunging, or serious biting. Your pup may well become more reserved around people and less tolerant of annoyances as he reaches adolescence and adulthood, which can be perfectly normal.
Like territorial behavior, protective aggression usually appears as puppies mature into an adolescence or adulthood, at one to three years of age. Many dogs show the tendency to guard their possessions from others, whether they need to or not.
An aggressive growl will be accompanied by snarling and snapping, while a playful growl is just a sound, accompanied by relaxed body movements (no tension).
Instead, redirect them with other toys or try to momentarily distract the puppies with a loud noise, such as whistle or clap. From there, if your puppy has a well-trained recall already, you can call him/her over to you or you can simply clip his/her leash on and lead them away from the other puppy.
For dogs under 6 months of age, much hyper and aggressive behavior is simply puppy play. But that doesn't mean that you should just green light it and allow it to continue. You must teach your puppy boundaries and the earlier you teach them the better.
Behaviors that say it's all good fun
The play bow – front end down, back end in the air. Sometimes the dog trying to initiate play will slap his front legs down on the ground repeatedly. A big, silly open-mouthed grin. Exaggerated, bouncy movement.
Puppies that run around and play too much can place a lot of stress on their growth plates. This stress could lead to bone deformations, which will cause long term issues. That's why it's important to split up exercise sessions, so your pup can have some time to recover.
The most common reasons why puppies engage in aggressive behaviors is because they are either resource guarding an object, reacting out of fear, defending themselves, or responding to pain.
It's totally normal for dogs to play-bite, bark, chase, swipe, and lunge, as long as it's in a gentle and friendly manner. But sometimes growling, biting, jumping, barking, etc. can shift from playful to aggressive.
One of the best ways to manage over-excitement is to direct your puppy's energy toward something healthy like an activity or toy. Structured play like Fetch, plus access to mentally stimulating puzzle games and toys, are all super useful tools to help your puppy maintain activeness. Do reward calm behavior.
It could be when they're playing tug, or when they meet another dog on a walk, or perhaps when they're left home alone. Either way, some of the most common reasons behind puppy hyperactivity are boredom, over-stimulation, feeling over-tired, or responding to your own over-excited behavior.
An important sign that a puppy may be is that he shows an unwillingness to explore a new environment. Constant panting, yawning, excessive lip licking, and vocalization may be present. If you place a puppy on the floor and all he wants to do is hide under a chair or behind his owners' legs, a problem exists.
It's normal for puppies and dogs to chew on objects as they explore the world. Chewing accomplishes a number of things for a dog. For young dogs, it's a way to relieve pain that might be caused by incoming teeth. For older dogs, it's nature's way of keeping jaws strong and teeth clean.
Play fight between dogs is only natural and should be allowed. It is a good exercise for your dog, a rehearsal for adulthood, and a good practice for socialization. However, play fights can sometimes turn into a real and dangerous fight.
Often puppy fear can become aggression. Positive reinforcement, punishment-free obedience training is one way to create a well-behaved, well-mannered dog and prevent fear aggression in puppies. Puppy aggression is not breed-specific. As sweet, loving, friendly dogs exist in every breed, so do aggressive dogs.
Undesirable behaviours such as barking, chewing, counter surfing, house-soiling and jumping up commonly begin to occur at around 3-6 months of age. Your puppy will not grow out of these behaviours. On the contrary, it is more likely that these behaviours will worsen if not addressed early on.
Proper play is relaxed. The body of your puppy should be loose, bouncy, wiggly with a relaxed wagging tail and a big silly grin. As soon as that body stiffens and the tail tucks or straightens (even if still wagging), an owner needs to interfere. Proper play includes play bows (front end down, back end in the air)!
In one posture, hold the pup over your head, firmly supporting him with both hands and stare into his eyes (staring is a dominant behavior to the dog). Maintain this position until the pup has been still for 10 seconds. He must be still for that length of time or he hasn't submitted to you.
When Puppies Mature and Settle Down. Puppies typically develop the emotional maturity and temperament of an adult dog between twelve and eighteen months of age, although they may continue to occasionally exhibit puppy behavior like chewing and nipping until they're about two years old.
In conclusion, one can learn things about a puppy's temperament as early as 4-5 weeks, although the older they get the more you can learn and the more reliable a temperament test. By 6-8 weeks, a breeder should be able to tell you many details about your pup's personality.
The most common aggressive puppy behaviour warning signs include snarling, growling, mounting, snapping, nipping, lip curling, lunging, dominant body language/play, challenging stance, dead-eye stare, aggressive barking, possessiveness, and persistent biting/mouthing.