The short answer to the why behind all these behaviors is they're what puppies do. They're all instinctive behaviors and just part of being puppies and young dogs.

Let's talk about how to stop all that nipping, jumping, and barking before they become habits.

Is nipping/mouthing one of your least favorite parts about having a new puppy or dog? How about jumping? Or barking? As much as we love our new family members, these frequent behaviors can get to be a bit of a nuisance.

They may be an annoyance to us, but to your pup - they are natural, totally normal behavior!

That's not to say puppy biting, jumping, and barking aren't annoying or potentially problematic (because they absolutely can be). But it is up to us, as puppy parents and their guides to family life and the world around them, to communicate to our puppies (and dogs) what we want and what we don't want.

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How you might be unintentionally reinforcing these behaviors

All of these behaviors are easiest to address now with your puppy or your new dog before they become an ongoing habit and while your puppy is learning what works - and doesn't - in your household. You'll want to make sure that all members of your family and any other caretakers interacting with your puppy are consistent with everything you're doing to set and reinforce (reward!) new behavior patterns.

First, are you possibly reinforcing these unwanted behaviors without realizing it?

Puppies and dogs do what gets reinforced. They do what works! If your pup nips at you to get your attention and you respond by telling your puppy to stop biting, that's reinforcing - your puppy got attention. If your puppy barks when you're on a conference call to get you to play ball instead and you throw the ball to quiet the barks, that worked for your dog!

No matter what age your dog is, knowing your dog and being proactive is the answer to solving just about everything in a positive and lasting way for your puppy and you.

Let's look at how you can shift your pup positively to behaviors you DO want instead...

The best way to stop or minimize a behavior you don't want from your puppy is to be sure not to reward and reinforce it (even inadvertently), and then set your puppy up for behaviors you DO want and reward them.

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What to do if your puppy jumps on you

It can be easy to let our puppies jump on us. After all, their enthusiasm may seem rather charming initially and they're usually pretty low to the ground at this point anyway. But jumping is a lot less appealing around other people and small children - and as puppies grow into adult dogs.

Now is a perfect time to teach your puppy or new dog a better way to greet and engage with everyone. Just as with puppy mouthing, what you don't want to do is reinforce jumping by rewarding your puppy with attention. What should you do to help your puppy learn not to jump?

Similar to addressing puppy biting, you have several options...

Try this

Give your puppy a minute and isolated space to calm down. You can always put a puppy pen or baby gate to work for you as with biting. When you know someone is coming to your front door, for example, help your puppy keep energy in check by staying away from the closeness and high energy of the door and spending the first few minutes relaxing away from the door but in view of it.

Reward your puppy for staying calm (or becoming calm) in this safe space. When your puppy is calm, you can begin to introduce the new person slowly, treating throughout as your puppy stays calm and doesn't jump.

The next-level option with more learning for your puppy is to teach your puppy alternative behaviors as better, more rewarding choices than jumping:

Try this

• Teach your puppy "place" as a replacement behavior for jumping (& SO many other things).
• Choose practice times when there's no stress and your puppy is relaxed and ready to learn.
• Choose an object like a dog mat, dog bed, or blanket that your puppy can begin to identify with as your dog's comfortable and safe "place." Use high-value treats to encourage or lure your puppy to sit or lie down quietly.
• In the beginning, toss a treat on your puppy's "place." Repeat 5-10 times so your dog begins to make the connection that this is a great place to be. As you continue to strengthen this connection and your puppy consistently goes to place and lies down, you can include the cue, "go to your place!" or something similar that works for you.
• Next, I add using my finger to gesture to indicate "go to place." Reward with treats each time your dog goes to "place."
• Once that is solidly successful, you can begin to add things happening at the door since most dog parents' most common jumping problem is anyone arriving at the door. Start with jiggling the knob and reward for holding "place."
• Then introduce knocking and opening the door (you'll need to enlist a friend of family member for this part). Reward your puppy generously and quickly for holding “place."

Once your puppy has a strong "go to place," you'll find it widely useful in all kinds of situations - when you're having meals, focusing on a conference call, etc. (You can find a whole series of guides on how to teach and use "go to place" in the Manners Channel here if you'd like an in-depth look at "place.")

You can also teach other alternative behaviors to redirect your puppy by replacing jumping with behaviors such as "sit' or "touch." If you haven't already added these to your pup's repertoire, check out the guides dedicated to teaching simple cues like the highly versatile "touch" in the Manners Channel.

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Barking? When it's okay, when it's not AND what to do about excessive barking...

Barking is part of a puppy being a dog. Barking is your puppy using his or her voice to tell you something. Knowing your dog's bark to know what that something is can help save everyone (including your pup) from excessive barking.

As with the other "nuisance" behaviors, you want to understand the why behind your pup's barking and be proactive so you're not reacting and reinforcing it in the moment. When our puppies and adult dogs bark and we respond by yelling "no" or "stop," we're turning it into a group activity and only accelerating it.

Better to understand the patterns of why and when your puppy barks, preempt it when possible, and teach a "quiet" cue you and your dog can count on whenever needed.

What to do about a couple common types of barking...

Alert barking

Sometimes dogs are alert barking as a service to you that something important is happening, and they simply need to be acknowledged that you got the alert they were sending you. If you ignore it, the barking will just keep on.

One way to acknowledge your dog is to quietly walk over spread your arms to block window/door, look left and right then walk away. If it was an alert bark, your pup will feel acknowledged and stop barking. Just acknowledge the alert with your body language, no need for any spoken response. Dogs are masters at body language!

Demand barking

Managing demand barking is a clear opportunity to be proactive rather than reactive. When your puppy barks at you to throw a ball, for example, that's demand barking. Your dog could be asking for play, attention, food, all sorts of things.

This is also closely related to excitement barking. When your dog knows something is about to happen and barks with excitement right before it happens (for example, going for a walk before you open the door and actually get started). If whatever your dog wanted to happen does happen right after the barking, your dog concludes the barking worked. In your dog's mind, the barking made it happen!

When a demand/attention bark happens, ignore it and walk away. Give it a minute, then come back and initiate the play or whatever when you’re ready. You don’t want to let your dog feel the bark worked and the play or desired thing was the result.

How to prevent demand barking

It's always great if you can anticipate and prevent the reason for demand barking. Regular, good exercise can go a long way to keeping your pup on an even energy keel. Remember mental exercise too - plenty of sniffing on walks is both stimulating and relaxing for dogs of all ages.

When you know you'll have to focus on a conference call or some other activity, prep your puppy in advance in a puppy pen near you with a long-lasting, food-stuffed chew toy.

You can also teach your puppy (or dog) a quiet cue that's useful to have ready for key moments...

How to teach a "quiet" cue to your dog

Try this

• Utilize an opportunity when your puppy would normally bark. For example, if your puppy normally barks before you go out the back door for play or a walk, start with that scenario.
• Go through any usual preceding prep and go to the back door where you know you might elicit that bark. Give the quiet sign quickly (either the finger over lips or umpire-like safe sign) before your dog gets a chance to bark, and if your dog is quiet for a second immediately give a treat. Then you can go outside.
• If your puppy barks before you can give the quiet sign and reward, then catch a moment after your dog starts barking when there is quiet, give the quiet sign, and immediately reward and keep rewarding to prolong the quiet time a bit so your dog makes the connection. Then you can go outside with your quiet dog.
• Practice several times to solidify the quiet cue with your dog. Soon your puppy will realize that staying quiet works!

Depending on your dog, another option is to ask for another behavior like a sit or down and reward for that, then open the door and go outside. This uses an alternative behavior as a way of breaking the connection between barking and your dog's desired result.

(For an in-depth look at barking and causes/solutions for each type including fear barking, check out the Barking Channel here on Dogly.)

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What to do when your puppy is mouthing/biting all sorts of things including you

Puppy biting and mouthiness come naturally and often. Puppy nips usually comes in the form of play-biting or other biting behavior due to teething or simply as puppies explore and interact with their world and you.

When your puppy is teething...

Puppies can be teething up to 8 or 9 months of age. During that time your puppy is likely to chew on just about anything he or she can find to help relieve gum soreness as those new puppy teeth and eventually adult teeth poke through.

How can you help your teething puppy (and save your favorite shoes)?

Try this

• Keep everything tempting out of reach before your puppy starts biting and chewing them, and have plenty of chew toys around with some give to them to help massage your puppy's gums.
• Keep a couple of teething toys in your freezer for an extra soothing chew for swollen gums.

When your puppy is nipping to get your attention or play...

Your puppy is looking for attention from you and it's natural for many puppies to use their mouths as their go-to way to reach out to interact with us. A puppy bite even with those baby shark teeth can do some real damage to human skin.

When puppy nipping happens, you want to be sure NOT to reinforce your puppy's biting by rewarding your pup with attention. What should you do instead to stop puppy biting?

Try this

• I usually use the 3-strike rule. The first two times a puppy bites I use a "reverse time-out." Simply get up, walk away, no reprimand!, and put yourself behind a gate or barrier away from your puppy. Why the reverse time-out? It's less confrontational than putting your puppy in isolation.
• After a minute or so, return and then you initiate the play or attention. You can also teach your puppy a positive, alternative behavior like "touch" or "sit" and reward with treats. You're rewarding your puppy with attention and treats while showing how to engage without biting.
• If the nipping happens a third time, put your puppy behind a gate or puppy pen for about 20-30 seconds. (Again no reprimand, you never want it to feel like punishment.) Then you can bring your pup out and initiate play or engagement as before.

With both methods you’re taking away attention, then showing other, better ways to interact and play. Consistency is key to making this work, so you'll want to make sure everyone in your household follows the same plan. With children under five, it's hard to teach them to withhold attention so always supervise them with your puppy - always a good idea with young children and dogs anyway.

Note on crates and other positive tools to help your dog stay calm, comfortable, and safe:

With young puppies you have the opportunity to make the crate their safe, happy, alone-time place. For some dogs a crate just isn’t their thing and they can instead do well in a larger pen or gated off in an open room. If your dog loves the crate, great; some get more anxious rather than relaxed. I use a separate space for reboot or isolation time (as in these nipping or jumping moments) and keep the crate as purely a haven not associated with anything else.

You may also want to try natural calming flower/herb essence scents that can soothe and support your dog and are especially helpful with anxieties and overexcitement. (I like these from BlackWing Farms here on Dogly that can be used on your dog's paws and coat as well as in your dog's crate, bed, or your car.)

Pro tips to remember as you help your puppy learn better behaviors:

• Be consistent and patient, and practice when you’re not tired. Don’t wait to train when you’re frustrated. The best time is when you’re both fresh in a short, regular period each day. Put it in your schedule or all of a sudden your day will be over and you haven’t done your 10-15 minutes of training.
• Think of your puppy as similar to a human child… put in the work early and it pays off for all the years ahead. Stick to a regular habit of short training periods every day and you'll be setting up your dog and yourself to enjoy your best lives together.

And remember, in all these solutions you're getting to know your puppy better and building your bond of trust and communication - enjoy your pup while you're doing it!

Next up in the Puppy Channel on Dogly

Now that you know how to be proactive with these natural but potentially annoying puppy behaviors, 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.