Puppy biting is a common problem. Puppies are usually biting as a part of play and communicating with others.  Here are some early intervention tips to stop puppy biting:

• Start working with your puppy’s mouth as soon as you get them. When they are calm and in a quiet setting get them used to you putting your fingers in their mouth, massaging the gums, touching their teeth and tongue. Praise them when they are calm and allow this.

• If your puppy bites you, let out a loud yelp and immediately stop all interaction with the puppy. When they are playing with their brothers and sisters this happens all the time. If someone plays too rough and bites too hard the pup that was bitten will yelp (because it hurt) and then stop playing. This tells the offender that they have crossed the line and they need to stop biting if they want to keep playing. Your puppy wants to please you and will likely not play so rough the next time.

• No playing with your hands in their mouth or around their head. Many people like to do this to get the pup excited. It sends a confusing message to the pup. Doing this tells the pup that we want them to play with the hand, but not bite it. Remember puppies bite as part of play. They will just see the hands as play toys.

• Redirect the puppy to an appropriate chew toy for those that are persistent chewers. Have the toy nearby so that you can introduce it to the puppy before they become uncontrollable. Give it to them to chew and play with. Do not play tug of war with it.

• Be consistent. Everyone who comes into contact with the puppy needs to be on board. Any encouragement to play or bite hands must not be allowed. Not by your friends, spouse, kids or your crazy uncle. Allowing it to occur confuses the message we want to send which is, “People are not to be used as chew toys.”

• Don’t punish the biting puppy. This can worsen the situation and cause aggressive biting which can be severe.  Always defuse the situation and start the training process again when the puppy is calm.

If these tips are not helping,call usto schedule an appointment. There may be other reasons that are contributing to the puppy biting. With a little work and consistency you should be able to quickly stop your puppy from biting.

Yours in health,

Dr. Kent Morley