As you can likely see, teaching your pup a really solid 'leave it' will help them quit the puppy biting. If your pup starts biting into your skin, give the leave it command, and reward when they stop. Practice makes perfect!
The instant you feel your puppy's teeth touch you, give a high-pitched yelp. Then immediately walk away from him. Ignore him for 30 to 60 seconds. If your puppy follows you or continues to bite and nip at you, leave the room for 30 to 60 seconds.
Puppies should naturally slow down and stop biting around 7 months of age, when all of their adult teeth are in, and they've learned to play with toys and appropriate chews.
When playtime is over, give her a potty break and then put her up for a rest. When she is loose and attacking your clothes and legs, stop moving and ask her for another behavior that you will reward. If this doesn't work, calmly put her in her crate with a small treat for a puppy timeout.
Stop Play or Interaction
One of the most effective consequences is what's called "negative punishment." This means you take something away to make a behavior decrease. For nipping, we take away what the puppy wants at that moment — attention, play, and interaction. We do this to make the nipping decrease in frequency.
For a dog who is acting out of fear or frustration (for example, a dog who is barking and lunging on leash), using the word 'no' to stop the behavior without helping to alleviate their fear or frustration will often lead to an escalation in behavior, such as growling, air snapping, or biting.
Let your puppy bite you now and again so you can let her know which bites are too hard. Otherwise she won't learn to inhibit her bite. If she is ever startled and bites on instinct, she may cause serious injury. Rule of thumb: From 6-18 weeks of age, allow your puppy to bite when playing as long as it is not too hard.
Physical punishment should never be a course of action following a puppy or dog bite. Tapping or popping them on the nose can be misunderstood and seen as being playful. This could also encourage more unwanted biting behavior. Hitting a dog, or being too rough with a dog, frequently encourages more biting as well.
Puppies can often get overstimulated which causes them to get into a biting frenzy, or just like a toddler that throws a tantrum when it's time for a nap, your puppy may be showing you that they need crate/playpen time to unwind and relax. Puppies also may bite in order to get OUR ATTENTION!
Does Spraying a Dog or Cat With Water Work? Nope, training your dog by spraying it with water does not work. When working with dog training clients, trainers have witnessed some who spray their puppies for mouthing, yet their arms are covered in scratches. Spraying the dog with water was not helping.
If your dog jumps on people and nips them when they get excited, they need to learn the “No” command. Say “No” in a firm tone (but don't yell), and if your dog stops the problematic behavior, reward them with a treat or praise. If your dog gets too excited, having them learn commands can help stop the nipping.
Give your puppy an alternative item to chew
If they start nibbling at your fingers or toes while you're playing, offer a toy instead. Again, if they continue to nip, stop the play session immediately. If you've been training your puppy to sit, you might also redirect them by asking them to sit and rewarding with a toy.
A Matter of Play
Behavioral professionals advise that what might look like aggressive biting puppy behavior is just normal nipping that has exceeded a little. The reason for your puppy's playing behavior stems from a habit that he developed with his littermates while still at the breeder's home.
Contemporary experts urge against all uses of physical discipline. Tapping or bopping a dog on the nose can be misconstrued as playful behavior, and being too rough with your dog can actually trigger biting, reactive, or defensive behavior.
Don't yell at your puppy, tap your puppy on the nose or hold their mouth shut when they bite. This will only confuse your puppy and teach them not to trust you when you want to play. Don't antagonize your puppy to get him to bite for training or any other purpose.
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.
Jumping is a natural behavior for dogs. Dogs will typically jump when they want your attention or if they want something you have, like a toy or a treat. If your dog thinks you have something he must have, he may jump on you and bite to get what he wants. Dogs will also jump out of excitement when meeting somebody new.
Remember that this kind of biting is a component of play behavior in puppies. Play is a form of social interaction and your puppy is practicing his social and communication skills. Realize that your puppy is trying to play with you, even though the behavior is rough. Play motivated bites still hurt!
Some reasons dogs don't come when called include distraction, confusion, or fear. Gradual training and positivity are ways to help build a reliable recall so your dog will come when called.
To a human, “no” is a negative. It means you can't do/have what you want. When we say “no” to a toddler or a dog, it usually means “stop what you're doing right now” but a dog doesn't know that. It knows you're not happy – your body language and tone of voice will convey that.
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.
And puppies are especially crazy during the Witching Hours: roughly between 5-8pm every night. It's 100% normal and common.