@rockyriverretrievers on Instagram

     Puppies have around 28 teeny-tiny teeth in their jaws that seem to be drawn to furniture, fingers, and toes. Professional dog trainers refer to it as “play biting.” However, it’s annoying and uncomfortable when your cute puppy won’t stop nipping at your heels. Biting is, however, quite typical for puppy teething and important for development; it’s also something you can train your pup to outgrow.

     It’s better to train your pup to stop biting when they’re still young to avoid biting becoming a more permanent bad habit when the dog is older and its teeth much sharper and more dangerous.

Learning To Control The Force of Their Bite

     All dogs must learn how to control the force of a bite. They may place their mouth on you or someone else if they are in pain or fear. However, if they’ve learned bite inhibition, they’ll know not to bite down too hard. When puppies play, they instinctively nibble at each other, but when other pups react negatively to being bitten too hard, pups naturally learn to reign in their bites.

    Owners can try to emulate the way that puppies interact with one another. When a puppy bites you, react audibly in a way that signifies pain to communicate to the pup that they shouldn’t bite that hard.

Play Time Ends When They Bite

    If your dog attacks you while you’re playing, stop immediately. As odd as it may sound, yelling at or physically disciplining your puppy is a form of reward. It teaches that biting elicits a response from you, which is referred to as positive punishment. A puppy may become frightened of being handled as a result of this.

   Instead, punish them for biting by refusing to play with them; this will teach the pup that they can’t bite if they want to keep playing.

Give your pet something else to chew on

      It’s a good idea to keep a puppy chew toy available at all times so you can anticipate biting and replace your hand or furniture with the toy; this will teach puppies what is and is not acceptable to bite or chew. Offer a toy instead if they start chewing at your fingers or toes while you’re playing.

Here’s a link to some teething toys for your pup.

Let Them Tire Out

    Biting can be a sign of a high-energy pup, and most pups have a lot of energy. When the puppy continues to bite despite being given a new toy or told ‘no’ numerous times, it may just need to expend some physical or mental energy. Take it outside and let it run about in the yard until it tires itself out and starts to relax.

In Conclusion

    Hopefully, this article was informative and educational in teaching you how to stop a puppy from biting. It’s always helpful to talk to other pet owners, join local pet forums online or ask friends and family for advice. Everyone has their unique tricks about dog training; you may learn something new. 

Check out our pups!

Here’s a video about puppy biting: