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Ouch! If your puppy has a tendency to bite your hands and feet, you’ll know just how sharp those little teeth can be. In fact, it’s no wonder that puppies are often called mini-land sharks. But whilst our puppies can be super cute, their nipping and biting can be both painful and distressing for us pet parents.
So how do you stop a puppy from nipping and biting?
In this blog, we’re going to first explore why puppies bite - to better understand what drives this behavior - and then the steps to stop your dog from biting. Because it’s only through addressing this behavior now and nipping any undesirable habits in the bud that we can help to train healthy, well-adjusted young adult canines.
So, why exactly do puppies bite? Whilst at first it may seem like a cute and playful behavior it can quickly become painful and even stressful, if not addressed. But it’s vital to first understand what’s motivating this behavior, to better understand what us pet parents can then do to redirect or curb this habit.
Whether it’s simply their way of exploring the world, alleviating pain whilst they’re teething, a way to play or because they’re scared, we’re going to explore each contributing factor below.
It may seem strange to us humans, but puppies actually use their mouths to explore the world. Think of it more like a baby using their hands to grasp at our fingers or hair, puppies use their mouths to investigate their environment.
Through biting, puppies are exploring different tastes, textures and smells, nibbling and nipping because they’re curious. This is an especially prevalent behavior in the early developmental stages as puppies grow and are simply following their exploratory instincts.
Again, just like babies cry because of the discomfort of teething, puppies will nip and chew to alleviate the discomfort in their gums. As their adult teeth start to emerge, puppies may seek out different objects to chew on, to help soothe this sensation and provide some form of relief.
Not only does chewing help to loosen their baby teeth, it can also help to completely knock these baby teeth free so that their adult, permanent teeth can emerge.
Another reason why your puppy may be nipping and biting is purely because this is a playful behavior. A puppy can bite playfully as a way to communicate and also socially interact with both you, their human, and other animals.
Notice during a play session, your puppy may be mouthing or nipping when they’re excited or to even invite a game. Yet whilst this behavior may be normal, it’s also crucial at this stage to help them learn bite inhibition (which we address later on) as otherwise gentle play can quickly escalate into aggression due to over-excitement and your puppy may soon overstep boundaries.
On the flipside of playful behavior, biting can also be a manifestation of your puppy feeling fearful or frightened. If they’re thrust into a threatening situation or something they’re unfamiliar with, they may resort to nipping as a defense mechanism.
This is largely due to your puppy feeling vulnerable and like they need to lash out in order to protect themselves. That’s why it’s up to us, as their pet parent, to help them feel comfortable and secure to avoid them lashing out in this manner; creating a safe, calm and comfortable environment where they can be gradually exposed to new experiences, whilst feeling reassured and protected.
Now we’ve explored the contributing factors as to what may be driving your puppy to nip and bite - whether that’s at you, another animal, or even your furniture - the next stage is to think about addressing this behavior and consider how to stop your dog from biting.
Why? Because without tackling this habit and helping your puppy to learn bite inhibition at this stage, your puppy may grow into one of the adult dogs that bite people - that lashes out at others and causes irreversible, serious damage.
Whilst it may be a normal puppy behavior, it’s important to teach your dog bite inhibition so they can start to recognize the appropriate amount of pressure they can use when mouthing during play.
It’s also vital for them to learn this skill, so that even when in pain or scared - such as at the vets - they know not to bite down hard.
To teach your puppy bite inhibition, one of the best ways you can facilitate this is to organize puppy playdates. This is because puppies naturally mouth and nip at each other, but will yelp loudly if their playmate is too aggressive or hurts them. It’s a key way to communicate to a puppy, “hey back off, that was too much.”
If you’re unable to organize a puppy playdate or your puppy was not exposed to this with their littermates, you as a human can mimic this by making a high-pitched yelping sound if your dog bites down too hard.
Be aware that this can sometimes make a puppy more excitable. If this is the case with your puppy, instead turn quietly away and disengage with your puppy, even crating them for a few minutes to help give them space to calm down. If, however, they do back off when you yelp, make sure to reward and reinforce this behavior with verbal praise or even a small treat.
If inviting a puppy into your family at a young age, socialization will be crucial to helping them understand when biting is and isn’t appropriate, and to modulate the force of their bites too. Even if your pup is a rescue dog, it’s still possible to socialize them to help them learn not to bite and nip when scared.
The key here is to expose your puppy to a variety of circumstances and scenarios in a way that is both calm and controlled, to help facilitate positive experiences. Whether it’s exposing them to young children, elderly adults with wheelchairs or walking sticks, disabled people, loud noises, bicycles, large machines and even dogs or pets. Anything that may cause them fear; using gradual, controlled exposure can help to show your puppy that these experiences are nothing to be scared of, so they don’t need to lash out or bite in retaliation.
Especially during playtime, if your puppy bites you can immediately stop the game and step away. You may even choose to turn your back on your puppy or altogether leave the room. Withdrawing your attention as soon as they nip or bite not only shows them that biting = end of fun, it also gives them the space to calm down and regulate their emotions.
When your puppy is calm, you can reward them for making the right choice by restarting the game. But if you find that your puppy starts to become overexcited and bites again, repeat the process or finish that game session until a later time.
Sometimes, puppies can be incredibly stubborn little creatures and won’t listen, despite your repeated use of “game over” or redirecting their biting to chew-friendly toys. So if this is the case and your puppy continues to nip and bite you, despite your attempts to help curb this behavior, it may be best to implement a time-out.
When your puppy bites, calmly say “no”. Then remove yourself completely from their presence for a short time.
As before, with the “game over” procedure, this teaches your dog that nipping = loss of your attention.
Make sure to not leave your puppy for too long, however, as they may not associate the two things together; we’d recommend between 30 and 60 seconds for this, and ensure the room is puppy-safe in your absence. Then only fully reenage with your puppy once they’ve fully calmed and settled down.
As we’ve outlined above, biting isn’t always a playful behavior. Sometimes it can even indicate that your puppy needs some time to chill out and be quiet, or that they need to go to the bathroom.
So if you find that your pup is nipping more frequently, take them to their designated potty space to see if they need the toilet. If not, offer them some quiet time in an area of the home which is out of the main thoroughfare, where they can totally relax.
On the flipside, excessive nipping or biting can also be an indication that your puppy has energy to burn. To help reduce your puppy resorting to biting as a way of spending this pent-up energy, engage them with regular exercise and enriching play sessions, as this will help to expel their energy in a constructive, positive way instead.
The best play sessions will leave your puppy stimulated, enriched but - most importantly - tired! Because a tired puppy will be much less likely to want to nip or bite from boredom.
As we’ve mentioned throughout this blog, it’s important to signal to your puppy the behaviors you do desire from them - as well as the ones you don’t. That’s why whenever your puppy does redirect their biting to a toy, for example, you should mark and reward your dog for making this choice.
The more you use positive reinforcement, the more this will encourage your puppy to repeat this choice or action in similar future situations. Whether you choose to use verbal praise (“good girl!/good boy!”), treats or simple affection, the main goal is to clearly show your puppy that you’re pleased by their behavior.
We can’t stress this enough; even if frustrated by your puppy’s biting, you should never use harsh verbal or physical corrections. Doing so will only confuse and frighten your puppy, who won’t understand why you’re so angry, and can actually cause further stress and fear and exacerbate their biting problem in the future.
(So you’re really only shooting yourself in the foot.)
Instead, focus on being positive and gentle with your training. Puppies are hard work, we completely get it, but being patient and consistent will be much more constructive for training your puppy out of this biting behavior in the long-run.
It’s always better to anticipate your puppy’s behavior, than react to it retrospectively. So look for signs that your puppy is becoming overexcited and more likely to nip and bite. This may happen more so in play, where their emotions are becoming increasingly heightened by this stimulation; you can always take regular breaks during play sessions, to avoid your puppy becoming too wound up.
Also consider trying more gentle games with your puppy, to help avoid triggering any biting behavior.
One of the easiest ways to show your puppy what “is” and “isn’t” appropriate to bite is by redirecting this behavior to a suitable chew toy, as soon as they start to nibble at something they shouldn’t. This example of redirection is a particularly useful tool for when your puppy nips at your hands or clothing.
Simply telling your puppy to “stop” won’t be as effective, as it’s not giving them an alternative to help satisfy their natural urge to chew. So it’s better to invest in a selection of age-appropriate chew toys that you can have handy in various areas of the home, so you always have this alternative object to direct their chewing to, in the moment they need that outlet.
We hope you’ve found the above advice useful for learning some key techniques on how to stop a puppy from biting and nipping. What’s vital to realize, however, is that if this behavior isn’t addressed at an early stage, this is what can eventually lead to more aggressive behavior in adult dogs.
By around 7 months of age, your puppy should have moved out of the teething stage. So if your dog is still biting by this point, the cause of this behavior may point towards another factor and indicate that further training is needed.
If you find your puppy is constantly nipping at your ankles as you walk by, try redirecting their attention to a toy or alternatively redirect their behavior away from your ankles and up to your face by training them to walk to heel; using treats to draw their focus upwards.
Lastly, if you’re finding that none of the above steps help, it’s best to consult a trained professional - whether that’s your veterinarian or a dog trainer or behaviorist. They will be able to offer you personal, specialized advice with a tailored training plan suited to your dog, and can help identify what habits or unintentional triggers may be causing your dog to nip or bite in the first place.
Good luck, pup parents. Just know that the biting stage isn’t forever!
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