Let's walk through how you can teach your dog to stop play-biting and other nipping, chewing, and biting behavior...

Most dogs bite and show other mouthy behaviors as puppies. It's absolutely normal, instinctive behavior as young puppies develop.

Those little puppy teeth can feel pretty sharp though - even if your puppy is just playing or trying to get your attention with a play bite. As a certified professional dog trainer and dog mom, I can attest to that!

Play is super important for your puppy so you want to be able to have plenty of fun, healthy play sessions - but there have to be boundaries.

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Why you want to teach your puppy good, non-biting habits now

A mouthy puppy is much more manageable than a mouthy adult dog. You want to establish non-biting boundaries around play now so your puppy doesn't end up with a biting habit that carries into adulthood.

Adult dogs can have very strong mouths, so even playful nips and dog bites can still cause significant damage to human skin. If a puppy is not taught from an early age that mouthing or nipping on skin or clothes is inappropriate, then he or she is likely to continue it into adulthood. Some dogs are more orally fixated than others but every dog should be given boundaries, especially when it comes to using their mouths around humans.

Most mouthing and nipping is playful in nature, but if a dog gets overly excited the nipping can become harder and more difficult to stop.

Teaching your dog early to engage with humans and other dogs in a healthy, non-mouthy way sets everyone up to be safe and happy now and in the long run - especially your dog!

Addressing the real reason your puppy is nipping

Have you ever heard the advice that if your puppy is biting you like this, you should just say “ouch!” and walk away? I’ve always thought that was a bit of a shallow way to address this issue. Why? Because you are  addressing the symptom and not the cause - your dog’s desire to interact with you.

I’m going to take you step by step through a few things you can easily do that will keep your dog from biting and instead channel all that mouthy energy in positive ways. (You can also watch me demonstrate everything in the accompanying video below with my puppy Spirit.)

Let's start with what's behind all that nipping and mouthiness.

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Why puppies bite

There are two main reasons puppies bite and show other nippy behaviors:

1) Your puppy may be teething.

2) Or your puppy is trying to engage the world. This is how puppies grab things - with their mouths.

Puppies can be really nippy until they’re about 5 months old or even longer if it goes unchecked. We need to commit to being patient with our puppies during this developmental time. With patience and a few pro tip techniques, we can all teach our pups to replace nipping with better, more rewarding ways to engage with us and the world around them.

What to do if your puppy is teething

You want to make sure your puppy has access to chew toys with lots of different textures. A favorite rubber chew toy can help massage your puppy's gums to alleviate the painful feeling of new teeth pushing through.

Giving your puppy lots of options lets your puppy self-select the texture and material that satisfies the natural instinct to chew at any given moment. And you'll be giving your puppy a positive option to replace the urge to chew any favorite shoes or table legs that might be tempting otherwise.

Remember, chewing and biting is a natural instinct when puppies are teething. Make it easy for your puppy to make good choices to satisfy that need and help avoid stressful situations for both of you!

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What to do if your puppy is biting to engage with you

1) Preempt biting with adequate exercise.

If your puppy play-bites excessively, we probably have a very high energy dog on our hands. On a regular basis, make sure your puppy gets enough energy-expending exercise.

Try this

If you do have a puppy with an overabundance of energy, exercise your puppy early in the morning and throughout the day if you want relief sooner rather than later. Plan short exercise sessions peppered throughout the day to keep your puppy's energy on a more even keel.

Simply hoping for the best and reacting negatively when your puppy bites you is not going to resolve dog biting. Using preemptive exercise, you'll be giving your puppy fun engagement with you and a good use of extra energy at the same time.

Fast and lasting results (which we all want ) always come when we are one step ahead of our dogs. 

2) Use treats and basic manners training to replace biting with other good behaviors

When your puppy is biting you, he or she is just trying to engage you. You simply want to show your puppy you prefer a different type of engagement. You'll be giving your puppy a better option to replace even the most playful dog bite.

Since I know that my puppy Spirit starts biting me when I engage him, I always try to be one step ahead of him and be ready when he starts to bite.

What does that look like in real life?

Try this

• Have bite-sized treats your pup loves ready to go. I like to use a treat bag (as you can see in the video) so I can deliver treats instantly to reinforce the behavior I want to see.
• As soon as you see body language that even looks like it will get bitey, ask your puppy for an alternate behavior your dog knows - sit, down, come!, or touch, for example.
• When your puppy does the behavior, immediately mark with a click or "yes!" and treat.
• By using a good replacement behavior and rewarding it, you're shifting your dog's focus and emotions away from biting. And in the process, you're teaching your puppy positive ways to engage and interact with you.
• Note on training a few basics in advance: I had already done a bit of basic manners training with Spirit before we needed alternative behaviors to biting so we were ready.

(If your pup doesn't already have a few basics down, you can find specific step-by-step guides to teach your puppy basic manners in the Manners Channel on Dogly as well as here in the Puppy Channel.)

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What about when your puppy catches you off guard with nipping?

It's worth knowing what to do if you're just hanging out with your puppy and you're caught off guard by your puppy suddenly biting or nipping you. There are a few ways to address your surprise nipper. The more time you spend communicating with your dog the more you'll know your pup and which response is best in the moment.

Try this

• You can exercise your puppy right away to work out some of that extra energy.
• Or you can promptly initiate one of the training exercises we just went over. Replace the biting by redirecting your puppy with a toy, or with yummy treats in hand, ask your dog for a sit, down, or a come! Then mark with a "yes!" and treat.
• Or you can place your dog in a boring environment (like a quiet crate with no sensory stimulation) to give your puppy a little time to calm down. In addition to exercise, puppies need lots of quiet rest to even out their energy. Like human babies and toddlers, puppies can become overly excited and overtired.
• You can also just get up and walk away when your dog surprises you with a bite, which is okay in a pinch but doesn't advance your progress in addressing cause as the other solutions do.

Every puppy is different, and teaching a puppy to stop biting and nipping can take anywhere from a couple of days for many puppies to a couple of months for a serious puppy biter.

Remember, being proactive with your puppy consistently will set both your puppy and you up for getting beyond biting and on to positive behaviors and play that's fun and safe for everyone!

Next up in the Puppy Channel on Dogly

Now that you know how to channel your puppy's nippy energy into behaviors you want to see and stop the biting, check out what's next in the Puppy Channel.

You'll find more on puppy training - from potty training to leash walking to teaching your pup to pay attention to you - from Dogly Advocates, each one a certified dog trainer.

Or hop over to the Life Stage Feeding Channel to find out which foods support your puppy's best growth and wellness, with recommendations from a certified canine nutritionist.

If you have any questions on training and your puppy, just ask us in the Community discussion - where you can also see questions (+ answers) from other dog owners and puppy parents! Or get customized training help in your dog's plan here.